Funding Opportunities

ATTENTION (10/24/2023): This Funding Opportunity Announcement has been modified and the Submission Deadline has been extended to 6:00 pm EST on 11/2/2023. Please see the full Funding Opportunity Announcement - Mod 000001 in the Announcement Documents section for full details.

DOE is exploring entering into one or multiple agreements with independent, not-for-profit U.S. entities to assist in the de-risking of clean hydrogen through demand certainty or other means. DOE envisions that these measures would accelerate commercialization of clean hydrogen by providing medium-term revenue certainty to projects affiliated with DOE-selected Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs.

Demand-side support measures represent a potential tool to achieve DOE’s authorization to accelerate commercialization of, and demonstrate the production, processing, delivery, storage, and end-use of, clean hydrogen by providing predictability in the commercial market for early deployments. Demand-side support measures have accelerated commercial scale-up of technologies in clean energy and for other critical products and services, both in the United States and abroad.

These measures address a basic issue in scaling up clean energy technology—deployment drives cost reductions, but early deployment depends on demonstrated demand, which is hard to secure while costs are still high, and markets are still nascent. Demand-side measures also address a fundamental mismatch in some markets between producers, who need long-term certainty of high-volume demand in order to secure financing to build a project, and buyers, who often prefer to buy on a short-term basis at more modest volumes, especially for products that have yet to be produced at scale and expected to see cost decreases, like clean hydrogen.

DOE is interested in selecting one or more independent (i.e., non-government), U.S.-based, not-for-profit entities to support and execute clean hydrogen demand-side support mechanisms. Respondents to this solicitation may represent an existing or to-be-established entity, as long as the proposed entity would be formally established ahead of the Design Phase activities described below.

The selected entity or entities would execute demand-side programs and other support measures designed and funded, in part, by DOE to create demand certainty for clean hydrogen projects and facilitate market formation. The selected entity or entities could be a single national entity, several regional entities, or several entities responsible for different phases (design vs. execution).

Potential activities for an independent not-for-profit U.S. entity include, but are not limited to:

• Applying experience in commodity markets, project finance, and commercial contracting to advise DOE on the design of demand-side measures to support projects affiliated with DOE’s Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs;
• Executing a DOE-designed and funded demand-side mechanism to support projects affiliated with DOE’s Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs, including accepting and distributing DOE funds to selected projects;
• Implementing a competitive process designed by DOE for selection of projects or companies for demand-side support;
• Executing and managing financial agreements with selected recipients of demand-side support; and
• Engaging with clean energy developers, investors, Government partners, academic institutions, community groups, labor, non-traditional partners, and other stakeholders to inform and support DOE demand-side activities to support commercial liftoff for clean hydrogen.

DISCLAIMER: The “Notice of Intent to Issue” is for informational purposes only; the Department of Energy is not accepting any applications at this time. Any information contained in this notice is subject to change.

This is a Notice of Intent to issue:

Broad Agency Announcement

Bipartisan Infrastructure Law: Additional Clean Hydrogen Programs (Section 40314): Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs

The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) is considering establishing a Demand-side Support Mechanism to support reliable demand for hydrogen at DOE-supported Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs (H2Hubs).

As part of this process, DOE intends to issue a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) entitled “Implementing Entity (or Entities) for Demand-side Support Mechanism for Clean Hydrogen Hub Projects”. OCED anticipates issuing the BAA in the summer or early fall timeframe.

The BAA will seek an independent Implementing Entity (or Entities) to implement a DOE-designed and DOE-funded demand-side support mechanism to support the development of the H2Hubs. DOE will commit up to $1 billion to the mechanism.

The demand-side support mechanism will provide multi-year support for clean hydrogen produced by competitively selected projects affiliated with H2Hubs. It will facilitate bankable clean hydrogen demand from a diverse set of offtakers. It will help diverse entities leverage the full potential of clean hydrogen, including non-profits, local government, and Tribes, and facilitate the use of clean hydrogen across various sectors of the economy, such as in industrial processes, manufacturing and heavy-duty transportation.

The mechanism could include one or more design factors such as pay-for-delivery contracts, offtake backstops, feasibility funding to support analysis by offtakers, or other measures that strengthen demand for clean hydrogen and increase revenue certainty for H2Hubs. The mechanism will enable private sector financing and expedite progress to Final Investment Decision for H2Hubs.

Based on demonstrated performance and experience gained with the H2Hubs Demand-Side Support Mechanism, DOE may consider similar mechanisms for other technologies and clean energy products in the future.

Tools that mitigate market risk for clean energy technologies during scale-up could meaningfully accelerate commercialization of these technologies, especially in clean hydrogen. DOE’s Pathways to Commercial Liftoff Report and National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap for clean hydrogen both highlighted the lack of long-term offtake as a critical barrier to the near-term expansion of the clean hydrogen economy.

A recent DOE Request for Information on the use of demand-side support measures in supporting clean energy technologies emphasized these issues, with respondents highlighting the benefits of well-designed measures that can tackle revenue certainty issues that arise as a result of the natural imbalance between supply scale-up and demand formation in emergent clean energy markets. This initiative underscores DOE’s commitment to addressing barriers to commercialization identified in the Liftoff Reports.

DOE has determined a demand-side support mechanism can facilitate achievement of statutory goals to accelerate the commercialization of clean hydrogen and facilitate a clean hydrogen economy while fostering the development of robust private sector demand for clean hydrogen products. Public input is needed to ensure DOE is aware of and considering a broad set of program design factors consistent with statutory authority. DOE will also consider a broader set of potential options to deliver this support (e.g., funding to the H2Hubs for this work or potential blended capital options).

Questions for stakeholder feedback:

To help inform the design of a demand-side support mechanism for the Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs Program, DOE is seeking public input on potential benefits and risks, operating models, governance structures, and equipped implementing partners. These questions build on DOE’s Request for Information of Use of Demand-Side Support for Clean Energy Technologies but are specifically focused on support for Hydrogen Hub projects.

Responses are due no later than 5:00 pm ET on July 24, 2023 and can be submitted to Demand-Side-RFI-NOI@hq.doe.gov. All responses must be sent either as a Microsoft Word (.doc / .docx) or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) attachments.

Category A: Most effective demand-side support measure to support H2Hubs

1. What is the most effective way DOE could catalyze durable, bankable demand for clean hydrogen at DOE-funded H2 Hubs? Which of the following potential mechanisms would be most impactful?

1. Pay-for-difference contracts that provide support to projects based on the price they can achieve in the market
2. Fixed level of support for projects (e.g., fixed $/kg amount) that stacks on top of other sources of revenue
3. Funding to support feasibility analysis from potential offtakers near H2Hubs
4. “Market-maker” for clean hydrogen to provide a ready purchaser/seller for clean hydrogen
5. Other (please specify)

2. For eligible projects, what competitive process should be used to select projects that will receive demand-side support?

1. Reverse auction in which projects compete to bid the lowest level of support they need to make their project viable
2. Request for proposal-like process in which projects apply and are selected based on a variety of factors
3. Eligibility-based process in which all projects that meet certain threshold requirements receive some form of support
4. Other (please specify)

3. How can DOE design demand-side support to account for other kinds of support that H2Hubs projects may receive (e.g., tax credits, state and local government incentives, DOE cooperative agreement funding)?

4. How can DOE stucture demand-side support for H2Hubs to best catalyze the formation of a mature commodity market for clean hdyrogen?

1. How can DOE structure demand-side support for H2Hubs to best catalyze the development of standard contract terms for clean hydrogen?
2. How can DOE structure demand-side support for H2Hubs to best catalyze the development of price transparency for clean hydrogen? 

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Category B: Implementation of demand-side support measures

1. If DOE were to establish a demand-side support mechanism for H2Hubs with an independent implementing entity or entities, what capabilities and qualifications should DOE prioritize when selecting an entity or entities? Should DOE seek a single entity with national scope or several entities with regional scopes?

2. For any or all of the program design factors selected in response Category A, what existing entities could administer and oversee the demand-side support mechanism? If no existing entity currently exists with the necessary capacity or expertise, how long would it take to establish such an entity or entities? What are the necessary areas of expertise for DOE to prioritize in selecting an independent entity?

3. What are the risks to DOE in partnering with an independent entity to administer a demand-side support mechanism? What governance structures and guardrails should DOE consider in designing a demand-side support mechanism to help maximize impact and minimize implementation risk? Are there any models DOE should look to in establishing a governance structure?

PROPRIETARY INFORMATION:

Because information received in response to this NOI may be used to structure future programs and/or otherwise be made available to the public, respondents are strongly advised NOT to include any information in their responses that might be considered business sensitive, proprietary, or otherwise confidential.

If, however, a respondent chooses to submit business sensitive, proprietary, or otherwise confidential information, it must be clearly and conspicuously marked as such in the response as described below. Failure to comply with these marking requirements may result in the disclosure of the unmarked information under the Freedom of Information Act or otherwise. The U.S. Government is not liable for the disclosure or use of unmarked information and may use or disclose such information for any purpose.

If your response contains confidential, proprietary, or privileged information, you must include a cover sheet marked as follows identifying the specific pages containing confidential, proprietary, or privileged information:

Notice of Restriction on Disclosure and Use of Data:

Pages [list applicable pages] of this response may contain confidential, proprietary, or privileged information that is exempt from public disclosure. Such information shall be used or disclosed only for the purposes described in this NOI OCED-NOI . The Government may use or disclose any information that is not appropriately marked or otherwise restricted, regardless of source.

In addition, (1) the header and footer of every page that contains confidential, proprietary, or privileged information must be marked as follows: “Contains Confidential, Proprietary, or Privileged Information Exempt from Public Disclosure” and (2) every line and paragraph containing proprietary, privileged, or trade secret information must be clearly marked with [[double brackets]] or highlighting.

EVALUATION AND ADMINISTRATION BY FEDERAL AND NON-FEDERAL PERSONNEL:

Federal employees are subject to the non-disclosure requirements of a criminal statute, the Trade Secrets Act, 18 USC 1905. The Government may seek the advice of qualified non-Federal personnel. The Government may also use non-Federal personnel to conduct routine, nondiscretionary administrative activities. The respondents, by submitting their response, consent to the Office providing their response to non-Federal parties. Non-Federal parties given access to responses must be subject to an appropriate obligation of confidentiality prior to being given the access. Submissions may be reviewed by support contractors and private consultants.

RESPONSE GUIDELINES:

Responses to this NOI must be submitted electronically to Demand-Side-RFI-NOI@hq.doe.gov with the subject line “OCED-NOI-23-1” no later than 5:00 p.m. (ET) on July 24, 2023. Responses must be provided as attachments to an email. It is recommended that attachments with file sizes exceeding 25 MB be compressed (i.e., zipped) to ensure message delivery. Responses must be provided as a Microsoft Word (*.docx) or Adobe Acrobat (*.pdf) attachment to the email, and no more than 10 pages in length, 12-point font, 1-inch margins. Only electronic responses will be accepted.

A response to this NOI will not be viewed as a binding commitment to develop or pursue the project or ideas discussed. OCED may engage in pre- and post- response conversations with interested parties.

DOE requests respondents provide the following information at the start of their response to this NOI:

• Company/institution name

• Company/institution contact

• Contact's address, phone number, and e-mail address.

Attention: 1/26/2023 - This Funding Opportunity Announcement has been modified. Please see Mod 000002 in the Announcement Documents section below for full details.

Summary of modifications to this FOA:

• The cover page of the Technical Volume (Section IV.D.ii and Appendix I) was updated to require that the applicant certify the domestic entity status of the proposed prime recipient and all subrecipient(s) in accordance with definitions in Section III.A.i of the FOA, and identify any entities that will require a foreign entity waiver.
• Section IV.A (Application Process) was updated to allow the Technical Volume cover page to be a font size of 10 point or larger.
• The “Example Cover Page for H2Hub Applications” template, available under the “Application Forms and Templates” section on the OCED Exchange website, was updated to collect the information described above.
• Section IV.D.v (Environmental Considerations Summary) was updated to allow the maps requested with the Environmental Considerations Summary to be submitted as separate files and be in larger engineering formats.
• Appendix G (Environmental Considerations Summary) was updated to remove the reference to GIS Shapefiles. While the maps may be created as a GIS Shapefile or other engineering formats, the maps must be saved and submitted as a PDF file.

FOA Summary:

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is releasing this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) to solicit Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs (H2Hubs) in accordance with the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). This $8 billion effort will catalyze investment in the development of H2Hubs that demonstrate the production, processing, delivery, storage, and end-use of clean hydrogen, in support of the Biden Administration’s goal to achieve a carbon-free electric grid by 2035 and a net zero emissions economy by 2050.

The H2Hubs will form the foundation of a national clean hydrogen network that will contribute substantially to decarbonizing multiple sectors of the economy. Matching the scale-up of clean hydrogen production to a growing regional demand is a key pathway to achieving large-scale, commercially viable hydrogen ecosystems. H2Hubs will enable this pathway by demonstrating low-carbon intensity and economically viable hydrogen-based energy ecosystems that can replace existing carbon-intensive processes. This will accelerate the deployment of these technologies and enabling infrastructure, attract greater investments from the private sector, and promote substantial U.S. manufacturing of numerous hydrogen related technologies.

Each H2Hub will include multiple partners that will bring together diverse hydrogen technologies to produce and utilize large amounts of hydrogen in different ways. These clean hydrogen demonstrations will balance hydrogen supply and demand, connective infrastructure, and a plan for long-term financial viability. The H2Hubs will also include substantial engagement of local and regional stakeholders, as well as Tribes, to ensure that they generate local, regional, and national benefits. H2Hubs will be expected to carry out meaningful community and labor engagement; invest in America’s workforce by creating good-paying jobs with the free and fair choice to join a union; advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility; and contribute to the President’s Justice40 Initiative goal that 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities.

DOE has defined a four-phase structure for the H2Hubs. Phase 1 will encompass initial planning and analysis activities to ensure that the overall H2Hub concept is technologically and financially viable, with input from relevant local stakeholders. Phase 2 will finalize engineering designs and business development, site access, labor agreements, permitting, offtake agreements, and community engagement activities necessary to begin installation, integration, and construction activities in Phase 3. Phase 4 will ramp-up the H2Hub to full operations including data collection to analyze the H2Hub’s operations, performance, and financial viability. This FOA will solicit plans for all four phases of proposed H2Hub activities; however, DOE will only initially authorize funding for Phase I. DOE’s review and evaluation of deliverables reflecting activities in each phase will inform Go/No-Go decisions that occur between or within Phases.

For this initial FOA launch, DOE envisions selecting six (6) to ten (10) H2Hubs for a combined total of up to $6-7 billion in federal funding. DOE may issue a second launch of this FOA to solicit additional H2Hubs beyond those selected in the initial launch. Other FOA launches or use of Other Transaction Authorities may also be used to solicit new technologies, capabilities, end-uses, or partners.

For further information, please see the "Full Funding Opportunity Announcement - Mod 000002" document in the Announcment Documents section below.

Attention: The eXCHANGE system is currently designed to enforce hard deadlines for Concept Paper and Full Application submissions. The APPLY and SUBMIT buttons automatically disable at the defined submission deadlines. The intention of this design is to consistently enforce a standard deadline for all applicants.

Applicants that experience issues with submissions PRIOR to the FOA Deadline: In the event that an Applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission, the Applicant should contact the eXCHANGE helpdesk for assistance (OCED-ExchangeSupport@hq.doe.gov).

Attention: 1/26/2023 - This Funding Opportunity Announcement has been modified. Please see Mod 000002 in the Announcement Documents section below for full details.

The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) intends to issue a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled “Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs” (H2Hubs) in collaboration with the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s (EERE) Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO) and the DOE Hydrogen Program, which includes multiple offices engaged in hydrogen related technologies across DOE. OCED anticipates issuing the FOA in the September/October 2022 timeframe, and the FOA will be funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). The specific provisions for regional clean hydrogen hubs are set forth in Section 40314 of the BIL, which amends Title VIII EPAct 2005 by adding a new “Section 813 – Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs.” Section 813(a) defines the term “regional clean hydrogen hub” as “a network of clean hydrogen producers, potential clean hydrogen consumers, and connective infrastructure located in close proximity.”

Investment in building out the hydrogen (H2) economy is a significant portion of the BIL funding at DOE. The BIL authorizes and appropriates $8.0 billion over the five-year period encompassing fiscal years 2022 through 2026 to support the development of at least four H2Hubs that:

• Demonstrably aid achievement of the clean hydrogen production standard developed under section 822(a) of Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005);
  
  
• Demonstrate the production, processing, delivery, storage, and end use of clean hydrogen; and
  
  
• Can be developed into a national clean hydrogen network to facilitate a clean hydrogen economy.

The FOA will incorporate a range of equity considerations including energy and environmental justice, labor and community engagement, consent-based siting, quality jobs, and inclusive workforce development to support the Biden Administration’s decarbonization goals of a 50-52% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from 2005 levels by 2030, a carbon-pollution-free power sector by 2035, and a net-zero GHG emissions economy by 2050. The H2Hubs will be a key part of the National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap, also required in the BIL, and will be instrumental in meeting national decarbonization goals, including the development and deployment of clean hydrogen technologies.

This notice of intent (NOI) is issued so that interested parties are aware of OCED’s intention to issue a FOA in the near term. All of the information contained in this NOI is subject to change. OCED will not respond to questions concerning this NOI. Once the FOA has been released, OCED will provide an avenue for potential applicants to submit questions.

See attached NOI document for further details.

This is a Request for Information (RFI) issued by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Hydrogen Program, on behalf of the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO), the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM), the Office of Nuclear Energy (NE), and in collaboration with DOE’s newly formed Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED). The intent of this RFI is to obtain public input regarding the solicitation process and structure of a DOE Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) to fund regional clean hydrogen hubs, as required by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).

Specifically, this RFI seeks input on:

Information collected from this RFI will be used by DOE for planning purposes to develop the Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs FOA. The information collected will not be published.

Responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically to H2Hubs@ee.doe.gov no later than 5:00pm (ET) on March 21, 2022, with subject line “H2Hubs RFI response.” Responses must be provided as attachments to an email. It is recommended that attachments with file sizes exceeding 25MB be compressed (i.e., zipped) to ensure message delivery. Responses must be provided as a Microsoft Word (.docx) or Adobe PDF (.pdf) attachment to the email, and no more than 15 pages in length (plus any additional pages necessary to include the original questions), 12-point font, 1-inch margins. Only electronic responses will be accepted. For ease of replying and to aid categorization of your responses, please copy and paste the RFI questions, including the question numbering, and use them as a template for your response. Respondents may answer as many or as few questions as they wish.

Respondents are requested to provide the following information at the start of their response to this RFI:

DOE will not respond to individual submissions or publish publicly a compendium of responses. A response to this RFI will not be viewed as a binding commitment to develop or pursue the project or ideas discussed.

MODIFICATION 0001: Change the language around the page limit.

MODIFICATION 0002: Change the submission deadline to March 21, 2022, 5:00pm (ET).