The US Department of Energy (DOE) released its Hydrogen Program Plan to provide a strategic framework for the Department’s hydrogen research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) activities. This version of the Plan updates and expands upon previous versions including the 2006 Hydrogen Posture Plan and the 2011 DOE Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Program Plan.

The DOE Hydrogen Program is a coordinated Departmental effort to advance the affordable production, transport, storage, and use of hydrogen across different sectors of the economy. The Plan involves participation from the Offices of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Fossil Energy, Nuclear Energy, Electricity, Science, and the Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy.

The Plan serves as the overarching document to set the strategic direction of the Hydrogen Program, and to complement the technical and programmatic multi-year plans from each DOE Office engaging in hydrogen RD&D activities.

The Program has defined targets for hydrogen and related technologies based on the technical advances that are needed to be competitive in the marketplace with incumbent and other emerging technologies.

Examples of the Program’s overarching technical targets are:

• $2/kg for hydrogen production and $2/kg for delivery and dispensing for transportation applications

• $1/kg hydrogen for industrial and stationary power generation applications

• Fuel cell system cost of $80/kW with 25,000-hour durability for long-haul heavy-duty trucks

• On-board vehicular hydrogen storage at $8/kWh, 2.2 kWh/kg and 1.7 kWh/l.

• Electrolyzer capital cost of of $300/kW, 80,000-hour durability and 65% system efficiency.

• Fuel cell system cost of $900/kW and 40,000-hour durability for fuel-flexible stationary high-temperature fuel cells.

More-detailed, technology- and application-specific targets and milestones are included in each DOE office’s multi-year planning documents. The targets were identified through discussions with technology developers, the research community, and other relevant stakeholders.