U.S. administration to issue $750 million to accelerate clean hydrogen technologies

The current administration, through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), has announced its intent to issue $750 million in funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to dramatically reduce the cost of clean hydrogen technologies. The funding is said to be a crucial component of the administration’s comprehensive approach to accelerating the widespread use of clean hydrogen and will play a vital role in supporting commercial-scale hydrogen deployment. 

Clean hydrogen — which is produced with zero or next-to-zero emissions from renewables, nuclear energy or natural gas with carbon sequestration — is set to play an important role in reducing emissions from some of the hardest-to-decarbonize sectors of the economy, including industrial and chemical processes and heavy-duty transportation. Clean hydrogen can also support the expansion of renewable power by providing a means for long-duration energy storage and offers flexibility and multiple revenue streams to all types of clean power generation — including today’s nuclear fleet, advanced nuclear and other innovative technologies.

However, while hydrogen technologies have come a long way over the last several years, costs and other challenges to at-scale adoption need to be addressed to realize  its full potential. 

Regional clean hydrogen hubs (H2Hubs), tax incentives in the U.S. president’s Inflation Reduction Act and ongoing research, development and demonstration in the DOE Hydrogen Program, are expected to accelerate technical advances and scale-up needed to achieve DOE’s Hydrogen Shot goal of $1/kilogram of clean hydrogen within a decade. 

Managed by the DOE’s Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO), projects funded through this opportunity will address underlying technical barriers to cost reduction that can’t be overcome by scale alone and ensure emerging commercial-scale deployments will be viable with future lower cost, higher performing technology. Reaching cost reduction goals will open new markets for clean hydrogen — creating more clean energy jobs, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and strengthening the U.S.’ competitiveness in the global clean energy market. DOE’s National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap and the president’s Justice40 Initiative also serve as important pillars driving the energy justice efforts by HFTO and the Hydrogen Program. 

More information about this DOE notice of intent, including potential topic areas, can be found here.