Lewis County Hydrogen Alliance
Energy from wood. Without burning it.
We are advancing a cleaner use for the Pacific Northwest's forest residuals — converting woody material into clean, fuel-grade hydrogen, captured carbon dioxide, and dispatchable power, and keeping that value in the communities the forests come from.
What we do
A higher-value use for forest residuals
The Lewis County Hydrogen Alliance (LCH2) is a Washington nonprofit that coordinates the development of clean-energy projects in Lewis County. Our focus is converting locally sourced forestry residuals — the woody material left over from forest management and milling — into clean energy through thermochemical conversion rather than combustion. The feedstock is not burned; it is broken down in a closed process designed to yield three outputs:
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Fuel-grade hydrogen
Intended as a clean fuel for transit fleets, freight, and industrial users across the region.
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Captured carbon dioxide
The process is designed to capture CO₂ and prepare it for productive, merchantable use.
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Dispatchable clean power
Clean, on-demand electricity designed to serve on-site loads — including data centers — and to complement intermittent renewables.
Powering what's next
Clean, dispatchable power for data centers
Demand for reliable, around-the-clock electricity is growing fast — and data centers increasingly need clean power generated close to where it's used. The same process that turns forest residuals into hydrogen is designed to provide dispatchable, on-site power: electricity that can serve loads directly, behind the meter, and complement intermittent renewables.
That puts LCH2 at the intersection of two regional priorities — a clean-energy transition rooted in the forest sector, and the rising need for reliable, low-carbon power to support new industry in the Pacific Northwest.
Why Lewis County
Building on a region in transition
Lewis County sits at the center of one of Washington's defining energy transitions. The retirement of coal-fired power generation at the TransAlta Centralia plant reshaped the region's economy and energy landscape.
Lewis County is also part of the Western Washington Bioeconomy Development Opportunity (BDO) Zone — the first AA-rated BDO Zone in Washington State, and a region rich in forest resources and forest-sector expertise. LCH2 was formed to build on those strengths: by turning low-value wood residuals into clean energy, we aim to keep more of the forest's value at home, support healthier forests, and help grow durable, family-wage clean-energy work.
We are advancing toward site control within the Western Washington BDO Zone as part of our early-stage development work.
Work with us
We work with government, community, forestry, and energy-sector partners across the region. If that's you, we'd like to hear from you.