US new $100M climate fund include hydrogen
The US government has launched a new raft of initiatives to fight climate change and support the job market, including developing the hydrogen economy. The White House announced on 11th February that it is establishing a new research working group with the US Department of Energy (DoE) providing $100 million funding to support transformational low-carbon energy technologies.
One part of the plan is to establish a new Climate Innovation Working Group as part of the National Climate Task Force to advance Mr Biden commitment to launching an Advanced Research Projects Agency-Climate (ARPA-C). The group will support the government efforts to achieve the US’s goal of net-zero emissions by 2050. It is inviting proposals for funding to support early-stage research into potentially disruptive energy technologies.
Gina McCarthy, President Biden’s National Climate Advisor, said, “We are tapping into the imagination, talent, and grit of America’s innovators, scientists, and workers to spearhead a national effort that empowers the United States to lead the world in tackling the climate crisis.”
Tarak Shah, DOE Chief of Staff, said, “Today we are inviting scientists, inventors, entrepreneurs and creative thinkers across America to join us in developing the clean energy technologies we need to tackle the climate crisis and build a new more equitable clean energy economy.”
Kei Koizumi, Acting Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, said, “We look forward to engaging with scientists, engineers, students, and innovators all across America to build a future in which not only jobs and economic benefits.”
Aims of Climate Innovation Working Group agenda:
- Zero net carbon buildings at zero net cost, including carbon-neutral construction materials
- Energy storage at one-tenth the cost of today’s alternatives
- Advanced energy system management tools to plan for and operate a grid powered by zero-carbon power plants
- Very low-cost zero-carbon on-road vehicles and transit systems
- New, sustainable fuels for aircraft and ships, as well as improvements in broader aircraft and ship efficiency and transportation management
- Affordable refrigeration, air conditioning, and heat pumps made without refrigerants that warm the planet.
- Carbon-free heat and industrial processes that capture emissions for making steel, concrete, chemicals, and other important industrial products.
- Carbon-free hydrogen at a lower cost than hydrogen made from polluting alternatives
- Innovative soil management, plant biologies, and agricultural techniques to remove carbon dioxide from the air and store it in the ground
- Direct air capture systems and retrofits to existing industrial and power plant exhaust to capture carbon dioxide and use it to make alternative products or permanently sequester it deep underground
