An ambitious plan from Libertad Power and Direct Diesel is poised to create a hydrogen corridor spanning the Southwestern United States, with Hobbs included as the site of one of three proposed hydrogen plants. The corridor of hydrogen production plants will serve as valuable infrastructure for an anticipated fleet of up to 12,000 heavy transport trucks running on hydrogen fuel cells.

The first hydrogen plant will begin construction in 2025 in Franklin, New Mexico. Once it’s underway, a second plant will follow in Hobbs, with a third plant completing the corridor in western Arizona soon after that.

Each plant will produce hydrogen derived from water using electrolysis (in turn powered by solar panels), requiring no fossil fuels in the process. The hydrogen can then be used to fill hydrogen fuel cells that power vehicles.  The anticipated production of the first hydrogen plant in Franklin is expected to be 20-30 tons of hydrogen a day.

The usage of hydrogen fuel cells is an emerging technology that has been gaining steam around the world as fossil fuels become increasingly unfavorable to use. Hyundai – which has already signed up to advise on several aspects of the project – is a leader in the field, operating a fleet of hydrogen-powered vehicles in Switzerland for commercial purposes. Trucks in that fleet average 500 miles per hydrogen fill-up.

Since hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicles use no fossil fuels, they are significantly greener than their carbon-fueled counterparts. Transitioning significant portions of the nation’s truck fleet to electric using hydrogen fuel cells would result in dramatically lower greenhouse gas emissions while simultaneously providing sufficient power to run heavy transport trucks.

Once the hydrogen in produced at the proposed plant in Hobbs, it would be distributed to trucks via Direct Diesel’s network of service stations. Operating across the contiguous United States, Direct Diesel is one of the largest fuel service companies in the country.

Assuming the anticipated figure of 12,000 hydrogen-fueled trucks is reached, up to 1.5 million tons of carbon will be displaced on an annual basis.

Impact on Hobbs

While the hydrogen plant in Hobbs is still at the proposed stage, the impact of a hydrogen plant and service stations in the immediate area will be significant on the jobs market. Hydrogen has been gaining favor globally because transitioning to it does not require a radical redesign of infrastructure – however, it will require immediate construction of service centers, solar panel fields, and the plant itself.

A recent study from the Netherlands found that further transitioning to hydrogen would lead to an estimated growth of 100,000 jobs a year. With approximately 17.5 million people in the Netherlands, it is a solid emerging industry in the country (which is among those leading the way in the field).

In the U.S., the long-term impact of the hydrogen industry is huge. A McKinsey study found that the country could host as many as 3.4 million jobs in 2050, generating $750 billion a year.

By leading the way in hydrogen fueling, the proposed hydrogen corridor of the Southwest – including the hydrogen plant in Hobbs – is poised to be on the forefront of that wave.

Hobbs Mayor Sam Cobb views the possibility of the project’s further development favorably. “Hobbs and Lea County has always had an ‘All Energy Industries are Welcome’ approach, as evidenced by our support of fossil fuels, wind, solar and nuclear energy. I would welcome the investment in our community.”