FOLLANSBEE — A federal grant has been awarded to develop a master plan for the Port of West Virginia, former Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel property that has been eyed as part of a large network of hydrogen-based industries.

The $277,766 grant is among five grants awarded by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration to projects involving the movement of goods along waterways in Louisiana, Puerto Rico, Washington and West Virginia.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said with the funding, “We’re further modernizing operations at our ports and waterways and strengthening supply chains, which will help lower costs of essential goods for American families.”

A USDOT press release states central to the port’s development plan will be “alignment with regional freight shipment needs and a significant modal shift from truck to barge to alleviate landside congestion. The recipient also plans to produce alternative fuels on site to facilitate the future use of zero-emission equipment once the terminal is in place.”

Earlier this month, Empire Diversified Energy, the port’s parent company, announced it will work with Battelle Memorial Institute, an independent nonprofit scientific group, to seek federal money through the Department of Energy to develop a facility that would convert food waste into renewable hydrogen as one of 11 partners in the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub, also known as ARCH2.

Plans call for the gas to be produced through a process known as methane pyrolysis.

Bernard Brown, chief operating officer of Empire, said, “The ARCH2 hydrogen hub is a beacon of innovation and leadership in the renewable energy sector. By leveraging this hub as a pivotal platform for collaboration, research, and development, we aim to demonstrate how strategic investments in decentralized hydrogen infrastructure and technology can yield significant environmental and economic benefits.”

U.S. Maritime Administrator Ann Phillips said the program offers an opportunity “to further integrate our waterways into the nation’s surface transportation system. This is particularly important as water-based transport is the most efficient, effective and sustainable option.”

She noted all of the grant recipients must comply with the Biden administration’s Build America, Buy America provision, which requires them to use the funds to purchase American equipment, steel and other materials for their projects.

At a meeting of the Follansbee Chamber of Commerce earlier this year, Empire officials said plans for the port include expanded barge and rail facilities, the construction of a pig iron plant that could supply local and other steel mills and a plastics recycling plant.

The company has secured millions of dollars in federal grants and millions from its own funds to expand existing barge facilities along the Ohio River at the city’s north end and for environmental cleanups of the former steel mill property under the direction of the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection.