The US Department of Energy called for hydrogen projects in January of 2023 and 16 projects in 13 different states won $47.7 million in funding because of the plans they were focused on. These projects all fell within the RD&D bracket which includes research, development and demonstration.

These plans ranged over creating advanced electrode technologies for PEM electrolysers, hydrogen storage and fuel cell technologies. The common aim throughout all the projects was the goal to lower technology costs, enhance hydrogen infrastructure and improve fuel cell performance. The businesses who won also expressed interest in supporting DOE’s plan to reduce costs of hydrogen with the aim of making hydrogen deployable on a commercial scale.

Some of the biggest companies who won included names such as: University of Hawaii at Manoa who are working on a project which focuses on developing high performing and durable membrane electrode assembly (MEA) with new electrode structures and hydrocarbon proton exchange membranes. Another project was from the Colorado School of Mines who are working on solid state-based hydrogen loss recovery during liquid hydrogen transfer. GE Research’s project is looking at developing composite liquid-hydrogen tanks for heavy-duty trucks and aircrafts based in Niskayuna in New York. The University of Southern California was awarded the funding for working on creating chemical hydrogen storage media with value-added co-products. Finally, Louisiana State University to help them enable formate-based hydrogen storage and generation via multi-metallic alloy catalysts.

All of these projects, plus others, are developing what will be extremely valuable assets to the hydrogen industry. It is evident through the funding provided to the projects and the returned aim to help the US DOE with their goals, that funding these projects is another excellent advancement for the hydrogen industry, especially for the hydrogen technology sector.