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Energy Department Launches $10 Million Effort to Develop Advanced Water Splitting Materials

The Energy Department (DOE) recently announced $10 million, subject to appropriations, to support the launch of the HydroGEN Advanced Water Splitting Materials Consortium (HydroGEN). This consortium will utilize the expertise and capabilities of the national laboratories to accelerate the development of commercially viable pathways for hydrogen production from renewable energy sources.  

HydroGEN is being launched as part of the Energy Materials Network (EMN) that began in February of this year, crafted to give American entrepreneurs and manufacturers a competitive edge in the global race for clean energy in support of the President's Materials Genome Initiative and advanced manufacturing priorities. Currently, the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) funds research and development of low-carbon hydrogen production pathways, and by establishing HydroGEN, the DOE intends to accelerate innovation with the assistance of the national laboratories.

The new consortium is led by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and also includes Sandia National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and Savannah River National Laboratory. The consortium's newly launched website details capabilities being made available to companies, academia, and other labs, and also details mechanisms for engagement.  Additional information on engaging with the consortium through DOE funding can be found in the Fuel Cell Technologies Office's most recent notice of intent, available here.

EMN focuses on tackling one of the major barriers to widespread commercialization of clean energy technologies—namely, the integrated design, testing, and production of advanced materials. By strengthening and facilitating industry access to the unique resources available at the Energy Department's national labs, the network will help industry bring these materials to market more quickly.

Each EMN consortium will bring together national labs, industry, and academia to focus on specific classes of materials aligned with industry's most pressing challenges related to materials for clean energy technologies.  The EMN consortia that have been launched thus far are:

The Department's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy accelerates development and deployment for energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies and market-based solutions that strengthen U.S. energy security, environmental quality, and economic vitality. Learn more about the Energy Department's broader efforts to develop affordable, efficient fuel cell and hydrogen technologies on EERE's Hydrogen and Fuel Cells page.