A proposed hydrogen production facility in Ardmore will not move forward.
H2OK was to be a green hydrogen production plant. The project involved building an initial 290-megawatt facility producing up to 90 tons of liquid hydrogen for the heavy transport sector, according to the Oklahoma Department of Commerce.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Woodside Energy, the company behind the would-be production facility, said it decided to exit the proposal because of ongoing challenges in the lower-carbon hydrogen industry.
"Woodside made the decision to exit the proposed H2OK Project in Oklahoma due to ongoing challenges facing the lower-carbon hydrogen industry, including cost escalation and lower than anticipated hydrogen demand," the spokesperson said.
In a statement, Christi Woodworth, OG&E's vice president of marketing and communications, said the Oklahoma-based power company is disappointed that the project will not happen. Still, it looks forward to continued work with the Ardmore Development Authority to drive economic development in Southern Oklahoma.
Andrea Anderson, Ardmore Development Authority's senior vice president of economic development, said the project was expected to bring 30 jobs with an average wage three times the average household income of the city.
She said because of the city's experience with the oil and gas refinery in Ardmore, officials knew it would create more jobs through the supply chain.
"We know that it wasn't just going to be 30 jobs," Anderson said. "We knew that there would be off-takers of the hydrogen that would be coming to Ardmore. We had several projects that were looking at the area just because that plant was going to be here."
This comes as a Michelin Tire Plant north of Ardmore is winding down operations, and a Dollar Tree Distribution Center in nearby Marietta remains closed following a tornado, though it is expected to reopen later.
The tire plant employed about 1,400 people but is keeping about 200 full-time positions through maintaining its rubber-mixing operations at the Ardmore site. The distribution center is expected to bring 400 jobs back to the state.
Anderson said the development authority released the 2025 Economic Vision Plan earlier this year in response to the tire plant's closing.
Although the hydrogen project proposal ended, Anderson said the progress in conversations is still a win for Ardmore because an international company chose the southern Oklahoma city as its first flagship project in the U.S.
"The project didn't ultimately happen but we still know that if something comes to fruition with Woodside, based on a four-and-a-half year relationship, we know that if they 'Say, hey, Ardmore would make sense for this,' they know they can call us and we'll definitely come to the table and have those conversations again," Anderson said.
She said it puts the city in a good position for other industries or projects going forward.
Anderson said the high construction costs and changing attitude impacted the project. When the project began, it was under the Biden Administration which she said had a friendlier view of renewable energy and new types of manufacturing.
With a federal shift in the Trump Administration, she said those involved in the hydrogen project felt like things were going to change. There is an uptick in uncertainty around the industry, as evidenced by ExxonMobil's concerns over a plant in Texas.
The company then informed the development authority it would need to reassess the project.
"While the incentives are still there to a degree, the overall friendliness toward the project, I think, at the federal level and just the change in administration along with the rising cost of construction that every industry has seen really has made the project unattainable," Anderson said.
This report was produced by the Oklahoma Public Media Exchange, a collaboration of public media organizations. Help support collaborative journalism by donating at the link at the top of this webpage.
