S 646 Introduced
Hydrogen Technologies
Earlier this month, Sen Coons (D,DE) introduced S 646, the Hydrogen for Industry Act of 2023. The bill would require DOE to establish the ‘Hydrogen Technologies for Heavy Industry Demonstration Program’ to provide grants or cooperative agreements to demonstrate industrial end-use applications of hydrogen. The bill would authorize $1.2 billion for the period of fiscal years 2024 through 2028.
The bill would amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 by adding a new §969E, Hydrogen Technologies for Heavy Industry Demonstration Program.
Definitions
Section 969E(a) provides a single definition, ‘low-income or disadvantaged community’, used for the purpose of this new section.
The Program
Section 969E(b) would require DOE to establish the program within 180 days of the enactment of this bill to support the adoption of hydrogen as an emissions reduction technology for heavy industry, including in applications where hydrogen is blended with other fuels or feedstocks. The program would provide grants or cooperative agreements to demonstrate industrial end-use applications of hydrogen for:
Iron, steel, and metals manufacturing,
Cement manufacturing,
Glass manufacturing,
Ammonia and fertilizer production,
Industrial food processes,
Production of synthetic fuels from hydrogen, such as with carbon oxides,
Fuel refining, such as biorefining,
Chemical synthesis, such as synthesis of methanol and ethylene,
Process heaters, including hydrogen combustion with environmental controls,
Cogeneration to make electricity or heat to support industrial processes, or
Any other use of hydrogen for heavy industry, as determined by the Secretary.
Projects
Section 969E(d) would authorize to provide grants or cooperative agreements on a competitive basis for commercial-scale demonstration projects for end-use applications of hydrogen and other authorized projects in the amount of up to $400 million per grant. The projects for which these grants could be used would include projects:
To carry out demonstration projects for end uses of hydrogen,
To construct a new commercial-scale facility that will use hydrogen as a fuel or feedstock, or
To retool, retrofit, or expand an existing facility determined to be qualified by the Secretary to enable use of hydrogen as a fuel or feedstock in industrial end-use applications of hydrogen, including at multiple points within a larger facility.
While DOE would be expected to evaluate grant applications on the basis of financial strength, construction schedule, market risk and contractor history, the Department is commended to look for projects that:
Represent a variety of end uses of hydrogen,
Will use at least 50 percent hydrogen blends by volume,
Demonstrate existing or planned regional availability of hydrogen,
Will generate the greatest benefit to low-income or disadvantaged communities, and
Will maximize creation or retention of domestic jobs and provide the highest job quality.
Study
Section 3 of the bill would require DOE, Department of Commerce and DOT to jointly conduct an industrial hydrogen study that would:
Examine the potential for emissions reductions at industrial facilities through hydrogen applications,
Fully address existing challenges with respect to ensuring the safe use and handling of hydrogen and hydrogen-based fuels and blends in industrial systems, including health and environmental impacts associated with the leakage of hydrogen and hydrogen carriers,
Identify and evaluate the feasibility, safety, and best practices of the use of hydrogen and ammonia as industrial fuel and feedstock, including ways that current procedures, training, and handoffs with supply chain partners should be augmented to ensure safety for workers and neighboring communities,
Examine the feasibility of blending increasing levels of hydrogen with natural gas to supplement process heat requirements,
Examine the environmental impacts of hydrogen combustion in hydrogen-fueled gas turbines as pure hydrogen or at different ratios if used in blended fuel; and
Identify and evaluate considerations for transport and storage of hydrogen and hydrogen carriers for use at industrial facilities.
Moving Forward
While Coons is not a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to which this bill was assigned for consideration, three of his cosponsors {Sen Hickenlooper (D,CO), Sen Cassidy (R,LA), Sen Heinrich (D,NM)} are members. This means that there should be sufficient influence to see this bill considered by the Committee. Beyond the cost of the program, I see nothing that would engender any organized opposition to this bill. I suspect that the bill would receive some level of bipartisan support if ways could be found to fund this new grant program.