The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released a notice of intent for a prospective funding opportunity to expedite research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) of clean-hydrogen technologies and grid resilience.
Potential financing will achieve the Biden Administration’s goals of carbon-free power by 2035 and net-zero carbon emissions across the economy by 2050.
This potential funding will advance the Hydrogen Shot objective of reducing the cost of clean hydrogen to $1 per kilogram in a decade, while supporting the Department of Energy’s H2@Scale initiative to develop clean and affordable hydrogen across multiple economic sectors and improve energy resilience.
These objectives will be advanced by research and development efforts in a number of 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, and low-cost fuel cell components for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles.
The possible financing will also seek to build a university consortium for grid resilience, with agreements between institutions in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, in order to facilitate the sharing of information on best practices and cross-border dependencies. This consortium will collaborate with tribes, states, regions, industry, utilities, and other stakeholders to facilitate grid resilience planning and pilot projects that can serve as a model for others.
The DOE intends providing various grants of financial support in the form of cooperation agreements, with a performance duration of between two and four years. The Department of Energy invites applicant teams to include stakeholders from academia, industry, and national laboratories across several technical disciplines. Additionally, teams are urged to include representation from diverse entities, such as minority-serving institutions and Opportunity Zones.
