[0:00]Hello, everybody, and welcome to this edition of our Wednesday webinar. We're very excited that you've joined us today to hear from some of our experts at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. And so we're gonna give folks just another minute to join, and then we'll go ahead and get started.

[0:33]For those of you that are just joining us, welcome to our Wednesday webinar series where we're gonna be talking about high-impact topics in Clean Energy. My name is Elizabeth Doris, and I'm a Lab Program Manager at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. And it's my great pleasure to welcome you to our conversation today, which is gonna be focused on the national context for clean hydrogen. Just a few housekeeping items to mention. First, the session is being recorded. So for those of you that may need to drop off or would like to share it with a colleague, it will be available for posterity after the session concludes today. Secondly, the Q and A function is open, so if you have questions, please use the Q and A function, and we will get to your questions at the end of the presentation. And with that, I'm delighted to introduce our two speakers for today. The first is Dr. Katie Stover. Katie is a senior research associate at Enrel with over 15 years of experience researching sustainable and secure energy systems, including work on hydrogen, renewable fuels, and renewable power systems integration. She currently leads hydrogen system analysis activities in the strategic energy analysis center, including supporting the DOE Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office. And our second speaker is Dr. Nick Young, who is a senior research fellow and group manager of Enrel's Systems Modeling and Geospatial Analysis Group. He's an expert in techno economic analysis of low carbon energy systems, including hydrogen, carbon capture, and storage and direct air capture and is currently leading several projects related to the production, transport, storage, and end uses of clean hydrogen.

[2:52]So with that, it's my great pleasure to turn it over to Katie for our presentation today. Welcome, Katie. All right. Thank you so much, Elizabeth, for that introduction. It's a pleasure to be here with you all today. As Elizabeth mentioned, Nick and I are going to be talking about the national context for Clean Hydrogen. And our goal is to provide a comprehensive overview of the current landscape of clean hydrogen in the United States, including key policy drivers, the current state of hydrogen production and use, and the potential future role of hydrogen in a decarbonized energy system. We'll also highlight key aspects of the US National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap. And then we'll also share a bit about Enrel's hydrogen analysis capabilities and how we support the hydrogen and fuel cell technologies office. To start, I think it's important to recognize that hydrogen is very much a global topic right now. There are many countries around the world that are investing heavily in hydrogen, developing national strategies, and developing incentives for a clean hydrogen economy. And the main motivation for all of this interest is the energy transition. Hydrogen is expected to play a really significant role in decarbonizing sectors that are otherwise really difficult to decarbonize, things like heavy industry, heavy duty transportation, and also the ability of hydrogen to enable energy security and resilience. In the US, we've seen a pretty rapid emergence of federal policies that are designed to accelerate the clean hydrogen economy. And these are listed here on this slide, starting back in 2021 with the bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and most recently with the Inflation Reduction Act. And these policies include funding for demonstration and deployment projects, regional clean hydrogen hubs, tax credits for clean hydrogen production, and research and development activities, all designed to de-risk and accelerate the deployment of clean hydrogen technologies. Today, we're going to dive a bit deeper into some of these policies, specifically the regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs and the 45V Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit. I also wanna mention that the US National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap was just published last June, so June of 2023. And this document was developed by the Department of Energy, and it really lays out the whole of government strategy and a plan for accelerating the production, processing, delivery, storage, and use of clean hydrogen. The document also contains projections for clean hydrogen demand and cost targets. The overall vision is outlined in this figure here, where we start with a limited demand for hydrogen today and a high cost, and the goal is to drive down the cost of clean hydrogen and scale up the demand, and ultimately, by 2050, have hydrogen meet about 10% of the US energy demand. So with that high-level introduction, I'm now gonna turn it over to Nick to talk a bit more about the current state of hydrogen production and demand in the US. All right. Thanks, Katie. So on this slide here, we're gonna talk a little bit about the current state of hydrogen production. So the US currently produces about 10 million metric tons of hydrogen per year. The vast majority of this production, about 95% is produced via steam methane reforming, which is the reaction of natural gas with steam at high temperatures to produce hydrogen. And then in addition to that, about 5% is produced by product hydrogen from the chlor alkali industry. So this is an industry that produces chlorine and caustic soda, and hydrogen is produced as a byproduct there. Now, the problem is that this current production is highly carbon-intensive, and it produces about 100 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year, which is about 1.6% of total US greenhouse gas emissions. Now, with that production comes a substantial amount of existing infrastructure that we have in the US. So this map here shows a bit of a representation of where that current hydrogen production capacity is located, as well as the existing hydrogen pipeline infrastructure. So a few key takeaways from this map. First, hydrogen production is concentrated in the Gulf Coast region and in the Midwest. And this is primarily due to the fact that it is colocated with demand, which we'll get into on the next slide. And then secondly, there is an existing pipeline network of about 1,600 miles. Again, most of this is concentrated in the Gulf Coast region. Now, let's talk about the current hydrogen demand in the US. So about half of current hydrogen demand is used in petroleum refining, and this is used for hydrotreating and hydrocracking to remove impurities from fuels. And then the other roughly half of current hydrogen demand is used in industrial sectors, primarily for ammonia and methanol production. So ammonia is primarily used to make fertilizers, and then methanol is a key chemical building block that's used for a wide variety of downstream chemical products. Now, a key takeaway from this slide here is that existing hydrogen demand is primarily concentrated in the industrial sector. We don't have a lot of current demand in things like transportation or power generation, which are key targets for future clean hydrogen deployment. So this slide here shows some of the different colors of hydrogen that you may have heard of, so green, blue, pink, yellow, and so forth. And then it also outlines some of the ways that we can produce clean hydrogen going forward, which is primarily through electrolysis from renewable electricity, which is known as green hydrogen or via natural gas with carbon capture and storage, which is known as blue hydrogen. Now, in terms of electrolyzer technology, there are two main types of electrolyzer technologies that are commercially available today. That is polymer electrolyte membrane, also known as PEM electrolysis, and alkaline electrolysis. And then there are also other emerging electrolyzer technologies such as solid oxide electrolysis, which is expected to play a key role in the future as well. So now I'm gonna turn it back over to Katie to talk about the US National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap. Thanks, Nick. So the US National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap really serves as the blueprint for accelerating clean hydrogen in the United States. And the strategy has three key pillars that are designed to really accelerate the production, processing, delivery, storage, and use of clean hydrogen. The first pillar is targeting strategic end uses. The second is reducing the cost of clean hydrogen, and the third is accelerating innovation to reduce the risk of deployment. I'm gonna go into each of these three pillars a bit more deeply in the next few slides. So starting with pillar one, which is targeting strategic end uses. So the strategy recommends that we really focus early on the most impactful end uses that are the hardest to decarbonize or the highest value. And these are outlined in this graphic here. So on the left, you can see these early market opportunities for hydrogen, which are primarily in industry, things like ammonia production, methanol, refining, and also heavy-duty transportation. And then in the medium term, we can look towards things like steel production, long-duration energy storage, and backup power generation. And then in the longer term, thinking about 2040 and beyond, then we'll start to see a greater penetration of hydrogen in things like aviation, maritime, and thermal energy for buildings. The next pillar is reducing the cost of clean hydrogen. This is critically important because right now, clean hydrogen is more expensive than conventional hydrogen. So we need to drive down the cost of clean hydrogen to be competitive with conventional hydrogen and ultimately to reach the US DOE's Hydrogen Shot target of $1 per kilogram of clean hydrogen by 2031. And this will involve continued innovation across the entire value chain, including production, processing, delivery, storage, and end uses. And then the final pillar is accelerating innovation to reduce risk. This is really focused on research, development, and demonstration activities. And the goal here is to de-risk hydrogen technologies and operations. It includes activities like developing new materials to improve efficiency and durability, developing advanced manufacturing techniques to reduce costs, improving safety through things like advanced sensors, and also developing robust regulatory frameworks and international standards. So now let's dive into some of the key policy drivers for clean hydrogen. And I'm gonna start with the regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs program, also known as the H two Hubs. And this program was established by the bipartisan Infrastructure Law. It includes an investment of $7 billion for the establishment of six to 10 regional clean hydrogen production and end use hubs across the country. And the goal here is to really jumpstart a national clean hydrogen network that will accelerate the commercialization and deployment of clean hydrogen. So last fall, seven regional hubs were selected for award negotiations. And these hubs are geographically diverse and they encompass a wide variety of different feedstocks and end uses, which you can see in the map on the right here. For example, we have the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub in West Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, which will produce hydrogen from natural gas with carbon capture and also from renewable energy and nuclear energy. We also have the California Hydrogen Hub, which will produce hydrogen from renewable energy and biomass. And then we have the Gulf Coast Hydrogen Hub, which will produce hydrogen from natural gas with carbon capture and also from industrial waste gases. So really a wide variety of different technologies and end uses will be demonstrated as part of these hubs. Now, it's important to recognize that these hubs are not just about hydrogen technology. They're also about job creation and community benefits. So each hub is required to develop a community benefits plan that addresses things like workforce development, engaging local communities, creating high-quality jobs, and also addressing environmental justice issues.

[17:28]The second key policy driver that I'm gonna dive into is the 45V Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit, which was established by the Inflation Reduction Act. This tax credit provides up to $3 per kilogram of clean hydrogen produced, which is an extremely generous tax credit. And the exact value of the tax credit depends on the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of the hydrogen produced. And the tiers are shown in this table here, where if you can get below 0.45 kilograms of CO2 equivalent per kilogram of hydrogen, then you can get the full $3 per kilogram. This tax credit also includes prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements. And finally, I wanna mention that last December, the US Department of Treasury released proposed guidance on the 45V Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit. And this proposed guidance has been a topic of much discussion and debate, especially with regard to the hourly matching requirement for electricity supply. We're not gonna dive into the details of the proposed guidance today, but I just wanted to mention that it has been released and it is currently undergoing public comment. So now I'm gonna turn it over to Nick to talk a bit about Enrel's hydrogen analysis capabilities. All right. Thanks, Katie. So as Katie mentioned, Enrel has a very broad set of capabilities related to hydrogen analysis. We have capabilities across the entire value chain, from production to delivery, to storage, to end use. And then we also work with a wide variety of different research partners, including the DOE Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office, other national labs, universities, and industry partners. We also have a number of different tools and models that we use to support our analysis, including the H two A model, which is a techno economic analysis model for hydrogen production, and the Enrel National Hydrogen Infrastructure Analysis Tool, which is a geospatial analysis tool for hydrogen infrastructure planning. And then finally, we also have a number of different experimental capabilities, including a hydrogen test facility and a hydrogen materials lab. So this slide here shows a bit of an overview of our H two A model, the Hydrogen Analysis Production Model. So H two A is a public publicly available spreadsheet-based model that allows users to calculate the levelized cost of hydrogen production for a wide variety of different hydrogen production pathways. So this includes things like steam methane reforming, autothermal reforming, electrolysis, and so forth. And we also have a number of different scenarios that we run with H two A to analyze different technology pathways and different cost assumptions. And then the results of H two A are then published annually on the DOE's hydrogen program website. So this slide here shows an example of some of the results from H two A. So this plot here shows the levelized cost of hydrogen production for different pathways in 2020 and 2025. And what you can see is that in 2020, steam methane reforming without carbon capture was the lowest cost pathway. But then by 2025, with technology improvements and cost reductions, electrolysis with renewable electricity starts to become competitive with steam methane reforming with carbon capture. So this slide here shows a bit of an overview of the Enrel National Hydrogen Infrastructure Analysis Tool, or EnHIAT. So EnHIAT is a geospatial analysis tool that allows users to analyze the cost of hydrogen delivery and storage, as well as the siting of hydrogen production and end use facilities. So we use EnHIAT to analyze a wide variety of different scenarios, including different hydrogen demand scenarios, different production technology scenarios, and different infrastructure development scenarios. And then the results of EnHIAT are used to inform policy decisions and to identify optimal pathways for hydrogen infrastructure deployment. So this slide here shows an example of some of the results from EnHIAT. So this plot here shows the optimal siting of hydrogen production facilities and pipeline infrastructure to meet a certain demand scenario. And what you can see is that there are certain regions of the country where it makes more sense to produce hydrogen, such as the Gulf Coast and the Midwest, which is consistent with our current hydrogen production. And then also there are certain regions where it makes more sense to develop pipeline infrastructure, such as along the Gulf Coast. So now I'm gonna turn it back over to Katie to conclude our presentation. Thanks, Nick. So to summarize, hydrogen is a critical component of a decarbonized energy system, especially for those hard to abate sectors. We've seen a rapid emergence of federal policies that are designed to accelerate the clean hydrogen economy, and this includes things like the regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs and the 45V Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit. The US National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap provides a blueprint for accelerating clean hydrogen in the United States. And finally, Enrel has a broad set of capabilities to support hydrogen analysis across the entire value chain. So with that, I want to thank you all for your attention, and we'll now open it up for questions. Excellent. Thank you so much, Katie and Nick. That was a really comprehensive overview, and there's a lot of great questions in the queue, so we'll dive right in. The first question is around the demand for clean hydrogen. So you mentioned that there's not a lot of existing demand for clean hydrogen in things like transportation or power generation. So how do we create that demand, and how do we ensure that we have a market for clean hydrogen going forward? That's a great question. And I think that's where the regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs program really comes into play. So the hubs are designed to create these regional ecosystems where you have both hydrogen production and hydrogen demand co-located. And the idea is that by demonstrating these different end uses and by creating these regional markets, that will help to de-risk the investment in clean hydrogen and also to drive down the cost. And then also, the 45V Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit is designed to make clean hydrogen more competitive with conventional hydrogen, which will also help to stimulate demand. Great. The next question is around the cost of clean hydrogen. So you mentioned that clean hydrogen is currently more expensive than conventional hydrogen. What are the key drivers of that cost difference, and how do we expect that to change in the future? Yeah, that's a great question. So the key drivers of the cost difference really depend on the production pathway. So for electrolysis, the biggest driver is the cost of electricity. So if you're using renewable electricity, then the cost of that renewable electricity is a big component of the overall cost of hydrogen production. And then also the capital cost of the electrolyzer itself is another big component. For natural gas with carbon capture, the biggest drivers are the cost of natural gas and also the cost of carbon capture and storage. And then in terms of how we expect that to change in the future, we expect the cost of renewable electricity to continue to decline, which will help to drive down the cost of green hydrogen. And then also we expect the capital cost of electrolyzers to come down with scale and with technology improvements. And then for natural gas with carbon capture, we expect the cost of carbon capture and storage to come down with technology improvements and with greater deployment. Great. The next question is around the infrastructure for hydrogen. So you mentioned that there's an existing pipeline network for hydrogen, but it's primarily concentrated in the Gulf Coast. How do we expand that infrastructure to support a national clean hydrogen economy? Yeah, that's a great question, and it's a big challenge. So expanding the hydrogen infrastructure is gonna require significant investment. And it's also gonna require a coordinated effort between government and industry. So the regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs are designed to help with that by demonstrating these regional networks. And then also, the Department of Energy is investing in research and development activities to develop new materials and new technologies for hydrogen pipelines and storage. And then finally, I think it's important to recognize that we're not starting from scratch. We do have an existing natural gas pipeline network that could potentially be repurposed for hydrogen. And that's an area of active research. Great. The next question is around the safety of hydrogen. So hydrogen has a reputation for being dangerous. How do we ensure that we can safely produce, transport, store, and use clean hydrogen? Yeah, that's a really important question. And safety is a top priority for the hydrogen community. So there's a lot of research and development activities focused on improving the safety of hydrogen technologies and operations. This includes things like developing advanced sensors to detect leaks, developing new materials that are more resistant to hydrogen embrittlement, and also developing robust regulatory frameworks and international standards for hydrogen safety. And then also, I think it's important to recognize that hydrogen has been safely produced, transported, and used for decades in industrial applications. So we have a lot of experience with hydrogen, and we can leverage that experience to ensure that we can safely deploy clean hydrogen in new applications. Great. The next question is around the environmental justice implications of clean hydrogen. So you mentioned that the hubs are required to develop community benefits plans that address environmental justice issues. Can you elaborate on that a bit? Yeah, absolutely. So environmental justice is a really important consideration for clean hydrogen deployment. And the goal here is to ensure that the benefits of clean hydrogen are shared equitably and that any potential negative impacts are mitigated. So the community benefits plans are designed to ensure that local communities are engaged in the planning and development of hydrogen projects, that high-quality jobs are created for local residents, and that any potential environmental impacts are addressed. And then also, the Department of Energy is working to ensure that hydrogen projects are sited in a way that minimizes impacts on vulnerable communities. And that's an area of ongoing research and engagement. Excellent. I think we have time for one more question. And this one is around the international context for clean hydrogen. So you mentioned that hydrogen is a global topic. How does the US strategy for clean hydrogen compare to other countries' strategies? That's a great question. And it's an area where there's a lot of collaboration and exchange of information. So many countries around the world are developing national hydrogen strategies, and there's a lot of commonality across these strategies. For example, many countries are focused on targeting strategic end uses, reducing the cost of clean hydrogen, and accelerating innovation. And then also, there's a lot of interest in developing international standards for clean hydrogen, which will help to facilitate global trade and deployment. And then finally, I think it's important to recognize that different countries have different resources and different priorities. So some countries may focus more on green hydrogen from renewable energy, while others may focus more on blue hydrogen from natural gas with carbon capture. So there's a diversity of approaches, but there's also a lot of commonality. Excellent. Well, thank you both so much, Katie and Nick, for a really informative presentation and for answering all of these questions. And thank you to our audience for joining us today. We're very excited about the future of clean hydrogen, and we hope you'll join us again for our next Wednesday webinar. Thank you.