Pennsylvania hydrogen hub jobs reach 41,000 across two projects
Pennsylvania hydrogen hub jobs are projected to reach 41,000 combined across 2 federally backed projects, according to Senator Dave McCormick, after the Department of Energy preserved their funding following a year long Trump administration review. MACH2, which serves Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey, is expected to create over 20,000 of those jobs, and ARCH2, which serves Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia, is expected to create more than 21,000, McCormick said, source 4. The work covers skilled building trades roles, pipe fitters, electricians, carpenters and welders, building the pipelines, production plants and fueling stations each hub needs, not the smaller staff that will run the finished hubs once construction ends.
I am proud to have fought for this funding and to see it preserved.
Dave McCormick, United States Senator from Pennsylvania, in a statement on the Department of Energy preserving hydrogen hub funding. Source 4.
McCormick describes these as building trades construction jobs, pipe fitters, electricians, carpenters and welders, putting infrastructure up, not necessarily permanent hub operating jobs.
Show the numbers
| MACH2, Pennsylvania Delaware and New Jersey | 20,000 |
| ARCH2, Pennsylvania Ohio and West Virginia | 21,000 |
| Both hubs combined | 41,000 |
What a hydrogen hub is and what MACH2 pays for
A regional clean hydrogen hub is a set of connected hydrogen production, storage and delivery projects funded through the Department of Energy Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, source 1. MACH2, the Mid Atlantic Clean Hydrogen Hub, carries a federal cost share of up to 750 million dollars and states its own goal as creating and retaining more than 20,000 well paying jobs, including union jobs, source 2. The hub expects to cut carbon emissions by approximately 1 million metric tons a year, equivalent to taking more than 220,000 gasoline powered cars off the road, source 1. That figure describes an ongoing goal in language MACH2 uses about itself, a different framing from McCormick construction focused description of roughly the same number, a distinction worth knowing for anyone deciding what kind of jobs these actually are.
Federal dollars behind the two hubs
ARCH2 total federal funding eligibility runs up to 925 million dollars, and the hub jobs projection rose from an initial 20,000 estimate at its 2024 launch to more than 21,000 in 2026, a change that tracks the 2 years its partner roster and project scope grew, sources 4 and 5. Nationwide, the Department of Energy Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs program has up to 7 billion dollars to establish 6 to 10 hubs across the country, source 3. Reading MACH2 and ARCH2 own federal figures against that national total shows the 2 Pennsylvania linked hubs draw close to 1,675 million dollars combined, or roughly 24% of the money set aside to build every hub in the nation, concentrated in 2 projects that both touch 1 state, a MAOWCE calculation from sources 1, 3 and 5.
The national figure covers every hub in the program, not only the 2 that touch Pennsylvania.
Show the numbers
| MACH2 federal cost share | 750 |
| ARCH2 federal funding eligibility | 925 |
| National total to establish 6 to 10 hubs | 7,000 |
What is at stake for Pennsylvania workers
Daniel Cosner, president of the Southern New Jersey Building Trades Council, said on the MACH2 website that union construction workers are proud to help build the project and see it as a chance to improve the regional workforce and quality of life across the region, source 2. Pennsylvania hydrogen hub jobs now stand at 41,000 combined across the 2 projects, and McCormick frames the money behind them as money the state fought to keep.
Pennsylvania has always been an energy leader, and these hubs ensure we remain at the forefront of what comes next.
Dave McCormick, United States Senator from Pennsylvania. Source 4.