US government funds 52 hydrogen projects

According to the Department of Energy (DOE) announcement, these projects are expected to create annual US production capacity for 14 gigawatts of fuel cells and 10 gigawatts of electrolysers – “enough to power 15 percent of medium- and heavy-duty trucks sold each year and produce 1.3 million tonnes of clean hydrogen per year”. This will also create over 1,500 jobs in future-proof sectors.

“Advancing zero or near-zero emissions clean hydrogen is a key component of President Biden’s plan to tackle the climate crisis, create good-paying jobs across the nation, and strengthen America’s manufacturing and industrial competitiveness,” the announcement states. US Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm added: “The projects announced today—funded by the President’s Investing in America agenda—will supercharge our progress and ensure our leadership in clean hydrogen will be felt across the nation for generations to come.”

The recipients of the funding in the area of fuel cell production are Ballard Power Systems, General Motors, Nuvera Fuel Cells, Plug Power and Bosch. As reported, Ballard plans to build a new plant in Texas and will receive 40 million dollars from Washington for an innovative, automated stack assembly and a flexible production line for graphite bipolar plates.

Nuvera intends to use the 30 million dollars in funding to drive forward the development of its “high-volume production process for its next-generation fuel cell stack technology”. Plug Power says it is involved in no fewer than nine funded projects, three as the project’s main partner and six as a sub-partner. Other well-known companies include Nel Hydrogen, Thyssenkrupp Nucera, Cummins and the German mechanical engineering company Saueressig.

energy.gov (announcement), energy.gov (overview), nuvera.com, plugpower.com