A Clean Fuel — and a Michigan-Sized Opportunity

Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, and it's already a workhorse of modern industry — used every day to refine fuels, produce chemicals, and manufacture electronics. It can also serve as a fuel itself: when hydrogen powers a fuel cell or is burned for energy, its main byproduct is simply water.

That makes hydrogen especially valuable for the parts of the economy that are hardest to run on electricity alone — steelmaking, shipping, and heavy-duty trucking among them. Few states have more at stake, or more to offer, than Michigan. We build the vehicles and equipment a hydrogen economy will need. Our factories already use hydrogen every day. Our border crossings with Canada carry roughly 40 percent of all commercial trade between the two countries, putting Michigan at the center of North America's busiest freight corridor. And deep underground, Michigan's geology may hold something few states can claim: naturally occurring hydrogen.

More Than One Path to Hydrogen

Nearly all hydrogen used today is manufactured, and Michigan supports clean hydrogen however it's made. Pathways include:

• Electrolysis uses electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. Powered by renewable energy (often called “green” hydrogen) or nuclear power (“pink”), it can produce hydrogen with little to no carbon footprint.

• Methane pyrolysis splits natural gas into hydrogen and solid carbon — a byproduct that can be used in manufacturing rather than released into the air.

• Natural gas with carbon capture reforms natural gas into hydrogen — the way most hydrogen is made today — while capturing and permanently storing the resulting carbon dioxide (“blue” hydrogen).

• Geologic hydrogen is the exception: found in, or coaxed from, the right rocks deep underground rather than manufactured.

Michigan's view is simple: the color label matters less than the results — hydrogen that is affordable, safe, and clean, with the jobs and investment landing here. Much of the state's hydrogen work — safety standards, permitting, storage, workforce, and demand-building — supports every one of these pathways.

Why Hydrogen Matters for Michigan

• Competitiveness. Affordable clean hydrogen helps Michigan manufacturers — from steel to chemicals to heavy equipment — stay globally competitive while creating new businesses and good-paying jobs.

• Energy independence and lower costs. Hydrogen produced in Michigan, for Michigan, strengthens energy security and can reduce long-term energy costs for industries and consumers.

• Cleaner air. Hydrogen can dramatically cut pollution in the hardest-to-decarbonize sectors, from industrial heat to heavy-duty transportation.

• Built on Michigan's strengths. Our engineering talent, manufacturing base, freight corridors, and unique geology position Michigan to lead the United States’ hydrogen future.

State Leadership

On January 15, 2026, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed Executive Directive 2026-1, establishing the Michigan Geologic Hydrogen Exploration and Preparedness Initiative. In April 2026, four state agencies — EGLE, MIO, DNR, and the MPSC — delivered reports on permitting, economics, state-land leasing, and energy infrastructure that now guide the state's hydrogen work. Michigan also continues to coordinate with neighboring states and Ontario on a regional approach to hydrogen.