On March 21, 2023, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced the launch of its Pathways to Commercial Liftoff, a series of reports charting pathways to commercialize long-duration storage[1], advanced nuclear reactors, and clean hydrogen.[2] The reports are designed to help the private sector and other stakeholders make decisions about emerging technologies that are needed to slash greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector. Each report highlights possible solutions to the challenges facing the technologies and routes to commercialization. Additional reports are expected in the coming months.
The reports concluded that by 2030, cumulative investments must increase from approximately $40 billion to $300 billion across the hydrogen, nuclear, and long-duration energy storage sectors. In the clean hydrogen report, the DOE found that production for U.S. demand could grow from about 1 million metric tons a year to about 10 MMT/year in 2030. However, despite increased investor engagement and project announcements, the DOE report states that infrastructure buildout, demand uncertainty, workforce development, and other challenges to at-scale adoption need to be addressed for clean hydrogen to realize its full potential.
In the long-duration storage report, the DOE found that the U.S. grid may need 225 GW to 460 GW of long-duration storage to support power markets for a net zero economy by 2060, representing $330 billion in capital spending. To reach commercial viability, technological progress, cost reductions, and an increase in public and private investment must be achieved. For advanced nuclear reactors, the DOE found that U.S. nuclear capacity could triple by 2050 from about 100 GW today. The report identified several obstacles, including increasing deployment of mature technologies and building efficient and timely delivery models.
[1] The DOE defines long-duration storage as resources that can provide continuous energy for 10 hours to about 160 hours.
[2] https://www.energy.gov/articles/doe-releases-new-reports-pathways-commercial-liftoff-accelerate-clean-energy-technologies