§ 16161b — National Clean Hydrogen Strategy And Roadmap

(1) In carrying out the programs established under sections 16154 and 16161a of this title, the Secretary, in consultation with the heads of relevant offices of the Department, shall develop a technologically and economically feasible national strategy and roadmap to facilitate widescale production, processing, delivery, storage, and use of clean hydrogen. (2) The national clean hydrogen strategy and roadmap developed under paragraph (1) shall focus on— (A) establishing a standard of hydrogen production that achieves the standard developed under section 16166(a) of this title, including interim goals towards meeting that standard; (i) clean hydrogen production and use from natural gas, coal, renewable energy sources, nuclear energy, and biomass; and (ii) identifying potential barriers, pathways, and opportunities, including Federal policy needs, to transition to a clean hydrogen economy; (C) identifying— (i) economic opportunities for the production, processing, transport, storage, and use of clean hydrogen that exist in the major shale natural gas-producing regions of the United States; (ii) economic opportunities for the production, processing, transport, storage, and use of clean hydrogen that exist for merchant nuclear power plants operating in deregulated markets; and (iii) environmental risks associated with potential deployment of clean hydrogen technologies in those regions, and ways to mitigate those risks; (D) approaches, including substrategies, that reflect geographic diversity across the country, to advance clean hydrogen based on resources, industry sectors, environmental benefits, and economic impacts in regional economies; (E) identifying opportunities to use, and barriers to using, existing infrastructure, including all components of the natural gas infrastructure system, the carbon dioxide pipeline infrastructure system, end-use local distribution networks, end-use power generators, LNG terminals, industrial users of natural gas, and residential and commercial consumers of natural gas, for clean hydrogen deployment; (F) identifying the needs for and barriers and pathways to developing clean hydrogen hubs (including, where appropriate, clean hydrogen hubs coupled with carbon capture, utilization, and storage hubs) that— (i) are regionally dispersed across the United States and can leverage natural gas to the maximum extent practicable; (ii) can demonstrate the efficient production, processing, delivery, and use of clean hydrogen; (iii) include transportation corridors and modes of transportation, including transportation of clean hydrogen by pipeline and rail and through ports; and (iv) where appropriate, could serve as joint clean hydrogen and carbon capture, utilization, and storage hubs; (G) prioritizing activities that improve the ability of the Department to develop tools to model, analyze, and optimize single-input, multiple-output integrated hybrid energy systems and multiple-input, multiple-output integrated hybrid energy systems that maximize efficiency in providing hydrogen, high-value heat, electricity, and chemical synthesis services; (H) identifying the appropriate points of interaction between and among Federal agencies involved in the production, processing, delivery, storage, and use of clean hydrogen and clarifying the responsibilities of those Federal agencies, and potential regulatory obstacles and recommendations for modifications, in order to support the deployment of clean hydrogen; and (I) identifying geographic zones or regions in which clean hydrogen technologies could efficiently and economically be introduced in order to transition existing infrastructure to rely on clean hydrogen, in support of decarbonizing all relevant sectors of the economy. (1) Not later than 180 days after November 15, 2021, the Secretary shall submit to Congress the clean hydrogen strategy and roadmap developed under subsection (a). (2) The Secretary shall submit to Congress updates to the clean hydrogen strategy and roadmap under paragraph (1) not less frequently than once every 3 years after the date on which the Secretary initially submits the report and roadmap.