The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy continues support of growing U.S. green hydrogen.

The U.S. Department of Energy has announced a $750 million infusion into clean hydrogen to significantly reduce its cost, beat out China for global leadership in hydrogen, and develop American energy independence through expansion of the industry.

Clean hydrogen adoption by some of the country's most energy-intensive and CO2-emitting sectors is an essential part of the green transition and directly affects the U.S. economy and quality of life. Hydrogen is well-suited to support carbon-intensive industries, including heavy-duty transportation, steelmaking, and fertilizer production.

Directly reinforcing the U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap and coordinated by the Hydrogen Interagency Task Force, funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is soon headed for 52 clean hydrogen projects across 24 states.

Including industry funding, the investment total of $1.6 billion in these projects will drive cost reductions for electrolyzers and fuel cells, encourage the use of clean hydrogen in heavy-duty transportation and industry, and power greener battery tech to help alleviate strain on the electrical grid.

Together with the Inflation Reduction Act's Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs tax incentives and ongoing DOE Hydrogen Program, these investments will bring the DOE closer to securing its Hydrogen Shot ambition to drive the cost of producing clean hydrogen down to a dollar per kilogram.

The projects supported by DOE are expected to facilitate competitive domestic manufacturing capacity, improve electrolysis technologies, expand recycling capabilities, and advance zero or near-zero emissions hydrogen production while supporting and creating more than 1,500 new jobs.

The chosen projects are tasked with ramping up the overall annual production of a proposed 14 gigawatts of fuel cells and 10 gigawatts of electrolyzers for an additional 1.3 million metric tons of clean hydrogen added to the country's yearly production capacity.

"The Biden-Harris Administration is propelling an American-led clean hydrogen economy that is delivering good-paying, high-quality jobs and accelerating a manufacturing renaissance in communities across America," said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm. "The projects announced today –funded by the President's Investing in American agenda – will supercharge our progress and ensure our leadership in clean hydrogen will be felt across the nation for generations to come."

"Green hydrogen is one of the most promising technologies in the transition to a clean energy future, and will support the industries that have long been central to our state, from mobility to manufacturing," said Michigan Rep. Debbie Dingell, whose state will host one of the hubs. "I'm proud to have Nel Hydrogen here in Plymouth Township and will continue to work to make sure Michigan leads the way in the fight against climate change and work to achieve a net-zero economy."

OCED

Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs are one of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law's investment projects designed to jumpstart a national hydrogen production network while supporting the production, storage, delivery, and end-use of clean hydrogen.

$751 million to 52 projects

Selected projects will advance clean hydrogen technologies in the following areas:

• Low-Cost, High-Throughput Electrolyzer Manufacturing (8 projects, $316 million): Selected projects will conduct RD&D to enable greater economies of scale through manufacturing innovations, including automated manufacturing processes; design for processability and scale-up; quality control methods to maintain electrolyzer performance and durability; reduced critical mineral loadings; and design for end-of-life recovery and recyclability.

• Electrolyzer Component and Supply Chain Development (10 projects, $81 million): Selected 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): Selected 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. Longer-term cost reductions enabled by these cutting-edge projects are likely to play a significant role in achieving DOE's Hydrogen Shot goal.

• Advanced Manufacturing of Fuel Cell Assemblies and Stacks (5 projects, $150 million): Selected projects will support high-throughput manufacturing of low-cost fuel cells in the United States 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): Selected 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.

Learn more about the selected projects here.