Biden-Harris Administration Announces $750 Million To Accelerate Clean Hydrogen Technologies

Funding Will Advance Electrolysis Technology, Drive Down Clean Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Costs, Provide Long-term Support for Hydrogen Hubs and Other Industry Deployments

The Biden-Harris Administration declared its intention to distribute $750 million from President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in order to significantly lower the cost of clean-hydrogen technologies through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The investment is an essential part of the Administration's all-encompassing strategy to hasten the general adoption of clean hydrogen and will be important in assisting commercial-scale hydrogen deployment. The President's objective of a 100% clean electrical grid by 2035 and net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 will only be possible with the use of clean hydrogen, which is produced with net-zero carbon emissions.

According to U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm, "today's announcement is yet another exciting step in lowering the cost of and scaling-up clean hydrogen production, a flexible fuel critical to the nation's historic transition to an egalitarian and secure clean energy future." "DOE is keeping its pledge to carry out an ambitious climate agenda by investing in the cutting-edge research and development required to make market-ready clean hydrogen a reality."

Clean hydrogen is expected to play a significant future role in reducing emissions from some of the hardest-to-decarbonize sectors of our economy, such as industrial and chemical processes, heavy-duty transportation, and natural gas with carbon sequestration. Clean hydrogen is produced with zero or next-to-zero emissions from renewables, nuclear energy, or natural gas with carbon sequestration. By offering a method for long-term energy storage and offering flexibility and multiple revenue streams to all forms of clean power generation, including the current nuclear fleet, advanced nuclear, and other cutting-edge technologies, clean hydrogen can also support the expansion of renewable energy. Hydrogen will increase America's energy independence, resiliency, and security by permitting a variety of homegrown clean energy pathways in a number of economic sectors. Although advances in hydrogen technology over the past few years have been significant, clean hydrogen still has a long way to go before reaching its full potential. Costs and other obstacles to at-scale deployment must be overcome.

These investments will hasten the technical advancements and scale-up required to reach DOE's Hydrogen Shot target of $1 per kilogram of clean hydrogen within a decade, along with the regional clean hydrogen hubs (H2Hubs), tax incentives in the President's Inflation Reduction Act, and ongoing research, development, and demonstration in the DOE Hydrogen Program.

Projects funded through this opportunity, which are overseen by DOE's Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO), will address underlying technical cost reduction barriers that cannot be overcome by scale alone and ensure that emerging commercial-scale deployments will be viable with future lower-cost, higher-performing technology. In addition to generating more clean energy employment, lowering greenhouse gas emissions, and boosting America's competitiveness in the global clean energy market, achieving cost reduction goals would open new markets for clean hydrogen.

These investments will aid in reducing hazardous air pollution and decarbonizing some of the most polluting industries in the economy, including heavy industry, chemical processes, and transportation. Communities in need who have historically suffered disproportionately from local air pollution may benefit significantly from reducing emissions in these sectors. Additionally, the Justice40 Initiative of President Biden and the National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap of DOE serve as significant pillars supporting the energy justice initiatives of HFTO and the Hydrogen Program.

(Source : ESG News)