New York opens $16 million to clean hydrogen advancement in the state

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced more than $16 million is now available to advance innovation in clean hydrogen through the Hydrogen and Clean Fuel Program, a state initiative. This funding will be allotted to support clean hydrogen research, development and demonstration (RD&D) projects; and it can also help leverage federal hydrogen funding opportunities to promote the use of clean hydrogen in industrial processes, clean transportation, energy storage and for grid support.

“New York is taking the lead to build a clean hydrogen ecosystem and growing the nascent industry,” Hochul said. “As we continue to foster the green economy, advancing alternative fuels is an important way to reduce emissions economy-wide and create new clean energy job opportunities.”

Administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), this funding is now available through two competitive opportunties under the Hydrogen and Clean Fuel Program: an $11 million RD&D solicitation and a $5 million rolling solicitation that can provide cost share support for entities successfully applying for federal hydrogen funding for New York-based projects. Environmental justice and disadvantaged community stakeholder perspectives have been instrumental in shaping the areas of focus for the solicitations, NYSERDA stated in a press release.

“Meeting New York’s ambitious emissions reduction goals requires an equally bold approach to supporting innovation and new technologies, which is demonstrated by the state’s ongoing investment in clean hydrogen research and development. As the most abundant element in the universe, hydrogen is a natural solution that provides fuel for the sun and holds the same powerful potential for the clean energy transition,” said Doreen M. Harris, NYSERDA President and CEO.

Applicants for both solicitations may be single entities or teams and must address one of the five technical challenges ranging from industrial applications for clean hydrogen to hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles. Proposals will be accepted in the following categories:

• Product development: advancing efforts crucial to developing marketable technology, system, strategy or service and any testing or validation of an innovation that is not already commercially available could be manufactured in New York State.
• Pilot and demonstration projects: demonstrate and test new technologies, systems, strategies or services that require testing to reach commercialization or are already commercially available but have not yet gained industry acceptance or significant deployment in New York State.

This is the second round of funding being offered for research, development and demonstration projects and applications are due by 3 p.m. on July 15. Proposals that were received in round one are being evaluated and awards are anticipated in the Q3 2024. Applications for the cost share funding opportunity will be accepted on a first come, first served basis through 3 p.m. on June 26, 2025.

For additional information and associated documents, visit NYSERDA’s website. To assist potential proposers in finding partners to team with for these and future hydrogen solicitations, NYSERDA has created a new partnering platform. Interested entities may submit their information voluntarily to identify potential partners for collaboration.

These initiatives were developed in alignment with the Climate Action Council’s Scoping Plan which identified the strategic use of low-carbon fuels such as clean hydrogen as an important means of decarbonizing sectors that are traditionally challenging to electrify. In addition, as proposed in NYSERDA’s Energy Storage Roadmap under consideration with the New York State Public Service Commission, as New York moves to decarbonize its electric grid with renewable energy, at least 18 GW of zero-carbon, firm, dispatchable long duration energy storage capacity is required by 2050.

Funding for these initiatives comes from the state’s 10-year, $6 billion Clean Energy Fund and the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.

News item from NYSERDA