March 31, 2026

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) hydrogen and fuel cell research and development (R&D) footprint extends across a range of Program Offices, the National Laboratories, academia, and public-private partnerships and consortia.  Through changing administrations and market push/pull have altered the energy landscape, DOE’s core focus on cost reduction, systems integration, durability improvements, safety, codes, and standards, materials and components, and technology validation, have been integral in overall hydrogen and fuel cell industry advancement across multiple sectors.  Projects and partnerships supported by DOE, with cost-share from the private sector, have provided a strong return on investment,

The Fuel Cell & Hydrogen Energy Association (FCHEA), the national industry trade association, has been advocating for annual programmatic funding appropriations supporting hydrogen and fuel cell R&D and deployments for decades, across multiple administrations, to support these critical programs at DOE and other Federal Agencies, building America’s hydrogen and fuel cell technology leadership and global industry advancement.

After another concerted effort by FCHEA, earlier this year Congress passed long-awaited funding bills for FY 2026, including more than $250 million for DOE’s hydrogen and fuel cell activities across its offices.

Budget Breakdown

The budget includes $160 million for hydrogen and fuel cells, a massive win for our industry. This funding will be under the purview of DOE’s new Alternative Fuels & Feedstocks Office (AFFO).  AFFO was created this Spring as a merger of both the former Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Technology Office (HFTO) and the Bioenergy Office.  AFFO now sits under the Energy Technology umbrella in the Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation (CMEI), which was previously named the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE).  This $160 million is largely in line with previous funding levels, and a significant improvement over the President’s Budget Request, which had sought to eliminate this program entirely.

The overarching funding directive is to support R&D for hydrogen production across multiple sectors, including transportation, industrial, and power.   Specific funding allocations include:

• $20 million to establish pilot sites for blended hydrogen-natural gas.
• $15 million for technology validation efforts in rural areas, small ports, or cold weather climates.
• $10 million for Hydrogen R&D for cost of hydrogen production, storage, and distribution, hydrogen tank systems, trailer delivery systems, and the development of systems and equipment for hydrogen pipelines.
• $8 million for System Development and Integration to develop aviation grade-technology for aircraft and derivative applications.

The program is also encouraged to direct available funds to focus on pipeline system advancements and direct use applications; cost and performance of materials, components, and systems related to hydrogen production and storage; and hydrogen for medium-and-heavy-duty transportation applications.

Within CMEI, the former Bioenergy Technologies Office (now AFFO) was also appropriated $5 million for R&D on conversion and purification processes for renewable natural gas, clean hydrogen, and other syngas products and is encouraged to pursue the advancement and development of pre-commercial, advanced sustainable aviation fuel feedstock including hydrogen-based e-fuels.

In addition to the AFFO activities in the CMEI Office, DOE’s Office of Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy (HGEO), which houses DOE’s fossil-based hydrogen and fuel cell activities, was also funded at $92.5 million for FY2026.

This includes $80 million for the Fossil Energy Based Production, Storage, Transport and Utilization of Hydrogen Program which includes R&D areas:

• Net-Zero or Negative Carbon Hydrogen Production from Modular Gasification and Co-Gasification or Mixed Wastes
• Biomass, and Traditional Feedstocks
• Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cell Technology Development
• Carbon Capture
• Advanced Turbines
• Natural Gas-Based Hydrogen Production
• Hydrogen Pipeline Infrastructure
• Subsurface Hydrogen Storage

Additionally, HGEO is encouraged to fund technologies such as steam methane reforming with carbon capture, autothermal reforming with carbon capture, sorption enhanced steam methane reforming, natural gas pyrolysis, thermal pyrolysis, catalytic pyrolysis, and direct hydrogen production with chemical looping.

The Natural Gas Infrastructure and Hydrogen Technologies Program within the Oil Gas, and Critical Minerals Program was given $12.5 million for R&D on production, storage, transport, and utilization of hydrogen and carbon capture technologies.  Language was inserted directing the Oil, Gas, and Critical Minerals Program to launch an industry-led collaboration on underground hydrogen storage and a demonstration project producing hydrogen and critical minerals from byproduct water from oil and gas extraction.

In addition to the programmatic funding and directives for DOE’s offices, the FY26 bill also included several earmarks, totaling more than $12 million, for hydrogen-related R&D work at universities and research centers, including:

• $5 million for the Center for Clean Hydrogen, University of Delaware
• $233,000 for Field Investigation of Naturally Occurring Hydrogen Opportunities, West Virginia University
• $6.5 million for Kansas Hydrogen Reserve Development, Kansas University Center for Research
• $400,000 for Zero-Emission Hydrogen Production by Photo-Electrolysis, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology

FCHEA Efforts

To secure DOE’s hydrogen and fuel cell funding through Congress every year, FCHEA coordinates with industry to develop a unified appropriations request which we then submit to every one of the nearly 100 House and Senate appropriators.  This is not an easy task as each member has their own unique process and timetable for receiving and submitting their requests.  We also schedule dozens of meetings and calls with these offices to talk through the request and build support for these critical programs.

FCHEA also works with the leadership of both the House and Senate Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Caucuses throughout different Administrations to rally sign-on letters of support for members of Congress for our funding priorities.  The letters in for Fiscal Year 26 obtained 42 signatories in the House of Representatives and 11 signatories in the Senate.

Through these continued efforts over the years, FCHEA has been successful in securing substantial financial levels for DOE’s hydrogen and fuel cell programs, even when initial budget proposals included significant proposed cuts.  We have also been able to lock in directive language that ensures funding is tied to specific program areas that industry needs.

Why is it Important?

DOE funding and cost-share programs have led to more than 1,000 patents since 2004, with 179 different organizations receiving patents linked to HFTO funding, spanning industry, National Laboratories, and universities.

30 technologies have been commercialized, and markets have been built, including fuel cell backup systems and fuel cell forklifts, where early investments in deploying hundreds of units at cell phone towers and distribution centers proved the value and durability of the technology. Now tens of thousands of fuel cell systems are in operation in communications networks and warehouses across the U.S.

Start-up companies have emerged, partnerships and consortia have been formed, and international collaborations forged, all moving hydrogen and fuel cell technologies not just forward, but also outward, into new markets and industries, with new pathways of hydrogen production being discovered and end uses validated.

This is just the tip of the iceberg of what is possible with continued programmatic funding for DOE’s hydrogen and fuel cell research and development programs.  FCHEA is grateful that Congress recognizes how important hydrogen and fuel cells are to our energy portfolio and that it supports these critical efforts and investments.  After working with FCHEA members on a consolidated and comprehensive funding request for FY2027, we are well underway with our process, submitting requests to all of the representatives on the Appropriations committee.   FCHEA will continue to do the legwork with our Congressional champions to educate all lawmakers and stakeholders of the myriad ways hydrogen and fuel cell technologies reinforce America’s leadership in energy and innovation.