$3.675 Million U.S. Department of Energy Grant Fuels St. Cloud Wastewater Treatment Facility Innovation

(KNSI) — St. Cloud is a step closer to landing a pilot project to make the city the first ever to use green hydrogen at its wastewater treatment plant.

The city approved a deal with the U.S. Department of Energy for a $3,675,000 grant for the project. Public utilities director Tracy Hodel tells KNSI News the process sounds like rocket science, but it’s not. “It’s literally breaking up a water molecule into hydrogen, oxygen and waste heat. What we’re going to be is the first wastewater treatment facility to install this process and use all the end products.”

Hydrogen can be used on-site to generate electricity and used in the facility’s heating system. Hydrogen can also be turned into vehicle fuel or a potential heating source. The oxygen will be used in the facility’s aeration system.

Hodel says using water for power has a ton of potential. “A lot of people think it takes a lot of water. But actually, to put it in perspective, what it takes to fill a hot tub in one year, 400 gallons or so, can power an average American home for an entire year.”

They hope to get final approval this spring and start buying up equipment. The city hopes to have the system up and running in 2025.

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