US DOE releases national clean hydrogen strategy and roadmap

The US Department of Energy (DOE) released the US National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap, a framework for accelerating the production, processing, delivery, storage, and use of clean hydrogen. The document explores opportunities for clean hydrogen to contribute to national decarbonization goals across multiple sectors of the economy.

The Strategy and Roadmap provides a snapshot of hydrogen production, transport, storage, and use in the United States today and a vision for how clean hydrogen will contribute to national decarbonization goals across multiple sectors in the future. It examines future demand scenarios—with strategic opportunities for the domestic production of 10 million metric tonnes (MMT) of clean hydrogen annually by 2030, 20 MMT annually by 2040, and 50 MMT annually by 2050.

Deployments of clean hydrogen to decarbonize industry, transportation, and the power grid can enable 10 MMT/year of demand by 2030, ~20 MMT/year of demand by 2040, and ~50 MMT in 2050. Source: DOE.

It also complements the massive $9.5-billion investment for clean hydrogen through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, ongoing research and development efforts across the federal government, as well as strong policy incentives—including a new production tax credit for clean hydrogen—in the Inflation Reduction Act.

The Strategy and Roadmap identifies three key strategies to ensure that clean hydrogen is developed and adopted as an effective decarbonization tool, including:

• 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.

To ensure the US National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap addresses the needs and incorporates input from the broadest possible array of hydrogen stakeholders, it was released in draft form for public comment in September 2022. The final version released reflects feedback from across the Administration, stakeholders in industry, academia, and the non-profit sector, as well as state, local, and Tribal governments. It also incorporates findings from DOE’s March 2023 report, Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Clean Hydrogen.

Given the rapidly evolving market, technology, and policy environment as well as community needs and engagement, the Strategy and Roadmap was designed to be a “living document” and will be updated at least every three years.