MI Hydrogen: Working To Unlock Hydrogen’s Potential
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,
Vehya – Working to Help Consumers and Businesses Electrify Faster
Detroit-based Vehya is a two-year-old marketplace, which offers services to businesses and individuals looking to adopt EV technology. SBN Detroit interviewed founder and CEO William McCoy to find out more. Q: What can you tell us about Vehya? A: Vehya (pronounced and meaning “via”) is a marketplace for electrification. With everyone moving (or trying to move to) electrification quickly for a sustainable future, we know the project management – research, execution, installation, maintenance – portion can be challenging. So, we created a platform that makes that process easy. Before, if a consumer or office wanted to get an easy charger, they would have to find an electrician, vet them, research products to find the best solution, schedule installation, etc. Vehya turns those steps into a turnkey process. We sell electric vehicle chargers, solar, battery storage, and other resiliency products and have a network of certified service providers to install and service them. Q: Are the end users consumers or businesses? A: Both. In the beginning, we focused more on the commercial and quickly realized there was just as much of a need on the consumer side. The people we were working with on commercial projects were asking if we could do this for them at their homes, or for their clients so we created a consumer-facing platform as well. Q: What needs do you believe Vehya solves? A: People and businesses that are looking to transition to electric often do not have the time or resources for the research and logistics involved. So, we fill that gap. Early adopters will jump in and figure it out, but for others – for the mainstream – they need help. We streamline the process to help both consumers and businesses electrify faster. Q: Tell me about your new partnership with DTE. A: DTE was looking to help their customers streamline the process of obtaining electric vehicle chargers both from a financial and logistical standpoint. They launched an RFP and ultimately chose Vehya for this partnership, which we are so happy to participate in. It’s a fantastic program because it opens the door for many more people to make the transition to EV who couldn’t without the financing DTE’s program offers. Further, many homes need service panel upgrades to support EV charging and that is an additional cost, so the financing becomes even more important. Customers can now come onto the platform, buy a charger and have it shipped to their home, identify an electrician to install it, and sign up for financing all in one place. Through this program, we’ve had about 2,500 enter the platform chargers and have facilitated close to 400 installs in the three months since it launched. Q: Tell me about the partnership with Stellantis A: In March, we became a preferred partner for EV charger sales, installation, and maintenance for Stellantis’ U.S. auto dealers. Our program includes Vehya-certified electricians, detailed site surveys, comprehensive estimates, and a dedicated account manager that handles all administrative and project management duties. Q: How is the Vehya marketplace different than other platforms? A: The fact that we offer products, service providers, and project management is different than other platforms. You can buy a charger on a marketplace like Amazon but then you have to figure out the installation. We vet and certify our service providers as well. Q: Tell me about that vetting and certification process. A: Most of our electricians are certified by the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program (EVITP). We then certify them regarding experience and licensing. They must have the highest levels of insurance. And we do a background check. Q: How do you think the work you do impacts Southeast Michigan businesses? A: A lot of businesses want to electrify their fleets and company cars but don’t know where to start and don’t have the resources to do the research. Workforce development and job creation are also important pieces to us. Vehya is the marketplace that connects consumers and businesses with highly qualified service providers. It connects these service providers to people raising their hands for help in turn creating and bolstering careers. Q: What does the future look like for the company? A: We are working to make our online processes even quicker and to scale our offering. We are also working with underserviced communities to take advantage of EV transition opportunities as well. Financing is key. An average install in the Detroit area is $2,300, because as I had mentioned, a service panel upgrade is typically needed. We are working with banks now to put together consumer packaging to spur adoption and make it easier for more people. Equity and inclusion have to be considered – we need everyone to be a part of this. Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter for regular updates on sustainable business practices in and around Detroit.
