GHG Emissions, Commercial, Sourcing Renewables  -  January 27, 2025

NYSERDA Funds Clean Hydrogen Research and Projects

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) announced that over $1.2 million was awarded to four innovative clean hydrogen research and development (R&D) projects through the Advanced Fuels and Thermal Energy Research Program. 

These projects will demonstrate new designs for clean hydrogen electrolyzers, devices that split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen and have the potential to lower costs, mitigate supply chain risks and reduce reliance on fossil fuels in hard-to-electrify sectors such as industrial operations or transportation.

“NYSERDA is proud to support these federally supported clean hydrogen projects that show promise in advancing technology that can ensure reliability in bringing clean energy to the grid,” said NYSERDA President and CEO Doreen M. Harris in a statement. “At the same time, clean hydrogen has the potential to be a game-changer for reducing emissions and pollution from energy intensive industrial processes and transportation.”

The projects were selected by NYSERDA through its Advanced Fuels and Thermal Energy Research Program, which over the years has supported clean fuel innovation projects to decarbonize industrial process heat, integrate clean fuel production with renewable energy, and demonstrate clean fuel power generation systems to support the grid. 

The contracts that received the awards allow New York State companies to leverage a total of $18.3 million in federal funding that was announced by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in March 2024 for selected projects to reduce the cost of clean hydrogen systems. NYSERDA is providing funding to the four projects to meet the cost share requirements of the  DOE awards.

The awarded projects include:

• Bettergy Corp., Peekskill, N.Y. awarded $167,000 to produce a more durable membrane that can be used to improve the performance and durability of anion exchange electrolyzer systems and to optimize the membrane's preparation processes to enable scale up
• Ecolectro, Inc., Ithaca, N.Y. awarded $720,000 to develop membranes for electrolyzers using polymers that have rigid backbones, high thermal properties, and mechanical strength to improve the performance and durability of anion exchange membrane electrolyzer systems
• Orion Polymer Corp., Cohoes, N.Y. awarded $200,000 to explore the development of highly conductive, chemically stable, and mechanically durable solid membranes to improve the performance and durability of anion exchange membrane electrolyzer systems
• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, N.Y. awarded $187,000 to develop novel low-fluorine polymer membranes which can help lower the costs and reduce the safety risks associated with hydrogen crossover in polymer exchange membrane electrolyzer systems

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