Notice of Intent to Issue Funding Opportunity Announcement No. DE-FOA-0002779 - Bipartisan Infrastructure Law: Additional Clean Hydrogen Programs (Section 40314): Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs | DE FOA 0002768

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0002768

This Notice of Intent describes the Department of Energy's plan to release a major funding opportunity focused on creating "Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs" (often shortened to H2Hubs). The effort is led by DOE's Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) in collaboration with DOE's Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO) within the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), along with the broader DOE Hydrogen Program. In practical terms, DOE is signaling that it wants to fund large, place-based hydrogen projects that bring together hydrogen production, nearby users, and the infrastructure that connects them, rather than isolated pilot projects.

The planned FOA is tied to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). The legal basis is Section 40314 of the BIL, which amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 by adding a new section specifically for Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs (Section 813). Under that definition, a regional clean hydrogen hub is a network of clean hydrogen producers, potential clean hydrogen consumers, and connective infrastructure located in close proximity. The emphasis on "network" and "close proximity" matters because DOE is trying to accelerate real market formation: making sure hydrogen can be produced at scale, moved and stored safely, and actually consumed by industrial, power, or transportation users in the same region.

Funding for this program is substantial. The BIL authorizes and appropriates $8.0 billion over fiscal years 2022 through 2026 to support the development of at least four hubs. The hubs DOE intends to support are expected to do three big things: first, help achieve a clean hydrogen production standard developed under Section 822(a) of EPAct 2005; second, demonstrate the full value chain, including production, processing, delivery, storage, and end use of clean hydrogen; and third, be designed in a way that they can eventually connect into a broader national clean hydrogen network. In other words, the hubs are meant to be scalable, replicable building blocks for a nationwide hydrogen economy, not one-off demonstrations that stop at proof-of-concept.

The Notice also makes clear that DOE plans to bake equity and community-centered requirements into the competition. The FOA is expected to include energy and environmental justice considerations, labor and community engagement expectations, consent-based siting approaches, commitments to quality jobs, and inclusive workforce development. These elements are presented as integral to meeting broader federal decarbonization goals: reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions 50 to 52 percent below 2005 levels by 2030, reaching a carbon-pollution-free power sector by 2035, and achieving net-zero economy-wide emissions by 2050. DOE is positioning the hydrogen hubs as a key delivery mechanism for those targets, especially in harder-to-decarbonize sectors where hydrogen could play a role.

From an applicant standpoint, the opportunity is structured as a discretionary funding program using cooperative agreements, which typically means DOE expects substantial involvement during the project (for example, milestones, federal oversight, and collaboration requirements beyond a simple grant). The funding activity category is Energy, and it is associated with CFDA 81.087. Eligibility is listed as unrestricted, meaning DOE intends it to be broadly open to many entity types (industry, utilities, developers, state and local entities, tribes, nonprofits, universities, and others), subject to any additional eligibility rules that would appear in the full FOA.

The administrative details in the notice indicate the agency is the Department of Energy, Golden Field Office. The notice record shows a creation date of June 6, 2022, with OCED anticipating an FOA release around September/October 2022. The original closing date listed is March 10, 2023, suggesting a long application window consistent with the complexity of multi-partner, infrastructure-heavy hub proposals. The notice data also references an expected number of awards (10), which implies DOE may select more than the minimum four hubs required by statute, potentially spanning multiple regions and hydrogen pathways.

Overall, this planned funding opportunity is about jumpstarting regional hydrogen ecosystems that prove out end-to-end clean hydrogen supply chains at meaningful scale, while also meeting federal expectations around community benefits, job quality, and environmental justice. The hubs are framed as early anchors for a future national hydrogen network and as a central component of the National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap required by the BIL, helping translate long-term climate and industrial policy goals into on-the-ground infrastructure and market adoption.

• The Department of Energy, Golden Field Office in the energy sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Notice of Intent to Issue Funding Opportunity Announcement No. DE-FOA-0002779 - Bipartisan Infrastructure Law: Additional Clean Hydrogen Programs (Section 40314): Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.087.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jun 06, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Mar 10, 2023. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $2.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 10 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

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