The consortium responsible for designing and implementing clean hydrogen demand-side initiatives in the U.S. is expected to soon unveil the design of the program.
H2DI, consisting of EFI Foundation, S&P Global, and Intercontinental Exchange, is nearing the end of the design phase for roughly $1bn in subsidies aimed at unlocking the early commercial viability of the Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs.
An upcoming public announcement about the design will coincide with the launch of the implementation phase “in the coming months,” a spokesperson for H2DI said in an email, declining to comment further on the plans.
The DOE first announced the initiative in July, 2023 and later brought on outside groups to assist in the design phase.
“Ultimately, the demand-side initiative will support the growth and sustainability of the H2Hubs program by providing improved offtake certainty to help hydrogen producers attract private sector investment and end-use buyers,” the DOE said in January. “It will also lay the foundation for broader private sector scale-up and use of the clean hydrogen market by providing price transparency and standardized contracts for the projects it supports.”
The January announcement noted the consortium would work with the DOE and the H2Hubs “over the next six to nine months.”
Demand-side incentives have become a central talking point for the slow-moving hydrogen takeoff. Germany has led the EU’s efforts at implementing contracts for difference through Hintco Gmbh. Over the summer, Hintco signed a deal to import green ammonia from a Fertiglobe project in Egypt.
Hintco will then turn around and sell the ammonia at a lower price to industrial users, with the German taxpayer covering the difference.
Japan has also announced it would structure a contracts-for-difference scheme, though final details are still pending.
