The US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) announced on November 16, 2023 its intention to issue, on behalf of the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office, a funding opportunity announcement (FOA) that is expected to focus on advancing fueling infrastructure for heavy-duty (HD) vehicles and other HD transportation applications and addressing key challenges to siting, permitting, and installation.
This announcement comes just weeks after DOE announced the selection of seven regional hydrogen hubs, which funded activities under this anticipated FOA is expected to support.
The anticipated FOA is expected to accelerate the research, development, demonstration, and deployment (RDD&D) of affordable clean-hydrogen technologies and marks further progression toward the Biden administration’s goal of carbon pollution-free electricity by 2035 and net-zero emissions by 2050.
It advances a plethora of government initiatives, including the U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap, U.S. National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization, DOE’s Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs (H2Hubs) Program, the H2@Scale Initiative, and DOE’s Hydrogen Shot goal.
In addition, the anticipated FOA would further efforts advanced by other funding opportunities that were issued in early 2023 (discussed here and here) to support the development of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies, including those critical to enabling the use of clean hydrogen in medium-duty (MD) and HD transportation applications.
EERE states that the FOA may include four areas of interest (outlined below) that are critical to reducing the cost and improving the performance of hydrogen infrastructure while streamlining and improving processes essential to the efficient, timely, and equitable deployment of clean hydrogen technologies.
Topic 1: Components for Hydrogen Fueling of Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles
This topic is expected to seek activities to develop advanced components that enable gaseous and/or liquid hydrogen fueling at refueling stations for MD/HD vehicles. Current technologies cannot provide the targeted average flow rates of 10 kg H2/minute with peak capability of at least 18 kg H2/minute over a 100 kg H2 fill. This topic may include RD&D of high-flow components for fueling MD/HD vehicles and enabling low-loss, large-scale hydrogen delivery for MD/HD fueling facilities.
Topic 2: Standardized Hydrogen Refueling Station of the Future
This topic is expected to seek projects to develop and demonstrate a low-cost, standardized, reliable, replicable, and scalable hydrogen fueling station. Desired projects would balance the costs of construction and operation with key station attributes and performance indicators, such as fill time, station reliability, up-time, overall hydrogen capacity, and flexibility to accommodate varying fueling speeds for diverse vehicles requirements.
Topic 3: Enabling Permitting and Safety for Hydrogen Deployment
This topic is expected to seek proposals that will help determine the primary challenges to siting, permitting, and installation across the value chain from hydrogen production through end use and help identify opportunities to address them. This is key as variations in permitting requirements from local, state, and regional jurisdictions across the United States may create significant obstacles in deploying hydrogen infrastructure.
Topic 4: Equitable Hydrogen Technology Community Engagement
This topic is expected to solicit proposals to design and implement community engagement activities focused on understanding community concerns and educating communities about hydrogen technologies. While hydrogen technologies provide many benefits, including improved resiliency, emissions reductions, improved air quality, and economic opportunities, potential negative impacts can include increased water use, NOx emissions, and land-use impacts from storage installations.
Next Steps
EERE plans to issue the anticipated FOA in December 2023 or January 2024. Financial assistance awards are anticipated to be awarded in the form of cooperative agreements. The estimated period of performance for each award is approximately 24 to 36 months for Topics 1, 3, and 4 and up to 48 months for Topic 2.
As with other funding opportunities, DOE encourages applicant teams that include stakeholders within academia, industry, and national laboratories across multiple technical disciplines as well as representation from diverse entities.
In addition to advancing the RDD&D of clean hydrogen and fuel cell technologies, projects funded under the anticipated FOA would support the development of much-needed hydrogen infrastructure in the United States. Several of the regional hydrogen hubs that recently received selection notifications have significant plans for hydrogen infrastructure, including hydrogen refueling stations and truck stops that are essential for the widespread deployment of MD/HD trucks and buses.
Law clerk Erin McClelland contributed to this blog post.