H2 Summit: Fueling the Future - Convened Energy, Innovation Leaders to Secure a Hydrogen Hub in the Western PA Region

By: Essential Utilities Inc. via Business Wire

April 22, 2022 at 09:20 AM EDT

Inaugural hydrogen summit focused on the future of hydrogen in our region

On April 13, leaders from Peoples Gas, an Essential Utilities Company (NYSE: WTRG), the Energy Innovation Center Institute and Bedford Funds hosted the inaugural H2 Summit: Fueling the Future to discuss the role of Western Pennsylvania Tri-State region’s world-class natural gas reserves in the development and commercialization of energy transition technologies. The Summit was an invitation-only event of over 100 CEOs, top-level executives and academics from around the region and country held at the Energy Innovation Center in Pittsburgh.

The event brought together key stakeholders in the natural gas and electric utilities, global energy companies, global private equity investing groups, regulators, and academia to stimulate discussion and action towards securing a hydrogen hub for the Western Pennsylvania region. Presentations and panel discussions included the transportation and distribution of hydrogen, technologies related to the production of hydrogen including carbon capture and funding opportunities.

“The ability to develop hydrogen as a low-carbon energy source is dependent upon the supporting infrastructure and the eventual cost of hydrogen supply,” said Michael Huwar, president of Peoples Gas. “The region has long been at the forefront of energy innovation with abundant natural gas reserves, ample interstate transmission lines, highly skilled labor and pioneering sources of capital. This is an exciting day and an exciting time. The attendees of the event are committed to the continued success of this region. We are excited at the prospect of emerging energy transition strategies and continuing to ensure the region shapes the future of energy.”

The Appalachian Basin, primarily spanning Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio, contains two shale formations which account for more than one-third of all U.S. dry natural gas production. The basin is the third-largest natural gas producer in the world, behind Russia and the rest of the U.S.

Recently, the U.S. Department of Energy released Requests for Information to establish large-scale hydrogen hubs in the United States. The Summit was created to spur action to assist the region in securing one of these hydrogen hubs and facilitate networking between policymakers and experts from related industries to advance the use of hydrogen in our region.

About the Organizers

Peoples, an Essential Utilities company, provides natural gas service to approximately 750,000 homes and businesses in Western Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Kentucky. Peoples is committed to our customers, our employees, our environment and to the regions we serve. Essential is one of the largest publicly traded water, wastewater and natural gas providers in the U.S., serving approximately 5 million people across 10 states under the Aqua and Peoples brands. Essential is committed to excellence in proactive infrastructure investment, regulatory expertise, operational efficiency and environmental stewardship. For more information about Peoples and Essential Utilities, visit www.peoples-gas.com and www.essential.co.

The Energy Innovation Center Institute is a 501(c)3 organization created to help solve the world’s most intractable problems by advancing equitable and carbon free resiliency for humans, energy, and food systems. The EICI focus includes innovative workforce development programming and fostering advances in zero carbon energy technologies and systems. Since 2016, the EICI has hosted over 22,000 people from around the world at mission aligned conferences and events and have grown to become one of the largest and most effective workforce development organizations for minorities and others with barriers to workforce entry in the Commonwealth.

Bedford Funds is a private capital investment vehicle designed to deploy an investment strategy focused on buying, building, and operating a portfolio of low-carbon power systems, low carbon (CEA) food systems, and related technologies.

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