By ESG Analyst Brenna McCarthy
What is Clean Hydrogen?
Clean hydrogen is expected to be a vital factor in reducing emissions in some of the most polluting sectors. In the United States, the top three most polluting economic sectors include transportation, energy production and industry combining to be responsible for 76% of all greenhouse emissions. Hydrogen is produced from many sources including natural gas, biomass and renewable power which make it an intriguing fuel option for many of our current systems. It is produced by passing electricity through water, disrupting the bonds and breaking it into its constituent components of hydrogen and oxygen. From there, hydrogen can be stored or used where it is converted into heat and electricity (Hydrogen Basics, 2024).
What did the U.S Department of Energy Announce?
On March 15th 2024, with part of President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda, the U.S. The Department of Energy (DOE) announced that $750 million will be invested to improve the growth of the hydrogen industry in America. The money will go into 52 projects that fall into 6 topic areas and across 24 states to help reduce the production cost of clean hydrogen while promoting the United States as a leader in the industry. It aims to decrease the cost of clean hydrogen to $1 per kilogram by 2031 whereas now, it costs around $16 per kilogram. More specifically it will improve both manufacturing and recycling capabilities of hydrogen systems and components which will enable the U.S. to produce 14 gigawatts of fuel cells per year. This capacity is enough to power 15% of the medium and heavy trucks sold each year while also being able to power 10 gigawatts of electrolyzers per year. Electrolyzers are a technology that splits water into hydrogen and oxygen, a crucial step in Hydrogen production. Being able to fuel electrolyzers will in turn produce an additional 1,3 million tons of clean hydrogen per year. U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm is confident that Biden’s Investing in America agenda will “supercharge [their] progress and ensure [their] leadership in clean hydrogen will be felt across the nation for generations to come.”
Topic Area 1 out of 6: Electrolyzer Manufacturing
The selected 52 projects fall into six topic areas that address and support the national clean hydrogen strategy. Manufacturing experts from Electric Hydrogen (EH2) are confident in the ability to cut production costs. They are one of eight electrolyzer manufacturers (Topic Area 1) to win a grant under the Clean Hydrogen Electrolysis Program from the DOE which supports R&D of hydrogen production. EH2 founder and Chief Technology Officer David Eaglesham says that EH2 plans to use the award to streamline its manufacturing process. They will work to hire more engineers to create more efficient manufacturing processes (Penrod, 2024). He says that the grant is a “big step” in overcoming the technical challenges that have impeded the ability for hydrogen to grow. Jigish Tirvedi is the senior vice president of operations and supply chain, and says that it will help the hydrogen industry break free of the “chicken-or-egg challenge.” The question here is: what comes first, the demand for hydrogen products or the infrastructure to support them? (The Chicken and Egg Dilemma of the Hydrogen Economy, 2024). The early stages of low demand is due to the lack of appropriate infrastructure which leads to our chicken and egg dilemma, a challenge that may be mediated by this grant.
More information on other selections can be found here.
References
Hydrogen Basics. (2024). Nrel.gov. https://www.nrel.gov/research/eds-hydrogen.html#:~:text=Hydrogen%20as%20an%20Energy%20 Carrier,vapor%20as%20a%20 by%2d Product.
Sources of Greenhouse Gas Emissions | US EPA. (2015, December 29). US EPA. https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/sources-greenhouse-gas-emissions
News, E. (2024, March 15). World Meteorological Day. ESG News. https://esgnews.com/biden-harris-administration-commits-750-million-to-propel-growth-of-the-hydrogen-industry-in-america/
Penrod, E. (2024, March 14). DOE’s $750M investment could end hydrogen’s chicken-or-egg problem, EH2 says. Utility Dive. https://www.utilitydive.com/news/doe-green-hydrogen-manufacturing-funding-grant/710260/
The Chicken and Egg Dilemma of the Hydrogen Economy. (2024). Forrs.de. https://www.forrs.de/news/the-chicken-and-egg-dilemma-of-the-hydrogen-economy