The United States Department of Energy (DOE) has released a Notice of Intent (NOI) to invest $1 billion to form a national clean hydrogen network and support the Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs program (H2Hubs).
To achieve a carbon-free grid by 2035 and net-zero emissions by 2050, the Biden-Harris Administration will select up to 10 H2Hubs for a total of $7 billion in federal funding from the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The H2Hubs programs will help form a national clean hydrogen network, which seeks to reduce emissions from energy-intensive sectors such as industrial processes and heavy-duty transportation.
According to the DOE’s Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Clean Hydrogen report, clean hydrogen, an energy carrier produced with low or zero carbon emissions, has the potential to strengthen America’s energy independence, accelerate the manufacturing sector’s growth, and help achieve decarbonizing objectives.
“Ensuring America is the global leader in the next generation of clean energy technologies requires all of us, government and industry, coming together to confront shared challenges, particularly a lack of market certainty for clean hydrogen that too often delays progress,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy, Jennifer M. Granholm. “That’s why DOE is setting up a new initiative to help our private sector partners address bottlenecks and other project impediments — helping industry unlock the full potential of this incredibly versatile energy resource and supporting the long-term success of the H2hubs.”
This initiative will provide H2Hubs programs with revenue certainty to promote confidence in the long-term availability of clean hydrogen and attract private sector investments. To attract these private institutions and inform the support mechanism’s design, the NOI looks to public input on potential benefits and risks, operating models, and equipped implementing partners.
Depending on the performance of the H2Hubs’ support mechanism, the DOE may consider similar mechanisms for other technologies and clean energy products.
