Dover City Council passes ordinance to allow clean hydrogen facilities in city limits.
The new ordinance allows permitted use of clean hydrogen facilities in specific industrial zones in Dover’s city limits- mostly manufacturing or technology zones.
The measure was strongly endorsed before the Council’s vote by Andrew Cottone, founder of the hydrogen energy company Aternium.
“This code change positions Dover at the forefront of America’s emerging clean hydrogen landscape. Dover can help address these critical material issues, attract adjacent industrial jobs, strengthen US supply chains and create hundreds of construction jobs.” he said.
Aternium were the recipient of a $1 million dollar investment from the state’s Delaware Division of Small Business for the creation of a clean hydrogen facility- which is still being developed.
Cottone notes Dover’s code adjustment makes them among the first to do so in the First State, adding they are taking advantage of a developing global market.
“This action that Dover is going to take has the potential to become long term economic catalysts in the primary industry of clean hydrogen, the secondary industry of moving this and becoming an energy exporter, and in the tertiary industries of everything else it can bring around with this.” he said.
Council support for the measure was strong. They passed the ordinance in a unanimous vote, something that’s been rare for Council recently.
Council member questions mostly revolved around how already existing public programs could play into the workforce constructed plants would demand.
