Outreach and Education

To Our Stakeholders
Energy is at the nexus of the most pressing challenges of our time—from climate change to threats to energy security and economic resilience and the ongoing need to reduce pollution in our air, waterways, and ecosystems. Thanks to coordinated efforts across government, industry, and civil society, the energy sector has gone a long way toward transitioning to more sustainable technologies and practices. This is especially true with clean hydrogen, which has emerged as an essential tool for addressing challenges across multiple sectors of our
economy and has seen accelerating growth and progress in recent years.

Clean hydrogen is part of a comprehensive portfolio of solutions to achieve net-zero-carbon emissions by 2050, as well as create American jobs, energy security, and technology leadership. It has a particularly important role to play in addressing the hardest-to-decarbonize sectors of our economy, while providing cleaner air and economic opportunities for communities across America. It can also support the expansion of low- or zero-carbon electricity by providing a means for long-duration energy storage and offering improved flexibility and revenue for all types of clean power generation—including renewable and nuclear power. Clean hydrogen provides an opportunity to leverage all our nation’s energy resources in the transition to a net-zero and sustainable future, including renewables, nuclear power, or fossil and other carbon-based feedstocks (with carbon capture).

Realizing the full potential of clean hydrogen, however, will take a continued commitment to research, development, demonstration, and deployment (RDD&D). While the growth in large-scale deployment projects— such as the Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs and other industry investments—are essential to achieve scale, grow the supply chain, and reduce costs, their ultimate success will rely in large part on continued advances achieved through coordinated RDD&D efforts. Advancing a coordinated strategy for RDD&D is particularly important—and challenging—for clean hydrogen because it involves virtually every sector of the economy and it can be produced, stored, delivered, and used in such a large number of ways. A successful strategy will need to integrate efforts in renewable, nuclear, and fossil energy—and coordinate across end uses in multiple sectors of the economy.

To meet this challenge, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has developed a Hydrogen Program Plan. This plan provides a strategic framework that incorporates RDD&D efforts of the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management, Office of Nuclear Energy, Office of Electricity, Office of Science, Loan Programs Office, Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains, Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, and the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy to advance the production, transport, storage, and use of hydrogen across different sectors of the economy.

In 2023, several Federal agencies developed the U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap, a comprehensive, nationwide framework for accelerating the production, processing, delivery, storage, and use of clean hydrogen. This 2024 update to the Hydrogen Program Plan explains how DOE offices collaboratively work to implement the strategies outlined in the U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap. This 2024 revision also includes updated supporting data and analysis, a description of the historic Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs, information about the ambitious DOE-wide goals known as the Hydrogen Shot™, and examples of DOE-wide efforts to establish a strong workforce and environmentally just practices in the transition to a hydrogen economy.

This comprehensive document represents DOE’s commitment to develop the technologies that can enable a hydrogen transition in the United States. It also underscores the importance of collaboration both within DOE and with our stakeholders in industry, academia, and the states to achieve that goal.

We hope you will find the Hydrogen Program Plan valuable and constructive, and we look forward to working with you to unlock and expand the remarkable potential and benefits of hydrogen.

Jennifer M. Granholm
Secretary of Energy

Over the past decade, the State of California has supported the development of retail hydrogen refueling stations for light-duty (LD) fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) using grant funding, low carbon fuel standard (LCFS) credits, and direct assistance with station testing to incentivize private investments in the fueling network. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) utilizes a mobile test device, called the Hydrogen Station Equipment Performance (HyStEP) device, to test new light-duty hydrogen refueling stations before they are opened for public use. Testing is based on the CSA Group/ANSI Hydrogen Gas Vehicles (HGV 4.3), which evaluates station conformance to SAE J2601, the industry standard hydrogen fueling protocols.

The objective of this study was to assess in-use conformance of California’s existing light-duty hydrogen refueling stations with SAE J2601. SAE J2601 is the industry standard light-duty FCEV fueling protocol in the United States. The existing station population ranges in operating age from about 10 years since opening to recently opened. This study assesses conformance as a function of operational age. A representative sample of stations were tested using the testing device and an abbreviated version of the HGV 4.3 test method. HGV 4.3 is the test method used to verify stations conformance with SAE J2601 requirements.

Hydrogen Fueling Infrastructure | California Air Resources Board

Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Infrastructure Topics | California Air Resources Board

The Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE) is pleased to announce the release of the Zero-Emission Bus Transition Planning Guidebook authored by CTE Senior Managing Consultant, Niki Rinaldi El-Abd, with funding provided by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the National Transit Institute (NTI). This first-of-its-kind transition planning guidebook is designed to equip public transit agencies and the engineering firms across the country that support them with the knowledge and tools necessary to plan and implement a successful transition to a zero-emission bus fleet.

Public transit agencies are increasingly recognizing the environmental and economic benefits of zero-emission bus technologies. However, transitioning to a zero-emission bus (ZEB) fleet requires careful planning to avoid the common pitfalls associated with ZEB deployments. The Zero-Emission Bus Transition Planning Guidebook provides a step-by-step approach to guide public transit agencies through the entire transition process. Key features of the guidebook include:

• Strategies for addressing range limitations and ensuring sufficient fueling infrastructure

• Guidance on developing a staff training plan to support the ZEB fleet

• A framework for creating a funding plan to leverage available financial resources

• A methodology for assessing technology options, developing procurement strategies, and estimating costs

This guidebook recognizes the broader scope of ZEB transition planning, beyond just deployment best practices. Unlike a single ZEB deployment, ZEB Transition Planning establishes a roadmap for future advancements and is an ongoing process that may span a decade or more, influenced by local, state, and federal regulations, funding availability, and specific vehicle replacement schedules. While initially designed for transit agency personnel, this guidebook is a valuable resource for any fleet operator aiming to transition to zero-emission technologies as well for any service provider wishing to aid operators in this important transition.

“This Guidebook is intended to act as a reference for any fleet operator interested in creating a strategy for transitioning their fleet to zero-emission technologies,” said Niki Rinaldi El-Abd, Senior Managing Consultant at CTE. “It walks readers through the entire process of developing their ZEB Transition Plan and empowers them to take on the often-daunting task of developing a strategy to overcome range restrictions, optimize operational considerations, and understand the costs associated with transitioning their fleet.”

The guidebook is based on CTE’s lessons learned from completed transition plans, CTE’s in-house expertise, and the expertise of industry stakeholders. Since its founding in 1993, CTE has managed a portfolio of more than $3.8 billion in team research, development, and demonstration projects funded by a variety of federal, state, and local organizations including the U.S. Departments of Transportation, Energy, Defense, and Interior, as well as the California Air Resources Board and the California Energy Commission. CTE has assisted more than 250 operators that have deployed, or will soon deploy, more than 1,400 zero-emission vehicles. CTE has also managed or participated in almost 80 transition planning projects across the country.

“This guidebook is a culmination of CTE’s extensive experience in supporting the transition to zero-emission buses,” said Dan Raudebaugh, Executive Director of CTE. “We are confident that this resource will be a valuable tool for public transit agencies and industry service providers as they work to transition to cleaner, more sustainable fleets.”

The guidebook is available for free download at cte.tv/post/zero-emission-bus-transition-planning-guidebook→

Executive Summary
The use of hydrogen and fuel-cell technology in California’s transportation sector will be crucial to achieve the zero-emission transportation goals of the State of California, along with federal goals to reduce transportation emissions.1 The following summary outlines top findings by the ARCHES Transportation Working Group, identifying the opportunities and challenges related to achieving a mature hydrogen transportation market in California with a primary focus on the medium- and heavy-duty fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) market.