H.R. 4909

Clean Hydrogen Energy Act

This bill sets forth provisions to advance the research, development, demonstration, and deployment of hydrogen gas that is produced in compliance with greenhouse gas emission standards established by this bill.

Specifically, the bill expands an existing hydrogen research and development program of the Department of Energy (DOE) established under the Energy Policy Act of 2005. For example, the bill establishes a new program goal to demonstrate a standard of clean hydrogen production in the transportation (i.e., vehicles, locomotives, airplanes, and maritime vessels), utility, industrial, commercial, and residential sectors by 2040.

The bill also requires DOE to establish a program that supports the development of regional clean hydrogen hubs.

In carrying out those programs, DOE must award grants for research, development, and demonstration projects to advance new clean hydrogen production, processing, delivery, storage, and use equipment manufacturing technologies and techniques.

DOE must also develop a technologically and economically feasible national strategy and road map to facilitate wide scale production, processing, delivery, storage, and use of clean hydrogen.

In addition, DOE must establish a research, development, demonstration, commercialization, and deployment program to improve the efficiency, increase the durability, and reduce the cost of producing hydrogen using electrolyzers. Electrolyzers are systems that produce hydrogen using electrolysis, a process that uses electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. In carrying out the program, DOE must award grants for projects that reduce the cost of hydrogen produced using electrolyzers as specified by the bill.