USA – The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced it is offering a total of USD7bn to support the expansion of hydrogen production, as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law signed this year. Up to ten hydrogen projects across the country could be funded, helping to provide a renewable fuel source for heavy industry and heavy-duty transportation. 

Applications for funding are now open until 7 April 2023. The DOE will select between six to ten projects for the production of hydrogen, calling them ‘H2Hubs’. Although the DOE claims that these hubs will produce “clean” hydrogen, the funding is open to all kinds of production methods, including steam reformation of natural gas which produces carbon dioxide as well as hydrogen. Applicants may also use electrolysis to produce hydrogen from water, employing fossil-free energy from wind, solar, or nuclear. Emissions produced from steam reformation can be captured to prevent them from entering the atmosphere, but the DOE has not yet stipulated carbon capture as a requirement for projects of this kind.