DOE to grant $24.9 m to advanced clean hydrogen technologies projects

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced $24.9 million in funding for six research and development projects to support the advancement of clean hydrogen for electricity generation.

DOE will partner with private companies to research advanced technology solutions that could make hydrogen a more available and effective fuel for electricity generation. This includes improving capture of carbon dioxide (CO2) associated with hydrogen production from carbon-based resources and technologies to more efficiently use hydrogen in gas turbines for electricity generation.

The six industry-sponsored projects are to fast-track the development of technologies that will improve the performance, reliability, and flexibility of existing and new hydrogen technologies. Electricity generated from clean hydrogen will help in reaching President Biden’s goal of having a zero-carbon American power sector by 2035.

“Across the Department, we’re working to make clean energy sources — like hydrogen — more affordable and accessible to help decarbonize America’s electrical grid and directly combatting climate change,” said U.S. secretary of energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “The public-private partnerships announced today are paving the way for more domestic clean hydrogen production and use to support the President’s plans to combat climate change, accelerate clean energy use, and create good-paying clean energy jobs for Americans.”

Hydrogen is a clean fuel that — when combined with oxygen in a fuel cell — produces electricity with water and heat as by-products.

DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) under the purview of the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) will manage the selected projects:

• 8 Rivers Capital will complete an engineering design study for a new hydrogen production plant that produces 99.97 per cent-pure hydrogen and captures 90–99 per cent of CO2 emissions, which will be transported and stored at Painter Reservoir Gas Complex in Evanston, Wyoming. This project was awarded $1,412,863.
• Gas Technology Institute will study the use of ammonia-hydrogen fuel mixtures in gas turbines to potentially strengthen the use of ammonia as a clean low-carbon fuel for electricity generation. It received $3,000,000.
• General Electric Company will develop and test gas turbine components with natural gas-hydrogen fuel mixtures up to 100 per cent hydrogen, to study and address combustion challenges associated with burning highly reactive hydrogen fuels. Its award amount is $5,986,440.
• General Electric, GE Research will study the operation of hydrogen-fueled turbine components, which could substantially improve gas turbine efficiency for both simple- and combined-cycle power generation applications. It got $6,999,923.
• Raytheon Technologies Research Center will develop and test the effectiveness of natural gas turbine engine components in high-temperature rigs using natural gas-hydrogen fuel mixtures with increasing hydrogen content. Its award amount is $4,499,999.
• Raytheon Technologies Research Center will study, develop, and test an ammonia-fired gas turbine combustor that generates low nitrous oxide emissions, with robust operability and stability for greater than 99.99% efficiency. The project received $2,999,219.

A detailed list of the selected projects can be found here.

The president’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is providing $8 billion for clean hydrogen demonstration and research hubs.