Let America build - A policy path to modernize energy permitting
Our team spends a lot of time on reliable, affordable, clean energy systems that run 24/7. These types of technologies are an integral part of our energy future, but with a growing economy and electricity demand doubling, we need MORE power.
This means building a lot of new nuclear, geothermal, and clean fossil power plants. We’ll also need immense new transmission and pipeline infrastructure to move energy around the country.
But we’ve got a ton of work to do in very little time.
Whether you are motivated by deep emissions reductions, furthering our nation’s energy security, or enabling the next generation of American manufacturing, the coming decades are essential. By many estimates, that means at least 10,000 new clean energy projects this decade alone. And, every one of those projects will require new permits to build.
Unfortunately, the U.S. has a world-class apparatus… for getting in the way.
Let me give you an example. The National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, calls for developers to measure the environmental impact of their projects. But NEPA was passed years before we had other laws with strict environmental standards like the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, or Endangered Species Act.
Each of those are important — but all together … permit reviews can spiral into extremely long efforts, spanning thousands of pages with duplicative analyses and dozens of bureaucrats required to sign off on each individual project. And, this is not even taking into account the time it takes for any local permitting or state regulations. While this system may have made sense 50 years ago, the surge in new energy demand requires a new way.
When we think about how to build tens of thousands of new clean energy projects, and how to balance speed and safety, it's obvious the U.S. needs a more predictable process.
At ClearPath, we always focus on solutions. Here are two that should be pretty simple:
First, grant immediate approval to projects on a site that have already undergone an environmental review.
Second, we must expedite court challenges so a final decision on projects is made in a timely manner.
Let me simplify both concepts.
Do you remember standing in line at the airport before TSA pre-check? That was brutal! Now, individuals who have proven they are not a risk can move through an expedited line.
Here’s another example.
There are mountains of evidence that some projects have little to no environmental impacts, such as an advanced manufacturing facility that produces parts for clean energy on a brownfield, or converting a retired coal plant to an advanced nuclear facility or siting a new geothermal plant at a depleted oil and gas well. These are the types of projects we should automatically permit to move forward.
Just like random screenings at TSA, we can audit the operators to ensure they’re complying with all environmental laws as we go. So new energy accelerates at no new environmental costs.
And for those projects that do need permits up front, we should ensure reviews are complete within 1 year and resolve any legal disputes within 6 months.
Under the current system, clean energy projects can suffer long delays, sometimes decades, largely because of obstructive litigation practices. We must strike the right balance while halting the never-ending cycle of frivolous lawsuits.
At ClearPath, we believe all of this can be done without rolling back environmental protections or eliminating the public’s opportunity to be involved in the review process. Even with these necessary changes, a project would still be required to comply with environmental laws during its entire lifetime.*
It’s a win-win. Let’s get building.
U.S. Development Finance Helped Rescue Europe from Russian Energy (The National Interest)
This op-ed was originally published by The National Interest on June 18, 2024. Click here to read the entire piece.
America is facing a critical period of intensifying international challenges. The aggressive maneuvers of adversaries demand an increasingly robust use of U.S. foreign policy assets. Energy to sustain growing economies is at the heart of these issues. America has the opportunity to ensure its influence on the world stage as a provider of affordable, reliable, and clean energy security for decades to come. As Congress considers reauthorizing the U.S. Development Finance Corporation (DFC), whose authorization expires in 2025, it’s time to supercharge this agency as part of an integrated international energy security and climate strategy.
The DFC, the modernized U.S. government development finance institution ramped up during the Trump administration, with bipartisan Congressional support, is a crucial player in helping America compete in geoeconomic rivalries over the future of energy leadership. In 2022, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, America demonstrated its capacity as a global energy powerhouse. For decades, the European Union (EU) had depended on Russian natural gas imports, which grew in share even after the invasion and annexation of Crimea in 2014. In just one year, the U.S. surged its LNG exports, driving Russian market share in the EU down from 40 percent in 2021 to just 8 percent in 2023.
This lifeline to Europe was partly enabled by the DFC, which provided over $1.5 billion in financing to support Europe’s energy diversification away from Russian gas. This is just one example of how the DFC has become a key federal agency in supporting America’s geopolitical and geoeconomic interests.
Energy projects supported by the DFC cut across various sectors, ranging from diversifying natural gas supplies in Poland to developing an energy supply hub in Greek shipyards to fostering clean energy generation in Bulgaria and Georgia. This provides allies and partners with U.S. alternatives to malignant energy producers like Russia and the predatory lending for energy infrastructure performed by actors like China. Furthermore, unlike most federal agencies, the DFC typically generates a financial return for taxpayer dollars. In FY 2023, the DFC returned a net positive income of $340 million to the U.S. Treasury from projects it invested in abroad.
TerraPower Breaks Ground in Wyoming, Clearing Path for New Nuclear
TerraPower broke ground on its Natrium reactor in Kemmerer, Wyoming. This is the first time in four decades that a company has started construction on an advanced reactor in the United States. Natrium is a sodium fast reactor with integrated molten salt energy storage. This exciting 345 megawatt (MWe) reactor can ramp up to 500 MWe, enough to provide reliable, clean power to 400,000+ homes for more than five and a half hours.
TerraPower is building this first plant through a public-private partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP), a concept ClearPath started working on in 2016 in partnership with congressional leaders like U.S. Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Idaho National Lab, Oak Ridge National Lab, and DOE.
L to R: ClearPath’s Chris Tomassi (a Kemmerer, WY native), Jeremy Harrell and Jake Kincer at the groundbreaking
ClearPath has played a role over the past seven years in building bipartisan Congressional support for the U.S. DOE’s ARDP. We supported the Trump Administration’s efforts to launch the program and select cutting-edge projects like this, and continue to advocate the program’s importance. TerraPower will be putting clean electrons on the grid by the end of this decade. It is a true bipartisan win for American clean energy. Developing the next generation of nuclear technology now is essential as power demand from industrials and data centers is skyrocketing across America.
The Nuclear Fuel Facilities At the Core of the Industry's Success
ClearPath is constantly seeking out top private sector innovators, determining the barriers to their commercial success, and helping cultivate the environment that allows them to scale-up. In some instances, there are companies doing incredible work to support a more well known industry, but are less known in the halls of Congress.
What is known – nuclear energy accounts for about 20 percent of total United States electricity generated each year. It’s the largest zero-emissions power source in the U.S. and the industry directly provides an estimated 100,000 jobs. While recent incentives and demonstration programs have created a pathway for more power generation, attention is turning to where we source and how we manufacture the fuel; and, the ever-looming question of what we do with the spent fuel, or as many call it — nuclear waste.
We recently went out to see firsthand some of the exciting work being done to support the industry from fuel manufacturing to unique waste storage and disposal solutions. The Southwest region of the U.S. is home to facilities like Urenco USA (UUSA), Waste Control Specialists (WCS) and Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), all of which play a vital role in shaping America's nuclear landscape. ClearPath, along with Third Way and Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, recently visited these sites to explore the nuclear energy fuel cycle and ways policymakers can expand domestic production.
Urenco USA - Uranium Enrichment
UUSA, nestled in Eunice, New Mexico, is the nation’s sole commercial-scale uranium enrichment facility. Originally planned for Louisiana, it found a home in New Mexico after receiving overwhelming community support. With a combined construction and operating license issued by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), uranium enrichment production began in June 2010.
UUSA supplies roughly one-third of U.S. uranium enrichment demand, a process that increases the concentration of energy-rich uranium in nuclear fuel. Another way to look at this: the amount of enriched uranium UUSA supplies could power every home in the USA for one day every two weeks. Enrichment companies like UUSA could take steps to increase domestic production following the recently passed legislation to secure the American fuel supply chain and ban Russian uranium.
Waste Control Specialists - Below Surface Disposal Next door in Andrews, Texas, is Waste Control Specialists (WCS), a low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) treatment, storage and disposal facility. WCS supports the Department of Energy (DOE), private entities, nuclear power plants across the U.S., hospitals and universities. The waste accepted here includes materials from research facilities, hospitals extracting isotopes for diagnosis and treatment as well as military equipment. They have only used 2.6% capacity and can continue operation for years to come.
Front Row L to R: Hamna Khan (Columbia University), Mary Neumayr (Urenco), Amanda Sollazzo (ClearPath), Frances Wetherbee (ClearPath)
Back Row: Niko McMurray (ClearPath), Matt Bowen (Columbia University), Jack Ridilla (ClearPath), Rama Ponangi (Columbia University), Natalie Houghtalen (ClearPath), Grace Furman (ClearPath), Rowen Price (Third Way)
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) - Deep Geologic Storage
DOE’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) recently marked 25 years since accepting its first shipment of transuranic (TRU) waste in Carlsbad, NM. WIPP’s mission is to provide permanent, underground disposal of TRU and TRU-mixed wastes, wastes that also have hazardous chemical components.
WIPP is the country’s only active deep geological radioactive waste repository and a global example of responsible waste management, including the site operations and safety and security culture required for the site to operate efficiently.
The TRU waste is stored 2,150 feet underground in the 250 million-year-old Salado salt formation, which provides a stable environment for the long-term disposal of the radioactive waste. Every year, the salt walls close in four to six inches until the rooms are sealed. This natural process will in time permanently prevent the release of radioactive materials into the environment.
L to R: Jack Ridilla, Amanda Sollazzo, Grace Furman, Frances Wetherbee, Niko McMurray, Natalie Houghtalen
Local Impact
Nuclear facilities provide not only always-on, reliable, clean energy, but they also bring significant value to the surrounding areas. UUSA brings over 240 full-time jobs and 130 long-term contractor jobs, in addition to giving $625,000 annually to support local education, culture and environmental projects. WCS boosts its local economy with 175 full-time jobs and has provided $18.4 million in taxes to Andrews since opening in 2012. WIPP provides 1,700 jobs to New Mexico and, in 2023, invested $500,000 in local education and businesses. Deploying new nuclear energy creates hundreds of new jobs at the power plant and at supporting facilities.
Supporting energy infrastructure in the U.S. is vital to the health and success of the growing nuclear energy industry. From uranium enrichment to power production and waste disposal, nuclear facilities are an important and beneficial piece of America’s clean energy future. ClearPath will continue to be on the front lines helping tell the stories of American innovators who are solving the big energy challenges.
Building the Global Nuclear Energy Order Book (RealClear Energy)
This op-ed was originally published by Real Clear Energy on May 22, 2024. Click here to read the entire piece.
The outlook for nuclear power is bright on the world stage. Global demand for clean nuclear energy is higher than we have ever seen. The U.S. and 20 allied nations pledged to triple global nuclear energy capacity by 2050 at COP28, and a multinational survey reaffirmed last year — the world wants new nuclear.
In Washington, D.C., bipartisan support for nuclear energy has never been greater. Propelled by the House passing the ADVANCE Act 393-13 this month and momentum for passage in the Senate, Congress deserves some credit this year for working to help speed up the deployment of next-generation reactors, fueling hope for an American future powered by clean energy.
This support is promising, but masks a concerning trend. While the U.S. leads the world in the development of innovative nuclear technologies, the U.S. has fallen behind China and Russia. As of May 2024, Russia and China collectively have 29 commercial reactors under construction. The U.S. has zero.
The prospect of reinvigorating production in the U.S. is exciting, but we have to think bigger to realize the promise of the next generation of nuclear energy — and now is the moment to capitalize. So, how do we get it done?
Transforming U.S. Manufacturing through $6 Billion in Industrial Demos Funding
Background on the Industrial Demonstrations Program
The industrial sector, including cement, steel and chemical manufacturing, produces the building blocks of society. Industrial products are everywhere: in buildings, the roads you travel on and the products the U.S. uses daily. However, the industrial sector is a major source of U.S. emissions and is poised to be the largest emitting source by 2035.
In March 2024, the Department of Energy (DOE) launched the most significant industrial decarbonization program to date, announcing $6 billion in funding for 33 selected projects across 20 states under the Industrial Demonstrations Program (IDP). The IDP provides federal grants to demonstrations of industrial decarbonization across heavy industrial sectors. It was authorized by the Clean Industrial Technology Act (CITA) as part of the Energy Act of 2020. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and 2022 tax law provided the funding to DOE’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) to oversee implementation.
This blog will highlight how these awards can kickstart a clean industrial revolution to reduce emissions while strengthening American manufacturing.
Topline highlights
Projects are on track to avoid 14 million metric tons of CO2 annually - equivalent to taking more than 3 million cars off the road every year.
Sectoral Breakdown of Demo Funding and CO2 Emissions Avoided Annually
The program catalyzed $20 billion in total investment: $6 billion in federal cost-share and $14 billion in private cost-share.
The industrial demonstrations program will create thousands of construction and manufacturing jobs.
Map of Selected Projects
Project Deep Dive
ClearPath wants to highlight four projects that showcase transformative technologies.
American steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs was selected for up to $500 million in federal funding to replace a blast furnace with a hydrogen-ready direct reduced iron (DRI) furnace and two electric melting furnaces. Hydrogen replaces coal as the ingredient that transforms iron ore into iron.
Through this demonstration, Cleveland-Cliffs is decarbonizing the iron-making process, the largest emissions source in the iron and steel sector, responsible for 50% of all emissions. The Middletown demo will avoid more than one million metric tons of emissions annually, creating 170 permanent and 1,200 construction jobs while preserving the existing workforce.
The Middletown demo is one of the first large-scale demonstrations of integrated hydrogen-based steelmaking in the U.S., testing a decarbonization pathway that can be replicated across the remaining 13 blast furnaces in the U.S.
Heidelberg Materials US Inc. (Mitchell, Indiana)
Heidelberg has been selected for up to $500 million in federal funding to construct and operate an integrated cement carbon capture and storage (CCS) facility in Mitchell, IN. The facility will capture at least 95 percent of emissions from one of the nation’s largest cement plants, avoiding two million metric tons of emissions annually while creating 20-25 permanent jobs and 1,000 construction jobs.
Mitchell will be the U.S.' first commercial-scale cement CCS facility, providing a template for the rest of the cement industry to decarbonize. Demonstrating cement CCS is critical because numerous industry and DOE roadmaps have identified CCS as a key cement decarbonization lever, contributing to over 30 percent of total emissions reduction. CCS is essential because Portland cement will remain an indispensable material, and ~60% of emissions are produced by chemical processes that cannot be reduced by using a clean fuel or energy source.
Sublime Systems (Holyoke, Massachusetts) and Brimstone (location TBA)
The demo program awarded federal funding to two U.S. cement innovators: $86.9 million to Sublime Systems and up to $189 million to Brimstone, creating nearly 200 permanent jobs and 450 construction jobs.
Both companies use novel production processes and non-limestone-based inputs to produce materials with nearly zero emissions that have been certified and passed industry standards.
The demo awards will build first-of-a-kind commercial facilities for both approaches, a necessary step to de-risk these technologies for investors and the construction industry. These awards can move the needle on cement decarbonization by demonstrating one of the few pathways to reach net-zero emissions and position the U.S. as a leader in next-generation cement production.
The Significance of the Industrial Demonstrations Program
Strengthens American manufacturing: The demonstration program selections prove public sector investments can commercialize innovative technologies. This follows the bipartisan Energy Act's and IIJA's success in stimulating generational investment in increasing U.S. competitiveness and onshoring critical elements of the manufacturing supply chain. For example, Cleveland-Cliffs was also selected to expand clean manufacturing at the only facility that produces transformer-grade steel, helping resolve a nationwide transformer shortage in the medium term.
Incentivizes first-movers: These awards represent tangible investments in first-of-a-kind facilities that deploy technologies such as CCS and hydrogen in the industrial sector. Achieving net-zero industrial emissions is impossible without proving and scaling up these technologies. Therefore, public sector funding is crucial to de-risk investments that can provide a blueprint for other facilities to decarbonize.
Invests in transformative technologies: On average, the portfolio yielded a 77% reduction in emissions, highlighting how the funding selections have chosen transformative technologies and projects that can significantly reduce emissions.
Highlights the importance of funding early-stage RD&D: Six projects, totaling up to $775 million in industrial demonstration funding, use technologies incubated early at the Advanced Research Projects - Energy (ARPA-E). Their inclusion highlights how goal-oriented investments in early-stage clean energy RD&D turn into a success story to strengthen U.S. manufacturing.
Conclusion
This is just the first step: While an important milestone, these industrial demonstration selections only avoid 14 million tons of emissions annually, driving only a one percent reduction in U.S. industrial emissions. Additional funding is needed to stimulate private sector investment for meaningful emissions reduction.
The DOE should proactively remove permitting barriers: The federal government should expedite permitting for the selected projects. Currently, onerous permitting under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) can delay putting steel in the ground. As a recent ClearPath report recommended, the DOE should extend its categorical exclusion for R&D projects to these demo projects ensuring rapid deployment.
A clean industrial revolution may be around the corner: The industrial demonstrations program proves that targeted clean energy innovation policy can help American industry pioneer a clean industrial revolution and reduce emissions, allowing America to lead.
A Decade of Dedication
The climate debate sure looked different 10 years ago.
When I founded ClearPath in 2014, we looked at global temperatures, sea levels and the so-called “100-year weather events.” We studied the data AND watched the political discourse.
And we were concerned.
At the time, many advocates said we could only solve the climate challenge with 100% renewable energy and by starving the fossil energy industry. They said the government needs to solve the challenge; free-market innovations would be too expensive, and consumers and industry wouldn’t adopt them.
Advocacy for small modular nuclear was limited, few embraced carbon capture as a solution, and other game-changing technologies like long-duration, grid-scale storage were barely a glimmer.
Thankfully, conservatives knew there was a better way.
Over the past 10 years, the ClearPath family of entities has worked with private sector innovators and leaders in Congress to shape conceptual ideas into pragmatic policy, leading to the construction of real projects. These relationships have led to significant clean energy policy wins – from developing the moonshot Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program concept in 2016 to the inception of the 45Q tax incentive in 2018 and the Energy Act of 2020, which culminated with new legislation like the Better Energy Storage Technology (BEST) Act and the Advanced Geothermal Innovation Leadership (AGILE) Act.
Over the last decade, U.S. emissions have decreased by 15%, more than any other nation.
That hasn’t happened by chance, conservative clean energy leaders have catalyzed innovation policies:
Between 2014 and 2024, roughly 20 gigawatts of batteries, geothermal, hydropower, and nuclear, were added to the grid. These facilities generated approximately 36 million megawatt-hours of electricity, enough to power nearly 3.5 million homes annually, avoiding roughly 19 million metric tons of CO2.
In 2018 – A Republican-led Congress updated the tax code, increasing the credit value for carbon capture projects, broadening eligibility thresholds, and allowing DAC eligibility for the incentive. Since, 14 carbon capture and direct air capture projects are operating in the U.S., with 123 under development. Together, those projects could capture 156 million tons of carbon every year.
In 2019 – Congress and the Department of Energy began to focus on building advanced nuclear reactors. Today, we are building two new advanced reactors and at least nine more are on the way in addition to 25 new license applications expected by 2029.
In 2020, conservatives in Congress passed the Energy Act of 2020 – one of the biggest advancements in clean energy and climate policy that has created the clean energy innovation roadmap in over a decade.
In 2021 – Congress enacted the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), funding a wide range of clean energy demonstration programs.
Where is ClearPath today? The last decade has resulted in significant growth for the ClearPath family – both in size and impact. We’ve seen an 800% personnel increase and expanded our policy portfolio from primarily a nuclear and CCUS advocacy organization to 11 different policy areas. While we remain steadfast in our core technologies, we have added exciting new areas to our portfolio, such as tackling industrial emissions and agriculture and how we can deploy cleaner energy internationally.
In Washington, people and politics drive policy, and policy refines our heavily regulated energy system.
Recent polling conducted by Engagious and Echelon Insights shows 88% of voters believe climate change is happening, 74% want their Member of Congress to focus on clean energy, and 60% of votersbelieve innovation rather than regulation is the best way to reduce emissions.The leadership driving this seachange is remarkable, and here are just some of the federal lawmakers who are meeting the demand of their constituents and have championed clean energy policy over the last decade.
What’s next?
10 years into this dream, we have covered a lot of ground, but we still have quite the journey ahead. Many of the right policies are in place, but we need to get America building again. We need to get advanced nuclear reactors built, we need to capture carbon directly from the air, and we need to decarbonize heavy industry. Energy demand will double over the next decade, and one of the most important efforts everyone needs to get behind is updating our outdated permitting processes. Because if we continue to invest in novel technologies, and ensure that the projects currently under development are successful, then the U.S. will continue to lead the world in adopting clean energy solutions.
I mentioned that in Washington, D.C., people are policy, so when discussing ClearPath’s future, I must recognize how the organization is searching for the next generation of clean energy champions. ClearPath’s Conservative Climate Leadership Program (CCLP) actively recruits individuals passionate about climate and clean energy policy who want to work on Capitol Hill and drive innovative technologies to reduce global energy emissions.
We all hear a lot of talk about a clean energy future, and we know that success means putting cleaner, more affordable, and more reliable energy on the grid.
If there is one thing you can count on ClearPath doing for the next 10 years: supporting America’s free-market advantage. When American energy works, we all win…
Onward!
Hydrogen 101
Hydrogen is the smallest atom in the universe. Yet, this tiny molecule has enormous potential to unlock some of our most significant energy challenges – electricity grid resilience, energy storage and industrial decarbonization. Hydrogen, in its natural state, is really two hydrogen atoms linked together, and in that link is where energy is stored. Like an electron flowing through a transmission line, hydrogen holds energy that moves between the electricity, transportation and industrial sectors. Watch a video that further explains how hydrogen functions here.
Hydrogen is used widely today as a chemical in agriculture, chemical production and oil refining. The United States produces around 10 million metric tons of hydrogen, enough to power 2.4 million transcontinental flights for a Boeing 747. By 2050, hydrogen has the potential to decrease 7 Gt of global CO2 emissions each year. However, only a fraction of U.S. hydrogen production today is considered low-emissions.
The innovation potential of hydrogen lies in its use as energy in new markets, such as energy storage, heavy-duty vehicles and industrial applications. Recent legislation, like the bipartisan Investment Infrastructure and Jobs Act of 2021 (IIJA) $8 billion Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs, has helped accelerate the demonstration and deployment of low-emissions hydrogen while securing American leadership. To meet our clean energy goals, emissions reduction in the existing hydrogen infrastructure and significant new deployment of low-emissions hydrogen must be realized to meet the demand of new markets.
How it works
Hydrogen Production (“the hydrogen rainbow”)
Hydrogen, in reality, is a colorless gas, but it is talked about widely using six color classifications: grey, blue, turquoise, brown, green and white. Today, adding carbon capture to existing hydrogen production facilities, a kind of blue hydrogen, is the least-expensive, nearest-term option to decarbonize existing production.
Grey and Blue hydrogen are made by heating a natural gas and steam mixture, which produces CO2 as a byproduct. The grey hydrogen process allows CO2 to escape into the atmosphere, but the blue hydrogen process captures, utilizes or stores CO2. Carbon capture is already commercial, with facilities capturing millions of tons of CO2 worldwide – including in the United States.
Turquoise hydrogen is produced through either gasification or pyrolysis with carbon capture. Gasification means that biomass, such as used paper or waste from crops, is heated to release hydrogen gas and produces CO2 as a byproduct. The other process, pyrolysis, heats methane (i.e., natural gas) in a container without oxygen to separate the hydrogen and carbon atoms. Because there is no oxygen in the mix, carbon in the pyrolysis process does not turn into CO2. Instead, it becomes carbon black, a solid used to manufacture tires, mascara, water filters and more. One innovative American company producing hydrogen through pyrolysis is Monolith, which received a $1.04 billion conditional commitment from LPO to expand its facility in Nebraska.
Brown hydrogen is produced through the gasification of coal, which means that coal is heated with oxygen and steam to release hydrogen gas. This process also releases CO, CO2 and particulate matter as byproducts.
Green hydrogen is produced through electrolysis, which uses electricity to separate the oxygen and hydrogen atoms in water and is powered by low-emissions electricity sources. Producing hydrogen from electrolysis is possible regardless of the electricity source. Still, hydrogen is considered green only if the electricity is produced from a low-emissions energy source, such as nuclear, geothermal, hydropower or renewable energy.
White hydrogen naturally occurs and is found in underground deposits. The process that forms geologic hydrogen is called serpentinization, during which water reacts with iron-rich mantle rocks at high temperatures to make hydrogen. Typically, other gasses are present in the hydrogen deposits, with N2, CH4, He and other noble gasses being the most common. In February 2024, the DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) selected 16 projects to receive a total of $20 million in funding to research the production of geologic hydrogen through stimulated mineralogical processes, meaning that there is potential to stimulate the production of white hydrogen.
Hydrogen Storage and Delivery
Storage
There are multiple ways to store hydrogen. One method is underground hydrogen storage, limited to excavated salt caverns and lined hard rock storage near production sites. Luckily, storage regions tend to overlap with production regions. This increases the viability of this storage method. Additionally, gaseous and liquid storage containers are currently used for industrial applications. Research, development, and deployment (RD&D) are needed to reduce costs, improve efficiency, and increase scalability for hydrogen storage.
Delivery
Currently, there are four main methods to deliver hydrogen:
Although smaller amounts of hydrogen in natural gas pipelines are considered safe, experts say blending larger ratios requires further research for feasibility. Natural gas infrastructure is more readily impacted by embrittlement and leakage when hydrogen is in the mix.
Hydrogen Utilization
Regardless of how hydrogen is produced, it can be used in many applications, including as a feedstock for industry, a fuel for vehicles or power plants, or burned for heat.
Industry
Hydrogen has been used in American industries since the 1950s and is most widely used in refining (55%), ammonia and methanol (35%), and metals (8%). Ammonia, a component of fertilizer, is synthesized using hydrogen. Refineries use hydrogen to reduce the sulfur content in diesel fuel. It is also being developed as a feedstock to reduce CO2 emissions from the steel production process, making it an alternative to metallurgical coal. Also, hydrogen can be burned as a high-temperature heat source in heavy industry applications like cement and concrete manufacturing.
Natural Gas Blending
Today, hydrogen can be blended with natural gas in small quantities and used in many similar applications, such as home heating, high-grade heat for industry, and turbines for power generation. Turbine manufacturers design products that can co-fire hydrogen and natural gas or burn 100 percent hydrogen. Duke Energy will build and operate the U.S.’ first system capable of producing, storing and combusting 100% clean hydrogen in a combustion turbine.
Fuel Cells
Fuel cellswork the opposite of electrolyzers and use hydrogen to make water and electricity. Small fuel cells can be used in vehicles, and large ones can be used for reliable electricity, such as a hospital or data center backup generator.
Energy Storage
Hydrogen is an emerging option for long-duration energy storage. Like natural gas, it can be stored for long periods and transported over distances. PG&E, in partnership with Energy Vault, is building the most extensive clean hydrogen long-duration energy storage system in the U.S., which can power about 2,000 electric customers for up to 48 hours.
Major Federal Programs
The vast hydrogen ecosystem has the potential to decarbonize many clean energy technologies. Supporting these many decarbonization pathways requires significant coordination across offices in the DOE and other federal agencies. The DOE released the Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Clean Hydrogen report and the U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap in 2023. These strategies have common veins: the production cost of low-emissions hydrogen must be lowered to be cost-competitive, and successful demonstrations are important to scale these technologies.
Hydrogen Interagency Taskforce (HIT)
In August of 2023, the Hydrogen Interagency Taskforce (HIT), which is a partnership led by the Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Technology Office (HFTO), was announced to enact a coordinated approach for the advancement of clean hydrogen. The HIT consists of three working groups: “Supply and Demand at Scale,” “Infrastructure, Siting, and Permitting,” and “Analysis and Global Competitiveness.” The DOE will focus on RD&D, bolstering supply chains, developing a domestic and international market, and financing hydrogen projects as authorized by the IIJA. Non-energy agencies are also involved. The DOD, DOE and Homeland Security are developing an advanced fuel cell truck prototype, dubbed H2@Rescue, to provide zero-emissions power, heat and water to disaster sites.
Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs (H2Hubs) Program
In October 2023, the DOE preliminarily selected seven public-private partnerships to receive awards for the H2Hub program authorized by the IIJA. If implemented and supported properly, the $8 billion program will help launch the nascent hydrogen industry forward and decrease the cost of clean hydrogen.
States Awarded Hydrogen Hubs
Map of states selected for the DOE H2Hub’s award negotiations. Negotiations are expected to be completed in Q2 of 2024.
The IIJA also authorized $1 billion for the Clean Hydrogen Electrolysis Program, in which the DOE will establish an RD&D program to improve electrolyzers' efficiency, durability, and cost and bring them to commercialization. A complementary program, Clean Hydrogen Manufacturing and Recycling RD&D Activities, was authorized for $500 million in the IIJA for the DOE to create innovative approaches to increasing the reuse and recycling of clean hydrogen technologies. The DOE released a Request for Information (RFI) in February of 2022, asking stakeholders for ideas on program structure and thoughts on the current electrolyzer landscape. The DOE selected both programs' first tranche of projects simultaneously in March of 2024. The $750 million in joint funding will go to 52 projects across 24 states to support electrolyzer manufacturing, supply chains and components; fuel cell manufacturing and supply chains; and a recycling consortium.
Policy Opportunity
Hydrogen has the potential to be an innovative solution to decarbonize the power and industrial sectors while making American energy cleaner, more secure and reliable. However, the simultaneous development of the hydrogen value chain (i.e., production, storage, end-use) is a barrier to deployment due to varying technological readiness levels, lack of long-term offtake and the need for dedicated hydrogen infrastructure. To meet emissions reduction goals, the following policies are needed to reach the widespread adoption of hydrogen.
Technology-neutral policy — Develop policies to encourage and incentivize diverse, low-emissions hydrogen production methods regardless of the feedstock.
Support infrastructure deployment — Advance policies that further expand and decrease the cost of midstream and end-use infrastructure.
Research and development — Develop regulations in preparation for a mature and scaled industry while advancing the commercialization of clean hydrogen technologies.
Wide-scale deployment — Improve cost-competitiveness of clean hydrogen and support reliable offtake for hydrogen producers.
Fertilizer Innovations 101
The U.S. agricultural productivity boom in the mid-20th century resulted from innovative fertilizer technologies. Novel technologies like synthetic fertilizers helped revolutionize fuel, food, fiber and feed production. Synthetic fertilizers are also directly linked to U.S. economic growth and prosperity and reduced reliance on other countries. Today, the U.S. continues to lead the world in finding new ways to enhance agricultural productivity and efficiency while producing clean and reliable ammonia for fertilizer production and reducing agricultural sector emissions.
Fertilizer provides essential plant nutrients to maximize productivity
Agricultural resources like crops and other feedstocks grow and produce food, fuel, fiber and feed through photosynthesis, which uses water, sunlight and CO2 from the atmosphere. Nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are needed to ensure the health and productivity of these resources to optimize growth and yields, similar to how people need a diverse, nutritious diet to stay healthy and grow. These essential nutrients can be found naturally in agricultural fields in varying amounts, depending on the location. However, for certain crops, fertilizers can optimize these conditions. For example, long-term research in Iowa showed that corn yields averaged 60 bushels per acre without fertilizer, and corn fertilized with nitrogen easily yields 200 bushels per acre. Fertilizers for crops are like food for humans, supplying essential nutrients to plants. Fertilizer can be stored, transported and applied in various forms (i.e., liquid, solid). The type of fertilizer used depends on the plant being grown and environmental conditions, similar to how the food intake for a marathon runner will differ from that of a weightlifter.
Figure 1. Fertilizers for Crops Is Like Food for Humans
The Haber-Bosch process, invented in 1913, is a crucial scientific discovery, and the technological innovations that came from it revolutionized the world. The Haber-Bosch process is the main industrial method of producing ammonia. The most prominent innovation from the process is the creation of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer. This spurred the rapid growth in crop productivity beginning in the mid-1900s and supported the growing global population. Long-term field studies across the U.S. dating back before the development and use of synthetic fertilizers have shown the positive impact of fertilizer use on crop yield. A review of crop production across 362 crop growing seasons showed that synthetic fertilizers are responsible for at least 30-50 percent of crop yields. Location-specific research done on the Magruder Plots in Oklahoma, the oldest continuous soil fertility research plots in the Great Plains region of the U.S., found that, on average, over 71 years, nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization was responsible for 40% of wheat yield in America (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Wheat yield attributable to nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer in the Oklahoma State University Magruder plots (1930-2000)
U.S. leadership in fertilizer innovation is needed now
Food security is national security. The U.S. food system is heavily reliant on fertilizer production from adversaries like Russia and China, which could limit fertilizer supply to the U.S. and reduce America’s ability to provide affordable food and fuel domestically and globally. For example, the Russia-Ukraine conflict resulted in fertilizer trade restrictions across the globe, driving up fertilizer prices and increasing grain prices. Therefore, U.S. leadership in fertilizer production is essential to reduce American dependence on international fertilizer production and to ensure American farmers have access to affordable and reliable fertilizer to fuel and feed the nation.
As the U.S. leads in fertilizer innovation through initiatives like USDA’s Fertilizer Product Expansion Program (FPEP) that aims to expand the manufacturing and processing of fertilizer in the U.S., American ingenuity is also beginning to address the emissions impact of fertilizers, as the production and use of fertilizer accounts for approximately 5% of global emissions. Recent studies on the full life-cycle of fertilizers found that emissions could be reduced by 80% by 2050 without impacting productivity. Fertilizer production accounts for around one-third of synthetic fertilizer emissions, while the remaining two-thirds derive from fertilizer use. As a result, if we want to reduce emissions, we must find a way to both decarbonize fertilizer production and develop technologies and practices to reduce emissions from nitrogen fertilizer. Technological innovation will be key to ensuring that we do so in a manner that does not increase costs or decrease yields.
Clean ammonia can reduce fertilizer production emissions
Ammonia production is a major global industry that accounts for 2% of total energy consumption and 1.3% of CO2 emissions. It is produced by combining nitrogen from the air and hydrogen through the Haber-Bosch process. Approximately 70 percent of ammonia produced is used for agricultural fertilizers. The U.S. has cleaner ammonia production compared to its international counterparts, with American ammonia being approximately 24% less carbon intensive than the global average. The U.S. is also twice as efficient at producing ammonia as China, the largest producer and consumer of chemicals. As the global population increases and becomes more affluent, demand for fertilizer will increase, resulting in the need for more ammonia. The U.S. is primed to lead in clean ammonia production as demand rises. To maintain America’s competitive advantage, the U.S. needs to support the research and development (R&D) of innovations that reduce emissions during ammonia production, such as electrolysis, methane pyrolysis and carbon capture and storage. Supporting R&D efforts can make American ammonia more affordable, reliable and cleaner and encourage the deployment and commercialization of viable technologies to reach net-zero goals by 2050.
Innovations to reduce agricultural nitrous oxide emissions
Nitrous oxide, like carbon dioxide, is a gas in the atmosphere that accounts for around 6 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Nitrous oxide is also 300 times more effective at trapping heat than carbon dioxide. In agriculture, more than 70 percent of nitrous oxide comes from agricultural soil management. Nitrous oxide emissions result from natural microbial processes in the soil that convert nitrogen, an important nutrient for plants, to nitrous oxide. Multiple factors such as the amount of nitrogen in the soil, type and amount of fertilizer used, crop type and soil conditions (including type, pH, temperature and moisture level) can impact the amount of nitrous oxide emitted. As such, innovations to reduce nitrous oxide will differ based on location, crop type and nutrient management practices. Implementation of the 4R principles (right source, right rate, right time and right place) through the 4R Nutrient Stewardship Framework, developed by the fertilizer industry worldwide, is one way the agriculture sector is working to reduce emissions. Examples of innovations include enhanced efficiency fertilizers that control fertilizer release or prevent the biological process of nitrous oxide emissions, breeding and engineering crops with greater nitrogen use efficiencies and biostimulants (i.e., microbial fertilizers) that support plant growth and nutrient uptake.
U.S. agriculture is highly productive due to the historical adoption of innovations like enhanced seeds. Continued R&D that correlates reductions in nitrous oxide emissions with cutting-edge technologies could encourage more innovation deployment and more affordable implementation.
Policy Opportunities
Support for and utilization of policy levers can enhance fertilizer innovation in the U.S., further improving agricultural productivity and efficiency while reducing emissions from the agricultural sector.
Clean Ammonia Research, Development and Deployment — Support research and development of low-carbon ammonia production technologies to improve fertilizer affordability and reduce emissions. Encourage deploying viable technologies.
Nitrous Oxide Research and Development — Increase investments in research and development of innovations that reduce agricultural nitrous oxide emissions, such as through the support of targeted research programs like the Agriculture Advanced Research and Development Authority (AGARDA), more long-term, on-farm research trials and improvements to nitrous oxide measurements.
Fertilizer Innovation Demonstration and Deployment — Explore pathways to encourage deploying cutting-edge innovations for reducing nitrous oxide emissions, including through programs like the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resource Conservation Service’s Conservation Innovation Grants.
Coordination between Relevant Federal Agencies — Enhance the coordination and collaboration among existing and future agriculture innovation research, such as between the USDA, DOE, NASA and NSF, to leverage resources across the federal government and streamline the innovation pipeline from research to deployment.
Private Industry Bets on Nuclear Energy
Most people think about energy in terms of their own use at home: for heating, lighting, cooking, and more. But, in the United States, residential consumption only represents 16% of total energy use. Commercial and industrial activities use three times as much energy. Power-hungry activities like data center operations and high-tech manufacturing underpin modern technology and must be able to run reliably without interruption. Constant operation means a 24/7 power supply is critical. Industrial processes like steel manufacturing and chemical production, which build cities and help grow food, need large amounts of process heat that is difficult to electrify. Energy is used all around us for more than just keeping our lights on.
Private corporations across various industries aim to achieve this with an even smaller carbon footprint. In the tech sector, companies like Microsoft pledged to be carbon-negative, and Google aims to operate using 24/7 carbon-free power by 2030. Nucor, the largest U.S. steel producer, pledged net-zero production goals by 2050 to provide a fully clean steel product. Building upon these commitments, in March 2024, these companies announced that they are partnering to develop a business model that will allow them to procure clean electricity from new technologies such as new nuclear.
While companies seek reliable and clean energy, utilities are struggling to keep up with exploding demand growth. These pressures drive a new trend — private industry interest in new nuclear energy deployments to power data centers and steel manufacturing.
Sending an email, searching the web or reading this blog requires connecting to a massive cyberinfrastructure, requiring constant power to operate seamlessly. These energy-hungry data centers contain servers that power cloud computing, data storage and novel AI technologies. A single server rack can use as much power as five U.S. homes, and “hyperscale” data centers house thousands of these servers. Data processing is a significant market for the United States: Loudoun County, Virginia, has more data center capacity than all of China. In 2023, data centers represented 2.5% of total U.S. electrical consumption. Today, grid planners expect the demand for energy in data centers to increase 2.5 times, a stat that has grown quickly since the introduction of AI.
Data giants like Microsoft, Google, and Amazon are looking for new, clean, firm power sources, such as nuclear energy, to meet rising demand from data centers. In June 2023, Microsoft partnered with Constellation Energy to provide 35% of the power for a data center in Boydton, Virginia and invested in fusion startup Helion, intending to provide power by 2028. Similarly, Google has invested in fusion research company TAE since 2014, developing research reactors to power its data infrastructure. Amazon acquired a data center park adjacent to the Susquehanna Nuclear Power Plant.
The interest in powering with nuclear isn’t limited just to newer tech companies. More traditional manufacturing companies see promise in nuclear reactors to provide reliable energy and heat for industrial operations in a way other clean technologies do not. Nuclear, like gas or coal, produces electricity by generating heat to boil water. Industrial processes can also use this high-temperature heat, which doesn’t work with non-thermal sources like hydro, wind, or solar.
Figure 2 Nuclear Process Heat for Industrial Applications
Existing and advanced technologies can produce heat at temperatures appropriate for various industrial activities
Other traditional industrial manufacturers like Dow promised to reduce carbon emissions by 15% by 2030 and reach carbon-neutral by 2050. Dow and X-Energy, through the ARDP program, plan to build four small modular reactors (SMRs) by 2030 to provide high-temperature process heat and electricity to their Seadrift production site. The proof of concept supported by Dow's investment will provide reliable energy while reducing carbon emissions by 440,000 MT CO2e/year.
Steel production alone represents 8% of energy end-use demand and 7% of total energy emissions. Nucor has turned to nuclear power to augment its production methods. In a series of investments, Nucor contributed $15 million to bolster the NuScale SMR in 2022 and $35 million to Helion in 2023 to deploy a fusion reactor.
Companies with significant off-grid power needs, such as upstream oil and gas development, are exploring the potential of microreactors. These reactors are small compared to traditional reactors or even small modular reactors (SMRs), but could provide relatively large quantities of reliable power, competitive in off-grid applications. Several microreactor companies are currently working to deploy reactors for these purposes.
Nuclear energy can be a key player in driving rapid growth and decarbonization in the industrial and commercial sectors. Traditional reactors can already provide large quantities of reliable, clean electricity, while several advanced reactors can provide high-temperature process heat or act as mobile generators for off-grid use.
The bottom line is private companies across various sectors recognize the importance of 24/7 clean energy, and the potential role nuclear can play in decarbonizing the industrial and commercial sectors while meeting the challenge of rapid load growth. Traditionally, nuclear energy deployment has been top-down and utility-led, but today, power-hungry private industries may serve as the demand driver for new nuclear power. Targeted federal support will allow these private investments to flourish, ensuring America's competitiveness in the global marketplace.
