The US Department of Energy (DOE) has announced $750mn to advance clean hydrogen technologies. Produced with net zero carbon emissions, clean hydrogen is a key pillar in the emerging clean energy economy in the US and will be essential for reaching President Biden’s goal of a 100% clean electrical grid by 2035 and net zero carbon emissions by 2050, according to the DOE.

The US Hydrogen Strategy calls for 10mn tonnes of clean hydrogen by 2030, 20mn tonnes by 2040 and 50mn tonnes by 2050.

The new funding launches the first tranche of implementation of two provisions of the US’ Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which authorises $1bn for research, development, demonstration and deployment activities to reduce the cost of clean hydrogen produced via electrolysis and $500mn for research, development, and demonstration of improved processes and technologies for manufacturing and recycling clean hydrogen systems and materials.

Projects will address ‘underlying technical barriers to cost reduction that can’t be overcome by scale alone’, reports the DOE, and will ‘ensure that today’s emerging commercial-scale deployments will achieve long-term viability with tomorrow’s lower-cost, higher-performing technology’.

Together with the regional clean hydrogen hubs (H2Hubs), tax incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act, and ongoing research, development and demonstration in the US government’s Hydrogen Programme, the newly funded projects are expected to help the DOE achieve its ambitious Hydrogen Shot goal of being able to produce clean hydrogen at a cost of $1/kg within a decade.

European hydrogen bank
Meanwhile, the European Commission (EC) has set out new plans to stimulate and support investment in sustainable hydrogen production through a European Hydrogen Bank (EHB) that will help the European Union (EU) end imports of Russian fossil fuels in the next few years and achieve climate-neutrality by 2050.

The initiative is aimed at accelerating investment and bridging the investment gap for the EU to reach its ambitious REPowerEU targets of producing domestically 10mn tonnes of renewable hydrogen by 2030, coupled with 10mn tonnes of imports.

According to Kadri Simson, Commissioner for Energy, the EHB ‘will establish a full hydrogen value chain in the EU’, operating alongside the recently announced legislative proposal for a Net Zero Industry Act, which aims to boost EU manufacturing of clean technologies.

The four pillars of the EHB are expected to be operational by the end of 2023. Two of the pillars relate to financing mechanisms, for creating the EU domestic market and for international imports into the EU. The third pillar is linked to transparency and coordination – assessing demand, infrastructure needs, hydrogen flows and cost data. The final element is streamlining existing financial instruments, coordinating and blending these with new public and private funding, both in the EU and internationally.

The EC has already proposed a fully-fledged legislative framework for the production, consumption, infrastructure development and market design for hydrogen, including binding targets for renewable hydrogen consumption in industry and transport under the revised Renewable Energy Directive. More recently, the EC also set out rules defining what renewable hydrogen is for the EU. This followed on from the European Hydrogen Strategy from 2020, which set out the initial aims for increasing renewable hydrogen in the EU. Most of these policy proposals are still under negotiation between the European Parliament and the European Council.

Accelerating hydrogen growth in the UK
In other news, the UK’s ‘Hydrogen Champion’ Jane Toogood, appointed in July 2022 as an independent advisor to government and industry on the development of the UK hydrogen economy, has called for increased clarity on hydrogen policy and funding.

According to UK government analysis, the UK will need between 250 and 460 TWh of hydrogen by 2050, delivering 20–35% of the UK’s final energy consumption, equivalent to the UK’s total energy consumption today.

Toogood’s independent report includes a recommendation to the government to kickstart investment by overcoming barriers to deliver the first carbon capture, use and storage (CCUS)-enabled and electrolytic hydrogen production projects at scale and provide a clear scale-up plan across UK regions. She also recommends stimulating demand in blending, heating and transport, and creating a plan for integrated energy infrastructure to deliver an optimal future energy system incorporating gas, electricity and hydrogen (and CO₂), enabling balancing of intermittent renewable power generation. She has also called for an urgent overall delivery of the UK’s hydrogen roadmap to 2030 and beyond.

Her report also notes that whilst government has most of the levers to stimulate a hydrogen economy, there are key areas where industry has a role to play. She recommends that industry should work closely with government in dedicated work groups to help resolve problems and gaps in resource. Industry should also work together with trade associations to evaluate the scale of the economic opportunity of hydrogen, to ensure this is not underestimated.

She also believes industry and government should work together to formulate a wider supply chain strategy that builds on UK strengths, as has been done for the aviation sector. She also notes that an industry-supported delivery workstream on skills is required both to join up industry, government and academia and to ensure that near and long-term skill needs are met within the supply chain strategy.