DOE National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap -- Comments Invited on Draft DEADLINE December 1, 2022

September 27, 2022

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(American Economic Association) Executive Summary: This is an unprecedented time in history for hydrogen with interest being amplified worldwide due to its potential to address the climate crisis as well as energy security and resiliency. Though there are significant challenges, zero and low-carbon hydrogen can be a key part of a comprehensive portfolio of solutions to achieve a sustainable and equitable clean energy future. And the United States is stepping up to accelerate progress through unprecedented investments in clean energy.

In November 2021, Congress passed, and President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law 117-58), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). This historic, once-in-a-generation legislation authorizes and appropriates $62 billion for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), including $9.5 billion for clean hydrogen. Furthermore, in August 2022, the President signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) into law (Public Law 117-169), which provides additional policies and incentives for hydrogen including a production tax credit which will further boost a U.S. market for clean hydrogen.

This draft report sets forth the “DOE National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap.” DOE will elicit stakeholder feedback through opportunities, such as workshops and listening sessions, and use this feedback to finalize the report and then develop updates as required by the BIL.

It provides a snapshot of hydrogen production, transport, storage, and use in the United States today and the opportunity that clean hydrogen could provide in contributing to national goals across sectors. Pathways for clean hydrogen to decarbonize applications are informed by demand scenarios for 2030, 2040, and 2050 – with strategic opportunities for 10 million metric tonnes (MMT) of clean hydrogen annually by 2030, 20 MMT annually by 2040, and 50 MMT annually by 2050. Using clean hydrogen can reduce U.S. emission approximately 10 percent by 2050 relative to 2005, consistent with the U.S. Long-Term climate strategy. These scenarios are based on achieving cost competitiveness to enable demand in specific sectors and where there are fewer alternatives, such as direct electrification or the use of biofuels. As technologies and markets develop, more detailed analyses will be forthcoming in the required updates to this document, including the optimal use of hydrogen in key sectors, avoiding stranded assets by creating demand certainty, and prioritizing energy and environmental justice.

The foundation of this draft roadmap is based on prioritizing three key strategies to ensure that clean hydrogen is developed and adopted as an effective decarbonization tool and for maximum benefits for the United States. DOE will:

(1) Target strategic, high-impact uses for clean hydrogen. This will ensure that clean hydrogen will be utilized in the highest value applications, where limited deep decarbonization alternatives exist. Specific markets include the industrial sector, heavy-duty transportation, and long-duration energy storage to enable a clean grid. Long-term opportunities include the potential for exporting clean hydrogen or hydrogen carriers and enabling energy security for our allies.

(2) Reduce the cost of clean hydrogen. The Hydrogen Energy Earthshot (Hydrogen Shot) launched in 2021 will catalyze both innovation and scale, stimulating private sector investments, spurring development across the hydrogen supply chain, and dramatically reducing the cost of clean hydrogen. Efforts will also address critical material and supply chain vulnerabilities and design for efficiency, durability, and recyclability.

(3) Focus on regional networks. This includes regional clean hydrogen hubs to enable large-scale clean hydrogen production and end-use in proximity, enabling critical mass infrastructure, driving scale, and facilitating market lift off while leveraging place-based opportunities for equity, inclusion, and sustainability. Priorities will include near term impact, creating jobs - including good paying union jobs - and jumpstarting domestic manufacturing and private sector investment.

To implement these strategies, DOE will work with other agencies, as well as with industry, academia, national laboratories, local and Tribal communities, the environmental and justice communities, and numerous stakeholder groups to accelerate progress and market lift off. Effective collaboration and coordination are cornerstones in all of DOE. As provided in this draft roadmap, concrete targets, marketdriven metrics, and tangible actions will accelerate hydrogen’s progress. DOE will continuously track, adjust, and refine its plans. Prioritizing stakeholder engagement will be key to address potential environmental concerns and ensuring equity and justice for overburdened, underserved, and underrepresented individuals and communities. DOE’s focus on achieving the goals set forth in this strategy aim to deliver the maximum benefits of clean hydrogen to the American people and the global community.

Draft strategy: https://www.dropbox.com/s/tsx428lsqgvbpnq/clean-hydrogen-strategy-roadmap.pdf?dl=0

Provide feedback to OCED@hq.doe.gov

Public comments on the draft DOE National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap can be submitted via email to hydrogenfuelcells@ee.doe.gov through December 1, 2022. The document was posted on the DOE website on September 22, 2022, after U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm announced its release—with an invitation for public input—at the Global Clean Energy Action Forum in Pittsburgh.

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There will also be future opportunities for stakeholder feedback as the report will be updated at least every 3 years as required in the BIL. READ MORE

National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap
Table of Contents
Executive Summary................................................................................................................................2
Legislative Language .............................................................................................................................5
Foreword....................................................................................................................................................9
Introduction............................................................................................................................................11
A: National Decarbonization Goals.................................................................................................16
H2@Scale Enabler for Deep Decarbonization..............................................................................19
Hydrogen Production and Use in the United States..................................................................22
Opportunities for Clean Hydrogen to Support Net-Zero ........................................................25
Barriers to Achieving the Benefits of Clean Hydrogen ............................................................35
B: Strategies to Enable the Benefits of Clean Hydrogen .........................................................39
Strategy 1: Target Strategic, High-Impact Uses of Hydrogen ...............................................41
Hydrogen in industrial applications ...............................................................................................42
Hydrogen in transportation ..............................................................................................................45
Power sector applications..................................................................................................................49
Carbon Intensity of Hydrogen Production...................................................................................52
Strategy 2: Reduce the Cost of Clean Hydrogen.........................................................................54
Hydrogen Production Through Water Splitting.........................................................................56
Hydrogen Production from Fossil Fuels with Carbon Capture and Storage......................58
Hydrogen Production from Biomass and Waste Feedstocks .................................................61
Other System Costs ..............................................................................................................................62
Strategy 3: Focus on Regional Networks ......................................................................................64
Regional production potential .........................................................................................................67
Regional storage potential ................................................................................................................69
Regional end-use potential................................................................................................................71
Supporting Each Strategy...................................................................................................................74
C: Guiding Principles and National Actions .................................................................................76
Guiding Principles.................................................................................................................................76
Actions Supporting the National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap.......................79
Actions and Milestones for the Near, Mid, and Long-term....................................................85
Phases of Clean Hydrogen Development......................................................................................90
Collaboration and Coordination ......................................................................................................95
Conclusion...............................................................................................................................................99
Acknowledgments..............................................................................................................................100
List of key figures ...............................................................................................................................102
Glossary of Acronyms .......................................................................................................................104
References.............................................................................................................................................107

DOE releases draft clean hydrogen production standard (Ethanol Producer Magazine)

Biden-Harris Administration Releases First-Ever National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap to Build a Clean Energy Future, Accelerate American Manufacturing Boom (U.S. Department of Energy)

Excerpt from Ethanol Producer Magazine: Development of the draft guidance is required by the Infrastructure Investment Act. That legislation, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, was signed by President Joe Biden in November 2021. The law, in part, directs the DOE to develop an initial standard for the carbon intensity of clean hydrogen production. The standard is to support clean hydrogen production from a variety of sources, including fossil fuels with carbon capture utilization and sequestration; hydrogen carrier fuels, including ethanol and methanol; renewable energy resources, including biomass, nuclear energy; and any other methods the agency determines to be appropriate.

The BIL defines the term “clean hydrogen” to mean hydrogen produced with a carbon intensity equal to or less than 2 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent produced at the site of production per kilogram of hydrogen produced. The law also requires the DOE to take into consideration technological and economic feasibility when developing the draft guidance.

The draft guidance issued by DOE contains the initial proposal for the CHPS. The DOE is set to publish a notice of availability of draft guidance in the Federal Register on Sept. 28. A prepublication version of the draft guidance indicates public comments will be accepted through Oct. 20.

According to the DOE, the lifecycle target proposed in the draft guidance aligns with Section 13204 of the recently signed Inflation Reduction Act, which creates a new 10-year production tax credit for qualified clean hydrogen. To qualify for a credit under the IRA, hydrogen must be produced “through a process that results in a lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions rate of not greater than 4 kilograms of CO2e per kilogram of hydrogen,” according to the DOE’s draft guidance. The proposed CHPS established under the BIL uses the same lifecycle analysis system boundary as the IRA and targets the emissions rate where operators can begin to qualify for credits, according to the DOE, which creates alignment between the two statutory targets.

In the draft guidance, the DOE proposes that the CHPS establish an initial target for lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of 4 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent per kilogram of hydrogen (kgCO2e/kgH2). The agency said this initial target is being proposed to encourage low-carbon hydrogen production from diverse feedstocks and using state-of-the art technologies that are expected to be deployable at scale today.

According to the DOE, certain biomass-based systems, such as gasification or reforming of renewable natural gas (RNG), are among the technologies generally expected to be capable of achieving 4 kgCO2e/kgH2 on a lifecycle basis using technologies that are commercially deployable today. The draft guidance also indicates that biomass gasification or RNG reforming are also among the technologies that could achieve emissions lower than the 4 kgCO2e/kgH2 target through optimized design choices, such as the use of greater shares of clean electricity and low-carbon forms of biomass.

In the draft guidance, the DOE notes that the proposed target of 4 kgCO2e/kgH2 may be subject to revision based on stakeholder feedback. Feedback gathered through the public comment will be considered as the agency finalizes guidance establishing the CHPS. The DOE also said that the CHPS may be subject to revision with five years, as required by the BIL. Data from demonstration and deployment projects will inform future revisions, according to the agency.

A prepublication version of the draft guidance is available on the Federal Register website, while the draft guidance document can be downloaded from the DOE website. READ MORE