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Last week, I met with the founder of Celadyne which is a Chicago-based startup that makes hydrogen systems more efficient and cost-effective.

And what started as a casual conversation about energy startups in Chicago turned into a real thesis:

Chicago should be the center of hydrogen innovation.

Hydrogen is made by running electricity through water. If that electricity comes from clean sources like nuclear or wind, you get a zero-emission fuel that actually scales for trucks, warehouses, factories, and backup systems.

The inputs are here. The customers are here. The talent is here. And now, the federal dollars are showing up too.

What would it look like if Chicago owned the hydrogen economy:

To make green hydrogen, you need three things: clean power, abundant water, and nearby demand.

Chicago checks every box.

Power: Illinois has the largest nuclear fleet in the US. In 2024, over half of our state’s electricity came from nuclear.

And wind is rising fast too. Illinois already generated over 3,000 gigawatt hours from wind last month, making it one of the top five wind-producing states in the country.

Water: Producing one kilogram of hydrogen takes about three gallons of water. Even at industrial scale, a million-kilogram-per-day plant would use just a drop in Lake Michigan’s bucket.

We can’t export our lake’s water directly, but there’s nothing stopping us from turning it into hydrogen here and shipping the fuel.

Demand: Illinois moves over 200m tons of freight per year, and Chicago alone sees one-quarter of all US railcars pass through daily. We're also home to the third-largest interstate highway network.

Long-haul trucks, rail fleets, and heavy-duty warehouse equipment all benefit from hydrogen, especially where batteries fall short on range and recharge time.

Fuel-cell trucks refill faster, go farther, and carry more than their battery-electric counterparts. If hydrogen is going to work anywhere first, it’s going to be here.

In 2023, the Department of Energy named seven Hydrogen Hubs across the US. Two are in the Midwest.

The MachH2 Hub (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan) is receiving up to $1B to scale clean hydrogen. The Heartland Hub (Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota) is getting $925m.

Together, these hubs want to cut 25m tons of CO₂ emissions per year equivalent to taking 5.5m gas-powered cars off the road.

And in February 2025, the IRS finalized the 45V hydrogen production tax credit, offering up to $3 per kilogram for clean hydrogen.

This matters for Chicago because when the full 45V credit is applied, hydrogen made from Midwest wind drops below $1.50 per kilogram, making it as cost-effective as solar in the Southwest and far cheaper than most other US. regions.

Chicago has the power, the water, and the demand.

What we need is a dedicated place for hydrogen founders to build and collaborate.

Imagine a space with rentable electrolyzers, compressors, test bays, and safety systems where hydrogen-focused startups could rent and use to build.

Top-down support is important and the federal dollars are a great start but I’d love to see more bottom-up energy too. Builders who are genuinely excited about hydrogen.

A local meetup. A Discord. A “Hydrogen Club” for Chicago.

If we want the city to lead, we need people who are fired up to push this forward together.

Overall, we should focus on where Chicago already has an edge. That’s why I keep coming back to our energy stack: nuclear, data centers, and the systems that quietly keep everything running.

Hydrogen fits right in. It just makes sense with what we’ve already got. Energy, water, and demand.

Chicago leads the nation in return-to-office rates.

Last Tuesday, Chicago hit 74.5% office occupancy which is 12 points above the national 10-city average of 62.4%.

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