The Energy Earthshots Initiative: 6 FAQs Answered
What is the Energy Earthshots Initiative? The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) ambitious program intends to create more reliable, affordable, and clean energy solutions to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Today we’ll answer some of the most frequently asked questions about the Energy Earthshots Initiative and its implications for the hydrogen industry.
1. What is the Energy Earthshots Initiative?
The Energy Earthshots Initiative is a program designed to accelerate the expansion of clean energy solutions to combat the climate crisis. This project seeks to achieve critical clean energy goals such as producing 100 percent clean energy by 2035 and reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
This “Energy Earthshots” series sets 10-year price and capability goals for clean energy technology, starting with hydrogen, energy storage, and decarbonization. The department expects to announce between six to eight Earthshots by the end of 2022. The Energy Earthshots Initiative will reduce costs and make clean energy more efficient and easily deployed at scale by focusing on specific clean energy projects.
2. What is the First Energy Earthshot?
Launched in June 2021, the Hydrogen Shot aims to lower the cost of hydrogen by 80 percent to $1 per kilogram in one decade (“1 1 1”). Currently, “clean hydrogen,” produced by renewable energy sources, costs about $5 per kilogram. In comparison, hydrogen produced from natural gas costs only about $1.50 per kilogram.
Today, less than 0.1 percent of global dedicated hydrogen production comes from water electrolysis, producing zero emissions. The Hydrogen Shot will make clean hydrogen more affordable and accessible by enabling large-scale hydrogen production and deployment. The DOE is focused on multiple routes to achieve this goal, including electrolysis and waste conversion from fossil fuels.
3. What’s the Anticipated Impact of Hydrogen Shot?
Reducing the cost of clean hydrogen would unlock new opportunities for this energy source, like steel manufacturing and energy storage. In particular, the transportation and freight industries contribute significantly to carbon emissions due to their dependence on fossil fuels. However, by switching to hydrogen fuel, these industries drastically reduce their emissions and support decarbonization efforts.
If its goals are achieved, the Hydrogen Shot could result in $140 billion in revenue and 700,000 jobs by 2030. The Hydrogen Shot also supports the path toward net-zero carbon emissions and is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 16 percent by 2050. Overall, the program could lead to at least a fivefold increase in clean hydrogen use in the United States.
4. Why Hydrogen?
Due to its energy density and more manageable production, transportation, and storage, hydrogen has vast potential to ease the transition to renewable energy. In addition, hydrogen fuel is a clean energy source that produces only heat, water vapor, and electricity with no greenhouse gases or other emissions.
When implemented in the transportation sector, hydrogen can make a huge impact. Although electric cars are growing in popularity among consumers, their limited weight capacity and range make them a less viable solution for long-haul trucking.
Along with reducing carbon emissions, upgrading heavy-duty trucks with hydrogen fuel cells can lower operational costs. Compared to combustion generators for stationary power, hydrogen fuel cell maintenance also requires fewer visits, reducing operating costs by as much as 84 percent.
Hydrogen can be produced in many ways, which can help democratize energy worldwide and reduce a nation’s dependence on fossil fuels from foreign countries.
5. What Projects Do The Hydrogen Shot Plan Include?
The Hydrogen Shot focuses on scaling and research and development for clean hydrogen. Some of its projects include:
- Electrolyzers, which separate hydrogen from oxygen in water molecules to produce clean hydrogen
- Hydrogen fuel cell technologies for vehicles
- Hydrogen storage technologies as a source of backup power
- Hydrogen production from high-volume waste and biomass
- Decarbonized hydrogen demonstration
6. What is the Second Energy Earthshot?
Removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is a crucial step toward mitigating the effects of climate change. Announced in November 2021, the next Energy Earthshot is the Carbon Negative Shot, the U.S. government’s first significant effort in carbon dioxide removal.
Like decarbonization, carbon dioxide removal (CDR) focuses on the various methods of capturing carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere and storing it underground or under the ocean floor. Combined with a commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, CDR can help prevent ocean acidification and other effects of climate change.
The Carbon Negative Shot aims to reach net-zero carbon emissions and eventually remove legacy carbon pollution. Some industries, like agriculture and transportation, are especially challenging to decarbonize. Therefore, the Carbon Negative Shot intentionally includes many approaches to CDR, from direct air capture to afforestation and reforestation, to find the most effective methods for different communities.
FASTECH: Leaders in Hydrogen Infrastructure
The Energy Earthshots Initiative marks a new era in the large-scale expansion of promising clean energy technologies like hydrogen fuel. Making clean hydrogen more affordable and accessible will make the transition to renewable energy much easier for fossil fuel-dependent sectors like transportation.
With our innovative engineering solutions and unparalleled renewable expertise, FASTECH has built more hydrogen stations in California than anyone else. Check out our latest projects for Shell and the Iwatani Corporation of America to see how we’ve further expanded North America’s hydrogen refueling network.
To start designing your renewable energy infrastructure project, contact us today.
