US Energy Department Unveils Hydrogen Funding

The US Department of Energy (DoE) announced July 20 about $64mn in fiscal year 2020 funding for 18 projects supporting the department’s H2@Scale program for affordable hydrogen, production, storage, distribution and end use.

The projects will fuel the next round of research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) activities under H2@Scale’s multi-year initiative to fully realise hydrogen’s benefits across the economy.

“Hydrogen has the potential to integrate our nation’s domestic energy resources, add value in industrial and energy-intensive sectors, and broaden technology choices for medium- and heavy-duty transportation,” US secretary of energy Dan Brouillette said. “These projects will bring us closer to realizing hydrogen’s full potential for a resilient, flexible, and affordable energy system for all Americans.”

The projects will be funded through the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office, part of the DoE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Reliable Energy and will feature technologies for manufacturing reliable and affordable electrolysers and developing low-cost, high-strength carbon fibre for hydrogen storage tanks.

Other focus areas include identifying durable and cost-effective fuel cell systems and components for medium- and heavy-duty trucks and demonstrations of large-scale hydrogen utilisation at ports and data centres.