The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced a $750 million investment, to reduce the cost of clean hydrogen

MARCH 13, 2024:

• This funding is for 52 projects across 24 States
• To accelerate breakthroughs in Clean Hydrogen Technology, Cutting Costs and supporting DOE’s Hydrogen Hubs and Other Large-Scale Deployments
• Further, to reinforce America’s global leadership in the growing clean hydrogen industry

Here are the details on the projects:

• Low-Cost, High-Throughput Electrolyzer Manufacturing (8 projects, $316 million): Projects to enable greater economies of scale through manufacturing innovations, including automated manufacturing processes, design for processability and scale-up, quality control methods, reduced critical mineral loadings, and design for end-of-life recovery and recyclability.
• Electrolyzer Component and Supply Chain Development (10 projects, $81 million): Projects will support the U.S. supply chain manufacturing and development needs of key electrolyzer components, including catalysts, membranes, and porous transport layers.
• Advanced Technology and Component Development (18 projects, $72 million): Projects will demonstrate novel materials, components, and designs for electrolyzers that meet performance, lifetime, and cost metrics to enable cost reductions and mitigate supply chain risks.
• Advanced Manufacturing of Fuel Cell Assemblies and Stacks (5 projects, $150 million): Projects will support high-throughput manufacturing of low-cost fuel cells in the U.S. by conducting RD&D that will enable diverse fuel cell manufacturer and supplier teams to flexibly address their greatest scale-up challenges and achieve economies of scale.
• Fuel Cell Supply Chain Development (10 projects, $82 million): Projects will conduct R&D to address critical deficiencies in the domestic supply chain for fuel cell materials and components and develop advanced technologies that reduce or eliminate the need for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), often referred to as “forever chemicals.”
• Recovery and Recycling Consortium (1 project, $50 million): This funding establishes a consortium of industry, academia, and national labs to develop innovative and practical approaches to enable the recovery, recycling, and reuse of clean hydrogen materials and components. It will establish a blueprint across the industry for recycling, securing long-term supply chain security and environmental sustainability.

This funding is part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda and is funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Building a domestic, US Clean Hydrogen Industry:

• The funding will directly support more than 1,500 new jobs.
• To enable U.S. manufacturing capacity to produce 14 gigawatts of fuel cells per year, enough to power 15% of medium- and heavy-duty trucks sold each year, and 10 gigawatts of electrolyzers per year, enough to produce an additional 1.3 million tons of clean hydrogen per year.
• The funding is a crucial component of the Administration’s comprehensive approach to accelerating the widespread use of clean hydrogen and will play a vital role in achieving commercial-scale hydrogen deployment this decade.
• Clean hydrogen, produced with net-zero carbon emissions, is a key pillar in the emerging clean energy economy and will be essential for reaching the President’s goal of a 100% clean electrical grid by 2035 and net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Source: Biden-Harris Administration Announces $750 Million to Support America’s Growing Hydrogen Industry as Part of Investing in America Agenda | Department of Energy