The U.S. Department of Energy this week released three reports assessing how the U.S. can decarbonize its economy by 2050 through massive development and deployment of clean hydrogen, advanced nuclear reactors and grid-scale energy storage.

The agency’s Pathways to Commercial Liftoff reports make broad assessments of the current state of the three technologies, which the Biden administration believes will be needed for decarbonization. The study projects the minimum technological advances that must be made by 2035 to attain the 2050 benchmarks.

The documents are also intended as a first step toward encouraging comprehensive communication between DOE and the nation’s industries as the agency sets technology standards and develops funding programs.

“These reports are intended to reinforce dialogue with the private sector, and DOE will be seeking continuous feedback from industry as these reports are updated and revised over time,” the reports’ authors write in an introduction.

Lucia Tian, a senior adviser to the DOE’s chief commercialization officer, reinforced the message during a Tuesday webinar arranged to promote the release of the reports.

“These liftoff reports represent a department-wide initiative to strengthen engagement between the public and private sectors to accelerate the commercialization and deployment of key clean energy technologies,” she said.

The compilations are intended to “create a common fact base” and chart what DOE and industry determine will be the best ways to achieve commercial success of the technologies by midcentury, she added.

The publication of the reports comes three weeks before the agency’s application deadlines for industry and local governments vying for federal matching grants and the designation as a “hydrogen hub.”

DOE has set aside $7 billion to invest in six to 10 regional projects designed to generate clean hydrogen close to where industry will use it, such as in steelmaking, oil refining and concrete manufacturing. DOE has said it intends to award matching grants to hub applications it judges to have the best chance of success.  

That funding and the billions that will follow to develop the “liftoff” of clean hydrogen and other energy technologies come out of the Investment and Jobs Act in 2021 and Inflation Reduction Act in 2022, which together will direct billions of dollars in funding and tax credits to projects designed to move the economy from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

The legislation was also intended to identify and assist critical, emerging technologies, said David Crane, director of the newly created DOE Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations.

“These ‘Liftoff’ reports in many respects [reflect] the clear intent of Congress to expand one of DOE’s traditional missions of funding the demonstration of new energy technologies at scale [to] funding demonstration projects that will provide enduring value to American energy consumers because they are commercially and financially viable,” Crane said.

Citing hydrogen as an example, Crane said the government’s objective is to “de-risk hydrogen hubs to the extent necessary to attract private sector project sponsors.”

“Consistent with the entire history of the American energy industry, these hydrogen mega-projects are going to be developed built and operated by the private sector, not by the federal government. The clean energy transition will be private sector-led and government-enabled,” Crane said.

Vanessa Z. Chan, chief commercialization officer and director of DOE’s Office of Technology Transition, addressed the importance of advanced energy storage to the continued deployment of renewable energy.

The Biden administration’s goal is to deploy 10 to 15 GW of additional storage capacity annually by 2035, she said, a target that will not be achieved without the development of a supply chain. DOE’s goal is to reduce the cost of long-duration energy storage (LDES) by 90%.

“LDES is critical to the clean energy transition and has enormous potential to really help support the high renewable penetration because it helps overcome intermittency when the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing, while simultaneously improving our grid resilience,” Chan said.

“LDES technology is still maturing, and investors are still cautious. There are over 100 LDES providers spanning a wide range of technology types, which are vying for this market. That is exciting because it gives a sector a lot of shots. To get to liftoff, the LDES technologies are going to require public and private investment to drive down costs,” she said

‘Clear Value Proposition’

Jigar Shah, head of the DOE’s loan program office, estimated the nation will need to build and deploy 100 to 200 GW in new nuclear capacity by 2050.

“I think advanced nuclear has a clear value proposition as a clean, firm power source to complement renewables on the path towards decarbonization,” said Shah, adding that he believes 10 new reactors must be ordered by 2025 if advanced nuclear is going to play a meaningful role.

Clockwise from top left: David Crane, Clean Energy Demonstrations; Lucia Tian, Office of Technology Transitions; Vanessa Chan, Technology Transitions; and Jigar Shah, Loan Programs | DOE

 

Shah also said the deployment of new reactors will create “high-paying jobs with concentrated economic benefits for communities most impacted by the energy transition such as coal communities,” a reference to DOE suggestions that small modular reactors still under development will be safe enough to locate on the grounds of former coal-fired power plants, which has existing connections to the electrical grid.

DOE’s Commercial Liftoff of Advanced Nuclear keeps nuclear power in the mix and looks for ways to stimulate new construction. The report says the U.S. nuclear industry has the potential to “scale to 300 GW by 2050 — driven by deployment of advanced nuclear technologies.”

But the study also finds that development is currently stymied, a situation that puts overall decarbonization goals at risk.

“Utilities and other potential customers recognize the need for nuclear power, but perceived risks of uncontrolled cost overruns and project abandonment have limited committed orders for new reactors,” the report said.