The US Department of Energy has announced that it is granting $750 million to projects in 24 states that are focused on building capacity for the production and use of clean hydrogen.
This move is part of President Joe Biden’s administration’s efforts to reduce the use of fossil fuels and cut emissions from industries that are difficult to decarbonize, such as aluminum and cement.
Hydrogen is produced through electrolyzers that split water into hydrogen and oxygen and can be considered green if they are powered by zero-emission sources like solar, wind, nuclear, or hydro. However, currently, the majority of hydrogen is produced using fossil fuels, resulting in unabated emissions and at a fraction of the cost of clean hydrogen, according to Reuters.
The funding for 52 projects in states ranging from Rhode Island to Oregon comes from the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law. These projects are focused on six key aspects of the hydrogen industry, including research and development on electrolyzer production, securing supply chains for these machines, and recycling critical materials used in hydrogen production, such as iridium.
According to Sunita Satyapal, head of the DOE’s hydrogen and fuel cell technologies office, this is a holistic approach that will help the US reach its National Clean Hydrogen Strategy goals, including the production of 10 million tons of clean hydrogen by 2030.
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm also expressed her confidence that these projects will “supercharge our progress and ensure our leadership in clean hydrogen will be felt across the nation for generations to come.”
These grants will also lay the groundwork for the administration’s $7 billion hydrogen hub program, which was also included in the 2021 bipartisan legislation. Last October, the administration announced that seven hubs in 16 states will share the grants in an effort to spur the industry.
Satyapal believes that these projects will help the US increase its electrolyzer capacity from a couple of gigawatts per year to 10 GW, which is enough to produce 1.3 million tons of clean hydrogen annually.
