NETL’s Hydrogen and Clean Fuels Program supports research and development (R&D) in technologies that can deliver affordable hydrogen produced from coal with near-zero environmental emissions. These technologies use chemical processes to convert synthesis gas (syngas), derived from coal by gasification, to gaseous hydrogen or to other clean fuels that can carry hydrogen to fueling stations and other applications. The program supports the President’s Hydrogen Fuel Initiative, DOE’s goals in the Hydrogen Posture Plan, and DOE’s FutureGen project to produce electricity and clean fuels from coal with near-zero emissions. The use of coal – America’s most abundant domestic fossil energy resource – offers the potential for producing abundant, economically attractive hydrogen and other clean fuels to provide both increased energy security and reduction of carbon dioxide emissions. The National Research Council, in its 2004 report on The Hydrogen Economy, concluded that if energy security is the primary driver coal must be a significant component of the R&D effort of making large amounts of hydrogen.

The Program Mission is to develop advanced and novel energy technologies, through joint public and private R&D, which will facilitate the use of our nation’s abundant coal resources to produce, deliver, store, and utilize affordable hydrogen in an environmentally clean manner. The program will help reduce environmental concerns associated with energy use in automotive and stationary power applications through clean production of hydrogen from coal in tandem with carbon sequestration, and will ensure availability of hydrogen in sufficient volumes for fuel cell-powered vehicles expected to enter the transportation market sector in the future.

Other Hydrogen and Clean Fuels Program Activities include ongoing contacts and discussions with the public and industry concerning future activities. Although hydrogen has been produced and transported for many years primarily for use in refineries and related industries, the technology is undergoing rapid development in order to meet future needs as the nation and the world transition to an energy economy less dependent on petroleum resources.

Closely Aligned Organizations: The Hydrogen and Clean Fuels Program works closely with DOE’s Coal Gasification Program and other activities in the DOE Hydrogen Program, as well as other DOE programs, other national laboratories, and private organizations to coordinate with other R&D efforts and ensure that technology development is conducted efficiently and with minimum cost to the taxpayers.