The Chemours Company reported that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, selected two of its applications for grants totaling $60 million.
The grants will be used by Chemours and its partners to advance technology to support next-generation membranes for proton exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolysis, advance a domestic hydrogen economy supply chain, and establish a new recovery and recycling Consortium dedicated to enabling the circularity of PEM electrolyzers and fuel cells.
These selections validate Chemours’ leadership and expertise as a responsible manufacturer of high-quality, durable ionomers and membranes, according to a company statement.
Newark-based W.L. Gore & Associates will receive $4.8 million for durable ultra-thin diaphragms for liquid alkaline water electrolysis. The research will take place at a Gore site in the Elkton, MD area, the Energy Department reported.
Gore has pioneered fuel cell membrane technology and has worked with automotive manufacturers.
Chemours is the lead recipient on a project entitled “Durable, High-Performance Membranes for Proton Exchange Membrane Water Electrolysis.” The company will leverage its technical expertise to develop a low-resistance Nafion membrane that demonstrates high durability in a PEM electrolyzer stack.
The project’s goals include creating products that can be manufactured cost-effectively at scale, a significant challenge the hydrogen industry faces. Chemours was also named a project partner in H2CIRC, a new consortium operating out of Pennsylvania.
“Chemours is committed to using the power of its chemistry to advance the clean energy transition and hydrogen economy. Selection by the U.S. Department of Energy for these grants furthers our leading role and builds on the public, private, and academic partnerships whose collaborative efforts support the global adoption of hydrogen as a clean energy source,” said Stefanie Kopchick, Hydrogen Business venture leader at Chemours. “Our Nafion ion exchange membranes play a critical role in driving the hydrogen economy and helping to create a more sustainable future, and these funds will help to accelerate their further development as well as taking a proactive approach to building an infrastructure supporting circularity of fuel cells and electrolyzers.”
The grants announced by the DOE under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law are part of $750 million in funding for projects to advance hydrogen technologies and improve manufacturing and recycling capabilities for clean hydrogen systems and components. The funding directly supports the national clean hydrogen strategy outlined in the U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap , which emphasizes cost reduction, manufacturing, supply chains, and domestic jobs.
One of the hubs, MACH2, is based in Delaware and will work on using hydrogen to reduce carbon emissions in industrial sites, which have massive power needs. Some in the environmental community oppose the use of hydrogen in a transition from fossil fuels.
Further information is available at the the DOE’s Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology Office.
