Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announces a request for proposals for research projects that address the Hydrogen at Scale (H2@Scale) concept, which enables wide-scale production and use of hydrogen to address critical issues such as grid resiliency, energy storage and security, domestic job creation, and domestic leadership in innovation. Through this request from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the DOE’s Fuel Cell Technologies Office (FCTO) seeks to double the impact of its funding in the applied research portion of its portfolio, with a focus on:

  • Techno-economic modeling and analysis
  • Materials compatibility R&D
  • Grid simulation and electrolyzer testing
  • Materials and component manufacturing R&D
  • Development and use of co-products from hydrogen production
  • Performance verification of hydrogen equipment to inform R&D

This request for proposals also seeks to increase industrial and stakeholder engagement in H2@ Scale through investment and leadership of the associated projects.

The H2@ Scale concept aims to develop transformational technologies that reduce the cost of hydrogen production and distribution, diversify the feedstock available for economic hydrogen production, enhance the flexibility of the power grid, reduce emissions through novel uses of low-cost hydrogen, generate jobs, and provide global technology leadership for export of next-generation energy solutions.

The DOE seeks qualified applicants to participate in cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) projects with the H2@ Scale national laboratories consortium (see Figure 1 below). With support from FCTO, within the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, selected project partners will be granted access to H2@ Scale facilities, capabilities, and expertise at DOE national laboratories.

Selected projects must include one or more national laboratories and shall also include partners from one or more of the following: industry, universities, nonprofits, institutes, codes and standards organizations, associations, or other relevant stakeholders. Proposals will be due by September 15, 2017. More information, application requirements, and instructions can be found at FedBizOpps and on the NREL website. The optional topic title, the proposal, and any technical inquiries should be directed to H2atScaleCRADAcall@nrel.gov.

Four pillars of the H2 at Scale Consortium.
Three pillars of the H2 at Scale Consortium.

Figure 1: H2@ Scale Consortium Pillars