DOE Announces Nearly $60 Million to Advance Clean Hydrogen Technologies and Improve the Electric Power Grid

In working towards the nation’s goal to reach a 100% clean electrical grid by 2035 and net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced 22 projects in 14 states selected to receive nearly $42 million in funding for clean hydrogen technologies. Clean hydrogen is produced with zero or next-to-zero emissions and is a way to leverage the nation’s clean energy resources. $17.8 million was also announced by the DOE to establish a new North American university research consortium that will help states and tribal communities implement grid resilience programs and achieve decarbonization goals.

“The 22 projects announced today will develop technologies for solar fuels, created by harvesting sunlight. In addition, they will demonstrate higher-density and lower-pressure hydrogen storage technologies, lower the costs of hydrogen fuel cells for medium- and heavy-duty transportation applications, and improve hydrogen-emissions detection and monitoring — addressing potential global warming impacts. Projects selected to improve hydrogen emissions detection will supplement DOE’s well-established and extensive work on hydrogen leakage, addressing community concerns about hydrogen emissions and safety, and they will advance the broader field of leakage detection and monitoring technologies. The projects will be managed by DOE’s Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO) and will also advance DOE’s Hydrogen Shot goal of reducing the cost of clean hydrogen to 1 dollar per 1 kilogram in 1 decade (“1-1-1″). They will support DOE’s H2@Scale initiative, which aims to augment clean hydrogen’s affordable production, transport, storage, and utilization.”