(5) Advanced manufacturing technologies and 
methods for clean hydrogen and hydrogen-related 
technologies. 
(6) Hydrogen carrier recycling and reuse. 
(7) Safe, durable, and affordable materials for 
clean hydrogen, hydrogen carrier, and hydrogen-re-
lated technologies. 
(8) Advanced technologies and methods for safe 
hydrogen transportation, distribution, and utiliza-
tion, such as hydrogen infrastructure monitoring 
and controls and combustion characterization tech-
nologies. 
(9) Other research areas that advance the pur-
poses of the program, as determined by the Sec-
retary. 
(d) FUEL CELL RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, AND 
DEMONSTRATION.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—In carrying out with the 
program under subsection (a), the Secretary shall 
support research, development, demonstration, and 
commercial application activities to advance fuel cell 
technologies for transportation and stationary appli-
cations with a focus on reducing fuel cell system cost 
and improving overall system efficiency and dura-
bility over a wide range of operating conditions. 
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(2) TOOLS, TECHNOLOGIES, AND METHODS.— 
In carrying out paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 
develop tools, technologies, and methods for the fol-
lowing: 
(A) Fuel cell durability, which may include 
the following: 
(i) Improving understanding of cata-
lyst and membrane degradation and miti-
gating performance degradation, including 
at high and low power conditions. 
(ii) Improving fuel cell tolerance to 
air, fuel, and system-derived impurities. 
(iii) Improving stationary fuel cells to 
achieve greater than 80,000 hours of dura-
bility, including improving durability under 
start-up and transient operation for high- 
temperature fuel cells. 
(iv) Improving fundamental under-
standing of failure mechanisms to develop 
mitigation strategies. 
(v) Activities to update and accelerate 
testing protocols to enable projection of 
durability. 
(vi) Improving system balance-of-plant 
component efficiency, responsiveness, adap-
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tation to fuel cell aging conditions, 
reactant’s impurity, environmental varia-
bility, and durability. 
(B) Development of lower cost fuel cell ma-
terials, components, and assemblies. 
(C) Fuel cell performance, which may in-
clude research to improve the performance and 
efficiency of the following: 
(i) Cathodes. 
(ii) Water quality controls. 
(iii) Stack water management, includ-
ing membranes in fuel cells to enable effec-
tive water management and operation in 
low humidity and subfreezing environ-
ments. 
(iv) System thermal and water man-
agement, including research to improve the 
following: 
(I) Heat utilization, cooling, and 
humidification techniques. 
(II) Efficiency of heat recovery 
systems, system designs, advanced 
heat exchangers, and higher tempera-
ture operation of current systems. 
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(III) 
Techniques 
to 
manage 
water during start-up and shutdown 
at subfreezing temperatures. 
(IV) Management of nonuniform 
conditions caused by variable thermal 
and current density gradients. 
(v) System air management. 
(vi) System start-up and shutdown 
time and transient operation. 
(vii) Utilizing direct hydrogen car-
riers, such as ammonia, methane, and 
methanol. 
(viii) Reversible fuel cells. 
(D) Catalyst and electrode design, which 
may include the following: 
(i) Developing catalysts that reduce or 
eliminate platinum-group metal loading 
while maintaining or improving upon per-
formance and durability. 
(ii) Increasing durability and stability 
of catalysts during potential cycling. 
(iii) Increasing tolerance of catalysts 
to air, fuel, and other system derived im-
purities. 
(iv) Increasing catalyst utilization. 
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(v) Developing catalysts and catalyst 
support with high durability at high 
voltages. 
(vi) Design and demonstration of scal-
able production of novel catalysts. 
(vii) Optimization of electrode design 
and assembly for efficient water and ther-
mal management. 
(E) Electrolyte synthesis and development. 
(F) Fuel cell membrane development, in-
cluding polymer electrolyte member and alkaline 
electrolyte member development. 
(G) Membrane electrode materials, assem-
blies, cells, and other stack components, includ-
ing demonstration of small-scale production of 
novel membrane electrode assemblies. 
(H) Solid oxide fuel cell development, in-
cluding the following: 
(i) Cell development on individual cell 
components that increases power density, 
reduces degradation, and reduces costs. 
(ii) Balance-of-plant and stack compo-
nents 
that 
improve 
reliability 
and 
robustness and reduce degradation and 
costs. 
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(iii) Systems development. 
(I) Protonic ceramic fuel cell development. 
(J) Other research areas that advance the 
purposes of the program, as determined by the 
Secretary. 
(e) TESTING AND VALIDATION.—In carrying out the 
program under subsection (a), the Secretary, in consulta-
tion with the Director of the National Institute of Stand-
ards and Technology, shall support the development of 
standardized testing and technical validation of hydrogen 
and hydrogen-related technologies, including fuel cell tech-
nologies, through collaboration with one or more National 
Laboratories, and one or more eligible entities. 
(f) LEVERAGING.—In carrying out the program 
under subsection (a), the Secretary shall leverage re-
sources and expertise from across the Department, includ-
ing the following: 
(1) The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renew-
able Energy. 
(2) The Basic Energy Sciences Program, Ad-
vanced Scientific Computing Research Program, and 
the Biological and Environmental Research Program 
of the Office of Science. 
(3) The Office of Fossil Energy. 
(4) The Office of Nuclear Energy. 
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(5) The Advanced Research Projects Agency— 
Energy. 
(6) The Office of Clean Energy Demonstra-
tions. 
(g) STANDARD OF REVIEW.—In carrying out the pro-
gram under subsection (a), the Secretary shall periodically 
determine the status of achievement of the comprehensive 
set of technical milestones referred to in subsection (b). 
SEC. 4. CLEAN HYDROGEN DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the program 
under section 3, the Secretary shall establish a demonstra-
tion program under which the Secretary, through a com-
petitive merit review process, shall select eligible entities 
to carry out not more than six demonstration projects that 
involve clean hydrogen and hydrogen-related technologies. 
(b) PROJECT CRITERIA.—Of the demonstration pro-
grams carried out pursuant to subsection (a), two shall 
be designed as clean hydrogen hybrid use demonstration 
projects that— 
(1) demonstrate configurations of different 
commercial and preproduction hydrogen with wind, 
solar, nuclear, fossil, or other energy technologies for 
combined use, including evaluation and modeling of 
performance under load demands relevant to urban 
and rural communities; and 
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(2) serve as an incubator for novel energy tech-
nologies and the combined use of such technologies. 
(c) SELECTION REQUIREMENTS.—In selecting eligi-
ble entities for the demonstration programs carried out 
pursuant to subsection (a), the Secretary shall, to the 
maximum extent practicable— 
(1) encourage regional diversity among eligible 
entities, including participation by such entities lo-
cated in rural States; 
(2) encourage technological diversity among eli-
gible entities; 
(3) ensure that selected demonstration pro-
grams are coordinated with and expand on existing 
technology demonstration programs of the Depart-
ment; 
(4) prioritize demonstration programs that le-
verage and are complementary to existing energy in-
frastructure, such as existing power plants and 
power installations, fleet vehicle centers, microgrids, 
or industrial facilities; and 
(5) prioritize demonstration programs that le-
verage matching funds from non-Federal sources. 
(d) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—From 
amounts authorized to be appropriated pursuant to sec-
tion 9, $30,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 
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2027 shall be made available to the Secretary to carry out 
this section. 
SEC. 5. HYDROGEN INNOVATION CENTER. 
(a) OPERATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the program 
under section 3, the Secretary, in accordance with 
paragraph (2), shall operate through the Office of 
Science of the Department a national Hydrogen In-
novation Center (referred to in this section as the 
‘‘Center’’). 
(2) SELECTION; ADMINISTRATION.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall se-
lect on a competitive, merit-reviewed basis, an 
entity to administer the Center. In making such 
selection, the Secretary shall solicit and con-
sider applications from such entities. 
(B) ENTITY DEFINED.—For purposes of 
this paragraph, the term ‘‘entity’’ means a Na-
tional Laboratory, an institution of higher edu-
cation, a Federal research agency, a multi-insti-
tutional collaboration, or other appropriate enti-
ty (as determined by the Secretary). 
(3) FOCUS.—The Center shall focus on funda-
mental research and development activities, includ-
ing the following: 
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(A) Theory, modeling, and simulation of 
the following: 
(i) The physics and chemistry of 
multi-scale hydrogen interactions. 
(ii) The behavior of hydrogen fuel cell 
membranes. 
(iii) Catalytic pathways for hydrogen 
production. 
(iv) Photochemical processes and com-
plex photoredox systems. 
(B) The development of analytical tools to 
characterize and predict hydrogen-materials 
interactions. 
(C) The potential physical, chemical, and 
biological effects of geologic hydrogen storage. 
(D) The development of advanced com-
puter modeling to design different configura-
tions of energy systems and optimize systems 
operations for clean hydrogen production in dif-
ferent electricity markets. 
(E) The development of novel fuel cell 
membranes and integrated nanoscale architec-
tures for hydrogen fuel cell technologies. 
(F) Advanced catalytic research and de-
sign, with considerations given to nanoscale 
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catalysts, enzyme catalysts, biocatalysts, cata-
lyst-solid carbon separation, and innovative syn-
thetic techniques. 
(G) The advancement of organic semi-
conductors for photovoltaic and photocatalytic 
applications. 
(H) Examination of the molecular mecha-
nisms of biological hydrogen production. 
(I) The development of bio-hybrid systems 
scalable to hydrogen production facilities. 
(J) The development of novel materials for 
hydrogen storage, including chemical storage 
with complex hydrides and nanostructured ma-
terials, with a focus on the following: 
(i) Improvement of kinetics of hydro-
gen absorption and desorption. 
(ii) Decreasing working temperatures. 
(b) DURATION.—The Center shall receive support for 
a period of not more than five years, subject to the avail-
ability of appropriations. 
(c) RENEWAL.—Upon the expiration of any period of 
support of the Center, the Secretary may renew such sup-
port, on a merit-reviewed basis, for a period of not more 
than five years. 
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