The Battle Over Philly’s Clean Hydrogen Revolution February 8, 2025

Philadelphia magazine

[Chris] DiGiulio is an environmental chemist for the Pennsylvania chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility, a nonprofit founded in 1961 by a group of doctors who sought to raise awareness about the public health threat posed by nuclear weapons; the mission has since expanded to environmental threats in general. The camera she’s showing me is a FLIR optical gas imaging camera, which can detect hydrocarbons and other pollutants that are invisible to the naked eye. I meet DiGiulio in Fernhill Park, at the edge of Germantown, and we walk up Roberts Avenue until we reach a spot where we can get a clear view of SEPTA’s Nicetown gas-generating power plant. DiGiulio looked up the specifications of the plant online months ago and found that it was capable of operating on a blend of natural gas and hydrogen. The plant has faced local opposition for years — DiGiulio aided Nicetown residents in their campaign against it — but it’s the hydrogen that’s currently setting her on edge. “Why would they [set it up that way] if they weren’t planning anything?” she asks.