U.S. Energy Department Announces $60 Million for Hydrogen Research, Grid Modernization

The U.S. Energy Department on Aug. 23 announced a $40 million funding opportunity announcement to advance the expansion and deployment of green hydrogen technologies. An additional $20 million will be made available to create a university research consortium on grid resilience to support the development of grid resilience programs across states, regions, tribes, and utilities.

The department targets two areas of interest critical to building energy resilience and achieving net-zero GHG emissions by 2050:

• Hydrogen and fuel cell technologies in support of the Hydrogen Shot program
• Improving electricity grid resilience

The funding will support the goals of the department’s Hydrogen Shot and H2@Scale initiatives. The former, launched in June 2021, aims to lower the price of clean hydrogen by 80 percent to $1 per kilogram within this decade. The latter, launched in 2016, examines the potential of hydrogen to facilitate affordable, reliable, clean, and secure energy across multiple sectors.

The department plans to allocate the $40 million in portions of $750,000 to $5 million to projects lasting 3-4 years. The agency will cover a maximum of 80 percent of total costs for projects that advance solar hydrogen production technology, the development of hydrogen leakage monitoring sensors, and the study of membrane electrode assemblies geared toward medium and heavy-duty applications. The agency will also fund a maximum of 50 percent of total costs for projects studying materials-based hydrogen storage methods.

This initiative is expected to help advance the Biden administration’s goals to achieve carbon-free electricity by 2035 and deliver an equitable, clean energy future, and put the country on a path to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. This program is expected to create more clean energy jobs, reduce greenhouse gas and criteria pollutant emissions, increase energy security and resiliency, and position the U.S. to compete in the clean energy market on a global scale.

The application process will consist of two phases: a concept paper and a full application. The concept paper deadline is Sept. 23, and the full application deadline is Dec. 1, 2022.