Scientists in the HydroGEN Consortium offered strategies for accelerating clean hydrogen production technologies during the 2021 Hydrogen Shot Summit. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) event rallied thousands of stakeholders to tackle the climate crises through actions, strategies, and innovations in hydrogen.

DOE’s Hydrogen Shot, launched June 7, 2021, aims to reduce the cost of clean hydrogen by 80%—achieving $1 per 1 kilogram in 1 decade. In doing so, DOE prioritizes opportunities that enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion, increase jobs, and improve environmental justice for underserved and vulnerable communities.

“We’re proud to support the Department of Energy’s Hydrogen Shot through our collaborative research on advanced water splitting technologies,” said Huyen Dinh, director of HydroGEN and National Renewable Energy Laboratory scientist. “By pooling resources and expertise from national labs, universities, and industry and through cross-cutting innovation and collaboration, our consortium is better able to address the remaining barriers to achieve DOE’s ambitious goals.”

The eight participating HydroGEN researchers covered multiple water splitting technologies and strategies during the advanced pathways panel:

Advanced Water Electrolysis

• Sanjeev Mukerjee, Northeastern University
• Sossina Haile, Northwestern University
• Shannon Boettcher, University of Oregon

Photoelectrochemical Processes

• Frances Houle, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

• Tom Jaramillo, Stanford University

Solar/Thermochemical Processes

• Ellen Stechel, Arizona State University
• Tony McDaniel, Sandia National Laboratory

A New Generation of Innovation

• Huyen Dinh, National Renewable Energy Laboratory

These distinguished researchers on the advanced pathways panel were joined by scientists from other institutions, including Al Weimer, Eric McFarland, Pin-Ching Maness, Bruce Logan, Jennie Huya-Kouadio, Elizabeth Connelly, and Kristin Persson.

The virtual summit was held August 31–September 1, 2021, and featured prominent plenary speakers, including Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, Deputy Secretary David M. Turk, Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, and Microsoft-founder Bill Gates, as well as several members of Congress.

A consortium of five DOE national laboratories, HydroGEN helps lower the cost, improve the efficiency, and increase the durability of advanced water splitting technologies. Cross-cutting R&D is critical for achieving DOE’s Hydrogen Shot targets.

Find more information on DOE’s Hydrogen Shot.