DON Hydrogen Technical Planning Team Kicks Off

By Bill Muras, Faculty Associate-Research, Energy Academic Group

Researchers from the Energy Academic Group are supporting the DASN Operational Energy Office in the organization and management of a Department of Navy (DON) Hydrogen Technical Planning Team (TPT), which officially kicked off in early July.

Contested operating environments and more distributed operational concepts present challenges to DON sustainment capabilities. Navy and Marine Corps installations face energy security challenges due to aging infrastructure, increasing threats from malicious activities, and extreme weather events exacerbated by climate change. Hydrogen is an energy solution with the potential to address both operational and installation energy challenges.     

In recent years, government and commercial investment in hydrogen technologies, domestically and across the globe, have increased significantly. The Department of the Navy has substantial efforts in hydrogen targeted at addressing expeditionary energy supply and contested logistics challenges, installation resilience, and energy security. In addition, the Department of Energy (DOE) has invested significant resources in maturing and driving down the costs of hydrogen technologies across the hydrogen value chain, to include publishing the U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap, and launching the Hydrogen Earthshot Initiative, the Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs Program, and the Hydrogen Interagency Taskforce (HIT). Appropriately leveraging these activities and investments will help the DON to increase the resilience of naval operating systems and improve the energy security posture of naval installations.     

EAG is helping to undertake a holistic and systematic review of DON hydrogen activities, in order to 1) assess the role hydrogen can play in addressing Navy requirements; 2) align hydrogen activities across the DON where practical; 3) leverage a whole-of-government approach for the current investment portfolio; and 4) inform analyses and investments required to develop and integrate hydrogen technologies to address DON requirements.     

Expected products from this effort include a preliminary DON Hydrogen Roadmap, technology and capability evolution plans, and proposed demonstration plans with the goal to support rapid development, deployment and testing of hydrogen technologies for potential fleet acquisition.

LEARN MORE

Find the DOE Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap at https://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/library/roadmaps-vision/clean-hydrogen-strategy-roadmap/

Find information on the DOE HIT at https://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/interagency

EAG Contact: Bill Muras at
william.muras@nps.edu