The U.S. Department of Energy announced $8,055,000 on September 30, 2024, to fund seven projects aimed at developing scalable, high-throughput manufacturing processes for fuel cells and electrolyzers. The funding is delivered through the Roll-to-Roll (R2R) Consortium — comprising National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory — and is drawn from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Each project pairs a private sector company with at least two national laboratories and runs approximately two years. Industry partners are required to contribute at least 50% cost sharing on each project.
What it means
The seven awards direct federal resources toward manufacturing process development rather than end-product deployment, targeting the roll-to-roll coating, ink formulation, ionomer chemistry, membrane production, and carbon-support synthesis steps that determine whether fuel cell and electrolyzer components can be made at commercial scale. DOE said the funding supports its Hydrogen Shot initiative, part of the Energy Earthshots program, which sets a target of producing hydrogen at $1 per kilogram. Private sector partners were selected through a funding opportunity for Cooperative Research and Development Agreements announced earlier in 2024.
The seven recipients and their federal awards are: Nel Hydrogen ($1,500,000) for a roll-to-roll process for alkaline exchange membrane water electrolyzers; Solvay Specialty Polymers ($1,500,000) to scale up hydrocarbon ionomer manufacturing; Kraton Corporation ($1,300,000) for commercial-scale production of alkaline and proton exchange membranes; Power to Hydrogen ($1,000,000) for ink formulation and roll-to-roll cathode coating; Ionomr Innovations ($1,000,000) to improve ionomer process chemistry and membrane production; Pajarito Powder ($1,000,000) for a solvent-free synthesis process for engineered carbon supports; and FOM Technologies ($755,000) for slot-die and drying systems optimized for fuel cell membrane electrode assembly coating.
Key facts
- Total federal funding: $8,055,000 across seven projects
- Funding source: Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
- Consortium members: National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
- Project structure: each led by a private sector entity partnering with at least two national laboratories
- Industry cost-share requirement: minimum 50%
- Project duration: approximately two years
- Hydrogen Shot target: $1 per kilogram of hydrogen produced
- Awards by recipient: Nel Hydrogen $1,500,000; Solvay Specialty Polymers $1,500,000; Kraton Corporation $1,300,000; Power to Hydrogen $1,000,000; Ionomr Innovations $1,000,000; Pajarito Powder $1,000,000; FOM Technologies $755,000
Source: U.S. Department of Energy news release (energy.gov)