Great Plains Institute

Programs

Powering
the Plains

Upper Midwest
Hydrogen Initiative

Cellulose Initiative

Coal Gasification Work Group

Upper Midwest Hydrogen Initiative
The Upper Midwest Hydrogen Initiative (UMHI) is a U.S.-Canadian, public-private partnership serving Iowa, Manitoba, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. It is an industry-led venture of the non-profit Great Plains Institute for Sustainable Development based in Minneapolis.

UMHI's mission is to accelerate the commercialization of hydrogen, fuel cells and related technologies as part of a secure and sustainable domestic energy system. In particular, the Initiative aims to capitalize on the Upper Midwest’s clear strength in renewable and carbon-neutral hydrogen production from wind, ethanol, other biomass, solar, hydroelectric and coal resources (gasifying the coal and sequestering the CO₂).

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Coal Gasification Work Group
Upper Midwest Dialogue on Coal Gasification, Carbon Sequestration and Related Wind and Hydrogen Development

The Work Groups goal is to build regional consensus on a strategy to transition combustion coal-based power generation in the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest to carbon-neutral technologies and practices, while capitalizing on the region's economic potential for wind energy development, coal and wind-based hydrogen production, and production of transportation fuels from coal.

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Cellulose Initiative
Goal: To research and development models of economically viable ethanol production from native prairie grasses, thereby providing new revenue potential for more dry-land regions and dramatically improving the environmental benefits of ethanol production.

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Powering the Plains
Powering the Plains (PTP) is helping to shape a positive energy future for the Northern Plains. A comprehensive energy and agriculture policy development project encompassing the U.S. states of Iowa, Minnesota, North and South Dakota and the Canadian province of Manitoba, PTP brings together top elected and government officials, industry and agriculture executives, and renewable energy and sustainable agriculture advocates.

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About our Programs
We strive to bring about an energy system - based on domestic, renewable and climate friendly sources - that is affordable, reliable and secure. Our programs are designed to bring creative leaders together to develop and implement strategies and projects that will propel specific pieces of that future system forward. Program activity includes broad-based planning on energy and climate through Powering the Plains, stimulating regional development in hydrogen technology through the Upper Midwest Hydrogen Initiative, identifying and advancing a climate-friendly strategy for our region's significant coal resources through the Coal Working Group and spearheading our region's next bio-fuels and products revolution through the Cellulose Initiative.