The Department of Energy announced $750 million is now available for research, development and demonstration efforts that aim to cut the costs of producing clean hydrogen.
The funding is the first phase of $1.5 billion allocated under the Infrastructure Law, which focuses on advancing electrolysis technologies, as well as improving manufacturing and recycling capabilities, according to a March 15 news release.
“Making clean hydrogen from abundant renewable energy provides America with yet another incredibly powerful fuel for many different applications, from low-emissions use in the construction and manufacturing industries to energy storage to powering our cars and trucks,” Energy Secretary Jennifer M. Granholm said in the release. “Thanks to new funding from President Biden’s historic clean energy laws, DOE is accelerating our effort to make this exciting and versatile fuel market-ready within a decade — supercharging America’s drive towards an affordable and secure clean energy economy."
Clean hydrogen produces zero or next-to-zero carbon emissions, and could play a vital future role in reducing emissions from some of the most energy-intensive sectors of the economy, such as industrial and chemical processes and heavy-duty transportation, the release reported.
Clean hydrogen can support the expansion of variable renewable power by providing a means for long-duration energy storage, according to the release. This could lead to multiple new revenue streams for all types of clean power generation, such as renewables, advanced nuclear and others.
By enabling the development of domestic clean energy production across multiple sectors of the economy, hydrogen development will strengthen energy independence and accelerate a boom in advanced manufacturing, the release reported.
Projects will be managed by the DOE's Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office, and will aim to overcome underlying technical barriers that can't be resolved through scaling alone, the release said. The office plans to ensure the long-term viability of emerging commercial-scale deployments with lower-cost and higher-performing technology.
Grant funding will be available in two phases, according to the release. The Concept Paper phase is due April 19, and the Full Application phase is due July 19.
