MI Hydrogen, an initiative of the University of Michigan, is dedicated to advancing the research, development, and deployment of hydrogen as a clean energy solution. Co-directed by Greg Keoleian, co-director of the Center for Sustainable Systems, and Todd Allen, Chair of the Nuclear Engineering & Radiological Sciences Department, MI Hydrogen strives to unlock hydrogen’s potential to reduce carbon emissions, drive economic growth, and establish sustainable energy systems for Michigan and beyond.

SBND interviewed Keoleian to discuss MI Hydrogen’s vision, the efforts fueling its progress, and Michigan’s role in shaping a clean energy future.

Q: What is MI Hydrogen, and how did it come to be?

A: MI Hydrogen was launched in December 2022 by the University of Michigan’s Office of the Vice President for Research in collaboration with the School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) and the College of Engineering. The driving force behind this initiative is the urgent need to address climate change by transitioning to clean energy.

Our mission is to accelerate the development of hydrogen solutions by leveraging expertise from across the university in technology, economics, policy, and community engagement. Hydrogen plays a critical role in decarbonizing areas particularly where electrification is challenging—such as medium- and heavy-duty transportation, industrial processes like steel production, glassmaking, semiconductor manufacturing, cement production, and chemical manufacturing processes.

MI Hydrogen was developed to create interdisciplinary approaches that align technology, policy, and market forces to speed up clean and just energy solutions.  Climate change impacts are becoming more prevalent including heat stress, drought, wildfires, flooding, and heat stress and the damages and costs are escalating.  Time is running out to avoid irreversible damage to the planet’s life support system and delayed action means greater costs.

Q: What projects or initiatives is MI Hydrogen working on?

A: We have launched four research projects to date:

• Hydrogen Demand Analysis for Michigan: Building upon a State of Michigan Hydrogen Roadmap we collaborated with Michigan businesses, industry trade associations, state agencies, and national labs to quantify current hydrogen demand and projected future demand through 2050 for industry and transportation sectors. This project also estimated the potential for greenhouse gas emission reduction with the deployment of clean hydrogen solutions.
• Role of Hydrogen in Sustainable Transportation: A team from the Center for Sustainable Systems, Aerospace Engineering, and Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering evaluated hydrogen’s applications across ground, air, and marine transportation. We compared factors such as energy efficiency, costs, and range for hydrogen, e-fuels made with hydrogen as well as battery electric options. Battery electric vehicles are much more efficient than hydrogen alternatives for light-duty passenger vehicles. Hydrogen can play a key role in powering heavy-duty trucks, rail, aircraft, and many marine applications.
• Role of Hydrogen in Decarbonizing the Industrial Sector: In partnership with colleagues in mechanical engineering, we analyzed hydrogen’s role in reducing emissions across industrial applications like chemical manufacturing and steelmaking. We characterized each hydrogen industry application, compared hydrogen demand projections, identified implementation drivers and challenges, and assessed the decarbonization potential of each application.
• Hydrogen Ecosystem Planning: One role we play with the MACH H2 hub is developing a framework and set of principles to guide the design, infrastructure siting, investment, workforce training, and community engagement that are all necessary for hydrogen production, delivery, storage, and end-use applications.

MI Hydrogen is supporting the Midwest Alliance for Clean Hydrogen hub demonstrating and deploying hydrogen technology in Michigan and the region through a $1 billion investment under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. We are also helping build the hydrogen ecosystem in Michigan by hosting seminars and workshops bringing together stakeholders from business and industry, government agencies, NGOs, and academics from across the state and Great Lakes region.

Q: In what ways is Southeast Michigan well-positioned for hydrogen usage and innovation?

A: Southeast Michigan is a global leader in transportation, and we expect hydrogen to play a large role in medium- and heavy-duty transportation. Major automakers like Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis are actively developing hydrogen-powered trucks and other technologies.

Beyond its role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, hydrogen addresses another critical challenge: air pollution from diesel vehicles. Diesel exhaust is a significant contributor to health risks, such as asthma and other respiratory conditions, and these vehicles are often concentrated in industrial corridors and areas inhabited by socio-economically vulnerable communities. By replacing diesel with hydrogen, we can help address environmental justice by mitigating these health risks.

Further, Michigan’s strong presence in steel production, semiconductor manufacturing, chemical production glassmaking, and cement production, positions the state to lead the transition from natural gas to clean hydrogen. This shift is essential to decarbonizing these sectors.

Q: What challenges does Michigan face in adopting hydrogen as a clean energy solution?

A: The cost of hydrogen is a challenge. To accelerate the deployment of hydrogen, the cost must be reduced, and this is not unique to Southeast Michigan.

Another challenge is infrastructure. The infrastructure for fueling needs to be put into place and that requires large-scale investment and coordination across the continent in the case of long-haul trucking. The “chicken and egg” problem here is a significant barrier as well – there is a lack of demand for fuel cell vehicles without hydrogen fueling stations and low-cost hydrogen, and manufacturers are less willing to invest in hydrogen vehicles without a customer base, and the infrastructure won’t be developed without the vehicles and demand.  This is a difficult cycle that requires government investment such as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to overcome.

However, federal and state investments will help to overcome these challenges.

Q: What are the environmental and economic benefits of hydrogen for Michigan?

A: Environmentally, hydrogen offers a pathway to significant carbon reductions. As discussed, clean hydrogen, produced from renewable or nuclear electricity, eliminates not only greenhouse gas emissions but also air pollutants like particulates and VOCs from combustion. This is particularly important for health outcomes in freight corridors.

Economically, Michigan plays a lead role in transitioning to clean energy. With billions of dollars being invested in clean energy, Michigan has the opportunity to attract industries, create jobs, and stay competitive in the global market. The state’s leadership in the automotive and industrial sectors gives it a unique advantage in scaling hydrogen technologies.

Michigan’s leadership extends beyond vehicles. By working on a comprehensive hydrogen ecosystem, we’re helping set the stage for large-scale adoption of this clean energy solution. Our region can serve as a model for the rest of the country and even globally.

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