In Brief

• Nuclear powered green hydrogen production “makes a lot of intellectual sense,” remarked Jigar Shah, director of the DOE Loan Programs Office, at the Deploy23 conference.
• Thousands of workers need to be trained in engineering, metalworking, and business operations to meet the exponentially growing demand for green hydrogen in the US, according to a report by Rhodium Group.
• The DOE issued an RFP (due Oct 26) to an entity to administer hydrogen demand-side initiatives.
• Think tank scholars at Resources for the Future identified six demand-side policy instruments under consideration by DOE and suggested each is riskier and less efficient than simply giving hydrogen hubs more money.

Hydrogen Hubs, 45V, and the Deploy23 Conference

In the week leading up to the Deploy23 conference in Washington, D.C. rumors swirled that Hydrogen Hub winners would be announced at the conference. This struck us as a long shot because we believe 45V guidance needs to be settled before Hydrogen Hubs can finalize their techno-economic analyses. Without solid TEAs, DOE reviewers won’t be able to make informed decisions.

Indeed, Deploy23 came and went without Hydrogen Hub selection announcements or 45V guidance.

Politico reported that Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told attendees that DOE is planning to announce Hydrogen Hub winners within the next few weeks. Our contacts indicated that might be optimistic. Here’s what we heard from our sources at the conference.

Kelly Cummins, Deputy Director of the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) at DOE, addressed the conference during the last plenary session and said:

“I know you are all waiting on pins and needles for the Hubs Awards to be announced and … Not today! But soon!”

Another contact said:

‘DOE did strongly indicate that the Hubs wouldn’t be announced until 45V guidance was done… and the Treasury person they had speak wouldn’t commit to that being complete until the end of the year… it’s a mess.’

We think it’s unlikely we’ll hear a public announcement on 45V – or the Hydrogen Hub winners – before late October at the earliest and possibly not until the end of the year.