The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is issuing Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) DE-FOA-0002920 on behalf of the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO), which coordinates hydrogen activities with offices across DOE as described in the DOE Hydrogen Program Plan. 1 These activities align with the DOE National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap2 and specific DOE initiatives as described below.
This FOA will support RD&D of affordable hydrogen and fuel cell technologies, as aligned with the vision outlined in DOE’s draft national clean hydrogen strategy and roadmap6 targeting four topics of interest critical to enabling the use of clean hydrogen across sectors, particularly in medium- and heavy-duty (MD/HD) vehicles and other heavy-duty transportation applications. Increased adoption of hydrogen technologies will help achieve economies of scale, drive down costs, and support efforts to reach the Hydrogen Shot goal and to achieve net-zero GHG emissions by 2050.
Hydrogen and fuel cell technologies are part of a comprehensive portfolio of solutions to address the climate crisis and position America as a global leader in clean energy technology and clean energy jobs. Hydrogen is a unique and flexible energy carrier due to diverse domestic options for hydrogen production as well as the broad spectrum of end uses, as shown in the H2@Scale vision illustrated in Figure 1. The versatility of hydrogen offers opportunities to address priorities in the Administration’s clean energy plan through affordable clean hydrogen in strategic, high-impact applications across sectors. Clean hydrogen and fuel cell technologies are especially relevant for use in hard-to-decarbonize sectors of the economy (such as heavy-duty transportation and industrial applications) and to enable long duration energy storage for a clean electric grid. For hydrogen to achieve its potential as an energy carrier, key challenges around affordability, durability, and reliability must still be addressed. Innovations to produce, store, transport, and utilize hydrogen across multiple sectors are key to enabling these cost reductions and performance improvements.
The Hydrogen Shot, announced June 7, 2021, by Energy Secretary Granholm as DOE’s first Energy Earthshot Initiative, sets an ambitious goal for hydrogen cost reduction. Achieving the Hydrogen Shot’s goal to reduce the cost of clean hydrogen by 80% to $1 per 1 kilogram in 1 decade ("1 1 1")7 can unlock a significant increase in markets for hydrogen, including steel manufacturing, clean ammonia, energy storage, and heavy-duty transportation. This would create more clean energy jobs, reduce greenhouse gas and criteria pollutant emissions, increase energy security and resiliency, and position America to compete in the clean energy market on a global scale.
Deadlines:
- Required Concept Papers: Feb. 24, 2023
- Full Applications: April 28, 2023
- Topic 1: Hydrogen Carrier Development
- Topic 2: Onboard Storage Systems for Liquid Hydrogen
- Topic 3: Liquid Hydrogen Transfer/Fueling Components and Systems
- Topic 4: M2FCT: High Performing, Durable Membrane Electrode Assemblies for Medium- and Heavy-duty Applications
An entity may submit more than one Concept Paper and Full Application to this FOA, provided that each application describes a unique, scientifically distinct project and provided that an eligible Concept Paper was submitted for each Full Application.
EERE expects to make a total of approximately $47M of federal funding available for new awards under this FOA, subject to the availability of appropriated funds. EERE anticipates making approximately 14-22 awards under this FOA. EERE may issue one, multiple, or no awards. Individual awards may vary between $1M and $6M.