H2theFuture
Coalition Lead: Greater New Orleans Development Foundation
Phase 2 Award: $50 million
Private Investment (Sept. 2022 – Sept. 2024): $2 billion
Additional Public and Nonprofit Funding (Sept. 2022 – Sept. 2024): $102.4 million
Project Description:
H2theFuture is utilizing a $50 million BBBRC grant to transition the regional hydrogen energy sector by closing the cost gap between green hydrogen, produced from renewable energy sources, and other forms of hydrogen used today, which rely on fossil fuels. The need for systemic economic diversification in Louisiana is urgent; in the last decade, the region lost more than 22,000 good-paying jobs in the oil and gas industry, leaving it with legacy energy infrastructure, workforce, and a demand-base primed for transition. By jointly investing in technology, workforce, and commercial-scale end-use within the region’s industrial base, New Orleans can drive the nation’s energy transition.
The coalition unites regional partners, including the Port of South Louisiana, the University of New Orleans Research and Technology Foundation, the University of New Orleans, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and the Louisiana State University and A&M College.
As of September 2024, the coalition has made significant strides in achieving its vision of building up Louisiana’s green hydrogen economy, including the following:
- The Louisiana Future Energy Center will begin construction in fall 2024 at the University of New Orleans Research & Technology Park and will serve as a hub for critical clean energy and climate technologies. The coalition has solicited input from community members about best use and design for the center to ensure robust support from local partners.
- Opportunity Hub (OHUB), an inclusive innovation building platform, completed two New Energy Technology Incubator (NETI) cohorts in partnership with H2theFuture to accelerate climate technology in New Orleans. Between the cohorts, nearly 100 founders were connected to new energy opportunities in Louisiana: additionally, seven founders received equity investments totaling $350,000 in the process.
- Internships and educational programs in clean and green energy will be active at four Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) by fall 2024. The partnering HBCUs have won a total of $190,000 in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy to support the growth of their degree specialization programs.
- Through the business development vertical of H2theFuture, South Louisiana regional economic development partners developed the Louisiana Future Energy marketing campaign to showcase Louisiana assets and future energy ecosystem. Since January 2022, the Louisiana Future Energy business development collaboration has successfully announced $32 billion in new capital investment, resulting in 4,000 new jobs created within clean energy sector.
- Designs have been completed for the e-methanol bunkering barge that will be housed at the Port of South Louisiana, providing a critical first step in de-carbonizing the Lower Mississippi River. Consturction and operator bids will be released later this year.
- The coalition was selected to receive $15 million over two years and up to $160 million over 10 years as an inaugural recipient of the National Science Foundation’s Regional Innovation Engines program. This award and designation will bolster the region’s efforts to accelerate clean energy innovation in the state. Additionally, various coalition members are also partners on other awards in Louisiana from the U.S. Department of Energy totaling over $900 million for carbon capture, grid resilience, and energy innovation.
Coalition Overarching Narrative (applicant submitted) (PDF)
“Louisiana is perhaps better positioned for a clean hydrogen cluster than any other state, with the highest per-capital use of industrial H2, and many other intrinsic advantages. These include having the densest pipeline system in America, being home to the second largest port complex in the Western Hemisphere, and being ranked as having the fourth largest offshore wind energy potential in U.S.”
H2theFuture
Related Links
- Learn about the state’s potential to be a global leader in green hydrogen.
- Learn about the coalition’s innovative hub of programs for green hydrogen.
- Learn about the coalition’s selection to be an inaugural recipient of the National Science Foundation’s Regional Innovation Engines Program.
In the News
- H2theFuture works to make Louisiana the epicenter of hydrogen universe
- H2theFuture is trying to make Louisiana the epicenter of the hydrogen universe
- Louisiana is seeing economic gold at the end of the hydrogen rainbow
- Build Back Better Lives Again, Now With Green Hydrogen
- Louisiana's potential leadership in green H2: A Conversation with the GNO
Additional Designations Earned in Region
