DEEE0011309

BIL - Manufacturing Innovations for Scaling Green H2 to Fossil-Parity

Project Objectives Overview

The goal of this project is to develop and pilot an electrolyzer manufacturing process [on a rigid substrate that is fully automated, using plate by plate], stack manufacturing processes that advance the current manufacturing readiness level (MRL) [4/5 to an MRL of 8/9] by the end of the 3-year project.

Ultimately, scaling electrolyzer manufacturing volume to produce 100MW Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolyzer plants while reducing stack cost are the project’s primary objectives.

The project will be managed in three budget periods (BP) with the following BP objectives.

• Budget Period 1 Objectives – Integration of new manufacturing techniques and further optimization of individual processes to validate production capacity and consistency, establishing readiness for integration into the complete manufacturing system.

Selection of [full characterization techniques and fiducials] for subcomponent [tracking].

Establishment of [testing protocols for subcomponents] and [correlation to full-stack] testing.

• Budget Period 2 Objectives – Integration of subcomponent assembly manufacturing processes reducing [cycle time] from [350 min/plate (current) to 90 min/plate/tool and 13 min/plate via parallel processing] while reducing stack cost to [less than $270/KW].

• Budget Period 3 Objectives – Optimize an [automated plate-by-plate] manufacturing process to reduce [cycle time to 7 min/plate], while reducing stack cost to less than $100/KW and advancing the current manufacturing readiness level to [MRL 9] by the end project.

Implement [test protocols] for [rapid prediction] of stack [long-term durability, energy-efficient testing], and [early detection] of [off-spec] subcomponents.

Electric Hydrogen Co

ACHIEVING NET-ZERO EMISSIONS ECONOMY-WIDE BY 2050 POSES PARTICULAR CHALLENGES FOR HARD-TO-DECARBONIZE SECTORS WHERE ELECTRIFICATION WITH CLEAN ELECTRICITY WILL BE TECHNICALLY OR ECONOMICALLY DIFFICULT. THESE SECTORS INCLUDE STEEL MANUFACTURING, MEDIUM- AND HEAVY-DUTY TRANSPORTATION, AND PRODUCTION OF CHEMICALS AND LIQUID FUELS. HYDROGEN AND FUEL CELL TECHNOLOGIES ARE PART OF A COMPREHENSIVE PORTFOLIO OF SOLUTIONS TO ADDRESS THESE CHALLENGES, AND DOE’S H2@SCALE® VISION ILLUSTRATES THE PROMISING PATHWAYS FOR HYDROGEN TO ENABLE THE DECARBONIZATION OF MULTIPLE SECTORS. HYDROGEN IS A UNIQUE AND FLEXIBLE ENERGY CARRIER THAT CAN BE PRODUCED FROM A VARIETY OF CLEAN ENERGY RESOURCES, AND IT CAN COMPLEMENT EXISTING ELECTRICITY AND NATURAL GAS INFRASTRUCTURE FOR MULTIPLE END-USE APPLICATIONS. DOE RECENTLY PUBLISHED THE DRAFT DOE NATIONAL CLEAN HYDROGEN STRATEGY AND ROADMAP, WHICH WAS ALSO REQUIRED UNDER SECTION 40314 OF THE BIL, AS A NEW SECTION 814 OF EPACT 2005. THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS A TECHNOLOGICALLY AND ECONOMICALLY FEASIBLE NATIONAL STRATEGY AND ROADMAP TO FACILITATE WIDESPREAD AND LARGE-SCALE PRODUCTION, PROCESSING, DELIVERY, STORAGE, AND USE OF CLEAN HYDROGEN, IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE H2@SCALE® VISION. THE STRATEGY AND ROADMAP OUTLINES STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITIES TO PRODUCE 10 MILLION METRIC TONS (MMT) OF CLEAN HYDROGEN IN THE UNITED STATES ANNUALLY BY 2030, 20 MMT PER YEAR BY 2040, AND 50 MMT PER YEAR BY 2050. IT INCLUDES THREE KEY STRATEGIES: (1) TARGETING HIGH-IMPACT USES FOR CLEAN HYDROGEN, (2) FOCUSING ON REGIONAL NETWORKS, AND (3) REDUCING THE COST OF CLEAN HYDROGEN. THIS FOA, WHICH WILL BE FUNDED THROUGH APPROPRIATIONS MADE BY THE INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT AND JOBS ACT, PLAYS A CRITICAL ROLE IN THE THIRD STRATEGY—WITH AN EMPHASIS ON REDUCING THE LIFECYCLE COSTS OF TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE PRODUCTION, DISTRIBUTION, STORAGE, DELIVERY, AND USE OF CLEAN HYDROGEN.

81.087 - Renewable Energy Research and Development

Golden Field Office (GFO) [DOE - EERE]

Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) [DOE]

Devens, Massachusetts United States

City-Wide

DE-FOA-0002922