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					</table>The U.S. Department of Energy (<a href="https://www.energy.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DOE</a>) has announced an investment of $7 billion in the creation of seven regional clean hydrogen hubs (H2Hubs) to accelerate the deployment of low-cost, clean hydrogen.
The seven H2Hubs will collectively produce three million metric tons of hydrogen annually and are expected to contribute significantly to the 2030 U.S. production target and reduce emissions from carbon-intensive industries.
The investment is part of the broader effort to stimulate American manufacturing and job creation, made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The government said the seven H2Hubs will serve as a national network, connecting clean hydrogen producers, consumers, and necessary infrastructure.
The benefits are extensive, as they are expected to reduce 25 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year, equivalent to the annual emissions of 5.5 million gasoline-powered cars.
The funds allocated by the government will be matched by recipients, leveraging a total of nearly $50 billion.
The selected projects are distributed across the country, each harnessing regional strengths and resources:
Appalachian Hydrogen Hub: Located in West Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, it utilizes low-cost natural gas to produce clean hydrogen and store associated carbon emissions. This initiative has the potential to drive down hydrogen distribution and storage costs.
California Hydrogen Hub: This hub will produce hydrogen exclusively from renewable energy and biomass, addressing emissions from public transportation and heavy-duty trucking.
Gulf Coast Hydrogen Hub: Centered in Texas, it plans to use natural gas with carbon capture and renewables-powered electrolysis for large-scale hydrogen production.
Heartland Hydrogen Hub: Covering Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota, this hub will utilize regional energy resources to decarbonize the agricultural sector and promote clean hydrogen use.
Mid-Atlantic Hydrogen Hub: In Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey, this hub will repurpose oil infrastructure and develop renewable hydrogen production facilities.
Midwest Hydrogen Hub: Located in Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan, it will enable decarbonization in various industries, including steel production and transportation.
Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub: Covering Washington, Oregon, and Montana, this hub will produce clean hydrogen via electrolysis, reducing production costs.
The $7 billion investment will be matched by over $40 billion from the selected projects, facilitating private sector involvement and driving the nation toward long-term decarbonization objectives, DOE said.
The H2Hubs will also aim to prioritize community benefits. Each hub is required to develop a comprehensive Community Benefits Plan, ensuring that the clean energy transition directly benefits disadvantaged communities.
To ensure the long-term success of the clean hydrogen economy and support the development of H2Hubs, the DOE has issued a request for proposal to secure private sector investment.
This demand-side initiative will provide market certainty to both producers and end users in the early years of clean hydrogen production, further accelerating private investment.
According to the National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/hydrogen-us-to-grow-50-mmt-2050" target="_blank" rel="noopener">released</a> by the DOE, the demand for clean hydrogen is set to grow by 10 million metric tons (MMT) annually by the end of the decade in the United States, while it will rise to 20 MMT and 50 MMT by 2040 and 2050, respectively.
Earlier this year, the U.S. <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/us-announces-750-clean-hydrogen-technologies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> a grant of $750 million for research, development, and demonstration efforts to reduce the cost of clean hydrogen significantly.

US Announces $7 Billion Funding for Clean Hydrogen Hubs

One of the world&#8217;s leading mobility platforms, Ola, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Tamil Nadu government to create a manufacturing hub for electric vehicles (EV) and set up its first factory in the state with an investment of ₹24 billion (~$326 million).
The new factory aims to catalyze India&#8217;s import dependence in a key future sector like EV, boost local manufacturing, create jobs, and improve the country&#8217;s technical expertise. According to Ola, the new factory will create around 10,000 jobs and will become the world&#8217;s largest electric scooter manufacturing facility, with an initial annual capacity of 2 million units. Earlier this year, Ola announced plans to hire over 2,000 people for its electric mobility business as it rapidly builds a suite of electric and smart urban mobility solutions for consumers worldwide.
Ola is one of India&#8217;s largest mobility platforms and serves 250+ cities across India, Australia, New Zealand, and the U.K., including key global markets like London and Sydney. The company recently roped in General Motor Veteran Jose Pinheiro to head its global manufacturing and operations.
The factory will also galvanize India&#8217;s EV ecosystem while establishing the country as a key player in the EV manufacturing space. The factory will produce Ola&#8217;s upcoming range of two-wheeler products starting with Ola&#8217;s electric scooter.
Ola&#8217;s factory will cater to customers in India and markets worldwide, including Europe, Asia, Latin America, and more. The company is gearing up to launch its range of highly anticipated electric scooters in the coming months.
Bhavish Aggarwal, Chairman and Group CEO, Ola, said, &#8220;We are excited to announce our plans to set up the world&#8217;s largest scooter factory. It will be one of the most advanced manufacturing facilities in the world. This factory will showcase India&#8217;s skill and talent to produce world-class products that will cater to global markets.&#8221;
Ola Electric recently <a href="https://mercomindia.com/ola-electric-acquires-electric-etergo/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">acquired</a> Etergo BV, an Amsterdam-based electric scooter maker. In 2019, the company <a href="https://mercomindia.com/ola-raises-250-mn-softbank/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">said</a> it raised ₹17.25 billion (~$250 million) from Tokyo-based SoftBank. SoftBank’s Caymans Islands entity, SB Topaz (Cayman) Ltd, was allotted 4,326 compulsorily convertible preference shares in Ola Electric Mobility at a premium rate of ₹3.99 million (~$52,980).
Last year, Ather Energy had also <a href="https://mercomindia.com/ather-energy-ev-li-ion-battery-tamil-nadu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">signed</a> a memorandum of understanding with the government of Tamil Nadu to set up a two-wheeled electric vehicle and lithium-ion battery manufacturing facility. The 400,000 square feet factory will be located at Hosur.

Ola Plans World’s Largest Electric Scooter Factory in Tamil Nadu Investing ₹24 Billion

The global renewable energy industry created more than 500,000 new jobs worldwide in 2017. This was a 5.3 percent increase from 2016, according to the <a href="http://irena.org/publications/2018/May/Renewable-Energy-and-Jobs-Annual-Review-2018" target="_blank" rel="noopener">latest figures</a> released by the International Renewable Energy Agency (<a href="http://www.irena.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IRENA</a>).
According to the fifth edition of Renewable Energy and Jobs – Annual Review, the total number of people employed in the sector now stands at 10.3 million globally, surpassing the 10-million mark for the first time.
According to the report, China, Brazil, the United States, India, Germany, and Japan remain the world’s largest renewable energy employers, representing more than 70 per cent of all industry jobs globally. Although growing numbers of countries are reaping the socio-economic benefits of renewables, the bulk of manufacturing takes place in relatively few countries and domestic markets vary enormously in size. Sixty per cent of all renewable energy jobs are in Asia, the report noted.
The solar photovoltaic (PV) industry remains the largest employer of all renewable energy technologies, accounting for close to 3.4 million jobs, up almost 9 percent from 2016 following a record 94 GW of installations in 2017, IRENA observed.
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/irenajob.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-9914" src="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/irenajob.png" alt="Renewable Energy Industry Created 10.3 Million Jobs Globally in 2017: IRENA" width="630" height="415" srcset="https://cms.mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/irenajob.png 630w, https://cms.mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/irenajob-600x395.png 600w, https://cms.mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/irenajob-300x198.png 300w, https://cms.mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/irenajob-624x411.png 624w" sizes="(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px" /></a>
China was estimated to account for two-thirds of solar PV jobs – equivalent to 2.2 million – representing an expansion of 13 percent over the previous year. Despite a slight dip in Japan and the United States, the two countries followed China as the largest markets for solar PV employment in the world. India and Bangladesh complete a top five that accounts for around 90 percent of global solar PV jobs.
“The data also underscores an increasingly regionalized picture, highlighting that in countries where attractive policies exist, the economic, social and environmental benefits of renewable energy are most evident. Fundamentally, this data supports our analysis that decarbonization of the global energy system can grow the global economy and create up to 28 million jobs in the sector by 2050,” Adnan Z. Amin, the director general of IRENA, said in the report.
Jobs in the wind industry decreased slightly last year to 1.15 million worldwide. While wind jobs are found in a relatively small number of countries, the degree of concentration is lower than what is found in the solar PV sector. China accounts for 44 percent of global wind employment, followed by Europe and North America with 30 and 10 percent, respectively. Half of the top ten countries with the largest installed capacity of wind power in the world are in Europe.
India installed a record <a href="https://mercomindia.com/research/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">9.6 GW</a> in solar installations in 2017 but due to uncertainty surrounding the <a href="https://mercomindia.com/over-2gw-tender-postponed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">safeguard duty</a> imposition and other trade cases, solar installations are expected to be lower in 2018. With majority of the solar jobs coming from installation activity, lower installation levels will mean slowdown in job creation in 2018.
Image credit: By Kenueone [CC0 or CC0], via Wikimedia Commons
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Renewable Energy Industry Created 10.3 Million Jobs Globally in 2017: IRENA

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