A group of utilities in the Southeast plans to file a full application for at least part of the $8 billion in federal funding earmarked to develop regional clean hydrogen hubs.

The Southeast Hydrogen Hub coalition was among nearly three dozen organizations encouraged by the Department of Energy to submit a full application for money made available through the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

The coalition includes Dominion Energy, Duke Energy, Louisville Gas and Electric, Kentucky Utilities, Southern Company, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and Battelle. The group submitted an initial concept paper in November.

Of the 79 concept papers DOE received, 33 were encouraged to advance to the application stage. Formal proposals are due in April, with decisions expected in the fall.

The group said that hydrogen could offer “immediate potential to accelerate decarbonization” across all sectors of the U.S. economy, including transportation.

The coalition’s concept paper described how a hub could build on existing infrastructure using technologies to advance the production, storage, transport and delivery of hydrogen.

The coalition said its vision was to deploy scalable, integrated projects to encourage the development of a regional energy ecosystem that would allow members to deploy hydrogen as a decarbonization solution.

Other members coalition are expected to come from regional industries as well as the states of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.