The US government unveiled an important initiative that will unleash an opportunity for hydrogen development. The Biden-Harris Administration released the country’s first National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap – a comprehensive framework for accelerating the production, processing, delivery, storage, and use of clean hydrogen.
The goal of the Roadmap is to enable the building up of a strong hydrogen economy in the US. The targets set up in the future demand scenarios of hydrogen use are: 10 million metric tonnes (MMT) of clean hydrogen domestically produced annually by 2030, 20 MMT annually by 2040, and 50 MMT annually by 2050.
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So far, Biden’s administration has included a $9.5 billion investment for hydrogen hubs, electrolysis program and manufacturing capacities in The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The Inflation Reduction Act also includes a new production tax credit for clean hydrogen.
Achieving commercial-scale deployment of the fuel is a key component of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, and critical to ensuring jobs growth and meeting long-term decarbonization goals.
Developed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), in partnership with other federal agencies, the Strategy and Roadmap underscores the President’s whole-of-government approach to addressing the climate crisis and achieving a carbon-free grid by 2035 and a net-zero emissions economy by 2050.
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There are three key strategies laid out in the Roadmap that include:
- Targeting strategic, high-impact uses for clean hydrogen, which will ensure that clean hydrogen will be utilized in the highest benefit applications, where limited alternatives exist (such as the industrial sector, heavy-duty transportation, and long-duration energy storage to enable a clean grid);
- Reducing the cost of clean hydrogen by catalyzing innovation and scale, stimulating private sector investments, and developing the clean hydrogen supply chain; and
- Focusing on regional networks with large-scale clean hydrogen production and end-use in close proximity, enabling maximum benefit from infrastructure investment, driving scale, and facilitating market liftoff while leveraging place-based opportunities for equity, inclusion, and environmental justice.
“This roadmap will align the private and public sectors on a shared path to drive faster toward a cleaner, more secure energy future,” commented Assistant to the President and National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi.
A draft form for public comment on the U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap was released in September 2022. The final version released on June 5th, 2023 combines feedback from stakeholders in the industry, academia, the non-profit sector, state, local, and Tribal governments and also incorporates findings from DOE’s March 2023 report, Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Clean Hydrogen.
Scaling hydrogen deployment is a critical path, unlocking our net zero future. Currently, hydrogen production from water electrolysis faces efficiency challenges, therefore more effort is needed in addressing these hurdles. If innovation allows for the effective and low-cost production and utilization of clean hydrogen, the fuel has unlimited potential in addressing the world’s needs for zero emissions energy.
