From Nebraska Examiner coverage:

State lawmakers [gave] 43-0 first-round approval to a bill that would set up a working group to seek Nebraska’s designation as one of four “regional clean hydrogen hubs” in the U.S. working to expand use of the green fuel.

The federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act set aside $8 billion to create four national hydrogen hubs to link up producers of hydrogen with industrial users and expand the use of hydrogen to generate power or fuel planes and vehicles.

State Sen. Bruce Bostelman of Brainard, who sponsored Legislative Bill 1099, called Nebraska a “prime candidate” to become one of the hubs, in large part due to the large-scale production of clean hydrogen by Monolith Materials and because of the state’s central location.

That company, which moved from California to Nebraska in 2018, produces clean hydrogen and carbon black using natural gas. Carbon black has a variety of uses, including in tires and other rubber products. But Bostelman said carbon black has traditionally been produced using oil, which is a much dirtier process than using natural gas.

Monolith plans to use most of its hydrogen to produce anhydrous ammonia fertilizer as part of a $1 billion expansion of its Hallam, Nebraska, plant later this year. It would become the state’s largest user of electricity, officials said.

Plymouth Sen. Tom Brandt, who is a farmer, praised the Monolith project, which is in his legislative district. Not only has the company created 90 good-paying, “clean energy” jobs and invested $100 million in its existing plant, he said, but it will create another 200 jobs with its expansion.

“It’s an economic success story for the State of Nebraska,” Brandt said.

Brandt said that will benefit farmers, who have seen costs of the fertilizer rise from $400 a ton to $1,500 a ton. The U.S. is the largest importer of anhydrous ammonia in the world.