Table of Contents
Executive Summary……………………………………………………………………………………………..………….. 1
Legislative Language…………………………………………………………………………………………………..…….. 3
Foreword…………………………………………………………………………………..………………………………………….. 5
Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………………..………….. 6
A: National Decarbonization Goals ………………………………………………………………….……..………… 10
H2@Scale Enabler for Deep Decarbonization ……………………………………………..……………..………….. 12
Hydrogen Production and Use in the United States……………………..…………………………..………….. 14
Opportunities for Clean Hydrogen to Support Net-Zero…..…………………………………..………….. 17
Challenges to Achieving the Benefits of Clean Hydrogen…..…………………………………..………….. 24
B: Strategies to Enable the Benefits of Clean Hydrogen ……..…………………………………………… 27
Strategy 1: Target Strategic, High-Impact Uses of Clean Hydrogen ………………………………..……… 29
Clean hydrogen in industrial applications……………………………..…………………………………..……… 29
Clean hydrogen in transportation ……………………………..……………………….………………………………..……… 32
Power sector applications ……………………………..………………………………………….…..…………………………… 34
Carbon Intensity of Hydrogen Production……………………………..…………………………………..……… 36
Strategy 2: Reduce the Cost of Clean Hydrogen ……………………………..…………………………………..……… 39
Hydrogen Production Through Water Splitting ……………………………..…………………………………..……… 40
Hydrogen Production from Fossil Fuels with Carbon Capture and Storage .……………………..……… 42
Hydrogen Production from Biomass and Waste Feedstocks ……………………….…………………..……… 45
Other System Costs ……………………………..……………………………………………………………………………………… 45
Strategy 3: Focus on Regional Networks ……………………………..……………………………………………..……… 48
Regional production potential……………………………..………………………………………………………..……… 50
Regional storage potential ……………………………..…………………………………………………………………..……… 52
Regional end-use potential ……………………………..…………………………………………………………………..……… 54
Supporting Each Strategy ……………………………..…………………………………………………………………..……… 56
C: Guiding Principles and National Actions ………………………………………………………………..……… 58
Guiding Principles ……………………………..……………………………………..…………………………..…………..……… 58
Actions Supporting the U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap..………………… 61
Actions and Milestones for the Near, Mid, and Long-term……………………………..…….……………… 68
Phases of Clean Hydrogen Development ……………………………..…………………………………..………………… 73
Collaboration and Coordination ……………………………..……………………………………..………………………… 77
Conclusion ……………………………..……………………………………..………………………………………………….……… 80
Acknowledgments ……………………………..……………………………………………………………..……..………..……… 81
Glossary of Acronyms……………………………..……………………………………..…………….……………..……… 82
References ……………………………..……………………………………..…………………………………..…..………………… 83
Appendix A ……………………………..……………………………………..………………………………………………….……… 95

1

Executive Summary
Given its potential to help address the climate crisis,enhance energy security and resilience, and create
economic value, interest in producing and using
clean hydrogen is intensifying both in the UnitedStates and abroad. Zero- and low-carbon hydrogen isa key part of a comprehensive portfolio of solutions
to achieve a sustainable and equitable clean energy
future. The United States is stepping up to accelerate
progress through historic investments in cleanhydrogen production, midstream infrastructure, andstrategically targeted research, development,
demonstration, and deployment (RDD&D) in thiscritical technology.
In November 2021, Congress passed, and President
Joseph R. Biden, Jr. signed into law the Infrastructure
Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law 117-58), also
known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). Thishistoric, once-in-a-generation legislation authorizes
and appropriates $62 billion for the U.S. Departmentof Energy (DOE), including $9.5 billion for cleanhydrogen. Furthermore, in August 2022, President
Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) intolaw (Public Law 117-169), which provides additional
policies and incentives for hydrogen including a
production tax credit that has further boosted a U.S.
market for clean hydrogen.

This report sets forth the “U.S. National Clean
Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap.” The report
was informed by extensive industry and stakeholder
feedback including workshops and listening sessions,written comments from more than 50 organizations,and ongoing engagement. In addition, this roadmap
sets forth an all of government approach to cleanhydrogen, with contributions across multiple
agencies as well as key experts in the Executive Officeof the President. This inclusive and collaborative
approach is critical to the success of this expansive
technology.
The report is meant to be a living strategy thatprovides a snapshot of hydrogen production,transport, storage, and use in the United States
today, as well as an assessment of the opportunity
for hydrogen to contribute to national
decarbonization goals across sectors over the next 30
years. The report will continue to be updated withcollaboration across government throughinteragency coordination.
Pathways for clean hydrogen to decarbonize
applications are informed by demand scenarios for2030, 2040, and 2050 with strategic opportunities for
10 million metric tonnes (MMT) of clean hydrogenannually by 2030, 20 MMT annually by 2040, and 50
MMT annually by 2050. These values are based not
only the opportunity for clean hydrogen productionin the U.S., but on demand for clean hydrogen use
across sectors, informed by achieving market
competitiveness in specific applications. Using cleanhydrogen can reduce U.S. emissions approximately
10 percent by 2050 relative to 2005,1 consistent with
the U.S. Long-Term Climate Strategy.2 Third party
analysis in DOE’s Pathways to Commercial Liftoff
report estimates that by 2030, the hydrogen
economy could also result in 100,000 net new direct
and indirect jobs due to the build-out of new capitalprojects and clean hydrogen infrastructure. Thesejobs include both direct jobs like engineering andconstruction, and indirect jobs like manufacturing
and raw material supply chains.3

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

1Realizing these opportunities for clean hydrogen will
require lower cost of production, the buildout of
midstream infrastructure, and increased hydrogen
demand in specific sectors where there are fewer
cost-competitive or technically feasible alternatives
for decarbonization. As hydrogen technologies
improve and costs fall, we will update this report withanalyses assessing the economically andenvironmentally optimal use of hydrogen in key
sectors, the evolving landscape of production
announcements and offtake contracts, how project
developers are prioritizing energy and environmental
justice, and other related developments.
This roadmap is based on prioritizing three key
strategies to ensure that clean hydrogen isdeveloped and adopted as an effective
decarbonization tool for maximum benefit to theUnited States:(1) Target strategic, high-impact uses for cleanhydrogen. This will ensure that clean hydrogen
will be utilized in the highest value applications,where limited deep decarbonization alternatives
exist. Specific markets include the industrial sector(e.g., chemicals, steel and refining), heavy-dutytransportation, and long-duration energy storage
to enable a clean grid. Additional longer-term
opportunities include the potential for exporting
clean hydrogen or hydrogen carriers and enablingenergy security for our allies.
(2) Reduce the cost of clean hydrogen. The
Hydrogen Energy Earthshot (Hydrogen Shot)launched in 2021 will catalyze both innovationand scale, stimulating private sector investments,
spurring development across the hydrogen
supply chain, and dramatically reducing the costof clean hydrogen. Efforts will also address criticalmaterial and supply chain vulnerabilities anddesign for efficiency, durability, and recyclability.
Together with investment in midstream
infrastructure (storage, distribution), these
initiatives can reduce not only the production
cost, but also the delivered cost, of cleanhydrogen.

(3) Focus on regional networks. Investing in andscaling Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs will enablelarge-scale clean hydrogen production close tohigh priority hydrogen users, allowing the sharingof a critical mass of infrastructure. Also, theseinvestments will drive scale in production,
distribution, and storage to facilitate market
liftoff. Properly implemented, these regional
networks will create place-based opportunities forequity, inclusion, and sustainability. Priorities will
include reducing environmental impacts, creatingjobs – including good-paying union jobs –securing long-term offtake contracts andjumpstarting domestic manufacturing and private
sector investment.
While Congress required the U.S. Department ofEnergy (DOE) to develop this national strategy androadmap, activities will include collaboration
across multiple federal agencies including the U.S.
Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense,
Energy, Interior, Labor, State, Transportation, andTreasury, the Environmental Protection Agency, theNational Aeronautics and Space Administration, theNational Science Foundation, and the Office of
Science and Technology Policy, in close coordination
with the Executive Office of the President.
Federal agencies will also collaborate withindustry, academia, national laboratories, local andTribal communities, the energy and environmental
and justice communities, labor unions, and numerous
stakeholder groups to accelerate progress andmarket liftoff. This roadmap establishes concretetargets, market-driven metrics, and tangible actions
to measure success across sectors. Prioritizing
community engagement and use of community
benefits plans will also be key to address potential
environmental concerns and ensure equity andjustice for overburdened, underserved, andunderrepresented individuals and communities. The
goals set forth in this strategy aim to deliver the
maximum benefits of clean hydrogen to theAmerican people and the global community.

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

2Legislative Language
This report responds to the legislative language set
forth in Section 40314 of the Infrastructure
Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law 117-58), also
known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law,
specifically that which amends Title VIII of the Energy
Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT-2005) by adding Section
814 - National Clean Hydrogen Strategy andRoadmap. Section 814 states:(A) DEVELOPMENT.—(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the programs
established under sections 805 and 813, theSecretary, in consultation with the heads of relevant
offices of the Department, shall develop atechnologically and economically feasible national
strategy and roadmap to facilitate widescale
production, processing, delivery, storage, and useof clean hydrogen.
(2) INCLUSIONS.—The national clean hydrogenstrategy and roadmap developed under paragraph(1) shall focus on—(a) establishing a standard of hydrogenproduction that achieves the standard developed
under section 822(a), including interim goals
towards meeting that standard;(b)(i) clean hydrogen production and use fromnatural gas, coal, renewable energy sources,
nuclear energy, and biomass; and(ii) identifying potential barriers, pathways, andopportunities, including Federal policy needs, totransition to a clean hydrogen economy;(c) identifying—(i) economic opportunities for the production,
processing, transport, storage, and use of cleanhydrogen that exist in the major shale natural
gas-producing regions of the United States;(ii) economic opportunities for the production,
processing, transport, storage, and use of cleanhydrogen that exist for merchant nuclear power
plants operating in deregulated markets; and(iii) environmental risks associated withpotential deployment of clean hydrogentechnologies in those regions, and ways tomitigate those risks;(d) approaches, including sub-strategies, thatreflect geographic diversity across the country, toadvance clean hydrogen based on resources,industry sectors, environmental benefits, andeconomic impacts in regional economies;(e) identifying opportunities to use, and barriers
to using, existing infrastructure, including allcomponents of the natural gas infrastructure
system, the carbon dioxide pipeline infrastructure
system, end-use local distribution networks, enduse power generators, LNG terminals, and otherusers of natural gas, for clean hydrogen
deployment;(f) identifying the needs for and barriers andpathways to developing clean hydrogen hubs(including, where appropriate, clean hydrogenhubs coupled with carbon capture, utilization, andstorage hubs) that—(i) are regionally dispersed across the UnitedStates and can leverage natural gas to the
maximum extent practicable;(ii) can demonstrate the efficient production,
processing, delivery, and use of clean hydrogen;(iii) include transportation corridors and modesof transportation, including transportation ofclean hydrogen by pipeline and rail andthrough ports; and(iv) where appropriate, could serve as joint
clean hydrogen and carbon capture, utilization,and storage hubs;(g) prioritizing activities that improve the abilityof the Department to develop tools to model,
analyze, and optimize single-input, multipleoutput integrated hybrid energy systems andmultiple-input, multiple-output integrated hybrid
energy systems that maximize efficiency inproviding hydrogen, high-value heat, electricity,and chemical synthesis services;

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

3(h) identifying the appropriate points ofinteraction between and among Federal agencies
involved in the production, processing, delivery,storage, and use of clean hydrogen and clarifying
the responsibilities of those Federal agencies, andpotential regulatory obstacles andrecommendations for modifications, in order tosupport the deployment of clean hydrogen; and(i) identifying geographic zones or regions inwhich clean hydrogen technologies could
efficiently and economically be introduced inorder to transition existing infrastructure to rely
on clean hydrogen, in support of decarbonizing
all relevant sectors of the economy.

(B) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after thedate of enactment of the Infrastructure Investment
and Jobs Act, the Secretary shall submit toCongress the clean hydrogen strategy androadmap developed under subsection (a).
(2) UPDATES.—The Secretary shall submit toCongress updates to the clean hydrogen strategy
and roadmap under paragraph (1) not lessfrequently than once every 3 years after the date on
which the Secretary initially submits the report androadmap.”

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

4Foreword
More than half a century ago, the U.S. moonshot
initiative put the first human beings on the moon,using hydrogen as a fuel for rocket propulsion andAmerican-made fuel cells on-board the spacecraft.
Since then, the Nation has continued to be a world
leader in hydrogen and fuel cells. Federal agencies
including the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration ; the U.S. Departments of Commerce,
Defense, Energy, and Transportation; theEnvironmental Protection Agency; and others have all
had decades of activities related to hydrogentechnologies. Investments from government
agencies, such as the U.S. Department of Energy(DOE) have resulted in more than 1,200 hydrogenand fuel cell patents, 30 commercial technologies,
and more than 65 technologies that could becommercial within the next several years.4 RDD&D
funded by government with private sector cost sharehas slashed the cost of hydrogen and fuel cell
technologies and resulted in thousands ofcommercially available systems in the market such as
forklifts, stationary power units, and electrolyzer
systems. Building off the moonshot and in response
to President Biden’s request to the Secretary ofEnergy to accelerate progress towards meeting the
Nation’s climate goals, DOE launched Hydrogen
Shot with a bold and ambitious goal of “1 1 1”—$1
per 1 kilogram of clean hydrogen in 1 decade—to
unlock the potential for hydrogen across sectors.5
Accelerating the pace and scale of innovation intandem with rapid, private sector uptake of cleanhydrogen technologies, is now critical to meet thegoals set forth in this national strategy.
If clean hydrogen is scaled globally, the hydrogen
industry has projected the potential for $2.5 trillion in
annual revenues and 30 million jobs globally, alongwith 20 percent global emissions reductions by
2050.6 The United States already produces more than
10 percent of the global hydrogen supply and plays
an important role in developing the global hydrogen
economy.7 The recent DOE Report, Pathways toCommercial Liftoff: Clean Hydrogen, describedseveral future U.S. market scenarios, emphasizing thatthe industrial sector would drive growth through2030 and that availability of infrastructure would
serve as a key inflection point.3 Modeling within the
Liftoff report also indicated that electrolysis has
strong potential for growth as a means of hydrogenproduction, and large-scale growth in electrolysis
would create demand for other clean energy
resources. For example, if over 90 percent ofhydrogen is produced via electrolyis, in 2030, thisproduction could require up to 200 GW of new
renewables or use of about 50-70 GW of nuclear
power.8 The country can strengthen its energy
leadership, create significant new investment and job
opportunities, and help the world decarbonize byadvancing and harnessing hydrogen technologies ina sustainable, competitive, and equitable manner. The
Nation is in a unique position to lead, given its
research, development, and deployment prowess,along with abundant supplies,of energy resources
including renewables, nuclear, fossil, waste, and othercarbon-based resources coupled with carbon captureand sequestration.
Historic investments through the Bipartisan
Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act andthe creation of this national strategy and roadmap forclean hydrogen are spurring momentum towards
achieving the benefits of clean hydrogen.
Acceleration is key to meeting our climate goals.
However, this must be done in a strategic andholistic way, taking into consideration the potential
role of hydrogen within a portfolio of solutions totackle the climate crisis. Deployments depend on anunderstanding of optimal geographic regions wherehydrogen may be most advantageous from an overall
emissions, resilience, equity, and sustainability
perspective.
This roadmap is one of the early steps in the processof acceleration. It is only the beginning and will set
the stage for further updates and refinements as
required in the BIL enactment, no less frequently thanevery three years.

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

5Introduction
The 2020s is a decisive decade for the world toconfront climate change and avoid the worst andirreversible impacts of the crisis by keeping the goalof a 1.5-degree Celsius limit on global averagetemperature rise within reach.9 The Biden-Harris
Administration has established ambitious goals to
reduce greenhouse gas pollution from 2005 levels by
50 to 52 percent in 2030 under the Paris Agreement,
create a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035,
and reach net-zero emissions no later than 2050.10,11
The White House also launched the landmark, firstof-its-kind Justice40 Initiative, which pledges that atleast 40 percent of overall benefits from Federal
investments in climate and clean energy be delivered
to disadvantaged communities.12 Many vitalhydrogen programs moving forward, including DOE’s
Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs Program, and the
Clean Hydrogen Manufacturing and Recycling
Research, Development and Demonstration Program,are included in the Justice40 Initiative.13 In addition,
President Biden signed Executive Order 14025
declaring it the policy of the Administration “toencourage worker organizing and collective
bargaining.” This is in response to the steady decline
in union density in the United States, the loss ofworker power and voice in workplaces andcommunities across the country, and the resulting
consequences for American workers and theeconomy, including weakening and shrinking
America’s middle class. Hydrogen is an opportunity
to support a skilled workforce and union jobs acrossa range of sectors, including new opportunities forworkers transitioning from fossil energy employment
and for individuals denied access to high-quality
employment.
Hydrogen is one part of a comprehensive portfolio ofenergy technologies that can support the Nation’stransition to net-zero while leveraging regional
resources and creating equitable and sustainablegrowth. The development and use of hydrogentechnologies will take into consideration multiple
supply chain pathways across sectors for the mostefficient, affordable, and sustainable market

adoption. Sectors that are difficult to decarbonize
with traditional approaches are expected to become
priority markets for clean hydrogen, such as
chemicals manufacturing, steel production, heavyduty transportation, and production of liquid fuels.
Hydrogen is also seen as an enabling technology—
enabling renewables through long-duration energy
storage and offering flexibility and multiple revenue
streams to clean power generation such as today’s
nuclear fleet as well as advanced nuclear and other
innovative technologies.

The U.S. National Clean Hydrogen
Strategy and Roadmap aligns with
the Administration’s goals,
including:(1) A 50% to 52% reduction in U.S. GHG emissions
from 2005 levels by 2030
(2) 100% carbon pollution-free electricity by 2035
(3) Net zero GHG emissions no later than 2050
(4) 40% of the benefits of Federal climate
investments are delivered to disadvantaged
communities.
To unlock the market potential for clean hydrogen,
DOE launched the Hydrogen Energy Earthshot(Hydrogen Shot)5 in June 2021, to reduce the cost ofclean hydrogen by 80 percent to $1 per 1 kilogram in
1 decade (“1 1 1”). The Hydrogen Shot is the first of
DOE’s Energy Earthshots, which aim to accelerate
breakthroughs of more abundant, affordable, andreliable clean energy solutions within the decade
while creating good-paying union jobs and growing
the economy.

Building on this momentum, the Infrastructure
Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

6Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), was signed byPresident Biden on November 15, 2021, making a
once-in-a-generation investment in the Nation’s
infrastructure and competitiveness to deliver a more
equitable clean energy future for the American
people.14 Major investments made by the BIL will
accelerate progress toward the Hydrogen Shot andstimulate new markets for clean hydrogen. These
investments and initiatives include:• $1 billion for a Clean Hydrogen Electrolysis
Program15: This program will improve theefficiency and cost-effectiveness of electrolysis
technologies by supporting the entire innovation
chain—from research, development, anddemonstration to commercialization anddeployment to enable $2/kg clean hydrogen fromelectrolysis by 2026. Falling electrolyzer capital
expenditures (capex) will be an essential driver of
early cost-downs for clean hydrogen production
via electrolysis.
• $500 million for Clean Hydrogen
Manufacturing and Recycling RDD&D
Activities16: This effort will also support American
manufacturing of clean hydrogen equipment,
including projects that improve efficiency andcost-effectiveness and support domestic supply
chains for key components.
• $8 billion for Regional Clean Hydrogen
Hubs17: This provision enables the demonstrationand development of networks of clean hydrogenproducers, potential consumers, and connective
infrastructure. These hubs will advance theproduction, processing, delivery, storage, and enduse of clean hydrogen, enabling sustainable andequitable regional benefits as well as market
uptake. Full applications for the Regional Clean
Hydrogen Hubs funding announcement were due
April 7th, 2023, and the selection notifications are
expected in Fall 2023.18• Clean Hydrogen Production Standard19: This
provision calls for the development of a cleanhydrogen production standard that is to be apoint of reference for specified programs underthe BIL. The Clean Hydrogen Production Standard
serves as a guide to actions DOE takes under Title

VIII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 including theRegional Clean Hydrogen Hubs, which directs DOE
to select projects that “demonstrably aid theachievement” of the standard, and the Clean
Hydrogen Research and Development Program,which directs DOE to establish a series oftechnology cost goals oriented toward achieving
the standard.
• National Clean Hydrogen Strategy andRoadmap20: This provision requires DOE todevelop a technologically and economicallyfeasible national strategy and roadmap to facilitate
widescale production, processing, delivery,storage, and use of clean hydrogen, within 180
days of the enactment of the BIL and to be
updated every three years after that.
In addition to the BIL provisions above, IRA, signed
into law in August 2022, provides a Hydrogen
Production Tax Credit (PTC) that will further
incentivize the production of clean hydrogen in the
U.S.21 IRA also supports the development of demand
sectors for clean hydrogen through additional
programs, including:• Grants and loans for auto manufacturing facilities
to manufacture clean vehicles, including fuel cellelectric vehicles (FCEVs);22• Grants for industrial demonstration projects,
including hydrogen technologies for the industrial
sector;23• Loans to help retool, repower, repurpose, or
replace energy infrastructure to avoid, reduce,
utilize, or sequester air pollutants oranthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases; 24• Competitive tax credits for facilities that
manufacture hydrogen and fuel cell technologies,
including fuel cell vehicles and fuelinginfrastructure;25• A tax credit for producing sustainable aviation
fuels26 and a technology-neutral tax credit for

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

7

clean fuels,27 which can include hydrogenfeedstock in the production process;• Grants to reduce emissions at ports, which could
fund deployments of fuel cells;28,29• Grants for clean heavy-duty vehicles, including
FCEVs;30 and• Incentives for the deployment of carbon dioxide
capture, utilization, and storage.31
The U.S. National Clean Hydrogen
Strategy Vision: “Affordable cleanhydrogen for a net-zero carbon
future and a sustainable, resilient,and equitable economy.”
DOE prepared this U.S. National Clean Hydrogen
Strategy and Roadmap by collaborating with other
Federal agencies and other stakeholders to identify
key actions the Nation should take to enablesuccessful market adoption of clean hydrogentechnologies in support of a net-zero GHG emission
economy by 2050.
The roadmap builds on three decades of DOE
strategy, in collaboration with other agencies, thathas guided funding to National Laboratories,
industry, and academia toward research,development, demonstration, and deployment(RDD&D) activities that have enabled thecommercialization of hydrogen and fuel cell
technologies. The Department’s 2020 Hydrogen
Program Plan32 described its strategy for coordinated
RDD&D activities that enable the adoption ofhydrogen technologies across multiple applications
and sectors. The U.S. national strategy and roadmap
are informed by DOE’s Hydrogen Program Plan,
activities across agencies, multiple analysis activities,
and the industry-led U.S. hydrogen roadmap
published in 202033 and further builds upon tools,
models, and prior work by diverse stakeholders toevaluate the growth potential and impacts of newhydrogen markets (e.g., DOE’s report, Pathways toCommercial Liftoff: Clean Hydrogen3).
This report comprises three sections:

Section A outlines the overarching long-term national
strategy for the United States to achieve its climate
goals. It provides a snapshot of hydrogen production
and use in the United States today and theopportunity clean hydrogen could potentially provide
in contributing to national goals across sectors.
Pathways for clean hydrogen to decarbonize
applications are informed by demand scenarios for2030, 2040, and 2050 – with strategic
opportunities for 10 million metric tonnes(MMT) per year of clean hydrogen by 2030, 20
MMT per year by 2040, and 50 MMT per year by
2050. These scenarios are based on achieving costcompetitiveness (produced and delivered) to enable
demand in specific sectors and can be bolstered bycompliance-driven and other demand-side initiatives.
High priority sectors are those with few
decarbonization alternatives (e.g., decarbonization
through direct electrification or the use of biofuels).
As technologies and markets develop, more detailed
analyses will be forthcoming in the required updates
to this document, including the optimal sectors forhydrogen use, the evolving landscape of production
announcements & offtake contracts, and an
exploration of how project developers are prioritizing
energy and environmental justice.
Section B describes the challenges to realizing thebenefits of hydrogen in the United States and three
primary strategies to address them: (1) Focus on
hard-to-decarbonize sectors for the use of cleanhydrogen, (2) Reduce the produced and delivered
cost of clean hydrogen, and (3) Focus on regional
networks, in the near-term by co-locating large-scaleclean hydrogen production and end-use, including
through Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs to enable
critical mass common carrier infrastructure, drive
scale, and facilitate market liftoff, that centers andleverages place-based opportunities for equity,
inclusion, and sustainability. This section also
describes pathways to clean hydrogen production,
distribution, and storage and their associated costs
today and in the future. Maps in this section illustrate
resource, infrastructure, and demand potential inregions across the United States.
Section C describes the set of actions that can
support and develop the industry in the near, mid,

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

8and long-term, alongside guiding principles andmetrics to measure progress.
This strategy will leverage U.S. strengths in RDD&D
and manufacturing innovation and ingenuity to
reduce emissions, increase U.S. energy independence,and build a robust domestic market for cleanhydrogen supported by domestic supply chains andsustainable, quality jobs, including good-paying
union jobs. The strategy also targets initiatives tocreate new regional economic opportunities while
reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions andimproving air quality. These benefits can foster
diversity, equity, and inclusion and worker
empowerment and collective bargaining when
projects are coupled with meaningful stakeholder
engagement and ongoing support. Long-term
strategies include a U.S. leadership role in enablingenergy security and resilience with clean hydrogen.
The National Hydrogen Strategy approaches
hydrogen RDD&D holistically, leveraging place-based
approaches to maximize positive benefits to the
Nation and the world.

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

9A: National Decarbonization Goals
The time is now for strategic, bold, and concrete
action to meet the ambitious goals set by the UnitedStates to tackle the climate crisis. These goals include
100 percent carbon pollution-free electricity by 2035
and net-zero GHG emissions by 2050.34 The U.S.
national climate strategy35 lays out a long-term
approach and pathways for the United States to meetits 2030 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC)
toward global climate objectives—an ambitious 50 to
52 percent reduction relative to 2005 emissions, as
visualized in Figure 1. Meeting this ambition is only
achievable through an all-hands-on-deck call toaction and a portfolio of technologies and strategies
to accelerate scale.

Figure 1: U.S. economy-wide net greenhouse gas emissions. A net-zero system will require transformativetechnologies to be deployed across sectors.35
Achieving net-zero emissions economy-wide by 2050
requires transformational advances in energy
infrastructure and many other sectors of theeconomy. Clean hydrogen can serve as a key enablerof our goal due to its versatility and potential tocomplement other clean technologies in three of themost energy and emissions-intensive sectors in the
United States: industry, transportation, and electricity
generation.

As shown in Figure 2, each of these sectors
contributes substantially to annual U.S. greenhousegas emissions, and each sector’s decarbonization
strategy will be dependent on its numerous subsectors, which have distinct operating requirements,
cost/performance targets, and decarbonization
drivers.

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

10Figure 2: U.S. net greenhouse gas emissions projected to 2050 (horizontal bars),36 relative to national goals toenable a clean grid and net zero emissions by 2050 (dashed lines). Transition to a net-zero economy will
require portfolio of strategies, including decarbonization of electricity, electrification and clean fuels; reduction
in waste; reduction of non-CO2 emissions, such as methane; and scale-up of CO2 removal, such as through landcarbon sinks.11
Hydrogen, as a versatile energy carrier and chemical
feedstock, offers advantages that can also leverage all
our Nation’s energy resources—renewables, nuclear,and fossil fuels with carbon capture and storage(CCS)—and can couple high-capacity factor firm
power with variable generation to offer resilience andenergy storage. It can then be used as a fuel orfeedstock for applications that lack competitive andefficient clean alternatives.
Though there are many opportunities for hydrogen,an integral component of our strategy will be aholistic approach that includes addressing

environmental and energy justice and equity. The
clean hydrogen strategy also supports the
Administration’s Justice40 Initiative, which pledges
that at least 40 percent of overall benefits fromFederal investments in climate and clean energy bedelivered to disadvantaged communities.12
The strategies and pathways will be designed tobenefit all Americans, not only in terms of emissions
reduction but also in public health, economic growth,jobs – including good-paying union jobs, andimproving quality of life.

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

11

H2@Scale Enabler for Deep Decarbonization

Figure 3: DOE’s H2@Scale initiative to enable decarbonization across sectors using clean hydrogen.37
As shown in Figure 3, which illustrates the
H2@Scale® vision launched in 2016 by DOE and its
National Laboratories, clean hydrogen can beproduced from diverse domestic resources and used
across sectors.37 Production can be centralized or
decentralized, grid-connected or off-grid, offering
scalability, versatility, and regionality. Clean hydrogenprovides more options across sectors and cancomplement today’s conventional grid and natural
gas infrastructure. Rather than only “electrons toelectrons” pathways such as the electric grid tobatteries, hydrogen can be stored and used where
electrification may be challenging.
Several technologies can produce clean hydrogen,including electrolyzers powered by the Nation’s
growing share of clean energy, methane reformation
with carbon capture and storage, gasification, or
thermal conversion of biomass and/or solid wastes
with carbon capture and storage, and many otheremerging technologies. Initial deployments using
clean hydrogen are expected to leverage regionalenergy resources and target industries that currently

rely on conventional natural gas to hydrogentechnologies (without CCS). EPA proposes thathydrogen co-firing with natural gas is the best systemof emissions reduction for certain subcategories offossil fuel powered plants, and it would be among
compliance options for CO2 emission limits on fossil
fuel-fired power plants under Section 111 of the
Clean Air Act.38 While these industries can rapidly
generate scale and create near-term impact in termsof emissions reductions, concerted efforts must be
made to solicit and address community concerns
around NOx emissions, safety and leakage detection.
Increased transparency must include acknowledging
these potential risks while juxtaposing them with theextensive safety training, monitoring and detection
technologies that have been developed. This kind ofcommunity engagement will be a critical part of theprocess for deploying new hydrogen technologies
that can displace fossil fuels in other sectors. These
initial use-cases are also frequently co-located,meaning they can capitalize on low-cost hydrogenproduction without incurring midstream
distribution/storage costs. As regional infrastructure

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

12scales and distribution/storage costs fall, more
nascent and distributed clean hydrogen use cases willoffer attractive return on investment.
Policymakers worldwide recognize the need tocomplement electrification strategies with fuels likeclean hydrogen. Numerous studies show thepotential role of clean hydrogen in global energy
systems, though estimates vary significantly, as
shown in Figure 4. Countries that have identifiedhydrogen as part of their decarbonization strategy
also see hydrogen’s role as enabling energy security
and resilience.

Figure 4: The range of hydrogen’s role in final energy use according to global and regional estimates shows awide range of applications in each sector. 39
The actions laid out in this roadmap will bolster
rigorous analytical models and frameworks and foster
global collaboration to determine the best use ofhydrogen and maximize impact.
Based on several models and analyses for the UnitedStates, Figure 5 lays out the opportunity forhydrogen, increasing clean hydrogen production
from nearly zero today to 10 MMT per year by
2030, 20 MMT per year by 2040, and 50 MMT
per year by 2050. Although clearly ambitious, thesegoals are achievable and are based on demand
scenarios assuming cost competitiveness forhydrogen use in specific sectors such as industrial
applications, heavy-duty transportation, and longduration energy storage. By achieving a 5-foldincrease in hydrogen production and utilization by
2050, total GHG emissions in the United States could

decrease by approximately 10 percent relative to2005 levels when all hydrogen is cleanly produced.
As analyses continue to be refined and optimized,
government agencies will continue to assess thecleanest, most sustainable pathways forhydrogen production through end-use, withparticular emphasis on place-based and regional
benefits.

Figure 5: The opportunity for clean hydrogen in the
United States.

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

13

Hydrogen Production and Use in the United States
Clean hydrogen can be produced through various
pathways, including water-splitting using renewableor nuclear power, from fossil fuels with carbon
capture and storage, and biomass or waste
feedstocks. Other pathways in earlier stages ofdevelopment include thermochemical, biological, andphotoelectrochemical processes. The emissions
intensity of each of these pathways depends on key
variables, such as carbon capture, methane leak rates
or fugitive emissions, and the use of clean electricity.

to power 1.2 million households for a week. Outsideof petroleum and fertilizer production, hydrogen use
is now making its way into other end-use
applications. These include more than 50,000 fuel cell
forklifts,4 nearly 50 open retail hydrogen fuelingstations, over 80 fuel cell buses, more than 15,000
fuel cell vehicles, and over 500 megawatts (MW) of
fuel cells for stationary and backup power (e.g., fortelecommunications), as detailed in Figure 7.

Industry produces about 10 MMT of hydrogen peryear in the United States,7 compared to roughly 94
MMT per year globally,40 mostly for the petroleum
refining, ammonia, and the chemical industry. Someof that hydrogen is produced and used at the samefacility, so the total hydrogen consumption can bemodestly higher.7 Figure 6 shows the allocation ofhydrogen use across sectors in 2021. Today, U.S.
hydrogen production generates about 100 MMT ofgreenhouse gas (tonnes of CO2-equivalent) per year
on a well-to-gate basis.41

Figure 6: Consumption of hydrogen in the UnitedStates by end-use in 2021 42
To support these industries, the United Statescurrently has approximately 1,600 miles of dedicatedhydrogen pipeline43 and three geological caverns,
including the world’s largest, which can store 350
gigawatt-hours (GWh) of thermal energy44 or enoughFigure 7: Examples of hydrogen and fuel cell
technology deployments in the United States.

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

14

Flagship projects in industry and energy storage arealso putting the United States on the global map interms of hydrogen deployment. The Intermountain
Power Project being built in Utah will include 840
MW of power generation using blends of natural gas
and hydrogen produced via electrolysis.45 In
Louisiana, the Clean Energy Complex will use
methane reforming with CCS at a 95 percent capture
rate to supply clean hydrogen to regional markets
and to export globally. This project will also be theworld’s largest carbon capture for sequestration
operation, sequestering more than 5 MMT of CO2 peryear.46 In Texas, Air Products and AES are teaming up
to build a hydrogen production plant producing over
200 metric tons of hydrogen per day by electrolysis
powered by 1.4 GW of renewable wind and solar
electricity. The hydrogen from this project will serve
growing demand for zero-carbon fuels.47 As anotherexample, in New York, Plug Power is building a cleanhydrogen plant which will use a 120 MW electrolyzer
to produce approximately 45 metric tons of hydrogen
per day using hydropower. The hydrogen produced

will replace fossil fuels in applications such as heavyduty trucks and forklifts.48
Several states and regions across the Nation are
actively pursuing clean hydrogen projects, ranging
from production through end-use. The pace of new
project announcements is accelerating. The values
shown in Figure 8 reflect a snapshot of projects
announced or operational by (a) December 2022 and(b) May 2023 based on publicly available information
and DOE-funded project data. Securing long-term,
credit-worthy offtake contracts will help ensure thesignificant pipeline of production announcements
reaches final investment decision. If all announced
projects proceed through to final investment,
construction, and commissioning by 2030, theseprojects would create clean hydrogen supply of 12
MMT/year, surpassing the DOE goal. However, manyof the projects await a final investment decision.
Securing long-term, credit-worthy offtake contracts
will help ensure the significant pipeline of production
announcements reaches final investment decision.

(a) Currently publicly announced clean hydrogen production projects as of EOY 2022, with total production
potential of 12 MMT/year. (Repurposed from DOE’s report, Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Clean Hydrogen3)

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

15

(b) Planned and installed PEM electrolyzer capacity over 1 MW. Bubbles are for illustrative purposes only andnot drawn to scale. 49
Figure 8: Examples of announced clean hydrogen technology deployments in the United States.

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

16

Opportunities for Clean Hydrogen to Support NetZero
As shown in Figure 9, today’s commercial availabilityof hydrogen technologies is limited. New applications
for clean hydrogen in the coming decade, however,
could include several opportunities, including heavyduty transportation, the production of liquid fuels formarine and aviation applications, steelmaking, andglass manufacturing. It will be important to prioritizehydrogen deployment where other high-efficiency
and low-cost options, such as electrification, are lesslikely to occur. As additional energy technologies
advance and the entire energy system decarbonizes,
new demands for hydrogen may emerge, including
long-duration energy storage to enable a carbon
pollution-free electric grid or stationary heat andpower generation, including combined heat andpower using fuel cells and other low- or zeroemission technologies.

Over time, the growth of clean hydrogen supply
across these sectors may also spur the deployment oflarge-scale distribution infrastructure that connects
regions of low-cost supply with large-scale demand.
In all cases, forming regional networks will depend onunderstanding optimal geographic regions wherehydrogen may be most advantageous from an overall
emissions, resilience, resources, and sustainability
perspective. If regional networks prioritize shared,
open-access infrastructure they can help to reducethe delivered cost of hydrogen by lowering transportand storage costs. Government agencies will solicit
input and feedback from communities impacted bylegacy fossil infrastructure and climate change.
Further elaboration of stakeholder engagement
processes and actions for advancing energy andenvironmental justice is in Section C.

Figure 9: Current and emerging demands for hydrogen.50

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

17

The BIL requires DOE to develop a program todemonstrate Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs, defined
as a network of clean hydrogen producers, cleanhydrogen consumers, and connective infrastructure
located “in close proximity” to each other.17 Colocation of hydrogen supply and demand can reduce
the need for new long-distance infrastructure,
lowering the cost of early market growth until largescale, stable demand develops regionally andnationally. Federal, state, and local stakeholders can
support the deployment of clean hydrogen throughtargeted regional outreach and the creation of
networking opportunities, such as DOE’s H2Matchmaker online portal launched in January
2022.51
The BIL also requires Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs
to target, “to the maximum extent practicable,”
specific end-use sectors —including, for example,
power generation, industry, and transportation. In
many applications within these sectors, the use ofclean hydrogen can enable a 40-90 percent reduction
in cradle-to-grave emissions by displacing incumbent
fossil fuels.52 The magnitude of reductions in eachsector varies widely, depending on the performanceof the incumbent technology and other alternatives
available for decarbonization. In addition, DOE’s
report, Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Clean
Hydrogen, indicates that hydrogen can play a criticalrole in net-zero grid resilience with increasing
renewable penetration.3

Scenario and Tipping Point Analyses
For clean hydrogen to be competitive from a longterm sustainable market perspective, it must be
available below a minimum threshold price point,depending on the fuel and processes its use would
displace in each sector. In practice, particularly during
the transition before cost parity is achieved,hydrogen can also provide value such as grid
services, arbitrage, or flexibility of fuels used in power
generation. However, a cost-based perspective

provides a conservative view of market demandpotential.
Figure 10 depicts the price range at which hydrogen
would be competitive with incumbent fuels (such as
diesel, natural gas, or coal) in various applications andthe approximate time frame at which large-scale
deployments of clean hydrogen are expected tooccur in each sector. The “willingness to pay” for eachapplication reflects the total price at which hydrogenmust be available to the end-user, including the costof production, distribution, and additional
conditioning onsite, such as compression, storage,
and dispensing. Importantly, each sector has different
onsite requirements. While some sectors, such astransportation, have a higher willingness to pay,
infrastructure requirements, such as compression anddispensing at fueling stations and the potential needfor liquefaction, can contribute significantly to thetotal cost of hydrogen experienced by the end-user.
In the U.S., the niche market for fuel cell forklifts,
catalyzed by the American Recovery andReinvestment Act (ARRA) in 2009, paved the way formore than 50,000 fuel cell forklifts at commercial
warehouses around the Nation and over 115 forklift
fueling stations.53 These applications can becompetitive at higher hydrogen costs due to faster
fueling times, higher operational throughput, and lessspace required versus battery forklifts. Fuel cell trucks
and buses offer another opportunity for early market
adoption; however, based on rigorous analysis54 andindustry feedback through prior workshops andcritical reviews of lab and DOE publications, the total
cost to the end-user, including infrastructure, needs
to reach about $5/kg. Other markets—such as
biofuels, chemicals, and steel—require lower costs tobe competitive in the long term. The current cost ofclean hydrogen production and the Hydrogen Shotcost target for clean hydrogen production (notincluding downstream infrastructure such as delivery,storage, and dispensing) are depicted in this figure
for context.

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

18

Figure 10: Willingness to pay, or threshold price, for clean hydrogen in several current and emerging sectors(including production, delivery, and conditioning onsite, such as additional compression, storage, cooling,
and/or dispensing).55 Current costs of hydrogen production depicted to not include impacts of regulatory
incentives, such as those in IRA.
The amount of hydrogen demand at the respective
threshold cost in each of these sectors will depend on
the extent to which other competing and incumbent
technologies and fuels evolve. The willingness to pay
will also depend on policies to require or incentivize
emissions reductions, including federal requirements
for new power plants and state mandates foremission limits.

uncertainty in other variables such as fuel cell cost,
efficiency, durability, on-board hydrogen storage, andinfrastructure, as well as the cost of incumbent fuels
and technologies, analyses will continue to berefined. However, these results indicate large
potential volumes for clean hydrogen demand,
assuming DOE targets for clean hydrogen costs are
met.

Figure 11, below, depicts scenarios for the demand
expected in each sector if clean hydrogen is available(produced, delivered, and dispensed) at the thresholdprice shown. For instance, approximately $5/kg forhydrogen produced, delivered, compressed, anddispensed would pave the way for early adopters in
the fuel cell truck market. 54 At approximately $4/kg,
scenario analyses have shown that 10-14 percent of
all medium and heavy-duty fuel cell trucks would
demand about 5-8 MMT/year of hydrogen.56 The
lighter shaded bars represent a more optimistic
demand scenario for each market shown. Given the

Tax credits and financing available through the IRA
have the potential to support deployment of FCEVs
that can support demand creation. IRA appropriateda $2 billion grant and $3 billion loan program forauto manufacturing facilities to manufacture clean
vehicles, including FCEVs.22 EPA will administer
additional IRA-created programs, including a $1
billion grant program for clean heavy-duty vehicles,
including fuel cell trucks,30 and $2.25 billion for
reducing emissions at ports, which can include
financing FCEV drayage equipment.28

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

19

Figure 11: Scenarios showing estimates of potential clean hydrogen demand in key sectors of transportation,industry, and the grid, assuming hydrogen is available at the corresponding threshold cost.
enabling at least 20 MMT per year by 2040 and 50
MMT per year by 2050. The clean hydrogenproduction tax credit, passed as part of the Inflation
Reduction Act, will bring down costs of production
and accelerate economies of scale, making thethreshold hydrogen price within reach for more
applications.

Figure 12: Deployments of clean hydrogen to
decarbonize industry, transportation, and the power
grid can enable 10 MMT/year of demand by 2030,~20 MMT/year of demand by 2040, and ~50 MMT in
2050.
Other current, emerging, and future markets withhigher ranges of uncertainty today, such as hydrogen
exports, power-to-liquid fuels, specialty chemicals,
and petroleum refining could generate additional
demand. Figure 12 depicts potential scenarios for
end-use of clean hydrogen in 2030, 2040, and 2050,

In addition to hydrogen and fuel cells for the trucking
sector, hydrogen will also be an essential feedstock tobiofuels, including sustainable aviation fuels (SAF)
and power-to-liquid fuels, that could decarbonize
offroad vehicles and applications where directelectrification or fuel cells may not be competitive. If
the U.S. replaces all jet fuel consumption with SAF by
2050, approximately 2-6 MMT/year of hydrogen
could be required to produce 35 billion gallons of
SAF from biofuels.57 An additional 6 MMT/year would
be required to produce 4 billion gallons of power-toliquid fuels using 44 MMT of carbon dioxide(approximately the amount of concentrated CO2
currently available from ethanol plants in the UnitedStates).58
Two new tax credits were created by the IRA will
support the creation of the SAF industry in the US
and support Biden Administration goals. The 40B tax

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

20

credit provides up to $1.75 per gallon for SAF thathave lower lifecycle emissions reductions comparedto petroleum-based jet fuel.26 The credit is available
until 2025. After 2025, SAF producers can claim 45Z
credits (though the same facility cannot also claim
45V credits for hydrogen production). The growth of
the SAF industry can create demand for cleanhydrogen, which can lower process emissions of SAF
production.59
Hydrogen can also play a key role in decarbonizing
the industrial sector to enable a net-zero economy by2050, including steelmaking, chemicals, and hightemperature industrial heat generation. Dependingon the evolution of competing options, the use ofhydrogen in iron refining could account for 10-20
percent of steelmaking in 2050, enabling about 1-3
MMT/year of clean hydrogen demand.60 An
additional 4-5 MMT/year of clean hydrogen could be
consumed by ammonia plants to decarbonize all
domestic demand for conventional uses, such as
fertilizer production.58 Since hydrogen is an essential
feedstock for ammonia production, and using cleansources would therefore be necessary for
decarbonization, the ammonia market is expected to
be one of the early opportunities for creating largescale demand for clean hydrogen. Ammonia is acommodity chemical used for fertilizers as well asother specialty chemicals. It can also be used as ahydrogen carrier, potentially allowing diverse market
adoption that leverages existing infrastructure.
In the methanol sector, alternatives to cleanhydrogen include deploying CCS technologies withconventional fossil feedstocks or using biomass
feedstock. If clean hydrogen were used for half of the
U.S. methanol supply in 2050, 1-3 MMT/year would
be required to satisfy demand.61 In addition to its
chemical properties, hydrogen can support
decarbonization by displacing natural gas in sectorsthat require high-temperature heat, an applicationthat is difficult to electrify. The use of pure hydrogenor blends of clean hydrogen and natural gas for 2050 percent of industrial heating duty for hightemperature heat (>550°C) for chemicals andsteelmaking would generate approximately 1-3
MMT/year of demand.62The remainder of high-grade
industrial heating can be decarbonized throughalternative processes, CCS, and other low carbon
fuels. High concentrations of hydrogen are needed toachieve significant abatement of emissions since theenergy content of hydrogen is only about a third ofnatural gas by volume. Some applications will use 100
percent hydrogen to fully decarbonize. Federal
funding is being provided to support RD&D forindustrial burners that can use up to 100 percent
hydrogen and maintain low NOx emissions.63 Life
cycle analysis within the HyBlend initiative will
characterize the decarbonization potential of blends,
accounting for different approaches to producing
hydrogen.
Achieving the Administration’s goals for a 100
percent clean electricity grid will create demand forlong-duration energy storage (LDES), wherehydrogen can also play a key role. Estimates of themagnitude of LDES required in a clean grid have highvariability, depending on the degree of electrification,buildout of transmission lines, and the rate at which
other offsetting technologies, such as direct air
capture, are deployed. Based on a range of studies
with varying assumptions around these constraints, it
is estimated that about 4-8 MMT/year of hydrogen
would be needed in 2050 to supply energy storage
and power generation for a 100 percent clean grid.64
Further, hydrogen can support carbon reductions inother power sector applications; EPA proposes toinclude hydrogen co-firing with natural gas as acompliance option for CO2 emission limits on fossil
fuel-fired power plants under Section 111 of the
Clean Air Act.38
It should be emphasized that these are all cost-driven
demand scenarios to enable reaching net-zero by
2050, and there is scope for flexibility in the volumesof hydrogen described above for each sector. Initiallarge-scale deployments of clean hydrogen are
expected to target industries with established supply
chains and economies of scale, such as ammonia
production and the petrochemical industry. These
deployments will be supplemented with smaller-scale
deployments in new applications and growing sectors
as the infrastructure develops. Based on the successof early deployments and the momentum provided
by the Hydrogen Shot, the United States has anopportunity to achieve aggressive growth in clean

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

21

hydrogen supply to 20 MMT/year by 2040 and 50
MMT/year by 2050, as shown in Figure 12. This
demand-based opportunity can be achieved evenwhile focusing hydrogen on decarbonizing key
sectors of the economy that cannot be easily
electrified and can help integrate renewables into aclean grid.
While Figure 12 depicts scenarios of demand growth,
the demands that ultimately materialize may vary due
to a wide range of market forces, policies (such as the
production tax credit for clean hydrogen created by
the Inflation Reduction Act) and regulations, andevolutions in technology performance and costs
feasible by 2050. A sensitivity analysis accounting forthese variables is depicted in Figure 13. In eachsector, the “core range” reflects the amount ofhydrogen demand estimated for 2040 and 2050 (asshown in Figure 12), while the “additional scenarios”
reflect demands under other technology or market
conditions. Factors relating to potential investment
returns and capital availability to finance cleanhydrogen are available in DOE’s report, Pathways toCommercial Liftoff: Clean Hydrogen.
In transportation, the additional scenarios depict
varying assumptions regarding the cost of hydrogenfuel. For biofuels and power-to-liquid fuels, theranges reflect approaches to optimize biofuel
production from different feedstocks and variability
in demand for power-to-liquid fuels, assuming up to
6 MMT H2 per year could be used for power-to-liquid
fuels as described above. For industrial applications,the low end of the range assumes that ammonia is
the only market sector that adopts clean hydrogen.
The high end assumes ammonia, steelmaking, andmethanol production adopt clean hydrogen to adegree consistent with the ranges described above,and that clean hydrogen is additionally used for
petroleum refining at the same rate that steam
methane reforming (SMR) is used for this sector
today (~6 MMT/year, as shown in Figure 6. Additional
demand for ammonia, methanol, or other chemicalhydrogen carriers for potential export of hydrogenare not included in these values.

Figure 13: Ranges in potential hydrogen demand in
2050 in five key sectors: transportation, biofuels andpower-to-liquid fuels, industry, blending, and energy
storage and grid balancing.
The range of hydrogen in natural gas blendingreflects its use to decarbonize industrial heat. The
lower bound of the sensitivity range assumes that 10
percent hydrogen by volume is used in industrial
sectors consuming heat at > 550°C, while the upperbound assumes that 50 percent hydrogen by volume
is used in industrial sectors consuming heat at>300°C.65
In the power sector, the factors affecting hydrogenuse are complex and interdependent. Hydrogen is
one option for providing flexible, reliable, anddispatchable power through combustion and cofiring as well as long-duration energy storage,
including in the form of renewable natural gas,ammonia, and other fuels. The emissions benefit ofthese energy carriers varies, however, depending on
how these carriers are produced, distributed, andutilized. Even if hydrogen itself is not the storage
medium for energy, renewable natural gas, and otherchemical storage media, such as ammonia orsynthetic fuels, would require clean hydrogen.
Electrolyzers can also dynamically respond tofluctuations in renewable power, thereby providing
grid services in addition to energy storage. Largebuildouts of wind, solar, nuclear, and other zeroemission power are needed to develop a clean grid.
Still, hydrogen and other technologies can provide

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

22flexible integration of clean generation with a highly
electrified, resilient, and equitable power system. The
range of potential demands for hydrogen energy
storage and electric generation on the grid draws
from several studies that modeled a clean grid withvarying levels of electrification and demand side
flexibility.66
The range of clean hydrogen use will depend on
various challenges to market adoption. These nearterm challenges include securing long-term offtake,lack of cost-effective midstream infrastructure, andpressure to scale the hydrogen workforce. For
electrolysis, the required spike in domestic
electrolyzer production also presents a hurdle. For
reformation with CCS, development of regional CO2
networks and storage is a major challenge. Bylowering these barriers, including an emphasis on
addressing energy and environmental justice, cleanhydrogen can be deployed safely and rapidly to lower
emissions in hard-to-decarbonize sectors.

IRA Clean Hydrogen PTC
The clean hydrogen PTC, included in the IRA, offers a
range of credit values based on the carbon intensityof the production pathway, with up to $3/kg forhydrogen with well-to-gate emissions less than 0.45
kg CO2e/kg H2, conditional on meeting the prevailingwage and apprenticeship requirements. Figure 14:
Breakeven timing for hydrogen with the cleanhydrogen production tax credit vs. conventional
alternative (Repurposed from DOE’s report, Pathways
to Commercial Liftoff: Clean Hydrogen3) shows
example breakeven points for best-in-class projects.
The PTC can pull forward breakeven times for cleanhydrogen versus traditional, fossil alternatives forcertain end uses, particularly industrial applications
such as ammonia and steel.1 This analysis shows thatstates with additional incentives such as a low carbon
fuel standard (LCFS) can enable fuel cell trucks to becompetitive before 2025. These initial estimates willcontinue to be refined as agencies receive industry
input as projects get underway.

Figure 14: Breakeven timing for hydrogen with the clean hydrogen production tax credit vs. conventional
alternative (Repurposed from DOE’s report, Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Clean Hydrogen3)

This analysis from the Liftoff report is for new build DRI.
Industry feedback suggests breakeven may be even earlier
in some cases.
1

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

23Challenges to Achieving the Benefits of Clean
Hydrogen
Clean hydrogen technology costs have already been
substantially reduced and many production pathways
are commercial. However, components andintegrated systems (e.g., PEM electrolyzers ~100 MW)
are still in the early stages of scale-up andcommercial deployment. To accelerate the domestic
clean hydrogen economy, some important challenges
remain. These remaining challenges include lack ofubiquitous hydrogen distribution infrastructure, lackof manufacturing at scale, cost, durability, reliability,
and availability challenges in the supply base acrossthe entire value chain.67 At present, producers also
struggle to find offtakers with sufficient hydrogen
demand sited within an affordable distance tohydrogen production who are willing to sign longterm contracts. Stakeholders on the production,
demand, and financing sides highlight hesitancy tocommit resources due to lack of price transparency
and risks in clean hydrogen supply. Regulatory drivers
at the state and federal level could help provide theselong-term demand signals. Catalyzing long-term
offtake would ensure that clean hydrogen production
projects break ground while tax credits are active,
allowing for production cost-downs in the 2020s andearly 2030s. See DOE’s Pathways to Commercial
Liftoff: Clean Hydrogen report for further detail.3
Stakeholder input continuously identifies the cost ofclean hydrogen as a key challenge for achieving
economic scale. At DOE's Hydrogen Shot Summit in
September 2021, attended by more than 3,000
stakeholders from 34 countries, multiple challenges
were identified to the question posed regarding“what is preventing widespread public acceptanceand market adoption of hydrogen in the UnitedStates?”68 As shown in Figure 15, cost was the mostwidely selected barrier, but the lack of infrastructure
and the need for public awareness and acceptancewere also identified as major challenges. Incentives in
the BIL and IRA are expected to drive meaningfulprogress down the cost curve within the decade.

Cost to end user

22%

Need for sufficient
infrastructure

19%

Public awareness/understanding

17%

Need for technology
advancements

11%

Lack of incentives
for companies

8%

Competingtechnologies

6%

Safety concerns

6%

Lack of suitableend uses5%

Lack of gov. support
for R&D

5%

Figure 15: Stakeholder identification of potential
barriers preventing widespread public acceptanceand market adoption of hydrogen in the UnitedStates in September 2021. This stakeholder input was
gathered prior to the passage of IRA which contains
substantial government incentives for clean hydrogenproduction.
The levelized cost of hydrogen must be reduced
significantly. For example, based on analysis in 2020,
the cost of clean hydrogen using proton exchange (orpolymer electrolyte) membrane (PEM) electrolysis canbe over $5/kg when using renewable electricity.69
Furthermore, the cost of electrolysis depends heavily
on the cost of electricity used. Hydrogen from lowvolume PEM electrolysis requires an 80 percent
reduction in cost to achieve the Hydrogen Shot goals
and to be competitive.5 While advanced and hightemperature electrolyzers are progressing, challenges
to market adoption include the cost, durability, andscale of manufacturing capacity. Additionally, hightemperature electrolysis requires integration andoptimization with thermal sources such as nuclear
plants to increase the efficiencies for hydrogenproduction and electricity generation.

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

24

In addition to hydrogen production costs, challenges
in hydrogen transport—such as pipelines, tube
trailers, liquefaction, siting, permitting, and materials
compatibility—need to be addressed. For instance,
operational data from California show that thedelivered cost of hydrogen to fueling stations,
including compressing and dispensing, for fuelingvehicles can be more than $13/kg70 − more than
three times higher than the cost required to becompetitive.71,72 Additionally, permitting
requirements can vary widely throughout the country
and can introduce challenges; but permitting remains
important as the vehicle for important equities, e.g.,protection of communities with environmental justiceconcerns and public health. Streamlined permitting
processes nonetheless can facilitate large-scale
deployments throughout the country. Industry
estimates that multiple methods of hydrogen
distribution and storage can become affordable by2030 if state-of-the-art distribution and storage
technologies are commercialized at scale. As part of alarger $8 billion Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs
program funded through the BIL, Hubs will help toaddress these challenges by creating networks ofhydrogen producers, consumers, and shared local
connective infrastructure.
All federally funded projects, such as the Regional
Clean Hydrogen Hubs, will also be subject to review
in accordance with the National Environmental Policy
Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321, et seq.). NEPA requires
federal agencies to integrate environmental values
into their decision-making processes by considering
the potential environmental and societal impacts of
their proposed actions. The Regional Clean Hydrogen
Hubs represent the largest federally funded
deployments of clean hydrogen technologies in the
United States. As awarded hubs progress through
NEPA review, DOE will assimilate lessons learned thatcan expedite the review process for future
deployments.
Storing hydrogen efficiently and safely is also a
considerable challenge. Although hydrogen has
nearly three times the energy content per unit ofmass compared to gasoline,73 the volumetric energy
density of gaseous hydrogen is very low, making it
difficult to store, particularly in compact containers ortanks. The weight and volume of hydrogen storage
systems need to be reduced, as well as cost, withtargets varying depending on the application. Whilesafety has been demonstrated in thousands ofcommercial systems and through rigorous testing,continual effort will enable safety and apply bestpractices.
While compressed hydrogen is typically stored atambient temperatures, reducing the temperature tocold or cryogenic temperatures can significantly
increase the density of hydrogen. In liquid form,hydrogen is stored at extremely low cryogenic
temperatures in highly insulated double-walled tanks.
Such tanks are commercially available and used today
for industrial-scale storage and transport. However,the need for insulation as well as the boil-off andventing (releasing built-up pressure to enable safety),present added cost and challenges to system
performance. Material, component, and system-level
RDD&D can further innovations that address thesechallenges. Additional analysis on using hydrogen
carriers, such as ammonia or liquid organic hydrogen
carriers (LOHCs), can refine understanding of thecost, life cycle emissions, and toxicity of the carriers.
Figure 16 shows the cost status at low volume andthe modeled cost of hydrogen technologies used in
the transportation sector, assuming high volume
manufacturing compared to the ultimate cost targets
shown in green. These targets have been developed
through analyses characterizing the total cost ofownership (TCO) of hydrogen-based systems, such as
heavy-duty fuel cell trucks, relative to those using
incumbent fuels, such as diesel. Additional TCO
analysis is currently underway to inform hydrogencost and performance targets for other applications
across industry and transportation. Acrossapplications, costs need to fall significantly comparedto their current level to become competitive from asustainable, market-driven perspective.

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25

Figure 16: The status of production, delivery and dispensing, and onboard storage costs relative to the costprojection for high-volumes and the ultimate cost target for market competitiveness. 74

In addition to the technology and cost challenges
described above, from an overarching energy
systems perspective, the optimal use of hydrogen stillneeds to be determined for the most suitableapplications where lower cost or more efficient
alternatives do not exist. A comprehensive
assessment of the interplay between hydrogen
demands and electrification, evolutions of the energy
grid (including in supply of clean firm power, gridreliability, and rates of effective CCS), biofuels, andsectors that use hydrogen as a feedstock or fuel canrefine the understanding of the strategic andtargeted role clean hydrogen can play in economywide decarbonization. A detailed regional approach,
informed by the availability of resources and enduses, and bolstered by the funding available for
Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs, will inform how best
the hydrogen ecosystem can evolve to enablemaximum benefit. All these challenges will need to beaddressed in the most efficient, effective, andcomprehensive manner through the strategies
outlined in Sections B and C.

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26

B: Strategies to Enable the Benefits of Clean Hydrogen
The foundation of this roadmap is based onprioritizing three key strategies to ensure that cleanhydrogen is developed and adopted as an effective

decarbonization tool and for maximum benefits for
the United States, summarized in Figure 17.

Figure 17: The national strategies for clean hydrogen and the Department of Energy’s Hydrogen Program
mission and context.
First, the use of clean hydrogen will be focusedstrategically to provide maximum benefits,particularly in sectors that are hard-to-decarbonize.
Rather than competing with alternative low-cost andefficient decarbonization technologies, such as
electrification, clean hydrogen adoption will focus on
end-uses that lack alternatives and are in industries
that can build momentum to enable scale, increase

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27

benefits, and drive down cost. Second, the UnitedStates can dramatically lower the delivered costof clean hydrogen by developing sustainable andsupply-resilient pathways, including electrolysis,
thermal conversion with CCS, and advanced or hybrid
production pathways. Harnessing the innovation andentrepreneurial spirit of Americans and world-classNational Laboratories, industry, and academic
facilities, in addition to ramping up deployments, canhelp drive down costs rapidly and achieve scale
within a decade. Regional factors and availability ofresources such as waste, water, and other resources
will also be strategically considered in the build-out
of clean hydrogen production.
Third, scale can be achieved strategically by focusing
on regional networks, ramping up hydrogenproduction and end-use in close proximity todrive down transport and infrastructure costs andcreate holistic ecosystems that provide local benefits.
For instance, by leveraging the Regional Clean
Hydrogen Hubs program as established in the BIL,
DOE will focus on catalyzing regional infrastructure
networks, bolstering the uptake of long-termhydrogen offtakers, and unlocking private capital.
To implement these strategies, Federal Government
agencies will coordinate an efficient “whole ofgovernment” approach to accelerate progress toward
a resilient, sustainable, and equitable hydrogen
economy. Agencies will focus on foundational
enablers when executing these strategies, including
advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion;
promoting energy and environmental justice;addressing safety and developing the necessary
codes and standards; creating high-quality jobs
and training standards; and stimulating private
investment to enable market liftoff.

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Strategy 1: Target Strategic, High-Impact Uses ofClean Hydrogen
While hydrogen’s versatility enables it to be used innumerous applications, government agencies will
focus on use of clean hydrogen for decarbonizing
segments such as in industry and heavy-dutytransportation that are difficult to electrify as well as
early markets where agencies such as the
Departments of Defense and those procuring
stationary power or commercial vehicle fleets canprovide opportunities for early hydrogen offtake.
Processes that use fossil fuels as a chemical feedstock
or in the generation of high-temperature heat or
long-duration, dispatchable power will require clean
fuels, such as hydrogen, to decarbonize. For instance,
ammonia and methanol manufacturing account forthe majority of global GHG emissions from chemicals,
and both sectors rely on natural gas as a feedstock.75
These processes can be decarbonized by over 90
percent if they use clean hydrogen.76,77 Steelmaking
accounts for about 7 percent of global greenhousegas emissions,78 and relies on coke and natural gas toreduce iron ore. Transitioning to clean hydrogen as a
reductant can reduce emissions by 40-70 percent.79
Over half of emissions from industry today are due tothe direct combustion of fossil fuels to produce heatand power for industrial processes.80 While lower
grades of heat generation are typically feasible toelectrify, about 30 percent of heat used in industry is
at temperatures above 300°C and would likely requireclean fuels to decarbonize.81 Furnaces that burn purehydrogen or blends of hydrogen with natural gas are
key options in these applications.
As the power grid is decarbonized, long-durationenergy storage technologies will become essential toenable growth in using clean electricity acrosssectors. The use of hydrogen in fuel cells or low-NOx
turbines is a leading option to enable multi-day
storage and, dispatchable power generation to thegrid. In scenarios with high electrification rates, moreclean hydrogen and other clean fuels may be needed
to provide reliable, firm, dispatchable power
generation when integrating variable renewableenergy into the grid. Co-firing with hydrogen atexisting and new power plants can help cut emissions
from the power sector.
In transportation, hydrogen has a strong value
proposition in the trucking sector, particularly for
fleets with heavy-duty vehicles, long-distance (>500
mile) routes, or multi-shift operations that require
rapid refueling. Hydrogen is also an essential
feedstock for producing liquid fuels that will benecessary for large-scale energy applications, such asaviation, rail, and marine fuels. In the near-term, cleanhydrogen can displace conventional hydrogen inpetroleum refining for conventional transportation. In
the mid- to long-term, hydrogen can be used to
produce biofuels from biomass (to increase the yieldof fuel produced from a given feedstock andpathway, and to refine the fuel’s properties) andpower-to-liquid fuels that can displace petroleum,particularly in offroad markets, discussed further
below.
The following sections summarize the role cleanhydrogen can have in each of the applications
described above and provides examples of what
Federal Government agencies are funding to addressthese sectors. Ongoing and future analyses will
characterize the role of hydrogen in other sectors andcontinue to inform strategic priorities.

Clean hydrogen in industrial
applications
Globally, industry is the largest end-use sector interms of energy consumption, accounting for 38
percent of total energy demand.82 Approximately 6
percent of total energy demand is used to producehydrogen, which is used primarily in producing
ammonia and other chemicals.82 The International
Energy Agency (IEA) reports that global industrial
demand for hydrogen was 51 MMT in 2020 out of 90
MMT used in all sectors.82

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Hydrogen in chemicals

Hydrogen in steelmaking

Hydrogen is already used as an essential feedstock in
the production of ammonia and methanol. In
conventional ammonia and methanol plants in the
United States, natural gas reforming is used to
produce syngas that is then converted into ammonia(in combination with nitrogen from compressed air)or methanol immediately downstream. Production
pathways for both chemicals can be decarbonized byreplacing the use of natural gas reforming with cleanhydrogen production supply, such as the use of CCS
along with mitigation of fugitive methane emissions
or the use of electrolysis. Near-term, these sectors
may be the first to transition to clean hydrogen,swapping high carbon intensity hydrogen for lower
carbon intensity production pathways. In some cases,
this shift will occur at existing industrial clusters withcollocated production/offtake, reducing reliance on
midstream infrastructure as it scales.

Steel is one of society’s most important engineeringand construction materials. Today, it is typically madeusing basic oxygen furnaces (BOFs) or electric arc
furnaces (EAFs), depending on whether it is primary(from iron ore) or secondary (from recycled scrap).
Following the BOF pathway, iron ore is reduced withcoke in a blast furnace and refined with oxygen. In
the EAF pathway, electricity is used to refine a mixtureof recycled steel and iron. While the iron ore BOF
process is more common globally,85 in the UnitedStates, roughly 70 percent of steelmaking uses theEAF process in which steel is recycled.86

Future use of clean hydrogen in these chemicals will
depend largely on the markets for each, and drivers
to decarbonize. Today, 88 percent of ammonia
consumption in the United States is for fertilizer
production; the remaining 12 percent is used to
produce plastics, explosives, synthetic fibers, resins,and other chemicals.83 Future applications forammonia may also include its use as a fuel foroffroad vehicles or in power generation, althoughthese concepts are still in the early stages ofdevelopment. The primary use of methanol today is
as a building block for other chemicals, such asformaldehyde, acetic acid, and plastics. Growth in themethanol market depends on the overall growth ofchemicals production, rates of plastics recycling, andthe development of new end-uses of methanol, suchas its use as a fuel or as a hydrogen carrier.
Activities in this sector include several analyses
funded by DOE to assess the cost and life cycle
emissions to produce hydrogen carriers, including
methanol, ammonia, and methylcyclohexane. DOE’s
Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E)
is also funding innovative, game-changing
approaches for ammonia production and a modular,
scalable system for hydrogen to ammonia.84

Using clean hydrogen as a reductant in iron ore
refining, instead of coke or natural gas, can reduce
the life cycle emissions for making primary steel by
40-70 percent.87 Other approaches to decarbonizing
this sector include near term methods such as
improvements to the efficiency of blast furnace aswell as longer term innovation such as directelectrolytic processes.81
The future market for green iron ore-based steel
production will depend on economic growth thatcreates new demand for steel consumption, as well as
incentives for decarbonization and domestic
production to displace imports. In recent years,
imports have accounted for about 25-30 percent of
U.S. steel consumption.88 The Biden-Harris
Administration is advancing carbon-based trade
policies to reward American manufacturers of clean
steel. Working with the European Union, theAdministration is taking steps to align global tradewith climate goals, which will keep out dirty products
and result in more jobs and lower prices for
Americans.89
DOE has two active projects to jumpstart the use ofhydrogen for steel manufacturing that will help
optimize direct reduction using hydrogen and will
enable the development of a 1 ton per week
operation, with the potential for 5,000 tonnes per dayof steel production.90,91 Several workshops organizedby DOE’s Advanced Manufacturing Office andHydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO)
have helped identify key challenges andopportunities which will be addressed as part of the

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30

national hydrogen strategy.92,93 Use of hydrogen atsteel production facilities will require reliable,consistent supply since most operate throughout theyear with little downtime.

the cost of infrastructure conversion, streamlined
approaches to permitting and regulatory approval,
and R&D to inform standards associated with end
uses (e.g., low-NOx turbines).

Clean hydrogen and use of highconcentrations of hydrogen blends forindustrial heat

The use of renewable natural gas is another approachto decarbonizing the heat and power sector and has
the advantage of being fully compatible with existing
infrastructure. One of the pioneering projects fundedby DOE in this area demonstrated the integration ofan electrolyzer with a bioreactor to produce
renewable natural gas from hydrogen and carbon
dioxide.96 This novel bioreactor design is now beingcommercialized by industry through deployments in
California and the Northeast. Additional longer-term
concepts for renewable natural gas production
include the catalysis of hydrogen and carbon dioxide
to produce synthetic methane. Decarbonization via
this approach will also require management andmitigation of fugitive methane emissions throughout
the delivery infrastructure. Life cycle analyses ofrenewable natural gas relative to the use of hydrogen
blends to decarbonize the heat and power sectors are
currently underway within DOE’s HyBlend initiative.

Process heating is the largest driver of energy
consumption within the U.S. manufacturing sector
and relies primarily on the combustion of fossil
fuels.81,94 Options to decarbonize this sector include
electrification, particularly at lower grades of heat(<300°C); CCS; use of low-carbon sources of heat,such as solar thermal or nuclear power; and use ofblends of hydrogen in natural gas or pure hydrogen,particularly for applications requiring hightemperatures. Sectors that currently consume heat at>300°C include refining, chemicals, cement,
steelmaking, and glass manufacturing.
Due to the low cost of fossil fuel combustion, theheat and power sectors have a lower willingness topay for hydrogen than chemical processes and are
expected to adopt clean hydrogen at scale when it is
widely available at low cost or when strong policy
drivers for decarbonization emerge. The use ofhydrogen in this sector will require the advancementof low-NOx hydrogen combustion technologies, aswell as an improved understanding of the impacts ofhydrogen on infrastructure and turbine materials.
DOE’s HyBlend initiative was launched in 2020 toaddress knowledge gaps in the use of highconcentrations of hydrogen blends for industrial heat,bringing together DOE National Labs and industry.95
HyBlend currently includes several projects withnational laboratories and over 30 industry partners
focused on materials compatibility, cost andemissions analysis of blending, underground storageof hydrogen blends, hydrogen appliances, and lowNOx hydrogen turbines. Ongoing and future R&D
under the HyBlend initiative will be coordinated withrelated efforts worldwide (e.g., through data sharing,round robin testing, and information exchange).
Projects funded under HyBlend in the future may
address additional barriers to using hydrogen blends
in high-temperature heat, including an assessment of

Future work, which will be done in collaboration
across agencies and states, will enable thedevelopment of injection standards for blendinghydrogen into natural gas pipelines used in hightemperature heat applications—including the upper
blend limits for hydrogen. Other work includes
assessing opportunities to repurpose natural gas
infrastructure for hydrogen, identifying conditions
under which deployment of new infrastructure would
be necessary to enable the use of highconcentrations of blends and advancing the use ofclean hydrogen in combined heat and power
applications. Priorities for HyBlend include reducing
the risk for all communities – especially vulnerable
and disadvantaged communities – and spearheading
policies, such as “dig once” strategies, as the Nation
installs transmission, CCS, CO2 pipelines and otherinfrastructure. Additional work is also needed toestablish or modify standards for both distribution
and end use of blends. These standards will inform
aspects of design, safety, and emissions.

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31

Clean hydrogen in transportation
In 2019, the transportation sector accounted for 33
percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the UnitedStates and 51 percent of transportation emissions isdue to light-duty vehicles.97 While industry has
focused primarily on battery electrification for lightduty vehicles, hydrogen and fuel cells offer significant
opportunities for applications requiring long driving
ranges, fast fueling, and large or heavy payloads.98 In
January 2023, DOE, Department of Transportation(DOT), EPA, and Department of Housing and Urban
Development jointly released the U.S. National
Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization, which
identified a strategic role of clean hydrogen in freight
applications.99 Previous DOE analysis has identified
market segments of the trucking sector wherehydrogen has a stronger value proposition, andongoing work is ascertaining the role for hydrogen in
offroad vehicles, such as mining equipment, ferries,
and rail. This analysis will help inform future research
activities in this space.

Hydrogen for medium and heavy-duty
trucks and buses and replacement fuelproduction
Medium- and heavy-duty (MDHD) vehicles are used
across the country for numerous applications fromproduct delivery to vehicle towing to waste
collection, and account for about 20 percent ofemissions from the transportation sector.97 DOE andother Federal agencies are working with industry andnational laboratories through the 21st Century Truck
Partnership (21CTP) to reduce emissions from trucks
and buses through safe and cost-effective
approaches.100 Members of 21CTP meet regularly toshare information that can inform pre-competitive
R&D activities. Batteries and fuel cells are both focus
areas of 21CTP and can each play complementaryroles in decarbonizing the trucking sector. Fuel cells
are particularly viable for applications such as heavyduty trucks that require fast fill times comparable todiesel today, or long driving ranges above 500
miles.101
DOT and DOE launched a Joint Office in 2021 which
includes activities relevant to infrastructure forhydrogen vehicles. In addition, DOE launched theMillion Mile Fuel Cell Truck Consortium (M2FCT) in
2020 to enable the fuel cell durability, cost, andperformance required for the long-haul heavy-duty
truck market.102 Hydrogen and fuel cell truck projects
are also included under DOE’s Super Truck program
to demonstrate medium- and heavy-duty hydrogenfuel cell trucks under real-world operating conditions
within the next five years.103 Other projects
supporting this strategy include developing therequired infrastructure, fueling components,hydrogen storage and dispensing technologies, and a
project that will demonstrate 15 parcel delivery trucks
operating in disadvantaged communities.104,105
Transit agencies with large bus fleets or coach buseswith long driving ranges can also benefit by usinghydrogen and fuel cells. The Federal Transit
Administration in partnership with DOE has been
evaluating fuel cell buses and continues to collectreal-world deployment data to guide futureadvances.106 By focusing the strategy on fleets,
freight, and corridors where clusters of dedicatedinfrastructure can be developed, the United States
will reduce the risk of stranded assets and ensure theutilization of the developing hydrogen fuelinginfrastructure.
The largest consumer of hydrogen today is therefinery industry. It is used for reduction of sulfur
content as well as for cracking of crude into lighter
petroleum fractions. Decarbonizing hydrogen supply
for refineries provides a near term clean hydrogen
demand able to reduce transportation emissions
from the production of petroleum-based fuels usedin conventional vehicles. In the longer term, refinery
technologies, workforce, and assets can provide
hydrogen demand to produce bio-derived fuels suchas biodiesel, methanol, and ethanol. Such fuels canhelp the decarbonization of conventional fuelvehicles and reduce the extent of stranded assets.

Hydrogen for maritime applications andports
In addition to vehicles, opportunities for hydrogenand hydrogen carriers are also emerging in themaritime industry, ranging from inland and harbor
vessels to recreational and pier-side applications.
New emissions regulations by the International
Maritime Organization (IMO) limit the sulfur content

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32

in fuel oil used on ships (or “bunker fuel”) from 3.5
percent to 0.5 percent, starting in 2020.107 Theselimits are further reduced to 0.1 percent for ships
operating in Emissions Control Areas, including
certain coastal regions of the United States and theEuropean Union.108 Given increasingly stringent
requirements, hydrogen and hydrogen carriers, suchas ammonia and methanol, may offer an attractive
alternative to bunker fuel. Furthermore, the use ofhydrogen in various marine vessels and at ports fordrayage trucks, shore power (electricity for ships
while docked), and cargo equipment all offer the
potential to reduce carbon dioxide and otheremissions and to develop infrastructure in targeted
regions to scale up use.109 In 2019, DOE held an
H2@Ports workshop in collaboration with the U.S.
Department of Transportation Maritime
Administration (U.S. DOT-MARAD) and the European
Commission Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint
Undertaking to identify opportunities and challenges
to the use of hydrogen at ports.110
The Maritime Administration (MARAD) in
collaboration with DOE, has been developing anddemonstrating hydrogen and fuel cell technologies
for maritime applications over the past decade,including the world’s first pier-side hydrogen fuel cellfor auxiliary power in lieu of diesel generators.111 In
collaboration with state agencies and industry, theUnited States is deploying the first hydrogen fuel cellpassenger ferry in the Western hemisphere.112 DOE
launched a new project to demonstrate a MW-scale
electrolyzer on a floating barge to fuel a passenger
ferry, in addition to using a fuel cell to charge abattery electric vessel.113 Such first-of-a-kinddemonstrations are integral to Strategy One – “Target
Strategic, High-Impact Uses of Hydrogen” – to de-risk
technologies for additional private sector investment
and market adoption. Other activities include
addressing safety and developing the relevant codes,
standards, and ensuring global harmonization, in
conjunction with other organizations, including IMO,MARAD, and international collaborators.

Hydrogen for aviation and sustainableaviation fuel production
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, aviation accounted
for about 11 percent of United States transportation
emissions; without increased action, its share willcontinue to grow as more people and goods aretransported by air.114 The deployment of SAFs, suchas biofuels and power-to-liquid fuels that can beused instead of conventional jet fuel, is essential todecarbonizing this sector.115 In 2021, DOE, DOT, and
USDA launched a government-wide SAF Grand
Challenge to reduce the cost, enhance thesustainability, and expand the production and use of
SAFs that achieve a 50 percent reduction in lifecycle
GHGs or greater, compared to conventional fuel.116
The Grand Challenge further set goals to supply 3
billion gallons of SAFs per year by 2030 and 35 billion
gallons by 2050 to meet 100 percent of aviation fueldemand by 2050.116 These national goals form thebasis for hydrogen demand in this sector.
Many different biofuel and power-to-liquid fuelpathways are being explored to meet the SAF Grand
Challenge goal. The pathways that have been
approved to date for use by aviation requirehydrogen as a feedstock117 and could additionallyco-produce sustainable fuels for use elsewhere in thetransport sector. The Net Zero Tech team, acollaboration between DOE and industry through the
U.S. Driving Research and Innovation for Vehicle
efficiency and Energy sustainability (U.S. DRIVE)
partnership, is conducting cost and emissions analysis
of future pathways, to identify fuels with the greatest
potential.
In addition, direct use of hydrogen is being
demonstrated for aircraft in specific market segments
such as short-duration flights and uncrewed aerial
vehicles (UAVs). While hydrogen storage density is achallenge, hydrogen fuel cells offer the benefit ofboth zero carbon and zero criteria pollutant
emissions from the exhaust. DOD is demonstrating
direct hydrogen fuel cells for UAVs.118
There are also several industry projects on hydrogenfuel cells and engines for aircraft. For example,
ZeroAvia and Otto have announced a partnership todevelop a 19-seat aircraft that can travel 1,000

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nautical miles, potentially targeting niche market
needs in private flights.119 Airbus announced threedesign concepts for direct hydrogen use, including
fuel cell and hydrogen combustion systems.120 The
U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), U.S. Air
Force (USAF), and DOE convened industry
stakeholders at the H2@Airports workshop in
November 2020, which identified key challenges andpotential opportunities to address them.121

Hydrogen in rail
The rail system in the United States spans over
140,000 route-miles, delivers critical goods, moves
passengers across the country, and supports over
167,000 jobs.122 Although rail accounts for only about
2 percent of transportation-sector emissions,123 thismode is hard to decarbonize due to conventional
low-cost legacy systems and the low diesel costs.
However, liquid fuels (including biofuels), as well asbatteries and hydrogen, can all play complementaryroles in completely decarbonizing this sector. The
cost competitiveness of each powertrain will vary byregion and by each system’s demand profile.
Several early demonstrations of hydrogen and fuelcells have already been commissioned in bothpassenger and freight rail around the world and will
inform future RDD&D. Hydrogen-powered trains
have been in service in Germany since 2018 and havecompleted trials in Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden,and France.124 In the U.S., California’s San Bernardino
Transportation system is developing a hydrogen fuelcell passenger train expected to be in service in early2024.125
DOE in collaboration with the DOT’s Federal Railroad
Administration (FRA) held an H2@Rail workshop in2019 to identify opportunities for hydrogen and fuelcells for rail applications.126 Ongoing analysis efforts
will inform performance and cost targets for specificlocomotive market segments in this sector andprogress toward targets will be monitored andvalidated by DOE and FRA.127, 128

streams by providing hydrogen as a feedstock or fuelfor other sectors.

Hydrogen for backup power and stationary
power
Backup power and stationary power from fuel cells
can replace diesel generators to provide resilience tocritical facilities that require 24/7 power, such as
hospitals and data centers. Systems that need steady,reliable power in remote locations, such as microgrids
and telecom towers, are also promising
opportunities. Although backup power utilization islow, moving from diesel to clean hydrogen can still
provide a meaningful step on the path to net zero.
Fuel cells operating on hydrogen have zero emissions
and are quieter and more reliable than diesel
generators and offer benefits for health and air
quality—particularly for disadvantaged communities
who are often in non-attainment zones.
Examples of Federal agency-funded projects withstate and private sector funds supporting this sector
include the world’s first trigeneration system at awastewater treatment plant to co-produce power,
heat, and hydrogen through a high-temperature fuelcell;129 first of a kind demonstration of hydrogen fuelcells for data center applications; projects to lower
fuel cell cost and improve durability;130 reversible fuelcell RDD&D;131 and hundreds of fuel cell
deployments for backup power applications.132

Energy Storage and Electricity Generation
Energy storage on the grid can have several different
roles, including time shifting, firm capacity
generation, avoiding transmission line buildout, andancillary services.133 Today, grid energy storage isdominated by pumped hydropower deployments
capable of discharging power for 12 hours or less.134
Lithium-ion batteries are the fastest growing mode ofenergy storage, commonly for shorter durations of 4hours or less.132

Power sector applications
Hydrogen can offer versatility as a medium for longduration energy storage, electric power generation,and grid services and can offer additional revenue

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34

Figure 18: Hydrogen energy storage systems involvethe use of electrolyzers to produce hydrogen fromexcess power on the grid, bulk storage, followed bypower generation using fuel cells or turbines.
As the grid transforms to 100 percent clean power,
longer-duration energy storage technologies that candischarge for multiple days at a time will be needed.
As shown in Figure 18, hydrogen energy storage
systems at scale could involve the use of electrolyzers
to produce hydrogen using excess power on the grid,
storage of the hydrogen in bulk (e.g., underground),and then use hydrogen to generate power at times ofhigh demand.133 In the near- to mid-term, co-firingof hydrogen in natural gas turbines for power
generation could facilitate a transition to 100 percent
hydrogen-fired turbines that will be needed to fully
decarbonize the electricity system. Several industry
stakeholders, such as NextEra, Florida Power & Light,
and Intermountain Power have recently announcedplans to co-fire hydrogen with natural gas inhundreds of megawatts of turbines, including
dispatchable co-firing applications.135 Optimized cositing of renewables, nuclear plants, hightemperature heat sources, and the storage
infrastructure for hydrogen and carbon dioxide canhelp reduce environmental, economic, andcommunity impact compared to completely
independent build-out of such systems.
Large-scale deployments of hydrogen energy storage
will require reductions in the cost of electrolyzers andfuel cells, the development of low-NOx combustion
technologies for use in hydrogen turbines, and thedevelopment of new low-cost bulk hydrogen storage

technologies that are not geographically constrained.
To support this sector, DOE has established unique
national laboratory test facilities to demonstrate andtest the performance of electrolyzers integrated withvarious power and thermal sources.136 These facilities
allow industry to de-risk systems integration andvalidate new technologies before deployment. DOE is
also funding RDD&D on low-NOx turbines and has
funded numerous analysis projects and tools toquantify the economic benefits of hydrogen energy
storage under specific grid conditions incollaboration with industry.137 RD&D efforts on NOx
mitigation and materials compatibility may also
inform retrofitting of existing natural gas turbinesand natural gas pipeline compressor stations tooperate on blends. The United States currently has
gigawatts of combustion turbines in operation that
may be capable of operating on blends withmodifications to key components, such as the fuelsupply system and burners. Additionally, DOE has
funded five projects to date demonstrating the
integration of electrolyzers with nuclear power plants
to create another revenue stream for these clean firm
generators that also support grid stability.138, 139
Engagement through the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission is underway to address challenges
including siting and permitting.
In 2022, DOE’s Loan Programs Office (LPO) closed on
an approximately $500 million loan guarantee to the
Advanced Clean Energy Storage Project, which would
be a first-of-its-kind clean hydrogen production andstorage facility capable of providing long-termseasonal energy storage.140 The facility in Delta, Utah
will combine a 220 MW alkaline electrolyzer with salt
cavern storage for grid-scale energy conversion andstorage using hydrogen as the energy carrier.
Advanced Clean Energy Storage is expected tobenefit Utah by creating up to 400 construction and
25 operations jobs and could help catalyze long-term
job opportunities and transition the state to a new,clean energy economy for the future. Several
disadvantaged communities surround Delta, Utah,and could benefit from the project.

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Hydrogen Applications AcrossAgencies
In addition to commercial markets such as industrial
and chemical manufacturing, government agencies
can catalyze private sector uptake through early
demonstrations and bundled demand for subsequent
offtake. For example, hydrogen is uniquely capable ofproviding for both energy and water resiliency needs
to federal facilities during emergency situations.
Demonstrations at military bases and other criticalloads for backup power and microgrids can usehydrogen fuel cells ranging from kW to MW andcreate hydrogen demand. By unlocking thepurchasing power of the U.S. Government, we cancatalyze market liftoff leveraging the more than
150,000 medium and heavy duty vehicles141 and
8,600 buildings142 across the government.
DOD has historically been an early adopter intechnology spaces including GPS technology enabled
by DOD and now ubiquitous. DOE and DOD worked
together over a decade ago to demonstrate first of its
kind fuel cell material handlers in Defense Logistics
Agency warehouses, and today hydrogen fuel cellmaterial handling has grown into a vibrant market,
with over 60,000 hydrogen forklifts in operation
primarily in the private sector. Other nascentapplications such as UAVs, UUVs, and off-griddispatchable power can be demonstrated by DOD
and other USG agencies to further mature thetechnology. The learnings from these activities andimprovements in performance and efficiency can
inform additional technology developments to help
de-risk future dual use commercial investment. Clean
dispatchable power, such as mobile fuel cell chargers,
is particularly important for fielding electric vehicles
in areas without grid access. Off-grid clean
dispatchable power could also to applied to gridchallenged areas in the near term and during disaster
relief.

Carbon Intensity ofHydrogen Production
Hydrogen production pathways vary in carbon
intensity, depending on their energy source,
efficiency, and design, as shown in Figure 18. In fossil
pathways, for instance, the amount of CCS, theenergy efficiency of the systems, and the amount offugitive emissions, all determine the carbon footprintof hydrogen production. In electrolysis, the carbon
intensity of electricity, whether it is from dedicatedrenewables, nuclear, or bulk grid electricity, is theprimary variable that influences lifecycle emissions.
As directed in the BIL, DOE is required, in consultation
with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), todevelop an initial standard for the carbon intensity ofclean hydrogen as a point of reference for selectprograms under the BIL. The standard was released
as a draft to obtain input from industry and otherstakeholders and finalized in 2023.19 The BIL requires
DOE to set a clean hydrogen production standard
that:• Supports clean hydrogen production from
specified low carbon energy sources (e.g.,
including but not limited to fossil fuels with CCS;
hydrogen-carrier fuels (including ethanol andmethanol); renewable energy resources, including
biomass; nuclear energy);• Defines the term “clean hydrogen” to meanhydrogen produced with a carbon intensity equal
to or less than 2 kilograms of carbon dioxideequivalent produced at the site of production per
kilogram of hydrogen produced; and• Considers “technological and economic feasibility.”
The initial standard was set at 4 kilograms of carbon
dioxide-equivalent per kilogram of hydrogen (kgCO2e/kg H2) on a well-to-gate life cycle basis,consistent with the vast majority of responses fromstakeholders who commented on the draft Clean
Hydrogen Production Standard.143 DOE is also
required to update the standard within five years ofsetting the initial standard.144
An important component of future clean hydrogendemonstrations or deployments supporting the BIL

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

36

will be stakeholder engagement and analyses todetermine actual life cycle emissions along the entire
value chain. Government-funded public tools areavailable, such as DOE’s Greenhouse Gases,
Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use inTransportation (GREET) model,145 are used tocharacterize the decarbonization potential of
deployments consistently, including well-to-gateemissions of hydrogen production, as well as
emissions of hydrogen distribution and end-use. For
example, well-to-gate emissions of SMR with CCS canhave a range of carbon intensities depending on the
degree of fugitive emissions, capture rate, and carbon
intensity of the electricity grid. Well-to-gateemissions of electrolysis are near zero when theelectricity supply is 100 percent carbon pollution-free– as is the Administration’s goal by 2035 – but can be
more than double those of SMR when using thecurrent average U.S. grid mix.146,147
As global trade develops for hydrogen, consistentinternational methods for lifecycle analysis will also
be required. This was one of the highest priority
actions voted on by over 20 countries under theInternational Partnership for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells
in the Economy (IPHE), a global government
partnership launched in 2003 to accelerate progressin hydrogen and fuel cell technologies.148 The U.S. iscurrently a Vice Chair of IPHE, after completing aterm as Chair, and is also a lead member of the IPHE
Hydrogen Production Analysis (H2PA),149 a task force
under IPHE developing mutually agreed-uponmethods of lifecycle analysis for hydrogenproduction. Analysis guidance developed to date has
focused on specific hydrogen production pathways ofinterest across over 20 countries in the near term.
Ongoing work is expanding this guidance to include
additional pathways and to account for the emissions
associated with hydrogen distribution. While
guidance developed by IPHE is not binding, it can
inform accounting frameworks implemented bymember countries to ensure consistency. As such, theU.S. will engage in global collaboration andcoordination to accelerate progress and fostertransparency and rigor in the analyses of emissions
across the value chain of hydrogen, including
potential indirect impacts, from multiple pathways.

DOE is also currently funding R&D and analysis toaddress key uncertainties in estimates of thedecarbonization potential of hydrogen. A range of
estimates of the well-to-gate emissions of severalhydrogen production technologies is provided in
Figure 18 below. DOE recently released several
solicitations to improve the performance of sensing
technologies that can measure hydrogen losses andis collaborating with the National Oceanic andAtmospheric Administration to characterize theglobal hydrogen cycle (including interactions ofhydrogen with the climate and with soil). Uponcompletion of R&D that ascertains loss rates andclimate impacts with higher fidelity, DOE will
incorporate both into life cycle analyses and the
GREET tool. DOE is additionally funding RD&D to
improve detection, quantification, and mitigation of
fugitive methane emissions, which are known to varyconsiderably by region and can substantially impact
the life-cycle emissions of hydrogen production fromthe oil and natural gas supply chain. It is important tonote that the landscape for methane emissions
monitoring and mitigation is changing rapidly. For
example, the EPA is in the process of developing
enhanced data reporting requirements for petroleum
and natural gas systems under its Greenhouse Gas
Reporting Program and is in the process of finalizing
requirements under New Source PerformanceStandards and Emission Guidelines for the oil and gas
sector that will result in mitigation of methane
emissions. With these changes, it is expected that thequality of data to verify methane emissions will
improve and methane emissions rates will changeover time. In addition, PHMSA has proposed
requirements for hydrogen pipeline leak detection
and repair as part of its Leak Detection and Repair
Rule, which states that unless otherwise specified in
the proposed amendments, the proposals in thenotice of proposed rulemaking apply the samerequirements to hydrogen gas pipelines (and othergas pipelines) as to natural gas pipelines. Suchactions can stimulate the development anddeployment of advanced leak detection technologies,
and bolster methane and hydrogen leak reporting
and repair.150

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

37

Figure 18: Well-to-gate carbon intensity of hydrogen from SMR with CCS and electrolysis pathways relative tocurrent U.S. production, and emissions intensities that can access the clean hydrogen production tax credit.
(Reproduced from Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Clean Hydrogen.3 Assumptions regarding modeled
technologies are described further in Liftoff report and include modeled assumptions; real-world lifecycle
emissions may vary beyond the ranges shown here.)

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

38

Strategy 2: Reduce the Cost of Clean Hydrogen
While there are various challenges across the entire
hydrogen value chain from production through enduse, Strategy 2 prioritizes reducing the cost of cleanhydrogen. There are many ways to produce hydrogenat various technology readiness levels and a wide
range of associated carbon emissions and otherenvironmental impacts. Agencies will prioritize andaccelerate its actions to focus on the most criticalbarriers for cost reduction; foster partnerships acrossindustry, academia, and national laboratories;

continuously track and adjust its portfolio based on
performance-driven metrics; and catalyze technology
innovation and deployment at scale.

Hydrogen Shot is one of DOE’s flagship initiatives todrive down the cost of clean hydrogen, in concert
with accelerating deployment and scale, such as
through Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs, loan
guarantees, and other mechanisms. As shown in

Figure 19, the Hydrogen Shot can enable a wide
range of use cases and impacts and builds on thecurrent progress across the spectrum of production
pathways.

In response to President Biden’s April 2021 Climate
Summit request to DOE to accelerate progress
towards tackling the climate crisis, DOE establishedthe Energy Earthshot initiative, creating bold,
ambitious goals to galvanize the domestic and global
industry.151

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

39

Figure 19: The Hydrogen Shot targets build on progress for a variety of pathways, enabling a range of use
cases and impacts.
Continuing to advance RDD&D efforts, and reducing
costs and associated lifecycle emissions, remain
important for all hydrogen production pathways. A
mix of hydrogen production from water electrolysis,hydrogen production from fossil fuels with carbon
capture and storage, and hydrogen production frombiomass and waste feedstocks will likely be used in
the United States through at least 2050. Today,
thermal conversion pathways are the dominant
approach to hydrogen supply worldwide, andtypically have a low cost but high emissions.
Electrolyzers using clean energy and advanced
pathways (i.e., technologies at lab scale, such as
photoelectrochemical and thermochemical water
splitting) can achieve near zero emissions but are
currently much higher in cost.

Hydrogen Production Through Water
SplittingElectrolysis uses electricity and an electrolyte or
membrane to split water into hydrogen and oxygen.
Most electrolysis uses one of three technologies:
alkaline, PEM, and solid oxide electrolyzer cells(SOECs). The alkaline process is the most established,having been used for over a century. PEM
electrolyzers can operate effectively at a range ofloads with sub-second response times, which makes
them particularly compatible with variable energy
sources, such as sun and wind power. SOECs use aceramic electrolyte at high temperatures and are theleast commercialized of the three technologies. Withhigher electrical efficiency than PEM and alkalinesystems, SOECs are likely to be more cost-effective inscenarios where high-temperature heat is available,
such as from nuclear power plants and concentrated
solar power.

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

40

The cost of clean electricity accounts for over half ofthe cost of hydrogen production from electrolysis.152,
153
RDD&D can all drive costs toward the Hydrogen
Shot target by lowering the cost of clean electricity(renewables, nuclear power), boosting the efficiencyof electrolysis, reducing electrolyzer and balance-ofplant capital costs and enabling dynamic integrationof electrolyzers with the grid and with renewable andnuclear generators to access low-cost variable power.
The long-term extensions included in IRA of the
production tax credit and investment tax credit forclean electricity technologies will also serve to drive
down clean electricity costs.
Figure 20 shows one scenario for reducing the cost ofclean hydrogen from electrolysis, which requires
dramatically lowering capital costs, lowering energy
costs, increasing efficiencies, and improving durability
and reliability to reduce maintenance costs.
Figure 20 does not include the impacts of incentives
enabled by IRA.

Figure 20: Achieving $1/kg using electrolyzers
requires lower electricity cost, significantly lower
capital costs, improvement in efficiency anddurability, and higher utilization. Costs depicted to

not include impacts of incentives, such as the IRA 45V
Credit. for Production of Clean Hydrogen.
The 2020 baseline cost of $5/kg is the levelized costof hydrogen calculated using DOE’s H2A model using
a conservative $1,500/kW for PEM electrolyzer capital
cost (at low volume manufacturing), a $50/MWh
electricity price, and a capacity or utilization factor of
90 percent.154 In comparison, using today’s $29/MWhfor solar and 35 percent capacity factor, based on the2020 National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
Annual Technology Baseline, results in a levelizedhydrogen cost of about $7.50/kg, as shown by thegreen arrow. As shown, the levelized cost ofhydrogen production is highly sensitive to the cost ofelectricity. Access to low-cost energy with a highcapacity factor (e.g., through integration with existingclean baseload assets such as hydroelectric andnuclear power plants) can facilitate much lower
levelized costs. In addition, through the end of thedecade, declines in electrolyzer capex will account fora significant portion of cost reductions on thelevelized cost of clean hydrogen. It is important tonote that the cost estimates in
The example shown of what would be needed toachieve $2/kg – required by the BIL by 2026 – isbased on $30/MWh energy costs and $300/kW
capital costs, and the $1/kg Hydrogen Shot goal
would require $20/MWh and $150/kW, respectively.
These cost targets do not include the clean hydrogenproduction tax credit. In all these cases, a 90 percent
electrolyzer capacity factor is assumed, requiring theuse of clean firm electricity, such as nuclear orgeothermal energy, or for variable renewables to becomplemented by storage. This scenario illustrates
that capital costs would need to be reduced by 80
percent and the operating and maintenance costs
would need to be reduced by 90 percent. It should beemphasized that these are just scenarios that could
achieve these cost targets. Still, other combinationsof cost, efficiency, electricity prices, utilization factors,
and durability, including the use of thermal sources
for high-temperature electrolyzers, could enablemeeting the Hydrogen Shot goal. In 2020, DOE
launched a new consortium bringing together
national labs, industry, and academia - H2NEW(Hydrogen from Next-generation Electrolyzers of

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

41

Water) – on electrolyzer technologies to complement
HydroGEN, a consortium that investigates all water
splitting technologies, including direct
photoelectrochemical and thermochemical
methods.155 H2NEW will accelerate progress inelectrolyzer technologies and help reduce costs. As
shown in Figure 21, these cost reductions will require
high-volume manufacturing, innovations inelectrolyzer stacks and balance of plant (BOP)
components, and electrolyzer integration in nextgeneration systems. Improving electrolyzer efficiency
can also help reduce the levelized cost of hydrogensince the cost of electricity is a large fraction ofhydrogen cost. While analyses on various system
configurations are ongoing, the figure shows just one
example of the magnitude of cost reductions in eachcategory. These values will be updated as theindustry advances. Policies such as the 45V Credit for
Production of Clean Hydrogen within the Inflation
Reduction Act will also drive down capital costs overthe coming decade.

electrolyzers to enable access to variable clean
energy at low cost. Innovative system designs may
also improve electrolyzer economics, such as bymonetizing co-generated oxygen or accessing waste
heat.

Figure 22: There are many drivers for electrolyzer
stack and balance-of-plant capital cost reductions.

Hydrogen Production from Fossil
Fuels with Carbon Capture andStorage

Figure 21: Reducing electrolyzer capital costs will
require reaching economies of scale and innovating
the electrolyzer stack and balance-of-plantcomponents.
There is no single overarching cost driver for capital
cost reduction. As shown in Figure 22, multiple
components encompassing electrolysis stacks andbalance-of-plant systems must be addressed.156
As demand rises for energy storage and clean power,stakeholders must continue exploring innovative
mechanisms of on-grid and off-grid integration of

The BIL requires DOE to account for and support
opportunities for hydrogen production from diverse
energy, including fossil fuels with CCS. Opportunities
include regions of the U.S. with abundant natural gas,
reservoirs for CO2 storage, or existing natural gas
supply infrastructure. As shown in Figure 23 below,
the current network of natural gas infrastructure andSMR plants are both largely concentrated in the Gulf
Coast region, given the availability of natural gas andhydrogen demand for the petrochemical sector.
Hydrogen is currently an essential feedstock within
refining, used primarily to crack heavy crude oil anddesulfurize product streams. Displacing hydrogenused at current petroleum refineries with cleanhydrogen can reduce the life cycle emissions of therefining process by ~12 percent, depending on thehydrogen supply source.157

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

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Figure 23: Hydrogen production units and pipelines for hydrogen and natural gas in the United States.
Capturing and storing SMR’s carbon dioxide before itis emitted into the atmosphere can reduce the life
cycle carbon intensity of hydrogen production by
over 50 percent, depending on CCS rates andupstream emissions, including fugitive releases
during natural gas excavation, transmission, anduse.158, 159 High carbon capture rates (e.g., over 95
percent) and very low upstream methane emissions
will be critical. Adding CCS to existing facilities with
SMR units presents one pathway to fasterdecarbonization of chemical and refining uses ofhydrogen at large scale. Many SMR units are
currently located near or are integrated with refining
facilities and take advantage of local low-cost andplentiful natural gas. The Gulf Coast, where many
existing SMR units are located, also contains someexisting CO2 pipeline infrastructure.

Autothermal reforming (ATR) with carbon capture isanother approach to producing hydrogen fromnatural gas that is expected to cost less thanconventional SMR with CCS, especially at commercial
scales and in regions with low-cost electricity. Thisapproach entails integrating an air separation unit
with the reforming process to improve thermal
efficiency and enable higher capture rates and lowercost CCS. A third type of natural gas-based
production, methane pyrolysis, uses high heat to split
methane into hydrogen and solid carbon – this canbe an attractive option since the solid carbon can
provide a value-added co-product for applications
such as industrial rubber and tire manufacturing andfor specialty products such as inks, catalysts, plastics,
and coatings.

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

43Recent DOE investments are supporting RDD&D andproviding loans for scale-up and deployment ofpyrolysis pathways.160, 161, 162 The cost of hydrogenfrom methane pyrolysis pathways are highly
dependent on the price of the carbon product sold,thus high value and volume carbon markets for the
carbon products are pivotal for methane pyrolysis toplay a large role in the clean hydrogen space. In 2021,
DOE’s LPO announced a conditional commitment fora loan guarantee to Monolith™ Inc. (formerly
Monolith Nebraska, LLC) for approximately $1 billion
to deploy methane pyrolysis technology at their
Oliver Creek facility in Hallam, Nebraska. Hydrogenproduced at this facility will be used to produce
ammonia fertilizer. Deployment of this facility is also
expected to create approximately 1,000 jobs during
construction and 75 high-paying, highly skilled, clean
energy jobs to support facility operations.163
The GHG intensity of hydrogen production frommethane feedstocks also depends on the extent ofmethane leaks from the production andtransportation of the natural gas supply. Anticipatedregulations and advances in methane monitoring areexpected to reduce these emissions and provide
greater measurement certainty. Methane leakage
rates, which can have both air quality and toxicity
impacts, can vary by operator practice and basin.164
Today, hydrogen production from SMR systems
equipped with CCS is roughly 55 percent more
expensive than that of SMR alone.158 Cost reductions
in CO2 transport and storage, variable costs, andcapital costs could help meet the Hydrogen Shottarget, as shown in Figure 24. DOE funds RDD&D tolower costs and improve performance of SMR andATR systems with CCS and pathways for future cost
reductions include improved process integration of
CO2/H2 separation, use of high pressure or hightemperature separations through membranes, solid
CO2 sorbents, advanced catalysts, and novel methodsof oxygen separation. However, using low-cost
natural gas remains the most important method of
obtaining a lower cost of hydrogen throughreforming with CCS pathways. In addition to lowering
cost, the national strategy continuously emphasizes
the importance of low GHG pathways, including
reduction of upstream emissions. Captured carbon

can also be utilized in industrial processes rather thanstored underground. Emerging utilization pathways
include construction of building materials andproduction of chemicals. DOE is supporting RDD&D
on conversion of CO2 to useful products.

Figure 24: Cost reductions necessary to achieve $1/kg
production cost for methane feedstocks with CCS.
Baseline assumes autothermal reforming with CCS.
There are a growing number of carbon capture, use,and storage projects in the United States. For
instance, in Louisiana, Air Products is building afacility expected to come online in 2026 and produce
1,800 tonnes of reformation-based hydrogen daily.
The site will take advantage of Louisiana’s geology tosequester 5 MMT of CO2 each year, announced as theworld’s largest.165,166 In Iowa, Green Plains, Inc., hasannounced a carbon offtake agreement for threeethanol biorefineries, where captured carbon dioxide
will be transported via pipeline to undergroundgeological structures in North Dakota for storage.
This project is expected to begin operations in 2025
and should sequester 10 MMT of CO2 each year.167
Policies such as the 45Q tax credit for CCS, whichcannot be combined with 45V tax credits forhydrogen production but that can incentivize fossilbased production, can pave the way for cleanhydrogen production at scale.168
In all cases when using fossil fuels, federal agencies
will prioritize reducing emissions across the value

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

44

chain from production through end-use. In addition,
it will be important to develop measurement andmonitoring solutions and to factor in hydrogenleakage risks into decisions to build out hydrogentransport infrastructure, regardless of its primary
production pathway. Finally, federal agencies willprioritize stakeholder engagement to address
potential environmental concerns and cumulative
burdens imposed on communities that may hostfossil fuel-based hydrogen and CCS technologies.

Hydrogen Production from Biomass
and Waste Feedstocks
Additional pathways to hydrogen production include
biomass gasification with carbon capture and storageand SMR or ATR using feedstocks such as biogas
from organic landfill matter, sewage, or agricultural
wastes in place of natural gas. These production
methods have the potential to be low-carbon orcarbon-negative depending on the feedstock.
Lifecycle emissions across the entire biomass supply
chain, including direct and indirect land-use changes,
and agricultural inputs such as fertilizer should beconsidered when evaluating this pathway.
When biomass pathways are coupled with CCS, their
net emissions have the potential to be negative. For
example, when the waste feedstock is diverted fromlandfills and instead used to make hydrogen, some of
the methane generated by processing the waste isalso diverted from the atmosphere and thermallyconverted to clean hydrogen (i.e., methane thatwould not otherwise have been flared, given regional
best practices and regulations).

Other System Costs
Cost reduction is not limited to hydrogen production
alone. For instance, the costs for various technologies
and components across the hydrogen value chain are
shown in Figure 25 and Figure 26. Agencies willcontinue to strengthen their activities to reduce thecost of all key technologies across the value chain,including reducing supply chain vulnerabilities andboosting domestic manufacturing. DOE has released
a set of clean energy supply chain assessments,

including the supply chain for fuel cells andelectrolyzers, in response to President Biden’s
Executive Order 14017 on America’s Supply Chains.169
The BIL electrolyzer and clean hydrogen
manufacturing and recycling provisions ($1.5 billion
over five years) will be used, along with annual
appropriations, to address this strategy.15,16 In
addition, Treasury and IRS, in partnership with DOE,
announced additional guidance for approximately $4
billion in a first round of the Qualifying Advanced
Energy Project Credit (48C) for projects that expand
U.S. supply chains for clean energy technologies andcritical materials for clean energy technology
production, and for projects that reduce greenhousegas emissions at industrial facilities.170 Facilities that
manufacture electrolyzers, fuel cell vehicles, andother hydrogen technologies are eligible to apply.171
The cost of hydrogen delivery, storage, anddispensing to an end-user varies widely given themode of supply used. There are four main methodsof hydrogen delivery at scale today: gaseous tube
trailers, liquid tankers, pipelines (for gaseoushydrogen), and chemical hydrogen carriers. Tube
trailers and liquid tankers are commonly used inregions where hydrogen demand is developing andnot yet stable. Gaseous pipelines are commonly used
when demand is predictable for decades and at aregional scale of thousands of tonnes per day.
Chemical carriers are of interest for long-distancehydrogen delivery and export markets and can bebroadly classified as one-way or two-way carriers.
One-way carriers are materials that do not release aby-product for re-use or disposal after the hydrogenis released (such as ammonia). Two-way carriers arethose whose products are typically returned forprocessing for reuse or disposal after the hydrogen isreleased (such as methylcyclohexane/toluene). The
use of chemical hydrogen carriers is in the earlystages of commercialization and RD&D efforts areneeded to increase the hydrogen-carrying capacity ofthese materials and improve the charge-anddischarge rates, reversibility, and overall round-trip
efficiency

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

45​2030 Midstream costs if advances in distribution and storage technology are commercialized:​Hydrogen distribution and storage assuming state-of-art technology at scale1​Downstream: End use applications

Clean Hydrogen Production
Commercialized,
best-in-classgas compression​$0.2-0.4/kg
at 500 bar, 10 tpd(tank storage, truck
distribution)​$0.1/kg​at 80-120 bar,
50 + tpd​(pipeline, co-locatedelectrolysis)​$0.1/kg at 600 tpd,
300 km, 12” OD​$0.1/kg
at 80 bar for 7 days,
600 tpd
Salt cavern
storage​$0.1/kg at ~5000
tpd, 1000 km, 42”
OD​Industry​Ammonia​Gas replacement​Transport​Refining​SteelH2pipeline​Chemicals​$0.8 / kg
at 500 bar for 7 days​$0.7-1.5/kg
at 10 tpd, 250 km

Compressedgas tank
storage

Gas phasetrucking​$2.7/kg at 50 tpd​$0.2/kg for 7 days, 50
tpd scale​$0.2-0.3/kg
at 50 tpd, 250 km

Liquefaction

Liquidhydrogenstorage

Liquidhydrogentrucking

1.

Data based on cost-downs shared from leading-edge companies who have
deployed at demonstration scale (or larger)
2. Greater than or equal to 70% utilization, assumes line fill at high pressure
Sources: HDSAM, Argonne National Laboratory; Hydrogen Council​NG blending​Industrial heat
​Power generation​$1 -3.6/kg≥700 kg/day, 700 bar
Next generationfuel dispensing
at high utilization2​Aviation andmaritime fuels​HDMD road transport

Figure 25: Industry-informed estimates of midstream costs by 2030 and potential end uses. Repurposed from
DOE’s report, Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Clean Hydrogen.
Figure 25 from DOE’s Commercial Pathways Liftoff
report summarizes the key midstream infrastructure
pathways and industry cost estimates. As more realworld operational data becomes available, agencies
and the private sector can target the key priorities toenable cost reduction and commercial viability.
After delivery, hydrogen may need to be conditioned
onsite (e.g., pressurized, pre-cooled, or purified)
before use. At hydrogen fueling stations for vehicles,
compression, storage, and dispensing are the threelargest drivers of levelized cost. R&D efforts areneeded to reduce the cost, improve reliability, andincrease throughput of these components. Once it isdispensed, hydrogen is typically stored onboard
vehicles in all-metal or composite-overwrappedpressure vessels. R&D is needed to reduce the cost of
current designs, such as through reductions in thecost of carbon fiber overwrap, and to advance novel
approaches to onboard storage, such as in insulated
liquid tanks. For example, R&D is needed in next
generation fuel dispensing, which have higher costs,
driven by the capital expenses involved andcomplexity of fueling vehicles at high rates and very
high pressures (700 bar) while complying with safety
protocols.

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

46

Figure 26: Examples of cost drivers for hydrogen production, distribution, and storage technologies.172

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

47Strategy 3: Focus on Regional Networks
The third strategy will focus on achieving large-scale,commercially viable deployment of clean hydrogenby matching the scaleup of clean hydrogen supplies
with a concomitant and growing regional demand.
Co-locating large-scale clean hydrogen production
with multiple end-uses can foster the development of
low-cost hydrogen and the necessary supporting
infrastructure to jumpstart the hydrogen economy inimportant market segments. In addition, pursuing a
regional strategy for hydrogen development willallow companies across the supply chain to takeadvantage of the benefits that come when similarfirms locate near one another in industrial clusters.
These can include the benefits that come from sharedinfrastructure including access to raw materials andother downstream supply chains, transportation andtransmission systems, and a strong and well-trainedlabor pool. In addition, industrial clusters benefit fromthe proximity of innovation to manufacturing, leading
to knowledge sharing across firms. Industrial clusters
can also help to create stronger social and civic
engagement, as workers have multiple job
opportunities in the region so are more likely to form
lasting ties with the community. Ultimately,
developing hydrogen through a hub approach will
create stronger and more competitive regional
economies, much as the creation of auto industry(e.g., Detroit) has done in the past.
From a technical standpoint, DOE’s regional cleanhydrogen networks will create near-term and longterm jobs, increase tax revenues for regional
economies, and reduce emissions and multiple
agencies, including DOL, will work together todetermine opportunities for both near-term andsustained jobs benefits. Regional Clean Hydrogen
Hubs supported by the BIL will create networks ofhydrogen producers, consumers, and local connective
infrastructure to accelerate the use of hydrogen as aclean energy carrier that can deliver or store
tremendous amounts of energy. Shared – i.e., “openaccess” - scaled infrastructure is critical to reducing
the delivered cost of clean hydrogen and ensuringthat use cases, particularly those that do not havecollocated production and offtake, can reachcommercial scale. Midstream infrastructure requires
rapid scale-up, with investment requirements
growing from $2 billion to $3 billion annually from2023 to 2030, increasing to $15 billion to $20 billion
annually from 2030 to 2050, as more distributed enduses like road transportation adopt clean hydrogenand local hubs and regional networks can be linked
into a national network.
The Hydrogen Shot Request for Information (RFI),
issued in 2021, received over 200 responses
describing diverse resources, end-uses, and impact
potential in various regions.173 Figure 27 is based on
those RFI responses and synthesizes distinct regional
examples and advantages in clean hydrogenproduction, storage, and end-use potential.
Respondents identified very specific end-use
opportunities for clean hydrogen in some regions,such as for port communities or offshore wind
generation. In other regions, stakeholders indicated astrong interest in leveraging abundant energy
resources like biomass or infrastructure such asenergy storage or geological caverns. Stakeholders
also provided examples where disadvantaged ortribal communities could be engaged, and examplesof potential job opportunities. Details and examples
were provided in presentations at the Hydrogen Shot
Summit and DOE webinars.174,175

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

48

Figure 27: Examples of regions identified by responses to the Hydrogen Shot Request for Information (RFI).
The Hydrogen Shot RFI underlined the numerous
opportunities for strategic hydrogen use across the
U.S. In many cases, the current infrastructure that
respondents highlighted can support early regional
deployment needs. The BIL’s Regional Clean
Hydrogen Hub provision provides a unique,unprecedented opportunity for the U.S. to jumpstarta clean hydrogen economy while achieving tangible
regional and community-level benefits. Data
gathered from the hubs will be used in future
analyses to identify optimal approaches to market
liftoff, such as using contracts for difference;
matching production with offtakers; creatingtargeted, large-scale demand with anchor tenants;
and using existing infrastructure where applicable,
including CCS and other pipeline infrastructure.
Figure 28 summarizes the critical elements ofsuccessful Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs, the three“pillars” that characterize the hubs (per the BIL) andoutlines key desired outcomes.

Near-term, absence of long-term offtake contracts tomanage volume and price risk also presents achallenge to accelerating the clean hydrogen
economy. Shifting from bilateral contracts to acommodity market could lower the cost of capital by
reducing counterparty risk, but the transition frombilateral agreements would require significantly
increased coordination between investors and project
developers across the value chain. Of the 12
MMT/year of clean hydrogen production capacity
annnounced in the U.S. to date, only ~10 percent has
achieved final investment decision (FID), largely due
to this lack of long-term offtake.3 Securing long-term
offtake will be critical to ensure production projects
reach FID and can access low cost of capital (e.g.,bond debt).
Long-term offtake agreements in the form of powerpurchase agreements (PPAs) were critical for the
scale-up of wind and solar, but the hydrogen market,
like other commodity markets, has not historically

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

49

operated with these kinds of long-term, fixed pricecontracts. Prospective clean hydrogen buyers are
additionally hesitant to commit to multi-year offtake
given projected clean hydrogen cost declines. Policies
or mechanisms that address this issue could play arole in the early scale-up of clean hydrogen projects.

and industry analyses, DOE estimated the technicalpotential for producing hydrogen from diverse
domestic resources. The technical potential estimates
for these renewable resources are shown in Figure 29
and Figure 30.

Longer-term, the development of a maturecommodity market for clean hydrogen and its
derivatives can also allow easier access to financing
by providing transparent price information andallowing developers to hedge price and counterparty
risk. The development of price transparency andstandard contract terms are necessary prerequisites
for a functioning commodity market for cleanhydrogen.

Figure 29: Production Potential of Hydrogen Acrossthe United States.176

Figure 28: Critical elements of successful Regional
Clean Hydrogen Hubs and key outcomes.

Regional production potential
As part of the strategy, DOE will continue to refine
and update regional analyses across the hydrogenvalue chain, including the availability of water andother resources. Using data from national laboratory

Lowest-cost production methods for clean hydrogen
will depend upon regional resource availability, andearly market developments will need to be locatednear end-users to reduce the costs of hydrogendelivery. The combination of natural resources,
infrastructure assets, and hydrogen demand
opportunities varies from region to region and will
determine optimal region-specific approaches. Solar
and wind resource potentials dominate in the plains,
southwest, and mountain regions. Biomass resources
are prevalent in the midwestern, northeastern, andsoutheastern United States. Major shale natural gasproducing regions include the Marcellus, Permian,and Haynesville formations. Geologic CO2 storage
potential is dominant in the industrial heartland andthe Gulf Coast, where natural gas resources are alsoprevalent, as shown in Figure 32. With today’s nuclear
fleet and next-generation, advanced nuclear
approaches (including small modular reactors), there
are multiple regional opportunities for clean, firm
nuclear power. Future work will include anassessment of the economic opportunities associatedsupplying hydrogen by leveraging each of theseregional resources.

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

50

240,000 (kg/km²/year)

100,000<10,000a) Hydrogen production potential from onshore

wind resources, by county land area

55,000 (kg/km²/year)

10,000<1,000c) Hydrogen production potential from solid

biomass resources, by county land area

1,600,000 (kg/km²/year)

500,000<10,000e) Hydrogen production potential fromconcentrated solar power, by county land area

740,000 (kg/km²/year)

370,000<3,000b) Hydrogen production potential from offshore

wind resources, by area

230,000 (kg/km²/year)

100,000<1,000d) Hydrogen production potential from existinghydropower assets, by county land area

1,300,000 (kg/km²/year) 750,000<250,000f) Hydrogen production potential from utility-

scale PV, by county land area

Figure 30: Production potential for clean hydrogen from onshore wind, offshore wind, biomass resources,
existing hydropower, concentrated solar power, and utility-scale photovoltaic solar power. Alaska and Hawaii
will be added in future roadmaps. (Source: NREL176)

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

51

Electrolyzers would likely need to be in regions withhigh wind and solar potential, or alongside highcapacity factor clean power, such as hydroelectric andnuclear power plants. In regions with high renewables
penetration, electrolysis can help manage variableloads on the grid, utilizing excess capacity during
peak production to produce hydrogen rather thanletting power be curtailed. For instance, electrolyzers
integrated with offshore wind in regions withtransmission constraints could create anotherrevenue stream for the renewable generation. Federal
agencies will assess various options in collaboration
with states and local communities.
Regional availability of water resources is also an
important factor in the siting and sustainability ofhydrogen production facilities. While the watersupply required for hydrogen production is likely torepresent a small fraction of annual freshwater
consumption nationwide,177 water availability canvary widely by region. Future analysis may identify
preferable locations for deployments of hydrogenproduction facilities based on regions of abundant
water supply and may also identify strategies todeploy supporting infrastructure in water-stressedregions, such as water distribution pipelines,
reclaimed purification systems, and desalination
plants.

Regional storage potential
As real-world hydrogen projects ramp up, federal
agencies will continue to assess optimal approaches
and siting opportunities for hydrogen storage atscale. Hydrogen storage can decouple power
generation from energy use and achieve lower costs
than other technologies at scales of multiple days or
weeks.178 Hydrogen can be stored in gaseous or
liquid vessels, in underground formations, or inmaterials, such as hydrogen carriers, depending on
how it will be used. Each approach has bothadvantages and disadvantages; several DOE andindustry projects and analyses are underway to
reduce cost and potential emissions and improve
efficiency and storage capacity.

Tanks and liquid dewars are already commerciallyused in industry and at hydrogen fueling stations tostore hydrogen at scales of hundreds of kilograms to
many metric tonnes. Limited deployments of largerscale vessels have primarily stored hydrogen in liquid
form for aerospace applications that require the useof liquid hydrogen onboard. The world’s largest liquidhydrogen storage vessel today is at Kennedy Space
Center in Florida, storing 1.25 million gallons or over
330 tonnes of liquid hydrogen.179 Even larger scalesof hydrogen storage currently employ undergroundcaverns and are used to buffer seasonal differences
between hydrogen supply and demand for the
petrochemical sector. The U.S. has three large-scalegeological hydrogen storage caverns including theworld’s largest in Beaumont, TX, storing over 7,000
tonnes underground.44
Underground hydrogen storage caverns haveprimarily been excavated in salt deposits near the
point of hydrogen use, with limited demonstrationsin hard rock. Additional geologies used for natural
gas storage and could potentially be used forhydrogen in the future include depleted oil and gas
reservoirs and aquifers. Figure 31, below, shows theapproximate availability of these geologicalformations throughout the United States. In manycases, these regions overlap with the dominant
production potential regions shown in Figure 29. DOE
funds research on subsurface hydrogen storage
through the Subsurface Hydrogen Assessment,
Storage, and Technology Acceleration (SHASTA)
program.180 The program aims to expand thetechnical storage viability of hydrogen beyond salt
and hard rock formations to expand the geographic
diversity of low-cost hydrogen storage opportunities.
DOE will continue its analyses and RDD&D on
storage location opportunities and on technologies
including advanced hydrogen carriers, such as
ammonia and liquid organic hydrogen carriers, asthese can carry hydrogen at high energy densities.

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

52

Figure 31: Underground storage opportunities in the United States. (Source: SHASTA181)
Many of these geologies and reservoirs can also be
used for permanent CO2 storage in support of cleanhydrogen production. Figure 32 depicts the locationsof potential CCS along with existing hydrogen andammonia production plants. Ongoing analysis

projects are currently identifying approaches tooptimally leverage these resources and deploy future
CO2 and hydrogen infrastructure for cross-sector
decarbonization.

Figure 32: Potential locations for CCS based on geologic formations and existing hydrogen and ammonia
plants in the United States. Alaska and Hawaii will be added in future roadmaps. (Source: Teletzke, G.F.182)

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

53

Regional end-use potential
As shown in Figure 33, some regions in the country
have industrial clusters where several industries arepotential candidates to adopt hydrogen as afeedstock or energy source. Decarbonizing theseindustry segments will depend on the viability ofintegrating clean hydrogen on a sector-by-sector andregion-by-region basis. Yet, there is strong potential
to leverage networks that can enable hydrogen
infrastructure or large-scale CCS and develop bestpractices that can be used in other sectors.

Figure 33: Industrial clusters in the United States create potential regions for decarbonization hubs. (Source:
Psarras et al.183)
Strategic deployment of clean hydrogen will need toensure clusters are not just a collection of disparate
projects. Projects should be sized, scoped, andplanned in coordination with each other to match
scale, cost, and duration. Coordinated projects will
help avoid stranded assets by providing a criticalmass of offtakers, leveraging CCS and otherinfrastructure, and ensuring public investments pay
dividends to meet our net-zero goal.

Regional clean hydrogen hubs will demonstrate theefficacy of coordinating regional decarbonization
efforts and support the business case of theseprojects to stimulate private capital investment.
The hubs will also create avenues to engage
stakeholders at every stage of the process to earnpublic support, develop community benefit
agreements, and ensure projects advanceenvironmental, health, and equity goals.

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

54

Industries that already consume hydrogen at scale,such as ammonia production, are likely to be early
adopters of clean hydrogen, given their existing
supply chains and economies of scale. Figure 34 andFigure 35 show examples of current and futurehydrogen production potential and the existing
ammonia production sites.

Figure 34: Existing hydrogen and ammonia production plants and potential wind energy resources in the
United States.

Figure 35: Existing hydrogen and ammonia production plants and nuclear energy plants in the United States.

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

55Supporting Each Strategy
To support all three key strategies, federal agencies
will leverage the entire continuum of activities acrossbasic science184 through applied research,development, demonstration, and large-scale
deployments. As shown in Figure 36, the continuumof activities will be supported by foundational andcrosscutting efforts to promote diversity, equity,
inclusion, and accessibility; engage communities,
ranging from environmental justice groups to Tribes,
tribal organizations and labor unions; develop theworkforce; advance policy; support the technology
and energy transition; and enable market adoption atscale.

Figure 36: Foundational and crosscutting efforts will
support the entire lifecycle of activities at DOE, frombasic research through large-scale deployment.
Workforce development and good job creation will
be supported by IRA. The U.S. Treasury Department
and Internal Revenue Service published guidance on
the IRA’s prevailing wage and apprenticeshiprequirements, which went into effect January 29,

2023.185 The requirements apply to several tax credits
relevant to clean hydrogen technologies, including
the Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit, theAlternative Fuel Refueling Property Credit, and theCredit for Carbon Oxide Sequestration, among
others.185 The Department of Labor is responsible fordetermining the prevailing wage and can assist
taxpayers and contractors to ensure that they
understand their responsibilities to securecompliance.185
The U.S. Government’s RDD&D activities are
informed by market-based technical targets thatenable hydrogen use to be competitive withincumbent fuels across sectors. The BIL requires DOE
to develop targets for the program to address nearterm (up to 2 years), mid-term (up to 7 years), andlong-term (up to 15 years) challenges to theadvancement of clean hydrogen systems andtechnologies. 186 Key targets are shown in Table 1.
Activities across government, industry, and academia
must work in concert to advance technologies andprovide market signals toward these targets. And, toensure that the clean hydrogen market is selfsustaining (e.g., offers market-rate returns) whencertain incentive programs (e.g., 45V, 45Q) expire.
Many existing consortia and initiatives are alreadyworking to achieve these goals throughcollaborations between national laboratories,
industry, and academia. Key examples include DOE’s
H2NEW consortium on electrolyzer technologies, theM2FCT consortium to advance fuel cells for heavyduty trucks, the Hydrogen Materials Compatibility
Consortium (H-Mat), and other R&D projects andfirst-of-a-kind demonstrations funded throughprevious solicitations.

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

56

Table 1: Key Program Targets 2022-2036.

2022-2023•

Production•••

Infrastructure & Supply Chains

•

•
•

•

•
•

•

End-Use and Enablers

•
•
•
•

•

2024-2028

2029-2036

3 or more pathways identified•
with potential to meet
Hydrogen Shot
10,000 hours of high•temperature electrolyzer testing
3 or more pathways assessed for •life cycle emissions
1.25 MW of electrolyzers
integrated with nuclear for H2•
production
2 or more conditional loan
program agreements•

10 or more demos with renewables•(including offshore wind), nuclear, andwaste/fossil with CCS$2/kg clean H2 from electrolysis at scale •by 2026*
51 kWh/kg efficiency; 80,000-hr life; and •$250/kW for low temperatureelectrolyzers
44 kWh/kg efficiency; 60,000-hr life; and •$300/kW for high temperatureelectrolyzers
20 MW of nuclear heat extraction,
distribution, and control for electrolysis

10 MMT per year by 2030or moreof clean H2 produced in the U.S.
from diverse sources$1/kg clean H2 production fromdiverse resources at scale*
46 kWh/kg efficiency; 80,000-hr
life; $100/kW uninstalled cost for
low temperature electrolyzers
80,000-hr life $200/kW cost forhigh temperature electrolyzers
while maintaining or improving
efficiency

10 kg/min average H2 fuelingrate for heavy-duty applications
40% reduction in footprint ofliquid H2 fueling stations vs.
current (2016) code.
50% increase in seal and metal
durability in H2 service vs. 2018baseline
400 kg/hr. high-pressurecompressors and cryopumps
5% or better accuracy for H2
flow meters at up to 20 kg/min
flow

•
•

7 kWh/kg efficiency for H2 liquefaction
50% cost reduction of carbon fiber forH2 storage vessels (vs. 2020)
50% of membrane/ionomer material
recovery and >95% of platinumgroup metals (PGMs) recovery fromfuel cell membrane electrodeassemblies (MEA) pathways identified
through recycling and upcycling
3 GW or more electrolyzer
manufacturing capacity in the UnitedStates•$4/kg H2 cost at scale (including
production, delivery, anddispensing at fueling stations)
70% of membrane/ionomer
material recovery and 99% of
PGMs from MEA pathways
identified through recycling andupcycling
3 or more pathways validated foremissions reductions, while
meeting environmental andenergy justice priorities$170/kW heavy-duty truck fuelcell cost vs. $200/kW baseline
18,000-hr fuel cell durability forbuses.
1.5 MW or more of H2 fuel cells
for data center resilience
1 MW scale electrolyzer andfueling marine applications
15 fuel cell delivery trucks
operating in disadvantaged
community, creating potential
for market growth that reduces
emissions and creates jobs
1 or more integrated H2 forammonia production
demonstration••$140/kW heavy-duty truck fuel cell cost
50% reduction of fuel cell PGMs vs.
2020 baseline
1 ton/week reduction of iron with H2and pathway to 5,000 tonnes/day
9 ppm NOx emissions for 100% H2turbines, 2 ppm with selective catalytic
reduction
3 H2 fuel cell Super Truck projects
completed
2 or more pilot projects with tribes
4 template community benefit
agreements
4 or more Regional Clean Hydrogen
Hubs using diverse resources and for
multiple strategic end-uses

•

•

•

•
•

•
•
•
•

•

•

•
•
•

$80/kW heavy-duty truck fuel cell
cost while also meeting durability
and performance$900/kW and 40,000-hr durability
fuel-flexible stationary fuel cells
4 or more end-use demos (e.g.,steel, ammonia, storage) at scale
10 MMT per year or more of clean
H2 used in strategic markets at
scale aligned with the National
Hydrogen Strategy goal

* Modeled cost at scale to meet Hydrogen Shot goal

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

57

C: Guiding Principles and National Actions
Guiding Principles
Federal Agencies will adhere to guiding principles in eight categories

Figure 37: Eight guiding principles for the development of clean hydrogen production, transport, delivery,storage, and use.
•

The U.S. Government will enable the national netzero and clean grid goals through targeted
deployments of clean hydrogen in sectors where
its use has the most impact, including industrial
processes, heavy-duty transport, high-temperature
heat, and long duration energy storage. These
strategic deployments will be informed throughanalyses and stakeholder input to address key
priorities including environmental, energy justice,and economic benefits.
•

a competitive domestic industry, and sustained
private investment, building upon American
ingenuity, talent, and initiative. Demonstration anddeployment programs (e.g., Regional Clean
Hydrogen Hubs) will help de-risk first-of-a-kindprojects and scaled, shared infrastructure—helping
to unlock lower delivered cost of hydrogen as wellas access to commercial debt.

Enable deep decarbonization
through strategic, high-impact
uses:

Catalyze innovation andinvestment:
The U.S. Government will foster partnerships withindustry, academia, national laboratories, andother stakeholders to invest in innovation acrossthe entire RDD&D value chain for clean hydrogentechnologies. DOE’s actions will stimulate growth,•

Foster Diversity, Equity, Inclusion &Accessibility:
The U.S. Government will promote diversity,
equity, inclusion, and accessibility to effectively
advance the U.S. research, innovation, andcommercialization enterprise. Federal agencies’
actions will support stewardship and promotion ofdiverse and inclusive workplaces that value andcelebrate a diversity of people, ideas, cultures, andeducational backgrounds that are foundational todelivering on the clean hydrogen strategy.

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

58•

As a covered program under the Justice 40
initiative, the U.S. Government will prioritizeenergy and environmental justice. Federal
agencies’ actions will seek to create newprograms, tools and initiatives that will increasetransparency, community engagement, economic
opportunities, and access to clean hydrogentechnologies that can help improve the health andwell-being of communities, including Tribal
Nations and other communities who have been
historically underserved in alignment with theJustice40 Initiative. Siting and benefits of cleanhydrogen deployments should be developed
through meaningful and sustained engagementwith each community that desires to take part inthe clean hydrogen economy and governmentwide tools such as the Climate and Economic
Justice Screening Tool (CEJST)187 should be
consulted prior to engagement to help developers
identify burdens, disparities, and opportunities inoverburdened and underserved communities.
Additional government-sponsored community
engagements and listening sessions are planned
to help surface frontline and fenceline community
concerns, specifically around hydrogentechnologies including CCS technologies. Efforts
are already underway to understand and addresscommunity concerns, ranging from NOx emissions
to environmental health risks associated withunconventional natural gas production, per- andpolyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) use in hydrogenfuel cells and electrolyzes, and hydrogen leakage
detection. Future guidance will be issued to help
identify and quantify benefits that will flow to
disadvantaged communities. Safe practices in the
production, storage, distribution, and use ofhydrogen will continue to be an integral part ofdevelopment.
•

the free and fair chance to join a union. Federal
agencies’ actions will also provide opportunities
for workers and communities transitioning awayfrom carbon-intensive sectors, leveraging existingand developing new skills across industries byutilizing and expanding registered apprenticeshipprograms, developing sectoral strategies forworkforce development, and supporting job
growth at each step in the hydrogen value chain—from equipment manufacturing and trucking topipeline construction and CCS. DOE’s report,
Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Clean Hydrogen,estimated approximately 100,000 new direct andindirect jobs could be created related to the buildout of new projects and clean hydrogen
infrastructure.3 Direct jobs relate to employment inroles such as engineering and construction, andindirect jobs relate to manufacturing and the raw
material supply chain.

Advance Energy and Environmental
Justice:

Grow Quality Jobs:
The U.S. Government will focus on preserving andgrowing quality jobs. These jobs are defined as
good-paying, family-sustaining jobs with pathways
for advancement, worker voice in workplace healthand safety plan design and implementation, and•Spur domestic manufacturing androbust supply chains:
The U.S. Government will promote U.S.
manufacturing, ensure robust, secure, andresilient supply chains, and increase exports.
Federal agencies’ actions will utilize multiple tools,
from grants to financing to facilitating
partnerships. Recent DOE analyses havecharacterized the makeup of hydrogentechnologies, as well as vulnerabilities in the
supply chain for electrolyzers and fuel cells.188
DOE is now supplementing this work with
substantial RD&D investments to reduce the costof electrolyzer and fuel cell manufacturing andenable scale-up, expand the supply chain forelectrolyzer and fuel cell components, andadvance recycling technologies, in support of
EPACT- 2005 Sections 815 and 816 (as enacted by
BIL Section 40314).189•

Enable affordability and versatility:
The U.S. Government will target affordability andcreate flexibility in the energy system byleveraging and coupling diverse sources, including
renewables and high baseload clean assets such as
nuclear power, utilizing fossil and CCS
infrastructure where appropriate, and enabling

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

59resilience and energy security. By using cleanhydrogen as a fuel or feedstock or as an energy
carrier and storage medium, federal agencies canprovide multiple revenue streams across sectors
and avoid stranded assets.
•

Approach holistically:
The U.S. Government will approach cleanhydrogen development and deployment
holistically and will cultivate sustainable bestpractices through targeted development tosupport—not compete with—otherdecarbonization technologies such as
electrification. Federal agencies will foster rigorous
and transparent analyses on social, environmental,
economic, and energy impacts to help guidesustainable development of the nascent global
clean hydrogen industry.

Federal agencies will use these guiding principles as
the U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy andRoadmap is developed and continuously refined.
Principles of equity and justice are a high priority,
consistent with the Biden Administration’scommitments to ensure that overburdened,
underserved, and underrepresented individuals andcommunities have access to Federal resources

pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13985, Advancing
Racial Equity and Support for Underserved
Communities;190 E.O. 14020, Establishment of theWhite House Gender Policy Council;191 and E.O.
14008, Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home andAbroad.192
Community engagement and collaboration, including
work undertaken through community benefit
agreements, will take time and must be part of along-term effort. Programmatic changes are indevelopment that extend response times, lower
barriers for participation, and increase opportunities
for community engagement. By recognizing andaddressing the challenges early on and across thehydrogen value chain, we will collectively accelerate
progress towards our goals. With the right strategy
and implementation plan, clean hydrogentechnologies can reduce not only GHG emissions, butemissions of nitrogen oxides and particulates fromheavy-duty road transportation and stationary power,
improve human and environmental health, andprovide resilience and energy security—all while
creating new regional economic opportunities andpositioning the United States as a global leader in a
nascent industry.

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

60Actions Supporting the U.S. National Clean Hydrogen
Strategy and Roadmap
Federal agencies, in partnership with state, local, andTribal governments, and stakeholders will take action
to develop and deploy clean hydrogen technologies.
Planned actions are outlined across the near-term
through 2025, mid-term to 2029, and longer term to2035. The plans outlined in this report will be used tofulfill the reporting requirement in the BIL and are
expected to be continually refined and updated. They
are based on lessons learned and best practices fromthe development of both hydrogen and otheradvanced technologies, considering local andregional opportunities with a focus on environmental
and energy justice, and forging partnerships acrossgovernment, industry, investors, and academic andresearch institutions to speed progress.
Several of these actions are already in progress andwill be supported by existing and recently announced
public funding opportunities, such as initiatives under
DOE’s LPO and Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs under
BIL. Subject to annual congressional appropriations
and private sector investment, federal agencies andother stakeholders will undertake additional actions
across the RDD&D pipeline. DOE will track key
indicators and metrics to track progress of the U.S.

hydrogen strategy. While past analyses of thebenefits of hydrogen have largely focused on GHG
emissions, ongoing and planned activities are also
aiming to quantify other benefits, such as mitigationof criteria pollution, job creation, and domestic
leadership in innovation. Future versions of thisRoadmap will describe these impacts in great
depth.193
This is only the beginning of the national effort toinnovate and build the full value chain for cleanhydrogen from production through delivery andstorage infrastructure, market adoption andeconomic development—continued effort andinvestment will be required. The U.S. Government istaking a holistic view of catalyzing investments andactions to accelerate the commercialization ofhydrogen and related technologies across the Nation.
The National Strategy and Roadmap aligns with the
key hydrogen provisions in the BIL, as shown in
Figure 38, and will advance the broader national
effort to innovate and build the full value chain forclean hydrogen.

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

61

Figure 38: Timeline for key hydrogen provisions in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Federal agencies will work with states, Tribal
governments, communities, and other stakeholders
to identify regulatory gaps and develop strategies toaddress them.
Figure 39, based on input across agencies, shows
various segments of the hydrogen value chain fromproduction through end-use and lists the agencies
that may have jurisdiction in key areas. Based on a
DOE-funded report by Sandia National
Laboratories,194 Table 2 and Table 3 (below) show

examples of specific regulatory activities by thevarious agencies. Agencies will work together toregularly update this assessment and to identify
and prioritize actions to ensure the U.S. canaccelerate the buildout of hydrogen production,delivery, storage, and end-use, while also addressing
potential environmental concerns and ensuring
equity and justice for overburdened, underserved,
and underrepresented individuals and communities.

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

62

Figure 39: The regulatory landscape involves a suite of Federal and local regulators who may oversee eachsegment of the hydrogen value chain. (Source: Sandia National Lab)

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

63

Transportation by
Rail

Transportation by Pipeline

Storage

Production

Table 2: Examples of regulatory activities by U.S. agencies relevant to hydrogen production, storage, anddelivery.

Agency Regulation

Summary

EPA

40 CFR Part 98

Requires greenhouse gas reporting by applicable facilities, including
related to hydrogen production and other applicable source
categories.

DOE

IIJA Sec 40315 (Sec822 of EPACT-2005)

Directs DOE to develop a clean hydrogen production standard.

FAA

14 CFR Part 420

Dictates the separation distance requirements for storage of liquidhydrogen and any incompatible energetic liquids.

FERC*

18 CFR Part 157

Issuance of certificates of public convenience and necessity toprospective companies providing energy services or constructing andoperating interstate natural gas pipelines and storage facilities.

EPA

40 CFR 144, 146

Authorization to inject hydrogen for the purposes of subsurface
storage.

OSHA

29 CFR Part 1910

Dictates the safety of the structural components and operations ofgaseous and liquid hydrogen storage and delivery.

BSEE

43 USC Chapter 29

Manages compliance programs governing oil, gas, and mineral
operations on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).

FERC*

18 CFR Part 153, 157,
and 284

Applications for authorization to construct, operate, or modify facilities
used for the export or import of natural gas.
Issuance of certificates of public convenience and necessity toprospective companies providing energy services or constructing andoperating interstate natural gas pipelines and storage facilities.
Regulation of natural gas transportation in interstate commerce.

PHMSA

49 CFR Part 192, 195

Prescribes minimum safety requirements for pipeline facilities,
pipelines, and the transportation of gas or hazardous liquids within thelimits of the outer continental shelf.

USCG

33 CFR Part 154

Regulations for facilities transferring hazardous materials back andforth from a vessel to a facility.

PHMSA

49 USC 5117 and 49
CFR Part 172, 173,
174, 179, 180

Lists and classifies hazardous materials for transportation andprescribes the requirements for papers, markings, labeling, and vehicle
placarding.
Provides requirements for preparing hazardous materials for shipment
as well inspection, testing, and other requirements for transportationof hazardous materials in or on rail cars, including construction &usage instructions for DOT-113A60W tank cars.
Gives the authority to authorize a variance that is still at the same
safety level, special permit is required to use an alternative fuel that
does not have a safety standard.

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

64Transportation by Road

FHWA

23 CFR Part 658, 924

Regulates size and weight of trucks and highway safety which includes
bridges, tunnels, and other associated elements.

FMCSA

49 CFR Part 356, 389,
397

Motor carrier routing requirements, general motor carrier safety
regulations, and transportation of hazardous materials.

FTC

16 CFR Part 306

Describes the certification and posting of automotive fuel ratings incommerce.

PHMSA

49 CFR Part 172, 173,
177, 178, 180

Lists and classifies hazardous materials for transportation, andprescribes requirements for papers, markings, labeling, and vehicle
placarding.
Provides requirements for preparing hazardous materials for shipment,
and inspection, testing, and other requirements for transportation of
hazardous materials via public highways (including transportation
containers).

Transportation by Waterways

PHMSA

49 CFR Part 172, 173,
176, 178, 180

Lists and classifies hazardous materials for transportation andprescribes the requirements for papers, markings, labeling, and vehicle
placarding.
Provides requirements for preparing hazardous materials for shipment,
as well inspection, testing, and other requirements for containers.
Requirements for transportation by vessel.

USCG

33 CFR Part 154, 156
and 46 CFR Part 38,
150, 151, 153, 154

Regulations for transferring hazardous materials back and forth from a
vessel to a facility.
Transfer of oil or hazardous material on the navigable waters orcontiguous zone of the U.S.
Requirements for transportation of liquified or compressed flammablegases, including incompatibility of hazardous materials and rules forcontainers.
Regulations for ships and vessels carrying bulk cargo, including bulk
liquified gases as cargo, residue, or vapor.

* Application of some of these authorities to hydrogen may require additional legislative or regulatory action(e.g., FERC)

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

65

Table 3: Examples of regulatory activities by U.S. agencies relevant to end-use of hydrogen.
End-UseUse in Consumer andCommercial Vehicles

Import/Exp
ort
Terminals

Electricity Production

Chemical andIndustrial Use

Auxiliary Power andAlternative Power Supply

System Agency

Regulation

Summary

FAA

14 CFR Part 23, 25,
27, 29 Subpart E

Requirements for electrical generating systems including auxiliary andbackup power for airplanes and rotorcraft.

FMCSA

49 CFR Part 390

Regulates additional equipment on commercial vehicles to ensure it
does not reduce the overall safety of the vehicle.

FRA

49 CFR Part 229

Regulations for electrical systems, generators, protection fromhazardous gases from exhaust and batteries, and crashworthiness forlocomotives.

USCG

46 CFR Part 111

Regulations for power supply systems on ships.

EPA

40 CFR Part 98

Requires greenhouse gas reporting by applicable facilities, including
related to general stationary combustion and other applicable source
categories.

OSHA

29 CFR Part 1910

Dictates the safety of the structural components and operations ofgaseous and liquid hydrogen in terms of storage as well as delivery.

DOE

10 CFR Part 503,
504

Relates to new baseload powerplants including the use of alternative
fuels as a primary energy source.

EPA

40 CFR Part 60

Addresses GHG emissions from fossil fuel-fired electric generating
units (EGUs).

FERC*

18 CFR Part 292

Regulations regarding small power production and cogeneration
facilities.
Regulations for self-propelled vessels that contain bulk liquified gases
as cargo, cargo residue, or vapor.

USCG

33 CFR Part 154,
156

FHWA

23 CFR Part 658,
924

Regulates the size and weight of trucks and highway safety which
includes bridges, tunnels, and other associated elements.

NHTSA

49 CFR 571

Provides Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards for motor vehicles
and motor vehicle equipment.

Transfer of oil or hazardous materials on the navigable waters orcontiguous zone of the U.S.

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

66Use in
Aviation
Use in Maritime
Use in RailFAA

14 CFR Part 23,
25,26, 27, 29, 33

Provides requirements and airworthiness standards for airplanes androtorcraft.

FTA

49 USC Chapter 53

Requirements for National Public Transportation Safety Plan for public
transportation that receives Federal funding.

USCG

46 CFR Parts 24–
196

Regulation of vessel construction for both passenger and cargo
applications as well as general fuel requirements based on the flash
point of the fuel.

FRA

49 CFR Part 229,
238

Locomotive safety design and crashworthiness requirements, including
safety requirements for passenger locomotives.

FTA

49 CFR Part 659,
674

Provides guidance for rail fixed guideway systems and the oversight ofsafety, including hazard management and safety and security plans
and review.
Mandates state safety oversight of fixed guideway public
transportation systems.

* Application of some of these authorities to hydrogen may require additional legislative or regulatory action(e.g., FERC)

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

67

Actions and Milestones for the Near-, Mid-, and Longterm

Figure 40: The national action plan for clean hydrogen.

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

68Actions to support clean, affordable, and sustainable hydrogen production2022-2025
•

•
•

•

Clean Hydrogen Production

•

•
•

•

•

•

•

•

•

2026-2029

Assess pathways from lifecycle,•
sustainability, cost, regional, and equity
perspectives to prioritize strategies,
determine gaps, and inform interim goals. •Establish Clean Hydrogen Production
Standard.
Demonstrate clean hydrogen production•
technologies from multiple pathways,
including pyrolysis, waste, renewables, andnuclear.
•
Reduce the cost of electrolyzers at scale
through RDD&D on manufacturing, stacks,
and BOP components.
Reduce the cost of thermal conversion
technologies through RDD&D on modular •designs and process intensification.
Develop low-cost, durable membranes andseparation materials.
Identify opportunities for standardizationof components, reduce dependence on•
critical materials, and foster a robust supply
chain.
Design and conduct accelerated stresstesting techniques to assess and improve
durability.
Publish case studies on pathways,•
emissions, and cost and update GREET
capabilities for user-friendliness,transparency, and additional pathways insupport of 45V.
•
Develop rigorous data collection andmonitoring framework for future
deployments.
Identify needed worker competencies anddevelop consensus-based, industry•
accepted training credentials where
possible.
Promote higher-education andapprenticeship programs, especially in
disadvantaged communities, for training
the clean hydrogen workforce, including on
safety, codes, and standards.
Promote career awareness efforts to attract
people to join the hydrogen workforce

2030-2035

Deploy clean hydrogen from•renewables, nuclear, fossil + CCS
at scale.
•
Enable clean hydrogenproduction from electrolysis at$2/kg.2•
Enable multi-gigawatt-scaledomestic electrolyzer
manufacturing capacity.
Demonstrate catalysts andcomponents that minimize use•of critical materials whileachieving competitive
performance and durability.
Optimize integration between
electrolyzers and clean energy
supplies to reduce cost andimprove efficiency and•resilience.
Advance the most promisingconcepts for hydrogenproduction currently at lab scale,such as thermochemical,
photoelectrochemical or•
biological approaches.
Collect data from real-world
demonstrations to inform
RDD&D and continue improving
performance and durability.
•
Refine and update pathways
assessments to ensure the mostsustainable, equitable, resilient,and affordable approaches aretargeted.
Use rigorous analyses, lessons
learned, best practices, andbroad stakeholder feedback to
identify pathways for scale up
with highest benefits. Review•
and refine work competencies
and industry-accepted training
standards to match industry
need.

2

Modeled cost at scale, meets BIL provision (Sec. 816 of EPACT-2005) $2/kg by 2026.

3

Modeled cost at scale to meet Hydrogen Shot goal.

Produce at least 10 MMT/yearof clean hydrogen by 2030.
Enable clean hydrogenproduction at $1/kg3 fromdiverse resources.
Demonstrate electrolysis
stacks that minimize the useof critical materials andachieve targeted performanceand durability.
Demonstrate novel,
commercially viableapproaches to hydrogenproduction leveraging diverse
feedstocks, such aswastewater or hightemperature heat, at scale.
Ensure resilient andsustainable domestic supply
chains are available for all
production pathways
employed and enable
independence from imports.
Continue to collect data fromreal-world deployments to
inform RDD&D, identify
remaining gaps and refinestrategies.
Apply best practices, lessons
learned, and rigorous
analyses, including throughglobal collaboration andsustainability frameworks toensure the most sustainable,
equitable, resilient, andaffordable approaches areadvanced to maximize
benefits.
Sustain university, community
college, and union training
programs to support a robust
workforce.

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

69Actions to support safe, efficient, and reliable clean hydrogen delivery andstorage infrastructure2022-2025••

Delivery and Storage Infrastructure

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

2026-2029

Develop and update rigorous•
analytical models and tools toassess delivery and storage
pathways, determine gaps, andprioritize strategies.
•
Develop technologies to tightly
monitor and mitigate hydrogenleaks and boil-off.
•
Assess compatibility of pipeline
and component materials withhydrogen and hydrogen blendswith natural gas.
•
Advance novel approaches for low
cost, high efficiency hydrogenliquefaction and boil-off mitigation. •Conduct discovery anddevelopment of hydrogen carriermaterials for use in bulk storage
and distribution.
•
Identify geologic formations thatcan be used for bulk hydrogenstorage, and associateddevelopment and operating•
requirements.
Develop and optimize designs forhydrogen infrastructure in key•
applications, such as industry andenergy storage.
Develop technologies for highthroughput dispensing of•hydrogen for heavy-duty vehicles.
Develop and harmonize fuelingprotocols for heavy-duty and offroad vehicles for which hydrogen is •the optimal solution.
Accelerate RDD&D to reduce thecost of high pressure and liquidhydrogen storage tanks, including
carbon fiber composite vessels.
Establish data monitoring andcollection framework to assess
upstream and on-site emissions.

Validate and refine analyses,
models, and tools to prioritizedelivery and storage pathways forvarious applications.
Demonstrate efficient and reliablehydrogen pipeline compressor
operation.
Quantify loss rates from gaseousand liquid hydrogen infrastructure
to inform mitigation requirements
in large-scale deployments.
Develop designs for commercialscale novel, high efficiency systems
for hydrogen liquefaction.
Advance promising concepts forhydrogen carriers and design
reliable, low-cost regenerator
systems.
Initiate regional bulk hydrogenstorage demonstrations, including
underground approaches, andensure local and regional benefits.
Demonstrate novel, efficient, andlow-cost approaches to bulkhydrogen delivery.
Deploy scalable hydrogen fuelingstations to support early fleet
markets, such as heavy-duty trucks
and buses.
Ensure monitoring systems anddata collection are in place forpotential hydrogen and otheremissions/releases.
Design sustainable and equitableregional clean hydrogen networks
in key locations to maximize
benefits, ensuring energy andenvironmental justice and equity.

2030-2035
•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

Design networks of hydrogen
infrastructure optimized forregional supply and demand, in
collaboration with local
communities and stakeholders tomaximize benefits and ensure
energy, environmental, and equity
goals are addressed.
Demonstrate advanced liquefaction
with double the efficiency of
current concepts.
Develop long term storage
plan/strategic hydrogen reserve toensure resilience of supply.
Deploy Regional Clean Hydrogen
Hubs with advanced low-cost cleanhydrogen storage andinfrastructure.
Collect data, including emissions
data, from demonstrations of bulkhydrogen distribution (e.g.,through pipelines or carriers) in
real-world environments to inform
RDD&D that reduces cost andimproves reliability.
Continue collecting data to inform
scale up of optimal delivery andstorage pathways and RDD&D.
Ensure any safety or other bestpractices related to hydrogen
infrastructure are shared acrossdiverse stakeholders to enable
continuous improvement.
Leverage global collaborations onhydrogen infrastructure to inform
long term investment plans andhydrogen exports opportunities.

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

70Actions to support clean hydrogen use and broader market adoption

End-Use and Market Adoption

2022-2025

2026-2029• Lay regulatory groundwork for large- •scale clean hydrogen deployments
across production, processing,delivery, storage, and end-use.
• Work across industries (e.g., nuclear, •renewables, fossil, CCS, energy
storage) to identify regulatory, andpolicy gaps, and key strategies toaddress them (e.g., “Dig Once”•
approaches to co-locatetransmission, CO2, hydrogen, andother conduits) to minimize impacts.
• Develop streamlined guidance on•hydrogen pipeline and large-scale
project permitting with stakeholder
engagement and addressing
environmental, energy, and equity
priorities.
• Develop market structures and•offtake agreements to accelerate
progress.
•• Initiate transition to clean hydrogenfor hard-to-decarbonize industrial
applications and identify specificlocations for potential scale up (e.g.,ammonia, refineries, steel).
•• Advance efficient end-use
technologies (fuel cells/other power
conversion with low/zero emissions)and down select for scale up.
• Complete robust modeling andimprove data collection to quantify
climate impacts of hydrogenleakage.
•• Develop best practices and guidance
to assess life cycle emissions of realworld deployments of cleanhydrogen and inform “guarantees oforigin” and certification schemes.
• Establish safety, risk and reliability
data monitoring and collection
frameworks.
• Catalyze long-term, credit-worthy
offtake including from more nascentsectors that are on the cusp ofadopting clean hydrogen.

2030-2035

Enable international•
harmonization of codes andstandards related to hydrogentechnologies.
•
Address regulatory challenges
to increase electrolyzer accessto renewable and nuclear
energy.
Share safety best practices andlessons learned from early
deployments through publicly
accessible platforms.
Deploy at least two Regional
Clean Hydrogen Hubs,•
demonstrating hydrogen use inhard-to-decarbonize sectors(e.g., industry and heavy-dutytransport).
Develop national guidance forhydrogen blending limits.
Supply clean hydrogen to•
produce at least 3 billion
gallons of sustainable aviation
fuels from biomass and wastes
by 2030.
Increase the efficiency and cost- •effectiveness of recovery andrecycling of raw materials fromelectrolyzers, fuel cells, andother components across thehydrogen value chain to ensure
independence from foreignimports.
Collect and analyze safety, risk, •and reliability data to develop
early insights that can influence
future deployments.

Develop market structures andregulatory guidance to enableclean hydrogen exports.
Utilize lessons learned fromlarge-scale deployments to
identify priority sectors for
future growth with a focus on
holistic approaches that
support the most efficient,affordable, and climate-aligned
goals that maximize publichealth safety and theenvironment.
Demonstrate and quantify thebenefits of hydrogen in
enabling the resilience of futureclean energy systems andaddressing disaster mitigation(e.g., microgrids, cyber security,
remote communities).
Demonstrate ultra-low-NOx
turbine operation and low-PGM
fuel cell operation on 100%hydrogen for power generation
by 2030.
Launch at least one Regional
Clean Hydrogen Hubdemonstrating hydrogen use inenergy storage for a clean gridand quantify opportunities forhydrogen to support achieving
a carbon pollution free grid by2035 including regional factors.
Continue collecting andanalyzing safety, risk andreliability data and developing
insights that enable continuous
improvement.

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

71

Actions to enable a safe, affordable, and sustainable clean hydrogen economy
and ensure energy justiceEnablers and Environmental and Energy Justice2022-2025

2026-2029• Develop and implement frameworks for•broad and inclusive community
engagement, including fromenvironmental and energy justice,disadvantaged communities, Tribes, Tribal •organizations labor unions, industry,
academia, national laboratories, andFederal, state, and local governments toensure broad participation and hold•listening sessions to gather stakeholder
feedback.
• Incorporate Community Benefit Plans into
funding opportunities requiring applicants
to describe and commit to community•and labor engagement, investing increating good jobs, furthering diversity,
equity, inclusion and accessibility andmeeting Justice 40 goals.
• Identify metrics for diversity, equity,
inclusion, accessibility, and other key
priorities, for teams and organizations,and geographical/community locations•
for Federally funded demonstrations.
• Launch tools and platforms (e.g.,
H2Matchmaker) to facilitate partnerships,
inclusion, and market success.
•• Develop retraining programs for workers(e.g., from fossil industries), enabling bothnear- and long-term good paying jobs.
• Develop recruitment and career programsfor students from underrepresented•
communities and foster diversity, equity,
inclusion, and accessibility.
• Develop and implement sustainability
frameworks and NEPA best practices.
•• Develop education resources to support
hub community outreach andengagement strategies.
• Improve data collection on regional•
priorities (e.g., criteria pollution) andidentify applications to inform cleanhydrogen deployments.

Refine and continuously
improve community
engagement and inclusion
and apply lessons learned.
Foster public-private
partnerships to enable
inclusion and accelerate
progress.
Develop and implement
community benefit
agreements withdisadvantaged communities
in Hub regions.
Launch deployments ofhydrogen technologies that
reduce criteria pollution in
nonattainment areas andprovide resilience, jobs, andother key benefits for local
and disadvantaged
communities.
Conduct impact assessmentsof hydrogen technologies onregional water supply andother regional resources.
Identify and apply lessons
learned for environmental
and risk assessments,
including through global andregional collaborations.
Work with unions to develop
and expand registeredapprenticeship programs forhydrogen technologies.
Establish education andengagement pathways forfirst responders and code
officials.
Utilize H2Tools and otherplatforms to share bestpractices and lessons learned.

2030-2035• Quantify benefits from
deployments and identify
additional policy or program
priorities to accelerate
progress in targeted, noregrets areas.
• Deploy manufacturing
facilities for clean hydrogentechnologies in
disadvantaged communities
for local and regional
benefits.
• Evaluate the techno-socioeconomic impact ofRegional Clean Hydrogen
Hubs.
• Develop and refine market
structures to distribute costs
and benefits of newtechnologies equitably.
• Ensure adaptation, cyber,resilience, and othermitigation approaches areincluded in strategic plans
for scale up.
• Update and refinesustainability frameworks
and best practices to informfuture deployments ofhydrogen.
• Leverage global
collaborations and initiatives
to maximize success acrossthe RDD&D pipeline andensuring an equitable clean
energy transition.

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

72Phases of Clean Hydrogen Development

Figure 41: Clean hydrogen will be developed in waves, based on the relative attractiveness in each end-use
application. Arrows depict the timeframe when hydrogen is expected to be competitive with incumbent
technologies at scale throughout the U.S.
The market penetration of hydrogen technologies will
depend on numerous factors including technicalmaturity, cost, infrastructure availability,
manufacturing and supply chain capacities, the costof other low-carbon solutions, the policy andregulatory landscape, regional and state initiatives,
industry momentum and commitments, andunlocking private capital and investment.
Based on two key factors—estimated break-even andthe relative attractiveness of hydrogen as adecarbonization solution—as well as stakeholder
input, the federal government envisions three
application adoption phases or “waves” for cleanhydrogen use in the United States. Figure 41 depicts
how potential markets will evolve in the U.S. andramp up in the early, mid, and long term. The relative
placement of end-use applications in each phase isbased on a range of quantitative and qualitative
factors and will be updated over time as the industry
and policy landscape evolves.

First Wave
Applications of clean hydrogen in the first wave will
be jumpstarted by existing markets that have few
alternatives to clean hydrogen for decarbonization

and where there is access to hydrogen andcompatible end uses. This includes existing refining
and ammonia production plants. Industrial clusters
that co-locate large scale production with end-use forsuch applications can help drive down costs andcreate the infrastructure that could be leveraged forother markets in subsequent phases.
• Forklifts and other material handlingequipment in warehouses, ports, and otherindustrial sites have high utilization, predictablerefueling locations and a need for fast refueling.
The U.S. Government has already catalyzed thisniche application in the United States, enabling
thousands of systems in the market and a nascentinfrastructure.
• Refineries represent the largest hydrogen market
today and have no alternative for cracking heavy
crude oil and for desulfurization. Switching to theuse of clean hydrogen will create demand in thenear term and immediately reduce emissions.
• Transit buses could be an attractive use case,particularly in regions that require long-distance
operation and high uptimes and for transit
agencies with large bus fleets where individual

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

73battery electric vehicle charging may bechallenging.
• Long-haul heavy-duty trucks have highutilization, high energy requirements, and need torefuel quickly. Together with medium-duty
vehicles, they produce about 20 percent oftransportation-sector greenhouse gas emissions in
the United States.195• Heavy machinery in mining, construction andagriculture could benefit from fuel cell
propulsion, since they have high power
requirements, need to be refueled quickly, andmay need to operate far from power grids. These
applications require large volumes of hydrogen
and will create demand.
• Ammonia production uses carbon-intensivehydrogen as a feedstock today can be replacedwith clean hydrogen without retrofitting plants. As
the second largest captive market requiringhydrogen following refining, ammonia can alsooffer stable demand for clean hydrogen.
By supporting demonstrations and infrastructure formany of the above markets, federal agencies canenable high volumes of hydrogen in limited regions
and provide tangible benefits to disadvantaged
communities or workers that would otherwise be
exposed to diesel exhaust and other pollutants.

Second Wave
Applications in the second wave include use cases
where clean hydrogen offers a growing economic
value proposition, supported by commitments byindustry and policy momentum. This phase includes abroader range of transportation use cases and widens
to include greater use of industrial fuel andfeedstock. A few examples of additional applications
beyond those in the first wave include:• Medium-duty trucks powered by hydrogen fuelcells should become increasingly available at scale
as heavy-duty transport leads the way inexpanding hydrogen distribution and refuelinginfrastructure.
• Regional ferries powered by fuel cells, which
could transport people or goods over shortdistances, are likely to become cost-competitive

•

•

•

•

with internal combustion engines as hydrogen andfuel cell costs decline.
Certain industrial chemical production, suchas in the plastics industry, requires hightemperature heat that is difficult to achieve withelectricity, or rely on hydrogen feedstock fromfossil sources today. These sectors could be
decarbonized using clean hydrogen for heatgeneration, and as a feedstock.
Steel production can decarbonize with cleanhydrogen when applied to iron ore-based steel
production that requires carbon-free reductants
and high temperatures, where electrolytic
production would not yet be viable.
Energy storage & power generation cantransition to gas turbines fueled with mixtures ofhydrogen and natural gas for near-term emission
reductions in fossil assets. Pure hydrogen can also
be used as technologies become available that
produce low nitrogen oxides. Fuel cells can also be
used as a power conversion technology. Clean
hydrogen can play a key role in seasonal storage
to decarbonize the grid and reduce fossil-based
generation.
Aviation can transition to sustainable fuels thatare produced using clean hydrogen and biomass
and waste feedstocks, contributing to the BidenHarris Administration goal of 3 billion gallons ofsustainable aviation fuel.114 The production ofclean hydrogen at scale will also lay thegroundwork to produce power-to-liquids in thelonger term. Industry feedback suggest certain
market segments could additionally use hydrogen
directly, though cryogenic storage may berequired due to energy density requirements.

Third Wave
Applications in the third wave will becomecompetitive as clean hydrogen production scales
significantly and as costs decline and infrastructure
becomes available. For example:• Backup power & stationary power from fuelcells can replace diesel generators in providing
resilience to critical 24/7 facilities such as hospitals
and data centers, also offering advantages to

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

74

•

•

•

•

disadvantaged communities and improving air
quality. Backup power is distinct from energy
storage as its role is to provide resilience for a
singular customer or microgrid, whereas energy
storage supports the macro grid.
Methanol produced with clean hydrogen can also
be used directly as a fuel or fuel supplement, forcontainer ships, rail, or other maritime
applications, and as an energy carrier.
Container ships carry about 90 percent of global
trade by volume, producing about 3 percent of
global carbon emissions and a larger share ofsulfur dioxide emissions.196 Potential alternatives
during the third wave include clean ammonia,
clean methanol, and liquified clean hydrogen.
Cement can use clean hydrogen to decrease
direct CO2 emissions where electrification is not an
option due to high heat requirements.
Blending with existing natural gas networks
can support targeted decarbonization of hightemperature heating systems, primarily in theindustrial sector where high temperatures areneeded for certain sectors, such as chemicals.
While this application can start even during thefirst wave, costs must decline considerably to beeconomically viable.

The phases of clean hydrogen deployment are highly
dependent on the development of technology,
research, and supportive policy structures. However,concentrating efforts on sectors that are morecommercially viable, lack decarbonization
alternatives, and enjoy industry momentum will
increase the impact of public investments.

Systems Analysis Will Continue toInform the U.S. National Clean
Hydrogen Strategy and Actions
Robust and transparent analysis and modeling efforts
completed through collaborations between national
laboratories, industry, and academia will continue toinform priorities, milestones, and actions to advanceclean hydrogen deployment in priority sectors. Overthe past several decades, the federal government,
including DOE, has funded the development of tools,

such as those listed in Figure 42, to evaluate the roleof hydrogen in industry, transportation, and theenergy sector. Data from real-world deployments inthe coming years will be used to continually refine
these tools to ensure they reflect status of technology
cost and performance.
Analysis tools that DOE has funded to date cut across
many different aspects of hydrogen markets.
Foundational tools evaluate the cost andperformance of individual technologies, such ashydrogen production or infrastructure equipment.
Technology assessments can then be used in supply
chain analyses and to characterize the total cost andemissions of an application in a region. Supply chain
analyses then inform market adoption analysis—for
example, estimating the value proposition ofhydrogen energy storage and sales of fuel cell trucks.
All analyses are used to inform RDD&D activities andreal-world data from technical demonstrations are
fed back into foundational models to improveassessments in the future.
Ongoing government-funded and government-led
analyses are identifying optimal pathways to achieve
net-zero emissions economy-wide by 2050, using
cross-sector tools such as the Global Change Analysis
Model (GCAM) and the National Energy Modeling
System (NEMS). DOE is currently funding updates tothese tools to represent diverse hydrogenproduction, distribution, and utilization methods thatare expected to be deployable at scale in the nearterm. Cross-office analyses completed using thesemodels may inform strategy in future versions of thisroadmap.
In collaboration with international partnerships, suchas Mission Innovation, DOE is also funding thedevelopment of metrics and criteria that can be used
to ascertain the impacts of hydrogen deployments onsustainability, such as on water consumption, labor
opportunities, air quality improvements and more.
DOE’s solicitation for Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubsalso evaluates applicants based on environmental
justice criteria, such as community benefits. These
criteria and impacts will be further described in futureversions of the roadmap.

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

75

Figure 42: A suite of tools and models support systems analysis work from fundamental model validation andtechno-economic work, to planning, optimization, and integrated analysis.
ADOPT: Automotive Deployment Options Projection Tool; Autonomie: (a vehicle system simulation tool);
BEAM: Behavior, Energy, Autonomy, and Mobility; FASTSim: Future Automotive Systems Technology Simulator;
GCAM: Global Change Assessment Model; GREET: Greenhouse gases, regulated emissions, and energy use inTechnologies Model; H2A: The Hydrogen Analysis Project; H2FAST: Hydrogen Financial Analysis Scenario Tool;HDRSAM: Heavy-Duty Refueling Station Analysis Model; HDSAM: Hydrogen Delivery Scenario Analysis Model;
HRSAM: Hydrogen Refueling Station Analysis Model; LAVE-Trans: Light-Duty Alternative Vehicle Energy
Transitions; PLEXOS: (an integrated energy model); POLARIS: (a predictive transportation system model);ReEDS: Regional Energy Deployment System; REMI: Regional Economic Models, Inc.; RODeO: Revenue
Operation and Device Optimization Model; SERA: Scenario Evaluation and Regionalization Analysis; StoreFAST:
Storage Financial Analysis Scenario Tool; VISION: (a transportation energy use prediction model)

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap76Collaboration and Coordination
Efficient and effective collaboration andcoordination are vital to implement the U.S. national
clean hydrogen strategy. Agencies have already beencoordinating with each other, and with industry,
states, and numerous stakeholders to execute onhydrogen related activities.197 Agencies will also ramp
up engagement across the entire spectrum of
stakeholders from industry and academia to labor
unions, disadvantaged communities, and Tribal
communities. Several opportunities exist acrossagencies, building on activities underway over morethan a decade198 to accelerate progress aligned with
the National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap.
Examples include the following, though many others
can play a role as the clean hydrogen economy
develops.
The U.S. will also continue to work across countries toenable an affordable, clean, and sustainable globalhydrogen economy and to achieve the U.S.
Government’s collective climate goals. Multiple

government representatives discussed a potential
framework for global hydrogen coordination at thelaunch of the Hydrogen Breakthrough Agenda in
Glasgow at COP26 in November 2021. Such acoordination framework would help unify variousorganizations and initiatives199 to avoid duplication,leverage resources, and accelerate the successful
scale up of clean hydrogen technologies. The U.S.
Government will work with the UK and othercountries to strengthen coordination and willcontinue to play a key role in several multi-lateral andbi-lateral hydrogen partnerships. Table 4 shows
examples of preliminary feedback from over 30
countries engaged in clean hydrogen initiatives,
developed through the Hydrogen BreakthroughAgenda. As specific activities and mutually agreed
upon priorities are defined, the U.S. Government willcontinue to play a leadership role to foster
collaboration, share information, and accelerateaction towards tangible outcomes and successes.

Table 4: Emerging priorities for strengthened global collaboration.
Demand Creation& Management

Finance &Investment

Research &Innovation

Demand signals alongwith matching supply to
avoid stranded assets are
an important driver ofinvestment in cleanhydrogen infrastructure
and will build investor
confidence.

Access to appropriate
finance is critical.
Investments arestarting to be made but
scale is still small
relative to needs.
Developed countries facechallenges but
particularly acute fordeveloping world.

Research & Innovation
underpins progress acrosshydrogen systems —helping reduce costs,
improve performance,
address supply chains,and broaden applicability.

Some activity exists but
coordination should be
strengthened at
sufficient scale,visibility, and breadth.
Scope to explore how
public and private sector

Some activity exists but
not widely coordinated,visible or with sufficientscale and breadth.

Significant activity
exists driving action in
multiple countries. Scope
exists to accelerateinnovation to reduce
cost and increase
scale— particularly forpilot and demo projects

Regulation,
Standards &Certification
Regulatory frameworks
including internationallyaccepted andimplemented standards& certification
schemes across thehydrogen value chain are
essential enablers of
production, trade, anduse.
Significant work isunderway by a wide rangeof actors on key elements.
Activities are not yet
closely coordinated,and gaps are unclear.

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

77

actors can strengthen
demand signals to ensure
offtakers and supply
chains to reduce risk.

Scope exists to increase
public and private sector
investment, particularly
enabling investment andcoordination with
developing countries.

The U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy andRoadmap also supports recommendations outlined in
the IEA Future of Hydrogen report released at the2019 G20 Summit:200
1. “Establish a role for hydrogen in long-term energy
strategies … Key sectors include refining,chemicals, iron and steel, freight and longdistance transport, buildings, and power
generation and storage.”
2. “Stimulate commercial demand for cleanhydrogen.” This includes scaling up both hydrogenfrom fossil fuels with CCS and hydrogen (using
renewables) as well as water electrolysis using
nuclear resources.
3. “Address investment risks of first movers.” Newapplications for hydrogen, as well as cleanhydrogen supply and infrastructure projects canbe supported through tools such as loan
guarantees to reduce risk.
4. “Support R&D to bring down costs. Alongside cost
reductions from economies of scale, R&D is crucial
to lower costs and improve performance.”
5. “Eliminate unnecessary regulatory barriers andharmonize standards. Project developers facechallenges where regulations and permit
requirements are unclear.” Addressing safety,
codes and standards is necessary for a harmonizedglobal supply chain.
6. “Engage internationally and track progress.”
Enhanced international co-operation is essential
and supported by a number or partnerships.
7. “Focus on four key opportunities to further
increase momentum over the next decade.” Theseand to include morecountries.
Scope exists to build on
existing initiatives toincrease diversity andscalability of demo
projects, involve morecountries and sharelearnings more widely to
guide RDD&D.

Ensuring rapid and wide
adoption remains
challenging.
Scope exists to connect
existing work acrossentities, identify andaddress gaps and elevateand broaden politicalsupport.

include enabling industrial ports as hubs forhydrogen at scale; using existing gas infrastructure
to spur new clean hydrogen supplies; supportingtransportation fleets, freight, and corridor; andenabling hydrogen shipping to jumpstartinternational hydrogen trade.
U.S. Government activities as outlined in thisdocument are also aligned with the Global Action
Agenda as developed through the Hydrogen Energy
Ministerial in September 2019. Key pillars include:201
1. “Collaboration on technologies and coordinationon the harmonization of regulation, codes andstandards;”
2. “Promotion of information sharing international
joint research and development emphasizinghydrogen safety and infrastructure supply chains;”
3. “Study and evaluation of hydrogen’s potential
across sectors including its potential for reducing
both carbon dioxide emissions and otherpollutants; and”
4. “Communication, Education and Outreach”
DOE has already played a strong leadership role inconvening and supporting its counterparts in
multiple nations. DOE has long been recognized as
instrumental in accelerating progress throughtangible outcomes as a co-lead for the hydrogen
initiatives under the auspices of both the Clean
Energy Ministerial and Mission Innovation, as former
chair and current vice chair of the IPHE, and as astrong contributor to the IEA’s hydrogen and fuel cell
programs.

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

78

Concrete actions include launching DOE’s H2 Twin
Cities initiative202 to foster partnerships between
cities across continents deploying hydrogentechnologies, with emphasis on equity and justice,co-leading initiatives to facilitate international tradeand develop a common methodology for assessing
the carbon footprint of hydrogen, harmonizing codesand standards, and launching an early career networkthat is run entirely by students and early career
professionals from more than 34 countries. The U.S.
Government will continue to advance these andadditional concrete actions as global momentum
builds for clean hydrogen.

In summary, through the cohesive and coordinatedefforts by the federal government, along with states,industry, National Laboratories, academia, andthrough extensive stakeholder input andcollaboration, implementation of this plan willcontribute to achieving the vision set forth forhydrogen in the United States: Affordable cleanhydrogen for a net-zero carbon future and asustainable, resilient, and equitable economy.

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Conclusion
Clean hydrogen, as shown in the Biden-Harris
Administration’s Long-Term Strategy of the UnitedStates, is an important element of the Nation’s path
to decarbonization. Though much remains uncertain,
the potential for hydrogen is clear. Focusedinvestment and action in the near, mid, and longterm will lay the foundation for broader cleanhydrogen adoption, drive down cost, and increase
scale in a sustainable and holistic manner. Clean
hydrogen across the entire RDD&D spectrum,
catalyzed by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and theInflation Reduction Act, will both enabledecarbonization of hard-to-abate sectors and create
and preserve good-paying jobs, provide
environmental and energy justice benefits, and create
energy independence and export opportunities for
the United States.
Government actions can support and catalyze
investment across the value chain for clean hydrogen.

Federal agencies, through a whole of government
approach, are committed to working with partners inindustry, academia, national laboratories, local andTribal communities, and more to advance thistransition and will leverage a broad array of tools
including policies, financial assistance, loans,apprenticeship programs, and stakeholder
engagement, to accelerate progress. Further details
and appendices will continue to be developed toensure the most up to date information is available203
and DOE will update this document at least every
three years, as required.
Through effective collaboration and with the rightstrategies and implementation plans, the UnitedStates can and must succeed in the development of asustainable, resilient, and equitable clean hydrogen
economy.

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Acknowledgments
DOE was required to develop this document per the
BIL (Pub. L. No. 117-28, sec. 40314, §814 (codified as
42 U.S.C. 16161b (2021)) but would like toacknowledge multiple Federal agencies for their input
and guidance, particularly the Hydrogen Interagency
Working Group which was established by the Energy
Policy Act of 2005 and includes more than 10 Federal
agencies. DOE appreciates early engagement by the
Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association (FCHEA)
and its members and FCHEA’s hosting of listening
sessions that included the following organizations:
California Fuel Cell Partnership; California Hydrogen
Business Council; Clean Hydrogen Future Coalition;
Colorado Hydrogen Network; Connecticut Hydrogenand Fuel Cell Coalition; Green Hydrogen Coalition;
Hawaii Technology Development Corp; Hydrogen
Forward; Massachusetts Hydrogen Coalition; National
Fuel Cell Research Center, University of California(Irvine); New Jersey Fuel Cell Coalition; Ohio Fuel Cell
Coalition; Renewable Hydrogen Alliance; Southeast
Hydrogen Energy Alliance; and US Hydrogen Alliance.
DOE is also grateful for various listening sessions andpresentation sessions including with Tribal
communities, labor unions, NASEO, andenvironmental and energy justice stakeholders. DOE
particularly recognizes the valuable input from theenvironmental community through listening sessions
with the Natural Resources Defense Council, Rocky
Mountain Institute, Environmental Defense Fund,Sierra Club, Earthjustice, and Union of Concerned
Scientists.
In addition to the thanking the above stakeholders,the primary authors of this report—Sunita Satyapal,
Neha Rustagi, Tomas Green, Marc Melaina, Michael
Penev, and Mariya Koleva—would like toacknowledge multiple DOE offices including: theHydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO)

and the Offices of Energy Efficiency and Renewable
Energy (across the pillars of Renewables, Sustainable
Transportation, and Energy Efficiency), Fossil Energy
and Carbon Management, Nuclear Energy, Science,
Technology Transitions, Policy, Clean Energy
Demonstrations, Indian Energy Policy and Programs,
Economic Impact and Diversity, Energy Jobs,
Electricity, Congressional and Intergovernmental
Affairs, International Affairs, Loan Programs Office,and Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy.
Multiple sessions were convened through DOE’s
Science and Energy Technology Team to coordinate
across the spectrum of RDD&D. Authors of DOE’s
Report, Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Clean
Hydrogen, particularly Hannah Murdoch and Jason
Munster provided valuable input and assessments.
Technical and program managers at fifteen DOE
National Labs engaged in hydrogen RDD&D
provided input for concrete actions and milestones.
DOE is particularly grateful to McKinsey who was also
engaged in developing the U.S. industry hydrogenroadmap in 2019; for H2@Scale analyses led by Mark
Ruth, Mark Chung, and Michael Penev at the National
Renewable Energy Laboratory and Amgad Elgowainy
at Argonne National Laboratory; and for emissions
analysis led by Amgad Elgowainy at Argonne
National Laboratory. The multi-agency regulatory gap
analysis funded by HFTO was conducted by Sandia
National Laboratories. DOE is also grateful for
stakeholder feedback through Requests for
Information issued on February 15, 2022, on the BIL
Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub, electrolyzer, and cleanhydrogen manufacturing provisions.
The draft document was released in September 2022
for public comment and revised for publication inJune 2023. As required by the BIL, the document will
be updated at least every three years.

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

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Glossary of Acronyms

LDES

Long-Duration Energy Storage

LOHC

Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carriers

ARRA

LPO

Loan Programs Office

MARAD

Maritime Administration (of the U.S.
Department of Transportation)

American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act

ATR

Autothermal Reforming

BIL

Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

MMTMillion Metric Tonnes

BOF

Basic Oxygen Furnaces

MW

Megawatt

BOP

Balance of Plant

M2FCT

BSEE

Bureau of Safety and Environmental
Enforcement

Million Mile Fuel Cell Truck
Consortium

NHTSA

National Highway Transportation
Safety Administration

CCS

Carbon Capture and Storage

DOE

U.S. Department of Energy

NREL

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

EAF

Electric Arc Furnaces

OCS

Outer Continental Shelf

EO

Executive Order

OSHA

EPACT-2005

Energy Policy Act of 2005

Occupational Safety and HealthAdministration

FAA

Federal Aviation Administration

PEM

FERC

Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission

Proton Exchange Membrane orPolymer Electrolyte Membrane (a typeof electrolyzer or fuel cell)

PGM

Platinum Group Metal

FHWA

Federal Highway Administration

PHMSA

FMCSA

Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials
Safety Administration

R&D

Research and Development

FTC

Federal Trade Commission

RD&D

GHG

Greenhouse Gas

Research, Development, andDemonstration

GREET

Greenhouse Gases, Regulated
Emissions, and Energy Use inTechnologies (model)

RDD&D

Research, Development,
Demonstration, And Deployment

RFI

Request for Information

H2NEW

Hydrogen from Next-generation
Electrolyzers of Water (consortium)

SAF

Sustainable Aviation Fuel

HFTO

Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies
OfficeSHASTA

Subsurface Hydrogen Assessment,
Storage, and Technology Acceleration

IEA

International Energy Agency

SMR

Steam Methane Reforming

IIJA

Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

SOEC

Solid Oxide Electrolyzer Cells

IMO

International Maritime Organization

TCO

Total Cost of Ownership

IPHE

International Partnership for Hydrogenand Fuel Cells in the Economy

UAV

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

USCG

United States Coast Guard

IRA

Inflation Reduction Act

21CTP

21st Century Truck Partnership

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82

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pathways, as well as hydrogen demands across transportation, industry, and grid energy storage. Estimates of emissions savings per unitof hydrogen consumed across pathways were approximately 10 kgCO2e/kg-H2. Estimates were developed using Argonne National
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2 Emission savings based on ranges of hydrogen production carbon intensities, accounting for hydrogen fossil and clean electrolysis

pathways, as well as hydrogen demands across transportation, industry, and grid energy storage. Estimates of emissions savings per unitof hydrogen consumed across pathways were approximately 10 kgCO2e/kg-H2. Estimates were developed using Argonne National
Laboratory’s Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Technologies Model.
Source: Argonne National Laboratory, "GREET Model,” Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL. https://greet.es.anl.gov/.
3 U.S. Department of Energy, “Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Clean Hydrogen,” March 2023. https://liftoff.energy.gov/wp-

content/uploads/2023/05/20230320-Liftoff-Clean-H2-vPUB-0329-update.pdf
4 S. Satyapal. “2022 AMR Plenary Session,” U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, DC, June 2022.

https://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/pdfs/review22/plenary4_satyapal_2022_o.pdf.
5 U.S. Department of Energy Hydrogen Program, “Hydrogen Shot,” U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, DC, 2021.

https://www.energy.gov/eere/fuelcells/hydrogen-shot.
6 The Study Task Force of the Hydrogen Council. “Hydrogen Scaling Up,” The Hydrogen Council, November 2017.

https://hydrogencouncil.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Hydrogen-scaling-up-Hydrogen-Council.pdf
7 E. Connelly, A. Elgowainy, and M. Ruth, U.S. Department of Energy Hydrogen Program, “Current Hydrogen Market Size: Domestic andGlobal,” U.S. Department of Energy, October 2019. https://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/pdfs/19002-hydrogen-market-domesticglobal.pdf.
8 Estimates based on “Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Clean Hydrogen,” https://liftoff.energy.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/20230320-

Liftoff-Clean-H2-vPUB-0329-update.pdf and https://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/pdfs/20003-h2-production-potential-nuclear-power.pdf
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https://www.whitehouse.gov/climate/.
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Net-Zero Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 2050,” The White House, Washington, DC, November 2021. https://www.whitehouse.gov/wpcontent/uploads/2021/10/US-Long-Term-Strategy.pdf.
12 S. Young, B. Mallory, and G. McCarthy, “The Path to Achieving Justice40,” The White House, Washington, DC, July 2021.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/briefing-room/2021/07/20/the-path-to-achieving-justice40/.
13 Office of Economic Impact and Diversity, “DOE Justice40 Covered Programs,” U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, DC.

https://www.energy.gov/diversity/doe-justice40-covered-programs.
14 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Pub. L. No. 117-28
15 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Pub. L. No. 117-28, sec. 40314, §816 (codified as 42 U.S.C. 16161c (2021)).
16 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Pub. L. No. 117-28, sec. 40314, §815 (codified as 42 U.S.C. 16161c (2021)).
17 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Pub. L. No. 117-28, sec. 40314, §813 (codified as 42 U.S.C. 16161a (2021)).
18 U.S. Department of Energy, “Funding Notice: Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs,” Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations,

https://www.energy.gov/oced/funding-notice-regional-clean-hydrogen-hubs.

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

83

19 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Pub. L. No. 117-28, sec. 40315, §82 (codified as 42 U.S.C. 16166 (2021)). Draft guidance for the

Clean Hydrogen Production Standard was released for public comment in September of 2022, and is available here:
https://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/pdfs/clean-hydrogen-production-standard.pdf
20 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Pub. L. No. 117-28, sec. 40314, §814 (codified as 42 U.S.C. 16161b (2021)).
21 Inflation Reduction Act, Pub. L. No. 117-169, sec. 13204, §45V (codified as 26 U.S.C. 45V (2022)).
22 Inflation Reduction Act, Pub. L. No. 117-169, sec. 50142 and sec. 50143.
23 Inflation Reduction Act, Pub. L. No. 117-169, sec. 50161.
24 Inflation Reduction Act, Pub. L. No. 117-169, sec. 50144 (codified as

42 U.S.C. 16517).

25 Inflation Reduction Act, Pub. L. No. 117-169, sec. 13501.
26 Inflation Reduction Act, Pub. L. No. 117-169, sec. 13203, §40B (codified as 26 U.S.C. 40B (2022)).
27 Inflation Reduction Act, Pub. L. No. 117-169, sec. 13704, §45Z (codified as 26 U.S.C. 45Z (2022)).
28 Inflation Reduction Act, Pub. L. No. 117-169, sec. 60102, §133.
29 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Development of Guidance for Zero-Emission Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles, Port Equipment, andFueling Infrastructure Deployment under the Inflation Reduction Act Funding Programs,” Federal Register Vol. 88, no. 88, (May 8, 2023):
page 29666-70. https://www.regulations.gov/document/EPA-HQ-OAR-2023-0216-0001
30 Inflation Reduction Act, Pub. L. No. 117-169, sec. 60101, §132.
31 Inflation Reduction Act, Pub. L. No. 117-169, title I, sec. 13104, §45Q (codified as 26 U.S.C. 45Q (2022)).
32 U.S. Department of Energy Hydrogen Program, “Department of Energy Hydrogen Program Plan," U.S. Department of Energy, Washington,

DC, November 2020. https://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/pdfs/hydrogen-program-plan-2020.pdf.
33 Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association, “Road Map to a US Hydrogen Economy,” Fuel Cell and Hydrogen energy Association,

Washington, DC, 2020. https://www.fchea.org/us-hydrogen-study.
34 Executive Office of the President, “Exec. Order No. 14008, Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad,” Federal Register, Washington,

DC, February 2021. https://www.Federalregister.gov/documents/2021/02/01/2021-02177/tackling-the-climate-crisis-at-home-andabroad
35 The U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Executive Office of the President, “The Long-Term Strategy of the United States: Pathways to

Net-Zero Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 2050,” The White House, Washington, DC, November 2021. https://www.whitehouse.gov/wpcontent/uploads/2021/10/US-Long-Term-Strategy.pdf.
36 U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2021 Annual Energy Outlook, February 2021. https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/archive/aeo21/.
37 U.S. Department of Energy, “H2@Scale,” Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office, https://www.energy.gov/eere/fuelcells/h2scale
38 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Greenhouse Gas Standards and Guidelines for Fossil Fuel-Fired Power Plants,” Washington, D.C.

May 2023. https://www.epa.gov/stationary-sources-air-pollution/greenhouse-gas-standards-and-guidelines-fossil-fuel-fired-power.
39 1) Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking, “Hydrogen Roadmap Europe: A Sustainable Pathway for The European Energy Transition,”

Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking, Brussels, Belgium, January 2019. https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail//publication/0817d60d-332f-11e9-8d04-01aa75ed71a1/language-en
2) The Energy Transitions Commission, “Making the Hydrogen Economy Possible: Accelerating Clean Hydrogen in an Electrified Economy,”
The Energy Transitions Commission, April 2021; 3) The Hydrogen Council and McKinsey & Company, “Hydrogen Insights: A perspective
on hydrogen investment, market development and cost competitiveness,” The Hydrogen Council, January 2021.
https://hydrogencouncil.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Hydrogen-Insights-2021-Report.pdf; 4) International Energy Agency, “Net
Zero by 2050,” International Energy Agency, Paris, France, May 2021. https://www.iea.org/reports/net-zero-by-2050; 5) Bloomberg New
Energy Finance, “New Energy Outlook 2021,” Bloomberg New Energy Finance, July 2021. https://www.bnef.com/insights/26815; 6)International Renewable Energy Agency, “World Energy Transitions Outlook: 1.5°C Pathway,” International Renewable Energy Agency,

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

84

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, June 2021. https://irena.org/publications/2021/Jun/World-Energy-Transitions-Outlook.https://energytransitions.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/ETC-Global-Hydrogen-Report.pdf; 3) The Hydrogen Council and McKinsey & Company,“Hydrogen Insights: A perspective on hydrogen investment, market development and cost competitiveness,” The Hydrogen Council,
January 2021. https://hydrogencouncil.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Hydrogen-Insights-2021-Report.pdf; 4) International Energy
Agency, “Net Zero by 2050,” International Energy Agency, Paris, France, May 2021. https://www.iea.org/reports/net-zero-by-2050; 5)
Bloomberg New Energy Finance, “New Energy Outlook 2021,” Bloomberg New Energy Finance, July 2021.
https://www.bnef.com/insights/26815; 6) International Renewable Energy Agency, “World Energy Transitions Outlook: 1.5°C Pathway,”
International Renewable Energy Agency, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, June 2021. https://irena.org/publications/2021/Jun/WorldEnergy-Transitions-Outlook.
Not all sectors are shown on the figure given limitations in reported results. If sectoral energy demand was not reported, the proportionof energy demand for hydrogen is not shown, despite hydrogen being consumed in that sector.
40 International Energy Agency, “Global Hydrogen Review 2022,” International Energy Agency, Paris, France, 2022.

https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/c5bc75b1-9e4d-460d-9056-6e8e626a11c4/GlobalHydrogenReview2022.pdf
41 Estimate assumes that SMR produces ~10 kg-CO e/kg-H on average (Source: Argonne National Laboratory’s Greenhouse gases,22Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Technologies model, https://greet.es.anl.gov/, and National Energy Technology Laboratory“Comparison of Commercial, State-of-the-art, Fossil-based Hydrogen Production Technologies.
https://www.netl.doe.gov/projects/files/ComparisonofCommercialStateofArtFossilBasedHydrogenProductionTechnologies_041222.pdf).
This estimate was developed with an assumption of fugitive methane emissions of ~1%, GWP of methane of 29.8, and that the U.S.
produces about 10 million metric tonnes of hydrogen per year (Source: https://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/pdfs/19002-hydrogenmarket-domestic-global.pdf). It is important to note that the GWPs of GHGs are published periodically by the Intergovernmental Panelon Climate Change (IPCC), and depend on several parameters, such as how climate cycle responses are accounted for and the length of
the analysis period. A GWP of 29.8 for methane reflects a 100-year analysis period, inclusion of climate cycle responses, is specific tofossil methane, and alignment with AR6. AR6 is the most recent AR available at the time this Roadmap was published. The Fifth
Assessment Report GWPs is currently utilized in national reporting to the UNFCCC and are being incorporated into the U.S. EPA’s
Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program.
42 R. Gubler, B. Suresh, H. He, and Y. Yamaguchi, “Hydrogen,” Chemical Economics Handbook, IHS Markit, May 2021.

https://ihsmarkit.com/products/hydrogen-chemical-economics-handbook.html.
43 U.S. DRIVE, “Hydrogen Delivery Technical Team Roadmap,” July 2017, https://www.energy.gov/eere/vehicles/articles/us-drive-hydrogen-delivery-technical-team-roadmap
44 M. Graff, “Statement of Mr. Michael J. Graff Chairman & CEO, American Air Liquide Holdings Inc. Executive Vice President & Executive

Committee Member Air Liquide Group Before the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,” U. S. Senate, Washington, DC, February
10, 2022. https://www.energy.senate.gov/services/files/C00CE119-046B-4E3C-8C7C-B534B4A1674B.
45 U.S. Department of Energy, “DOE Announces First Loan Guarantee for a Clean Energy Project in Nearly a Decade,” U.S. Department ofEnergy, Washington, DC, June 2022. https://www.energy.gov/articles/doe-announces-first-loan-guarantee-clean-energy-project-nearlydecade.
46 Air Products “Landmark U.S. $4.5 Billion Louisiana Clean Energy Complex,” Air Products, Allentown, PA.

https://www.airproducts.com/campaigns/la-blue-hydrogen-project.
47 Air Products “Air Products and AES Announce Plans to Invest Approximately $4 Billion to Build First Mega-scale Green Hydrogen

Production Facility in Texas,” Air Products, Allentown, PA. https://www.airproducts.com/company/news-center/2022/12/1208-airproducts-and-aes-to-invest-to-build-first-mega-scale-green-hydrogen-facility-in-texas
48 Genesee County Economic Development Center “Plug Power is Building the Green Hydrogen Ecosystem at STAMP!,” Genessee County

Economic Development Center, Batavia, NY. https://www.gcedc.com/wnystamp/projectgateway
49 V. Arjona, “Electrolyzer Installations in the United States” U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, DC, June 2023.

https://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/pdfs/23003-electrolyzer-installations-united-states.pdf
50 Additional chemicals not listed in the Figure, ordered by consumption rate for hydrogen in the US, include: oxo chemicals, hydrogenatedvegetable oil, aniline, caprolactam, cyclohexane, hydrogen peroxide, adipic acid, toluene diisocyanate, hydrochloric acid, and 1,4butanediol.
51 U.S. Department of Energy Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office, “H2 Matchmaker,” U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, DC.

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap85https://www.energy.gov/eere/fuelcells/h2-matchmaker.
52 N. Rustagi, “Systems Analysis Overview,” U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, DC, June 2022.

https://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/pdfs/review22/plenary9_rustagi_2022_o.pdf.
53 U.S. Department of Energy’s Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office funded approximately $40 million through ARRA for fuel cell

forklifts and backup power units. First-of-a-kind demonstrations were conducted through collaboration with DOE and DOD’s Defense
Logistics Agency more than a decade ago.
Source: P. Devlin and G. Morland, “DOE Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Program Record #18002: Industry Deployed Fuel Cell Powered Lift
Trucks,” U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, DC, May 2018.
https://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/pdfs/18002_industry_deployed_fc_powered_lift_trucks.pdf. Reporting from forklift companies
provides information about the number of fueling stations deployed for hydrogen forklifts, such as:
54 J. Marcinkoski, “Hydrogen Class 8 Long Haul Truck Targets,” U.S. Department of Energy, October 31, 2019.

https://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/pdfs/19006_hydrogen_class8_long_haul_truck_targets.pdf.
55 Hydrogen Shot, electrolysis, and SMR with CCS costs shown are for reference and exclusively depict the cost of production, not including

any downstream costs, such as compression, storage, and dispensing. Willingness to pay values based on numerous sources, including:
1) Forklift costs and industrial heat costs based on Hydrogen Council “Path to hydrogen competitiveness”, January 2020.
https://hydrogencouncil.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Path-to-Hydrogen-Competitiveness_Full-Study-1.pdf 2) Transportation
costs from Ledna, C., et. al. “Decarbonizing Medium- & Heavy-Duty On-Road Vehicles: Zero-Emission Vehicles Cost Analysis”. 2022.
National Renewable Energy Laboratory. https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy22osti/82081.pdf 2) 3) Biofuels, ammonia, chemicals, steel,seasonal storage, and industrial heat costs based largely on Elgowainy, et. al., “Assessment of Potential Future Demands for Hydrogen in
the United States”. 2020 Argonne National Laboratory, https://greet.es.anl.gov/publication-us_future_h2 4) Chemicals costs additionallybased on Zang, et. al., “Technoeconomic and Life Cycle Analysis of Synthetic Methanol Production from Hydrogen and Industrial
Byproduct CO2”. Environmental Science & Technology 2021 55 (8), 5248-5257 , https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.0c08237 5)
Steel costs additionally based on preliminary analysis from Argonne National Laboratory,
https://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/pdfs/review21/sa174_elgowainy_2021_o.pdf 6) Power-to-liquid, or synthetic fuel, costs additionallybased on Zang, et. al. “Performance and cost analysis of liquid fuel production from hydrogen and CO 2 based on the Fischer-Tropsch
process”. Journal of CO2 Utilization 2021 46, 101459, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2212982021000263 6)
Industrial heat costs based on Hydrogen Council “Path to hydrogen competitiveness”, January 2020. Path-to-HydrogenCompetitiveness_Full-Study-1.pdf (hydrogencouncil.com).
56 The National Renewable Energy Laboratory, “TEMPO: Transportation Energy & Mobility Pathway Options,” The National Renewable

Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO. https://www.nrel.gov/transportation/tempo-model.html.
57 In 2021, the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Transportation, and U.S. Department of Agriculture adopted a goal of

supplying sufficient SAF to meet 100% of aviation fuel demand in 2050, estimated at 35 billion gallons. (Source: The White House, “FACTSHEET: Biden Administration Advances the Future of Sustainable Fuels in American Aviation,” 9 September 2021.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/09/09/fact-sheet-biden-administration-advances-the-future-ofsustainable-fuels-in-american-aviation/) While a variety of different biofuel and power-to-liquid fuel pathways could meet this supply,
the estimate of 4 MMT/year of hydrogen is based on preliminary modeling from NREL of 11 different biofuel production pathways withvarying endogenous and exogenous hydrogen supply requirements.
58 A. Elgowainy, M. Mintz, U. Lee, T. Stephens, P. Sun, K. Reddi, Y. Zhou, G. Zang, M. Ruth, P. Jadun, E. Connelly, and R. Boardman,“Assessment of Potential Future Demands for Hydrogen in the United States,” Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL, October 2020.
https://greet.es.anl.gov/publication-us_future_h2.
59 S. de Jong, K. Antonissen, R. Hoefnagels, et al., "Life-cycle analysis of greenhouse gas emissions from renewable jet fuelproduction," Biotechnology for Biofuels, March 14, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13068-017-0739-7
60 The lower end of this estimate assumes production of 120 MMT steel per year in 2050, consistent with the U.S. Department of Energy’s

Industrial Decarbonization Roadmap. (https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/202209/Industrial%20Decarbonization%20Roadmap.pdf). The higher end assumes production of 130 MMT steel per year to enable exports
of 8% of U.S. steel production, consistent with current practice. Source: International Trade Administration, “Global Steel Trade Monitor– Steel Exports Report: United States,” International Trade Administration, Washington, DC, May 2020.
https://legacy.trade.gov/steel/countries/pdfs/exports-us.pdf.
61 Range of estimates of U.S. methanol demand are based on: 1) Low end: International Energy Agency estimate for North America (Source:

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

86International Energy Agency and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, “The Future of Petrochemicals Towards
more sustainable plastics and fertilisers,” International Energy Agency, France, October 2018.
https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/bee4ef3a-8876-4566-98cf-7a130c013805/The_Future_of_Petrochemicals.pdf), and 2) High end:
Global estimates developed by the International Renewable Energy Agency (Source: International Renewable Energy Agency andMethanol Institute, “Innovation Outlook: Renewable Methanol,” International Renewable Energy Agency, Abu Dhabi, United ArabEmirates, 2021. https://www.irena.org//media/Files/IRENA/Agency/Publication/2021/Jan/IRENA_Innovation_Renewable_Methanol_2021.pdf), and an assumption that the U.S.
share of global demand remains at ~6% (Source: IHS Markit, “Methanol: Chemical Economics Handbook,” IHS Markit, March 2021.
https://ihsmarkit.com/products/methanol-chemical-economics-handbook.html).
62 Estimates of high-temperature heat demand in 2050 are based on DOE Industrial Decarbonization Roadmap. (Source: U.S. Department ofEnergy, “Industrial Decarbonization Roadmap,” September 2022. https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2022-09/Industrial
Decarbonization Roadmap.pdf).
63 U.S. Department of Energy, "IEDO FY23 Multi-topic Funding Opportunity Announcement,” Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization

Office, https://www.energy.gov/eere/iedo/iedo-fy23-multi-topic-funding-opportunity-announcement64 1) Low end: P. Denholm, P. Brown, W. Cole, T. Mai, B. Sergi, M. Brown, P.

Jadun, J. Ho, J. Mayernik, C. McMillan, R. Sreenath, Examining
Supply-Side Options to Achieve 100% Clean Electricity by 2035 (2022). NREL/TP-6A40-81644. 2) High end: U.S. Department of Energy
Solar 2021 Futures Study Source: U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office, “Solar Futures Study,” U.S. Department ofEnergy, Washington, DC, September 2021. https://www.energy.gov/eere/solar/solar-futures-study

65 C. A. McMillan, M. Ruth, “Using facility-level emissions data to estimate the technical potential of alternative thermal sources to meetindustrial heat demand,” Applied Energy, Volume 239, Pages 1077-1090, February 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.01.077.
66 Studies used to develop estimates of energy storage included: 1) Lowest bound, from Princeton Net-Zero America (Source: Net Zero

America “Potential Pathways, Infrastructure, and Impacts,” Princeton University, December 2020.
https://netzeroamerica.princeton.edu/?explorer=year&state=national&table=2020&limit=200),2) Lower end of core range is from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (Denholm, Paul, Patrick Brown, Wesley Cole, et al.,“Examining Supply-Side Options to Achieve 100% Clean Electricity by 2035,” National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 2022.
https://www.nrel.gov/analysis/100-percent-clean-electricity-by-2035-study.html)
3) Higher end of core range and upper bound based on DOE Solar Futures Study (U.S. Department of Energy Solar 2021 Futures Study
Source: U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office, “Solar Futures Study,” U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, DC,
September 2021. https://www.energy.gov/eere/solar/solar-futures-study.)
67 S. Satyapal, “Testimony of Dr. Sunita Satyapal Director for a Hearing on Hydrogen,” U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee,

February 2022. https://www.energy.senate.gov/services/files/FE1C53B0-3925-46E3-B1D3-B8E2C0DD92B6.
68 S. Satyapal, “High-level Recap and Menti Questions Results,” U.S. Department of Energy Hydrogen Shot Summit, Sept 1, 2021.

https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2021-09/h2-shot-summit-closing-plenary-recap.pdf.
69 S. Satyapal, J. Litynski, L. Horton, “Overview,” U.S. Department of Energy Hydrogen Shot Summit, Sept 1, 2021.

https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2021-09/h2-shot-summit-plenary-doe-overview.pdf.
70 California Fuel Cell Partnership, “Cost to refill,” https://cafcp.org/content/cost-refill.
71 S. Satyapal, “2021 AMR Plenary Session,” U.S. Department of Energy, June 2021. https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2021-06/hfto-

amr-plenary-satyapal-2021.pdf
72 M. Ruth and F. Josech, “Hydrogen Threshold Cost Calculation,” DOE Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office, March 24, 2011.

https://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/pdfs/11007_h2_threshold_costs.pdf
73 The energy content of hydrogen is 33 kWh/kg, while the energy content of gasoline is 12 kWh/kg, based on the lower heating value.
74 Current hydrogen production cost based on: U.S. Department of Energy, “Cost of Electrolytic Hydrogen Production with Existing

Technology,” September 22, 2020. https://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/pdfs/20004-cost-electrolytic-hydrogen-production.pdf.
Projected cost at economies of scale assumes $460/kW electrolyzer, based on: D. Peterson, J. Vickers, and D. DeSantis, “Hydrogen
Production Cost from PEM Electrolysis – 2019,” U.S. Department of Energy, 3 February 2020.

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap87https://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/pdfs/19009_h2_production_cost_pem_electrolysis_2019.pdf.
Delivery and dispensing costs based on: N. Rustagi, A. Elgowainy, and J. Vickers, “Current Status of Hydrogen Delivery and Dispensing Costs
and Pathways to Future Cost Reductions,” U.S. Department of Energy, 17 December 2018.
https://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/pdfs/18003_current_status_hydrogen_delivery_dispensing_costs.pdf and Hydrogen Delivery Scenario
Analysis Model (https://hdsam.es.anl.gov/index.php?content=hdsam)
Fuel cell costs based on analysis from Strategic Analysis, Inc., 2021
(https://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/pdfs/review21/fc163_james_2021_o.pdf).
75 International Energy Agency, “Chemicals,” https://www.iea.org/reports/chemicals.
76 Guiyan Zang*, Pingping Sun, Amgad Elgowainy, and Michael Wang, “Technoeconomic and Life Cycle Analysis of Synthetic Methanol

Production from Hydrogen and Industrial Byproduct CO2,” Environmental Science & Technology, 2021, 55 (8), 5248-5257.
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.est.0c08237.
77 X. Liu, A. Elgowainy and M. Wang, “Life cycle energy use and greenhouse gas emissions of ammonia production from renewable

resources and industrial by-products,” Green Chem., 2020, 22, 5751-5761.
https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2020/gc/d0gc02301a.

78 International Energy Agency, “Iron and Steel Technology Roadmap,” October 2020. https://www.iea.org/reports/iron-and-steel-

technology-roadmap.
79 A. Elgowainy, “Technoeconomic and Life Cycle Analysis of Synthetic Fuels and Steelmaking,” Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL,

June 2021. https://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/pdfs/review21/sa174_elgowainy_2021_o.pdf.
80 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2020,” 2022, EPA 430-R-22-003.

https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2022-04/us-ghg-inventory-2022-main-text.pdf.
81 U.S. Department of Energy, “Industrial Decarbonization Roadmap,” September 2022. https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2022-

09/Industrial Decarbonization Roadmap.pdf.
82 International Energy Agency, “Global Hydrogen Review 2021,” International Energy Agency, Paris, France, 2021.

https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/5bd46d7b-906a-4429-abda-e9c507a62341/GlobalHydrogenReview2021.pdf.
83 U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2017, National Minerals Information Center, Reston, VA, 2017.

https://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/nitrogen/mcs-2017-nitro.pdf.
84 U.S. Department of Energy, “REFUEL,” Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy. https://arpa-

e.energy.gov/technologies/programs/refuel.
85 International Energy Agency, “Global crude steel production by process route and scenario, 2019-2050,” 8 October 2020.

https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/charts/global-crude-steel-production-by-process-route-and-scenario-2019-2050.
86 American Iron and Steel Institute, “Steel Production,” https://www.steel.org/steel-technology/steel-production/.
87 A. Elgowainy, “Technoeconomic and Life Cycle Analysis of Synthetic Fuels and Steelmaking,” Argonne National Laboratory. Argonne, IL,

June 2021, https://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/pdfs/review21/sa174_elgowainy_2021_o.pdf.
88 U.S. Department of Commerce International Trade Administration, “Steel Imports Report: United States,” May 2020.

https://legacy.trade.gov/steel/countries/pdfs/imports-us.pdf.
89 The White House, “FACT SHEET: The United States and European Union to Negotiate World’s First Carbon-Based Sectoral Arrangementon Steel and Aluminum Trade,” October 31, 2021. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/10/31/factsheet-the-united-states-and-european-union-to-negotiate-worlds-first-carbon-based-sectoral-arrangement-on-steel-and-aluminumtrade/.
90 J. Brouwer and L. Mastropasqua, “Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cells (SOEC) Integrated with Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) Plants for Producing

Green Steel,” University of California, Irvine, 2021. https://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/pdfs/review21/ta052_brouwer_2021_p.pdf.
91 R.J. O’Malley, “Grid-Interactive Steelmaking with Hydrogen (GISH),” Missouri University of Science & Technology, February 2021.

https://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/pdfs/review21/ta053_omalley_2021_p.pdf.
92 U.S. Department of Energy, “AMO Steel Industry Roundtable,” 20 February 2020. https://www.energy.gov/eere/amo/downloads/amo-

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

88steel-industry-roundtable.
93 U.S. Department of Energy, “TRANSSFORM Workshop Presentations,” 25 October 2021.

https://www.energy.gov/eere/amo/articles/transsform-workshop-presentations.
94 U.S. Department of Energy, “Chapter 6: Innovating Clean Energy Technologies in Advanced Manufacturing,” Quadrennial Technology

Review, 2015. https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2016/06/f32/QTR2015-6I-Process-Heating.pdf.
95 U.S. DOE, “HyBlend: Opportunities for Hydrogen Blending in Natural Gas Pipelines,” https://www.energy.gov/eere/fuelcells/hyblend-

opportunities-hydrogen-blending-natural-gas-pipelines.
96 NREL, “NREL Marks Partner Forum with Dedication of Bioreactor,” August 22, 2019. https://www.nrel.gov/news/program/2019/nrel-

marks-partner-forum-with-dedication-of-bioreactor.html.
97 C. Ledna et al., “Decarbonizing Medium- & Heavy-Duty On-Road Vehicles: Zero-Emission Vehicles Cost Analysis,” National Renewable

Energy Laboratory, March 2022. https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy22osti/82081.pdf
98 Hunter, et. al. “Spatial and Temporal Analysis of the Total Cost of Ownership for Class 8 Tractors and Class 4 Parcel Delivery Trucks”.

National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 202.” https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy21osti/71796.pdf
99 U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the United States Department of Transportation (DOT), the United States Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA), and the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), The U.S. National Blueprint forTransportation Decarbonization, January 20223. https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2023-01/the-us-national-blueprint-fortransportation-decarbonization.pdf

100 U.S. Department of Energy, “21st Century Truck Partnership,” https://www.energy.gov/eere/vehicles/21st-century-truck-partnership.
101 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles,” https://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/hydrogen-fuel-cell-vehicles.
102 M2FCT was launched by DOE’s Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office in 2020 and brings together national labs, industry, andacademia to achieve specific targets for commercial viability of long-haul trucks. https://millionmilefuelcelltruck.org/.
103 U.S. Department of Energy, “DOE Announces Nearly $200 Million to Reduce Emissions from Cars and Trucks,” 1 November 2021.

https://www.energy.gov/articles/doe-announces-nearly-200-million-reduce-emissions-cars-and-trucks.
104 J. Hanlin and E. Brewer, “Fuel Cell Hybrid Electric Delivery Van Project,” Center for Transportation and the Environment, 21 May 2021.

https://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/pdfs/review21/ta016_hanlin_2021_o.pdf.
105 J. Adams, “Technology Acceleration Overview,” U.S. Department of Energy, 7 June 2021.

https://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/pdfs/review21/plenary10_adams_2021_o.pdf.
106 National Renewable Energy Laboratory, “Fuel Cell Electric Bus Evaluations,” https://www.nrel.gov/hydrogen/fuel-cell-bus-evaluation.html.
107 The Maritime Executive, “IMO Answers Questions on the 2020 SOx Regulation,” 2018. https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/imo-

answers-questions-on-the-2020-sox-regulation.
108 O. Merk, “Shipping Emissions in Ports,” International Transport Forum, p. 15, 2014. https://www.itf-

oecd.org/sites/default/files/docs/dp201420.pdf.
109 International Energy Agency. “The Future of Hydrogen. Seizing Today’s Opportunities,” June 2019. https://www.iea.org/reports/the-future-of-hydrogen.
Note: The report recommends that governments and industry “make industrial ports the nerve centers for scaling up the use of cleanhydrogen.”
110 U.S. Department of Energy, “H2@Ports Workshop,” Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office.

https://www.energy.gov/eere/fuelcells/h2ports-workshop
111 U.S. Department of Transportation, “Fuel Cells,” Maritime Environmental and Technical Assistance (META) Program.

https://www.maritime.dot.gov/innovation/meta/maritime-environmental-and-technical-assistance-meta-program#Fuel%20Cells.
112 L. Goodbody, “Medium/Heavy Duty & Marine Applications for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in California,” November 4, 2019.

https://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/pdfs/htac_nov19_04_goodbody.pdf.
113 N. Pal, “SF Waterfront Maritime Hydrogen Demonstration Project,” U.S. Department of Energy Hydrogen Program Annual Merit Review.

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap89https://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/pdfs/review22/ta045_pal_2022_o.pdf.
114 The White House, “FACT SHEET: Biden Administration Advances the Future of Sustainable Fuels in American Aviation,” 9 September

2021. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/09/09/fact-sheet-biden-administration-advances-thefuture-of-sustainable-fuels-in-american-aviation/.
115 Federal Aviation Administration, “Aviation Climate Action Plan,” November 2021. https://www.faa.gov/sustainability/aviation-climate-action-plan.
116 U.S. Department of Energy, “Sustainable Aviation Fuel Grand Challenge,” https://www.energy.gov/eere/bioenergy/sustainable-aviation-

fuel-grand-challenge.
117 ASTM International, “Standard Specification for Aviation Turbine Fuel Containing Synthesized Hydrocarbons,” July 15, 2021.

https://www.astm.org/d7566-21.html.
118 K. Swider-Lyons, “Hydrogen Fuel Cells for Small Unmanned Air Vehicles,” U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, May 26, 2016.

https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2016/05/f32/fcto_webinarslides_h2_fc_small_unmanned_air_vehicles_052616.pdf.
119 ZeroAvia, “ZeroAvia & Otto Aviation Partner to Deliver First New Airframe Design with Hydrogen-Electric Engine Option,” 15 June 2022.

https://www.zeroavia.com/otto-aviation.
120 C. Ryan and S. Philip, “Airbus turboprop design gaining favor as first hydrogen plane,” Bloomberg, February 11, 2021.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-11/airbus-turboprop-design-gaining-favor-as-first-hydrogen-plane.
121 Argonne National Laboratory, “H2@Airports Workshop Report,” November 2020. https://www.anl.gov/aet/reference/h2airports-

workshop-report.
122 Federal Railroad Administration, “Freight Rail Overview,” U.S. Department of Transportation. https://railroads.dot.gov/rail-network-

development/freight-rail-overview.
123 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Fast Facts on Transportation Greenhouse Gas Emissions,”

https://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/fast-facts-transportation-greenhouse-gas-emissions.
124 Alstom, “Alstom's Coradia iLint hydrogen train runs for the first time in France,” Sept. 6, 2022. https://www.alstom.com/press-releases-

news/2021/9/alstoms-coradia-ilint-hydrogen-train-runs-first-time-france.
125 San Bernadino County Transportation Authority, “Green-Tech for the US: Stadler Signs First Ever Contract for Hydrogen-Powered Train,”

November 14, 2019. https://www.gosbcta.com/green-tech-for-the-us-stadler-signs-first-ever-contract-for-hydrogen-powered-train/.
126 U.S. Department of Energy, “H2@Rail Workshop,” August 2019. https://www.energy.gov/eere/fuelcells/h2rail-workshop.
127 R.K. Ahluwalia, J-K Peng, F. Cetinbas, D. D. Papadias, X. Wang, J. Kopasz, and T. Krause, “Rail, Aviation, and Maritime Metrics,” Argonne

National Laboratory, Argonne, IL, June 2021. https://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/pdfs/review21/ta034_ahluwalia_2021_o.pdf.
128 T. Krause, D. Papadias, R. Ahluwalia, J-K Peng, and G. Moreland, “Total Cost of Ownership and Hydrogen Demand for Fuel Cell-Powered

Railroad Locomotives,” Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting, 29 January 2021.
https://annualmeeting.mytrb.org/OnlineProgramArchive/Details/15394.
129 U.S. Department of Energy, “Tri-Generation Success Story,” December, 2016,

https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2016/12/f34/fcto_fountain_valley_success_story.pdf
130

U.S. Department of Energy, “Durability Working Group,” https://www.energy.gov/eere/fuelcells/durability-working-group.

131 U.S. Department of Energy, “Reversible Fuel Cells Workshop,” https://www.energy.gov/eere/fuelcells/reversible-fuel-cells-workshop.
132 U.S. Department of Energy, “Early Markets: Fuel Cells for Backup Power,” October 2014.

https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2014/10/f19/ftco_early_mkts_fc_backup_power_fact_sheet.pdf.
133 P. Denholm, W. Cole, A.W. Frazier, K. Podkaminer, and N. Blair, “The Four Phases of Storage Deployment: A Framework for the Expanding

Role of Storage in the U.S. Power System,” National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO, 2021.
https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy21osti/77480.pdf.
134 A.W. Frazier, W. Cole, P. Denholm, S. Machen, N. Gates, and N. Blair, “Storage Futures Study: Economic Potential of Diurnal Storage in the

U.S. Power Sector,” National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO, NREL/TP-6A20-77449.

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

90https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy21osti/77449.pdf.
135 https://fuelcellsworks.com/news/nextera-sets-goal-of-16gw-of-green-hydrogen-power-stations-in-florida/
136 National Renewable Energy Laboratory, “ARIES: Advanced Research on Integrated Energy Systems,” https://www.nrel.gov/aries/.
137 U.S. Department of Energy, “Advanced Turbine Systems,” https://www.energy.gov/fecm/science-innovation/clean-coal-research/hydrogen-turbines.
138 J. Adams, “Technology Acceleration Overview,” U.S. Department of Energy, Hydrogen Annual Merit Review, 6 June 2022.

https://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/pdfs/review22/plenary8_adams_2022_o.pdf
139 S. Satyapal, R. Schrecengost, J. Marcinkoski, J. Vetrano, and T. Shrader, “DOE Hydrogen Program Panel Discussion,” U.S. Department ofEnergy, Hydrogen Annual Merit Review, 6 June 2022.
https://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/pdfs/review22/plenary5_program_panel_2022_o.pdf
140 U.S. Department of Energy, “DOE Announces First Loan Guarantee for a Clean Energy Project in Nearly a Decade,” Loan Programs Office,28 June 2022. https://www.energy.gov/articles/doe-announces-first-loan-guarantee-clean-energy-project-nearly-decade
141 U.S. General Services Administration, “Federal Fleet Report (FFR) Open Data Set Library,” https://www.gsa.gov/policy-

regulations/policy/vehicle-management-policy/federal-fleet-report-ffr-open-data-set-library.
142 U.S. General Services Administration, “GSA Properties,” https://www.gsa.gov/real-estate/gsa-properties.
143 U.S. Department of Energy, “Clean Hydrogen Production Standard Draft Guidance,” https://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/clean-hydrogen-production-standard.html
144 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Pub. L. No. 117-28, sec. 40315, §822 (codified as 42 U.S.C. 16166(b)(2) (2021).
145 U.S. Department of Energy, “The H2IQ Hour: Learn to use the GREET Model for Emissions Life Cycle Analysis,” Oct. 28, 2021.

https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2021-11/h2iq-hour-10282021.pdf.
146 Argonne National Laboratory, GREET model, https://greet.es.anl.gov/. Updates will be provided regularly as pathways and assumptions

are refined.
147 National Energy Technology Laboratory, “Comparison of Commercial, State-of-the-Art, Fossil-Based Hydrogen Production

Technologies,” DOE/NETL-2022/3241, 12 April 2022.
https://www.netl.doe.gov/projects/files/ComparisonofCommercialStateofArtFossilBasedHydrogenProductionTechnologies_041222.pdf.
148 International Partnership for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in the Economy, www.iphe.net.
149 International Partnership for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in the Economy, “Methodology for Determining the Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Associated with the Production of Hydrogen,” October 2021.
https://www.iphe.net/_files/ugd/45185a_ef588ba32fc54e0eb57b0b7444cfa5f9.pdf.
150 U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking “Pipeline

Safety: Gas Pipeline Leak Detection and Repair,” https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2023-09918
151 U.S. Department of Energy, “Energy Earthshots Initiative,” https://www.energy.gov/policy/energy-earthshots-initiative.
152 A. Mayyas, M. Ruth, B. Pivovar, G. Bender, and K. Wipke, “Manufacturing Cost Analysis for Proton Exchange Membrane Water

Electrolyzers,” National Renewable Energy Laboratory, NREL/TP-6A20-72740, August 2019.
https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy19osti/72740.pdf.
153 D. Peterson, J. Vickers, and D. DeSantis, “Hydrogen Production Cost from PEM Electrolysis – 2019,” U.S. Department of Energy, 3 February

2020. https://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/pdfs/19009_h2_production_cost_pem_electrolysis_2019.pdf
154 U.S. Department of Energy, “Cost of Electrolytic Hydrogen Production with Existing Technology,” 22 September 2020.

https://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/pdfs/20004-cost-electrolytic-hydrogen-production.pdf.
155 U.S. Department of Energy, “Hydrogen from Next-generation Electrolyzers of Water (H2NEW),” https://h2new.energy.gov/.
156 B. Pivovar, “Current Status of (Low Temperature) Electrolyzer Technology and Needs for Successful Widespread Commercialization andMeeting Hydrogen Shot Targets,” U.S. Department of Energy, Hydrogen Shot Summit, September 2021.

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap91https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2021-09/h2-shot-summit-panel1-lte-status.pdf
157 Sun, Pinging, et. al. “The Analysis of U.S. Refinery Sector Decarbonization Potential and Cost”. Argonne National Laboratory, January

2023. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.2c07440
158 National Energy Technology Laboratory, “Comparison of Commercial, State-of-the-Art, Fossil-Based Hydrogen Production

Technologies,” National Energy Technology Laboratory, Pittsburgh, PA, DOE/NETL-2022/3241, 2022. https://www.netl.doe.gov/energyanalysis/details?id=ed4825aa-8f04-4df7-abef-60e564f636c9.
159 Argonne GREET Publication : Updated Natural Gas Pathways in GREET 2022 (anl.gov)
160 U.S. Department of Energy, “2022 Methane Pyrolysis Cohort Annual Meeting,” Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy, 12 January

2022. https://arpa-e.energy.gov/2022-methane-pyrolysis-cohort-annual-meeting.
161 U.S. Department of Energy, “U.S. Department of Energy Announces $28 Million to Develop Clean Hydrogen,” Office of Fossil Energy andCarbon Management, 7 February 2022. https://www.energy.gov/fecm/articles/us-department-energy-announces-28-million-developclean-hydrogen.
162 U.S. Department of Energy, “Open for Business: LPO Issues New Conditional Commitment for Loan Guarantee,” Loan Programs Office, 23

December 2021. https://www.energy.gov/lpo/articles/open-business-lpo-issues-new-conditional-commitment-loan-guarantee.
163 https://www.energy.gov/lpo/articles/revisiting-prior-conditional-commitments-monolithtm-inc
164 https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/US-Methane-Emissions-Reduction-Action-Plan-1.pdf
165 Air Products, “Landmark U.S. $4.5 Billion Louisiana Clean Energy Complex,” Air Products. https://www.airproducts.com/campaigns/la-blue-hydrogen-project.
166 Ascension Parish, where the project, has Census Tracts defined as a DAC by the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool;

https://screeningtool.geoplatform.gov/en/#10.78/30.1098/-91.0479.
167 Green Plains, “Green Plains Announces Carbon Sequestration Partnership with Summit Carbon Solutions,” 18 February 2021.

https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/02/18/2178062/0/en/Green-Plains-Announces-Carbon-Sequestration-Partnershipwith-Summit-Carbon-Solutions.html
168 Congressional Research Service, “The Tax Credit for Carbon Sequestration (Section 45Q),” 8 June 2021.

https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/IF11455.pdf.
169 Department of Energy, Securing America’s Clean Energy Supply Chain, 2022. https://www.energy.gov/policy/securing-americas-clean-energy-supply-chain.
170 U.S. Department of the Treasury, “Additional Guidance for the Qualifying Advanced Energy Project Credit Allocation Program under

Section 48C(e),” Internal Revenue Service, https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-23-44.pdf
171 https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-23-18.pdf
172 Hydrogen production costs based on high-temperature electrolysis and assuming $0.03/kWh electricity: D. Peterson, J. Vickers, and D.

DeSantis, “Hydrogen Production Cost from High Temperature Electrolysis – 2020,” U.S. Department of Energy, 14 February 2020.
https://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/pdfs/20006-production-cost-high-temperature-electrolysis.pdf.
Hydrogen fueling station costs developed using Hydrogen Delivery Scenario Analysis Model: Argonne National Laboratory, “Hydrogen
Delivery Scenario Analysis Model (HDSAM),” https://hdsam.es.anl.gov/index.php?content=hdsam.
Hydrogen storage costs based on: M. Kolyva and N. Rustagi, “Hydrogen Delivery and Dispensing Cost,” U.S. Department of Energy, 2October 2020.
https://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/pdfs/20007-hydrogen-delivery-dispensing-cost.pdf.
173 U.S. Department of Energy, “DOE Update on Hydrogen Shot, RFI Results, and Summary of Hydrogen Provisions in the Bipartisan

Infrastructure Law | Department of Energy,” December 9, 2021. https://www.energy.gov/eere/fuelcells/articles/doe-update-hydrogenshot-rfi-results-and-summary-hydrogen-provisions
174 U.S. Department of Energy, “Hydrogen Shot Summit,” https://www.energy.gov/eere/fuelcells/hydrogen-shot-summit.
175 U.S. Department of Energy, “2021 Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office Webinar Archives,”

https://www.energy.gov/eere/fuelcells/2021-hydrogen-and-fuel-cell-technologies-office-webinar-archives#12082021.

U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap

92176 E. Connelly, M. Penev, A. Milbrandt, B. Roberts, N. Gilroy, and M. Melaina, “Resource Assessment for Hydrogen Production,” National

Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO, NREL/TP-5400-77198. https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy20osti/77198.pdf.
177 To produce 10MMT of hydrogen via renewable or nuclear electrolysis alone, the total water requirement would be approximately 29-650

billion gallons (depending on the type of power generation used), representing 0.03%-0.6% of annual U.S. freshwater withdrawals. E.
Connelly, M. Penev, A. Milbrandt, B. Roberts, N. Gilroy, and M. Melaina, “Resource Assessment for Hydrogen Production,” National
Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO, NREL/TP-5400-77198. https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy20osti/77198.pdf.
178 C. Hunter, M. Penev, E. Reznicek, J. Eichman, N. Rustagi, and S. Baldwin, “Techno-economic analysis of long-duration energy storage andflexible power generation technologies to support high-variable renewable energy grids,” Joule 5, 2077–2101, August 18, 2021.
https://www.cell.com/joule/pdf/S2542-4351(21)00306-8.pdf.
179 J.E. Fesmire and A. Swanger, “Overview of the New LH2 Sphere at NASA Kennedy Space Center,” August 18, 2021.

https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2021-10/new-lh2-sphere.pdf.
180 National Energy Technology Laboratory, “Subsurface Hydrogen Assessment, Storage, and Technology Acceleration," 2022.

https://edx.netl.doe.gov/shasta/
181 National Energy Technology Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory,

Subsurface Hydrogen and Natural Gas Storage: State of Knowledge and Research Recommendations Report, DOE/NETL-2022/3236,
NETL Technical Report Series, U.S. Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory: Morgantown, WV, 2022; p. 6.
https://www.netl.doe.gov/projects/files/SubsurfaceHydrogenandNaturalGasStorageStateofKnowledgeandResearchRecommendationsRe
port_041122.pdf. Images of Alaska and Hawaii to be hosted at Images – SHASTA (doe.gov)

182 G.F. Teletzke et al., “Evaluation of Practicable Subsurface CO2 Storage Capacity and Potential CO2 Transportation Networks,” Onshore

North America, 14th Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies Conference, Melbourne, October 2018.
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3366176.
183 H. Pilorge, adapted from: P. Psarras et al., “Carbon Capture and Utilization in the Industrial Sector,” Environ. Sci. Technol. 2017, 51, 19,11440–11449. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.7b01723.
184 For example, see DOE’s Office of Science report: U.S. Department of Energy, “Basic Energy Sciences Roundtable Foundational Science for

Carbon-Neutral Hydrogen Technologies,” 2021. https://science.osti.gov//media/bes/pdf/reports/2021/Hydrogen_Roundtable_Brochure.pdf?la=en&hash=08CACFB80F803504B7D6C629FEB1426BBD6CBF69.
185 U.S. Department of Labor, “Prevailing Wage and the Inflation Reduction Act,” Wage and Hour Division.

https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/IRA
186 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Pub. L. No. 117-28, sec. 40313, §805(j) (codified as 42 U.S.C. 16154(j) (2021).
187 Council on Environmental Quality, “Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool,” November 22, 2022.

https://screeningtool.geoplatform.gov/
188 U.S. Department of Energy, “Water Electrolyzers and Fuel Cells Supply Chain: U.S. Department of Energy Response to Executive Order

14017, ‘America’s Supply Chains,’” February 24, 2022. https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/202202/Fuel%20Cells%20%26%20Electrolyzers%20Supply%20Chain%20Report%20-%20Final.pdf
189 https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/Default.aspx#FoaIda9a89bda-618a-4f13-83f4-9b9b418c04dc
190 The White House, Executive Order on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Federal Workforce, June 25, 22021.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/06/25/executive-order-on-diversity-equity-inclusion-andaccessibility-in-the-Federal-workforce/.
191 The White House, Executive Order on Establishment of the White House Gender Policy Council, March 8, 2021.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/03/08/executive-order-on-establishment-of-the-white-housegender-policy-council/.
192

The White House, Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad, January 27, 2021.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/27/executive-order-on-tackling-the-climate-crisis-at-homeand-abroad/.

193 Other recent roadmaps published by DOE, such as the Commercial Pathways Liftoff Reports have evaluated the potential for job creation

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in the hydrogen industry under various future scenarios, as well as the total financial investment needed for these scenarios tomaterialize. These estimates will be refined as data is gathered from ongoing and future deployments, such as those in support of the
BIL and IRA.
194 A.R. Baird et al., “Federal Oversight of Hydrogen Systems,“ Sandia National Laboratory, SAND2021-2955, March 2021.

https://energy.sandia.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/H2-Regulatory-Map-Report_SAND2021-2955.pdf
195 C. Ledna, M. Muratori, A. Yip, P. Jadun, and C. Hoehne, “Decarbonizing Medium- & Heavy-Duty On-Road Vehicles: Zero-Emission

Vehicles Cost Analysis,” National Renewable Energy Laboratory, March 2022. https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy22osti/82081.pdf.
196 Umair Irfan, “How to save the planet from the largest vehicles on Earth,” Vox, April 21, 2022.

https://www.vox.com/recode/22973218/container-shipping-industry-climate-change-emissions-maersk.
197 U.S. Department of Energy, “Internal and External Coordination and Collaboration,” Department of Energy Hydrogen Program Plan, Nov

2020, pp. 36-43. https://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/pdfs/hydrogen-program-plan-2020.pdf.
198 Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Interagency Action Plan, 2011,https://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/pdfs/hydrogen_fuelcell_interagency_action_plan.pdf
199 Examples of global partnerships involving hydrogen include but are not limited to: IEA (International Energy Agency) launched in the

1974; IPHE (International Partnership for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in the Economy) launched by the U.S. in 2003 (with Netherlands as
current Chair, U.S. and Japan as Vice-Chairs); IRENA, launched in 2009; HEM (Hydrogen Energy Ministerial) launched by Japan in 2018;
the Hydrogen Council, launched by industry in 2017; CEM (Clean Energy Ministerial) Hydrogen Initiative launched by Canada in 2019(with the European Commission, Japan, Netherlands, and U.S. as co-leads), MI (Mission Innovation) Clean Hydrogen Mission launchedby the UK in 2021 (with Australia, Chile, EC, Saudi Arabia, and U.S. as co-leads).
200 International Energy Agency, “The Future of Hydrogen. Seizing Today’s Opportunities,” June 2019. https://www.iea.org/reports/the-future-of-hydrogen.
201 Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). ”Fifth Hydrogen Energy Ministerial Held,” October 7, 2022.

https://www.meti.go.jp/english/press/2022/1007_001.html
202 Clean Energy Ministerial. “ H2 Initiative Launches H2 Twin Cities Program | Clean Energy Ministerial.”

https://www.cleanenergyministerial.org/h2-initiative-launches-h2-twin-cities-program/
203 Further technical details and appendices may be made available at www.hydrogen.energy.gov to provide transparency and the most up-

to-date information to stakeholders and the public.

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94Appendix A: Supplementary Information and Analysis
DOE recently published the Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Clean Hydrogen (Pathways report), which wasformed using extensive stakeholder feedback and new analysis to characterize the market potential forhydrogen in the near- and long-term. The Pathways report provides market and investment perspective in thefollowing phases:
Near-term expansion: Inspects risks and uncertainties of early market introduction, considering matchingsupply and demand geographically with limited connective infrastructure, hydrogen offtake uncertainties,
manufacturing supply chains, permitting and workforce challenges.
Industrial scaling: Considers barriers remaining after IRA subsidy period and impact of emerging clean
electricity economics on the prevailing hydrogen production pathways. During this phase, financing scale andcredit risk will be subject to the remaining market barriers after an IRA sunset.
Long-term growth: This phase will be fueled by cost reductions achieved through IRA period. Emerging
financing structures and market history will streamline capital procurement and risk management.
The report envisions a 2030 landscape for low-cost clean hydrogen becoming integral component forindustrial, transportation and gas replacement uses. Readers are encouraged to explore the report for arigorous description of market opportunities and barriers for hydrogen. Examples of key results described in
the report include revenue potential (Figure A), required investments (Figure B), demand scenarios (Figure C),
and potential supply chain vulnerabilities (Figure D).

Figure A: The hydrogen economy could reach $80 – 150B market size by 2050 with industrial and medium andheavy-duty transportation accounting for the majority of the market share. See figure above for articulation ofmarket size potentials.

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Figure B. Investments to achieve a successful role of hydrogen and enabling net zero by 2050 are quantified
through the IRA period between $105 and 235B as shown in the figure above. Largest investments are
forecasted in hydrogen production, followed by mid-stream infrastructure. Significant investments need to bemade in end-use applications to allow safe and efficient utilization of hydrogen in new and existing
applications. While clean hydrogen hub investments via the bipartisan infrastructure law provide an initialboost in investments, a subsequent gap of 85-215 remain. Such investment could be catalyzed by cost
reductions and de-risking from IRA and BIL activities.

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Figure C: Hydrogen uptake scenarios considered in the Pathways Report with market attribution.

Figure D: Supply chain vulnerabilities assessment for production (upstream), transmission & distribution(midstream), and select end uses (downstream).

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