Dive Brief:

• The U.S. Department of Energy will dedicate half of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s $1.5 billion for clean hydrogen to advances in electrolysis and hydrogen fuel cell technology, according to a Friday press release.

• Most of the money, which the DOE plans to disperse following a future funding announcement, should go to developing a supply chain for electrolyzer and fuel cell manufacturing, according to the department’s notice of intent.

• The DOE is looking to assemble a list of parties that are interested in forming partnerships and teams to apply for the funds.

Dive Insight:

Solar and energy storage have previously been areas where the U.S. is looking to build out manufacturing supply chains.

According to a Friday announcement from the U.S. Department of Energy, the Biden-Harris Administration plans to dedicate about $750 million set aside by the infrastructure spending signed into law in 2021 by President Joe Biden for projects that would build out supply chains for electrolyzer and hydrogen fuel cell manufacturing.

Although DOE has not yet opened applications for funding, the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy is gauging interest from parties that may be interested in joining cooperative teams to develop proposals for funding.

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said the initiative will help scale up and reduce the cost of clean hydrogen production, a “versatile fuel” necessary for the transition to clean energy.

Friday’s notice outlined six areas of interest to the DOE. Projects intended to demonstrate new lower-cost electrolysis technologies are of particular interest. Projects related to building a domestic supply chain, developing new manufacturing processes or new electrolyzer and fuel cell components also made the list.

And the DOE is interested in the tail end of the supply chain and hopes to launch a consortium to research electrolyzer and fuel cell disposal and recycling.

The DOE plans to issue a formal funding opportunity announcement in February.