The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced $24.9 million in funding for six research and development initiatives to promote clean hydrogen for energy generation.

DOE will collaborate with private firms to investigate advanced technological options that might make hydrogen a more accessible and efficient energy source. Improved carbon dioxide (CO2) capture connected with hydrogen production from carbon-based resources, as well as technology to more efficiently utilize hydrogen in gas turbines for power generation, are among the initiatives.

The six industry-funded initiatives will accelerate the development of solutions to increase the performance, reliability, and flexibility of existing and future hydrogen technologies. President Biden’s objective of a zero-carbon American power sector by 2035 will be aided by electricity generated from clean hydrogen.

“We’re working throughout the Department to make renewable energy sources like hydrogen more inexpensive and available to help decarbonize America’s electrical system and directly address climate change,” said Jennifer M. Granholm, US Secretary of Energy. “Today’s public-private collaborations pave the way for greater domestic clean hydrogen production and usage, advancing the President’s efforts to battle climate change, promote clean energy adoption, and generate good-paying clean energy employment for Americans.”

Hydrogen is a clean fuel that creates electricity with water and heat as byproducts when mixed with oxygen in a fuel cell. Domestic resources such as natural gas and waste coal, along with carbon capture and storage; biomass; and renewable energy sources such as solar and wind may all be used to make hydrogen. These characteristics make it a desirable fuel for energy generation and industrial uses like construction and manufacturing.

The selected projects will be managed by DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), which is part of the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM):

8 Rivers Capital, LLC (Durham, NC) will execute an engineering design study for a new hydrogen production facility that would create 99.97 percent pure hydrogen while capturing 90-99 percent of CO2 emissions and be delivered and stored at the Painter Reservoir Gas Complex in Evanston, Wyoming. (Amount of Award: $1,412,863)
The Gas Technology Institute (Des Plaines, IL) will investigate the use of ammonia-hydrogen fuel mixes in gas turbines in order to improve the utilization of ammonia as a clean, low-carbon energy source. (Amount of Award: $3,000,000)
To explore and address combustion difficulties associated with using highly reactive hydrogen fuels, General Electric Company (Greenville, SC) will design and test gas turbine components with natural gas-hydrogen fuel combinations up to 100% hydrogen. (Amount of Award: $5,986,440)
The functioning of hydrogen-fueled turbine components will be studied by General Electric, GE Research (Niskayuna, NY), which might significantly increase gas turbine efficiency for both simple-cycle and combined-cycle power generating applications. (Amount of Award: $6,999,923)
Raytheon Technologies Research Center (East Hartford, CT) will design and test natural gas turbine engine components in high-temperature rigs with increasing hydrogen concentration utilizing natural gas-hydrogen fuel mixes. (Amount of Award: $4,499,999)
Raytheon Technologies Research Center (East Hartford, CT) will research, develop, and test an ammonia-fired gas turbine combustor with minimal nitrous oxide emissions, stable operation, and higher than 99.99 percent efficiency. (Amount of Award: $2,999,219)