OPPORTUNITY REPORT:

Clean Hydrogen Electrolysis, Manufacturing, & Recycling Program

Friday, March 17, 2023

Program Summary

Key information at a glance:

Opportunity Title: Bipartisan Infrastructure Law: Clean Hydrogen Electrolysis, Manufacturing, And Recycling
Opportunity Number: DE-FOA-0002922
Agency: Department of Energy (DOE), Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO)
Award Range: $2,000,000-$30,000,000 (See Topic Areas Below)
Cost Match: 20%-50% (See Eligibility Below)
Expected Number of Awards: 45 – 84 (See Topic Areas Below)
Concept Paper Submission Deadline: 4/19/2023 5:00 PM ET
Full Application Submission Deadline: 7/19/2023 5:00 PM ET

Program Overview

On Wednesday (March 15), the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HTFO) released a $750 million Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for clean hydrogen technologies that will address barriers to cost reduction and support emerging commercial-scale deployments. Established by the BIL, this opportunity will provide funding for components, stacks, and systems across a range of electrolyzer technologies (including both low-temperature and high-temperature) and electrolyzer manufacturing processes and equipment. In addition, the FOA will support RD&D of technologies and processes for manufacturing the equipment used in the production, processing, delivery, storage, and use of clean hydrogen.

There are two areas of interest in the FOA. Area of Interest 1 includes three topics that support the goals of the Clean Hydrogen Electrolysis Program to reduce the cost of hydrogen produced using electrolyzers. Area of Interest 2 includes three additional topics to advance clean hydrogen manufacturing technologies, including for medium-duty vehicle (MDV) and heavy-duty vehicle (HDV) fuel cells, and the reuse and recycling of materials and components for clean hydrogen technologies, including both fuel cells and electrolyzers. To ensure the success of these RDD&D activities, HFTO will address vulnerabilities in the supply chain, increase its resilience, and strengthen and diversify the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce supporting hydrogen and fuel cell technologies.

Areas of Interest & Topic Areas

Area of Interest 1: Clean Hydrogen Electrolysis Program

The topics in AOI 1 cover a broad range of electrolyzer technologies, including low-temperature electrolyzers (e.g., liquid alkaline and membrane-based electrolyzers) and high-temperature electrolyzers.

Topic 1: Low Cost, High-Throughput Electrolyzer Manufacturing: Research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) that accelerates manufacturing innovations, so that electrolyzer stack manufacturers can achieve greater economies of scale.

Total Funding Level - $300 million

Anticipated Number of Awards - 6-10

Federal Funding per Award - up to $50 million

Maximum Project Duration - 3 years

Topic 2: Electrolyzer Component and Supply Chain Development: Research and development (R&D) of advanced components critical to accelerate the commercialization of electrolyzers

Total Funding Level - $100 million

Anticipated Number of Awards - 10-20

Federal Funding per Award - up to $10 million

Maximum Project Duration - 4 years

Topic 3: Advanced Electrolyzer Technology and Component Development: R&D that develops materials, components, and designs that are at lower technology readiness levels (TRL) but show promise in achieving long-term cost, performance, and lifetime goals in next generation of electrolyzer technologies.

Total Funding Level - Up to $70 million

Anticipated Number of Awards - 15 to 30

Federal Funding per Award - up to $5 million

Maximum Project Duration - 3 years

Area of Interest 2: Clean Hydrogen Manufacturing and Recycling

The topics in AOI 2 aim to bridge the gap between material and technology development RD&D and technology deployment, supported by ongoing technology assessments and manufacturing cost analysis.

Topic 4: Fuel Cell Membrane Electrode Assembly and Stack Manufacturing and Automation: RD&D that accelerates fuel cell manufacturing innovation and scale-up by enabling diverse fuel cell manufacturer and supplier teams to flexibly address their greatest scale-up challenges and achieve economies of scale in medium- and heavy-duty vehicle (MDV/HDV) and cross-cutting applications.

Total Funding Level - $150 million

Anticipated Number of Awards - 5-7

Federal Funding per Award - $20-$30 million

Maximum Project Duration - 3 years

Topic 5: Fuel Cell Supply Chain Development: R&D to address critical deficiencies in the domestic supply chain for MDV/HDV fuel cell materials and components.

Total Funding Level - $80 million

Anticipated Number of Awards - 8-16

Federal Funding per Award - $5-$10 million

Maximum Project Duration - 2-4 years

Topic 6: Recovery and Recycling Consortium: Establish a single, broad-based nonprofit- or university-led consortium of industry, academia, and national labs to address a range of recovery, recycling, refurbishment, and reuse challenges for fuel cell and electrolyzer stacks and components.

Total Funding Level - $50 million

Anticipated Number of Awards - 1

Federal Funding per Award - up to $50 million

Maximum Project Duration - 5 years

Priorities & Anticipated Outcomes

Awarded funding will contribute to the following HTFO goals:

Improve the efficiency, increase the durability, and reduce the cost of producing clean hydrogen using electrolyzers to less than $2 per kilogram by 2026;
Advance new manufacturing technologies and techniques for clean hydrogen production and use equipment, specifically for electrolyzer and fuel cell technologies; and
Create innovative and practical approaches to increase the reuse and recycling of clean hydrogen and fuel cell technologies.

The FOA highlights the following anticipated outcomes:

Reduced cost of clean hydrogen produced using electrolyzers, measured through specific metrics for stack and system capital cost, efficiency, performance, and durability.
Reduced supply chain vulnerabilities, measured by positive changes in domestic manufacturing capacity and commercial availability of fuel cell and electrolyzer components and stacks.
Improved processes for high-throughput, low-cost manufacturing of electrolyzers and fuel cells, measured in annual manufacturing volumes, line speeds, extent of automation, yield, and cost-effectiveness.
Development of sustainable manufacturing and recycling processes, measured through energy efficiency, cost-effectiveness, use of non-hazardous materials, and recovery rates.
Creation of opportunities for underserved communities and groups, measured through metrics such as new jobs and training resources, partnerships with Minority Serving Institutions and Tribal Nations, engagement with labor organizations, community engagement activities, and other relevant indicators from the R&D Community Benefits Plan.