Promoting hydrogen use

DOE Guarantees $500M Loan to Help Build Hydrogen Storage Facility in Utah

The Department of Energy announced that it closed on a $504.4 million loan guarantee to help finance the construction of the largest clean hydrogen storage facility in the world. Benefiting from the loan guarantee is the Advanced Clean Energy Storage project in Utah, which, when completed, will be capable of providing long-term, low-cost, seasonal energy storage to further ensure grid stability, the DOE said Wednesday.

In a statement, Energy Sec. Jennifer Granholm said her office has made it a priority to leverage the potential of its Loan Programs Office to fund emerging technologies that will deploy clean and reliable energy to Americans. She added that accelerating the commercial deployment of clean hydrogen as a zero-emission, long-term energy storage solution is the first step to decarbonizing the economy while simultaneously creating good-paying clean energy jobs.

Granholm added that the project is expected to create up to 400 construction and 25 operations jobs and advance the Biden administration’s climate goals. She stressed that to meet the incumbent administration’s objectives for a clean grid by 2035 and reach net-zero emissions economy-wide by 2050, various long-duration energy storage technologies will play a critical role.

For his part, Sen. Mitt Romney said that building the hydrogen storage facility is not only a win for Utah’s Millard County but is also an important step toward developing new energy technologies.

In December 2021, President Joe Biden signed an executive order intended to reduce emissions across federal operations, invest in American clean energy industries and manufacturing, and create clean, healthy, and resilient communities. The move demonstrates how the United States intends to leverage its scale and procurement power to lead by example in tackling the climate crisis, according to a White House statement.