Briefing Series: Scaling Up Innovation to Drive Down Emissions

Find out more about the briefings in this series below:

Green hydrogen—hydrogen produced using renewable energy—will likely be necessary for decarbonizing hard-to-abate sectors like steel production and providing a low- and no-emissions alternative to the existing carbon-intensive hydrogen industry. The problem? Green hydrogen currently makes up less than one percent of U.S. hydrogen production and is far more expensive than fossil fuel-based hydrogen. Panelists will discuss opportunities and considerations for ramping up green hydrogen, including the role of federal policy.

Key Takeaways

• In June 2021, the Department of Energy (DOE) launched the Energy Earthshots initiative with hydrogen as a top priority. The Hydrogen Shot goal is to reduce the price of clean hydrogen by 80 percent to $1 per kilogram (kg) by 2031. Hydrogen currently costs about $1.50/kg when derived from natural gas, but over $5/kg when made via electrolysis (the use of electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen) using renewable energy.
• A preliminary modeling analysis by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) examines how the United States can achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Hydrogen growth in this model is dramatic and begins to take off in the 2030s, primarily in hard-to-electrify sectors. Leading up to this deployment, the United States should focus on laying a solid foundation through policy.
• Heavy industry and transport sectors such as steelmaking, metals production, maritime shipping, heavy-duty vehicles, and, in the longer term, aviation will require hydrogen to decarbonize. From these areas alone, four to six percent of U.S. emissions can be addressed with clean hydrogen.
• Hydrogen from Next-generation Electrolyzers of Water (H2NEW) is a consortium of nine national labs and three universities working to advance hydrogen-making via electrolysis. Electrolysis has the most competitive economics in the long term and allows for a balance of renewable energy generation and demand in ways that other hydrogen generation methods do not.

This briefing is on direct air capture, which chemically removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The captured carbon can be permanently stored underground or used in industrial processes. While climate change mitigation efforts are the priority, carbon dioxide removal will be necessary to help meet climate goals and limit global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) as outlined in the Paris Agreement. The scale of carbon removal needed will depend on how fast the world curbs greenhouse gas emissions.

Key Takeaways

• Estimates range on how much carbon removal is necessary to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius, but in general the goal is to capture about 10 gigatons of carbon dioxide per year through both land- and technology-based carbon removal solutions, which is about a quarter of total global annual emissions today. Technologies need to be developed now, so they will be ready to be fully deployed in the 2030s and onward.
• Responsible scaling up of direct air capture, as described in the World Resources Institute’s report, Direct Air Capture: Assessing Impacts to Enable Responsible Scaling, includes understanding the impacts of building and operating plants on the environment and people, considerations for community engagement, and planning direct air capture to be scaled up in an equitable and sustainable way.
• From an engineering perspective, scaling up direct air capture needs four key things: using front-end engineering and design (FEED) study results to drive research and development funding; building pilot-scale systems to accelerate learning and drive down costs; adopting a set of standards for technoeconomic analysis of direct air capture; and standardizing the scale-up pathway.
• The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act included $3.5 billion for direct air capture hubs and investments in the Environmental Protection Agency’s Class VI well program to fund geologic sequestration paired with direct air capture.
• The Department of Energy’s Carbon Negative Shot initiative, which is part of a series of Energy Earthshots, is designed to increase federal funding for carbon removal technologies. Its goals are to scale up from thousands of tons of removal now to millions of tons of removal over the next five to ten years; reduce the cost curve to achieve a cost of $100 per net metric ton of carbon dioxide removed; and develop and standardize monitoring, reporting, and verification of durable carbon dioxide removal.

This briefing is on building out electric vehicle charging infrastructure. Electric vehicles are crucial for decarbonizing the U.S. transportation sector, which accounts for 29 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions—more than any other sector. While electric vehicles have gained traction in recent years, insufficient charging infrastructure is a significant barrier to widespread adoption. The $7.5 billion allocated to charging infrastructure in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and existing programs like the Rural Energy Savings Program present a significant opportunity to deploy widespread and equitable electric vehicle charging infrastructure. 

How can charging infrastructure be rapidly expanded? What are the considerations for ensuring that charging infrastructure is accessible, equitable, and efficient? How can innovation improve charging infrastructure? Panelists will discuss these questions and the policy solutions that can help scale up electric vehicle charging infrastructure to drive down emissions. 

Key Takeaways

• The new joint office of the Department of Energy and Department of Transportation (DOT) provides technical assistance on electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure to state governments.
• DOT released a rural EV toolkit, Charging Forward: A Toolkit for Planning and Funding Rural Electric Mobility Infrastructure, which includes information on EV supply equipment programs.
• It is necessary to change the vehicle fueling paradigm. For internal combustion engines, fueling must happen at a gas station. For EVs, there is a lot more flexibility. Charging will mostly happen at people’s homes, and a lot of charging will also happen at work, stores, restaurants, and other commercial locations. Charging at stations along the road is really only needed for road trips because, on average, people drive less than 100 miles per day, and many of the EVs coming out today have a range of over 200 miles.
• Over $500 billion is being invested into electric vehicles that rely on current EV charging infrastructure. This infrastructure has to be maintained. EV charging infrastructure maintenance does not require a brand-new workforce. Many skills are transferable, so it is important to provide cross-training and up-training for people with existing related skill sets.
• The San Isabel Electric Association, a rural electric co-op in southern Colorado, received $5 million in zero-percent-interest funding through the Rural Energy Savings Program (RESP), which it uses to offer low-interest, on-bill financing to its members to cover the cost of EV charging installation and electric upgrades often needed when installing an at-home level-two charger.

This briefing is on offshore wind energy. In March 2021, the Biden-Harris Administration announced an interagency goal of deploying 30,000 megawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030—an extraordinary increase from the 42 megawatts of offshore wind currently operating in the United States. Meeting this goal will require a rapid and historical deployment of offshore wind energy that has the potential to create tens of thousands of jobs, spur the economy, and provide renewable energy to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 

During this briefing, panelists discussed opportunities, challenges, and considerations for scaling up offshore wind energy in the United States, as well as the policies that could support such a ramp-up.

Key Takeaways

• The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has held 10 lease sales to date with 27 issued leases for offshore wind projects. Two construction operations plans were approved, and 10 others are under review. The Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project was the first offshore wind project in federal waters and has been operating since 2020. The entire leasing process for an offshore wind project, from early identification to installation, takes about a decade.
• The Biden-Harris Administration's “Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad” (Executive Order 14008) initiated a goal of doubling offshore wind deployment by 2030. This was followed by a specific commitment to reach 30 gigawatts of offshore wind deployed by 2030. Assuming offshore wind turbines produce four gigawatts per acre, a goal of 30 gigawatts would require most, if not all, the leasing BOEM has initiated to be installed.
• Supporting offshore wind projects involves supporting the projects themselves, along with electricity transmission from the projects to residents on the mainland.
• As the offshore wind industry continues to expand, U.S. projects must be able to rely on domestic supply chains to support the industry. The supply chain for offshore wind includes industries, companies, and workers in 46 out of 50 states and represents both coasts.
• Addressing port issues is key to the industry’s success. Offshore wind suppliers require ports with high load bearing capacity, as a single piece of a typical turbine off the East Coast can weigh almost 2,500 metric tons. Ports also need ample dockside space for boats to pull up next to manufacturing locations.
• Floating offshore wind energy technology will be important for the United States. Because of the geography of the sea floor, 60 percent of potential wind resources within 50 miles of U.S. coasts will require floating wind turbines. In the Northeast, there are 156 potential gigawatts of floating wind energy to harness. Along the West Coast, the only real offshore wind potential is in floating wind technology. There is a global investment pipeline for about 121 gigawatts of floating wind energy, or about half a trillion dollars’ worth of investment.

This briefing is on how startup accelerators can transform innovative ideas into deployable, scalable climate change solutions. Ramping up green hydrogen, direct air capture, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and offshore wind energy can help mitigate climate change, as explored during EESI’s briefing series, Scaling Up Innovation to Drive Down Emissions. But how do we quickly and efficiently scale up these and other innovative climate solutions?

During this briefing, panelists discussed how accelerators help commercialize early-stage technologies that have the potential to transform the fight against climate change, and steps Congress can take to bolster U.S. private sector momentum to deploy cutting-edge climate solutions in the United States.

Key Takeaways

• Researchers know their technology best and understand its surrounding ecosystem, so they are uniquely suited for commercializing it.
• The federal government supports innovation and entrepreneurship through investments made by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Department of Energy (DOE). One example of a new early-stage innovation program is NSF’s Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships Directorate.
• NSF’s Innovation Corps provides opportunities for scientists to learn about business plans and market research.
• Existing federal programs that support small businesses, such as the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer grant programs, require continued Congressional funding.