DOE Issues Notice Of Intent For Potential Hydrogen Research Funding

by Peter Maloney
APPA News
August 4, 2022

The Department of Energy (DOE) recently issued a notice of intent for a potential funding opportunity to accelerate the research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) of clean-hydrogen technologies and grid resilience.

The potential funding would advance the DOE’s goal of reducing the cost of clean hydrogen to $1 per 1 kilogram in 1 decade that is central to the agency’s Hydrogen Shot initiative. It would also support the DOE’s H2@Scale initiative to develop clean and affordable hydrogen across multiple sectors in the economy and improve energy resilience.

The DOE said the goals would be advanced through RD&D efforts in several areas, including advanced pathways for solar-based hydrogen fuel production; technologies for high-resolution hydrogen sensing; demonstrations of materials-based hydrogen storage and transport systems; and development of high-performance, durable, low-cost fuel cell components for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles.

The potential funding opportunity would also seek to establish a grid resilience university consortium with agreements between universities in the United States, Canada, and Mexico to foster information sharing on best practices and cross-border dependencies. The consortium would work collaboratively with tribes, states, regions, industry, utilities, and other stakeholders to support grid resilience planning and pilot projects that can serve as a model for others.

In the Notice of Intent, the DOE said it envisions awarding multiple financial assistance awards in the form of cooperative agreements, with the performance period running from two to four years. DOE is encouraging applicants that include stakeholders in academia, industry, and national laboratories across multiple technical disciplines.

Teams are also encouraged to include representation from diverse entities such as minority-serving institutions or through linkages with Opportunity Zones.

The DOE said the potential funding opportunity would advance the Biden administration’s goals of achieving carbon-free electricity by 2035 and net-zero carbon emissions across the entire economy by 2050.

In February, the DOE announced two requests for information to collect feedback from stakeholders to inform the implementation and design of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Regional Hydrogen Hub and the Electrolysis and Clean Hydrogen Manufacturing and Recycling Programs.

In June, the DOE closed on a $504.4 million loan guarantee to the Advanced Clean Energy Storage project in Utah.