Request for Information (RFI): Identifying Priorities for Reducing Barriers to Deployment of Hydrogen Infrastructure | DE FOA 0001948

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0001948

This opportunity is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Request for Information (RFI) issued by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), specifically through the Fuel Cell Technologies Office (FCTO) on behalf of DOE's broader Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Program. It is essentially a formal request for public input to help DOE understand where research, development, and related policy or administrative efforts should focus in order to reduce regulatory barriers that slow down or raise the cost of deploying hydrogen technologies, especially hydrogen infrastructure. The emphasis is on practical barriers that affect real-world buildout, such as permitting, compliance steps, codes and standards, and other legal or regulatory requirements that can complicate projects or make them more expensive than necessary.

The core purpose of the RFI is threefold: first, to better understand how existing regulations affect industry, particularly companies and organizations trying to build or operate hydrogen infrastructure; second, to identify specific federal regulations, codes, and state or local laws that create hurdles, along with an understanding of what it costs (in time, money, and administrative effort) to comply with them; and third, to gather recommendations for actions that could reduce the burden of these requirements without compromising safety or other public objectives. DOE is looking for grounded, specific feedback that can translate into clearer priorities for future work, including potential research and development directions as well as possible program actions that make deployment easier.

While hydrogen fueling stations for transportation are an explicit near-term focus, DOE is also soliciting input for large-scale hydrogen deployment scenarios beyond passenger vehicles. That includes uses like energy storage, providing grid services, transporting hydrogen at scale, blending hydrogen into natural gas systems, and other end uses that involve significant infrastructure. In other words, the RFI is not limited to retail fueling; it also covers the broader "H2 at scale" vision where hydrogen supports multiple sectors and interacts with electric and gas systems in more complex ways.

FCTO specifically asks for feedback across several topic areas: infrastructure for near-term transportation applications (such as steps needed to streamline private-sector rollout of hydrogen fueling stations), large-scale applications, large-scale hydrogen delivery and storage, and grid support under the H2@Scale concept. The RFI also invites ideas connected to these issues that could be suitable for future prize competitions, suggesting DOE is open to nontraditional mechanisms (like challenges or prizes) as a way to spur solutions to deployment bottlenecks.

A key point is that this is not a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) and DOE is not accepting grant applications through this notice. There is no funding attached to responding, and there is no guarantee DOE will issue a future FOA based on what it learns here. Responding does not give any competitive advantage or disadvantage if DOE later releases a funding solicitation related to the same subject. The RFI is mainly a planning tool: DOE will use responses on a non-attribution basis to shape strategy, priorities, and potentially the structure of future programs or solicitations.

The administrative details are straightforward. Responses had to be submitted electronically by 5:00 pm Eastern Time on August 10, 2018, via email to FY18FCTOBARRIERSRFI@EE.DOE.GOV, with responses attached as Microsoft Word (.docx) files using 12-point font and 1-inch margins. Larger files over 25 MB were recommended to be compressed to ensure delivery. Respondents could answer as many or as few of the specific questions listed in the full RFI as they wanted, and DOE noted it would not reimburse any costs associated with preparing responses, nor was it obligated to confirm receipt or provide feedback.

In terms of who could respond, the RFI was effectively open (unrestricted eligibility), meaning input could come from industry, trade associations, state and local governments, utilities, standards bodies, researchers, non-profits, or other stakeholders with relevant experience. DOE also warned respondents not to include proprietary or confidential business information, because responses might be used to shape public-facing programs and could potentially become public; if a respondent chose to include sensitive information anyway, it needed to be clearly marked.

Finally, the listing includes standard federal opportunity metadata such as the opportunity number (DE FOA 0001948), the associated agency office (DOE Golden Field Office), the activity category (Energy), and CFDA number 81.087. Even though the system metadata references cooperative agreements, the practical reality for this notice is that it functions as an information-gathering step rather than a grant competition, with the primary outcome being DOE's improved understanding of regulatory and code-related barriers and actionable ways to reduce them to accelerate hydrogen infrastructure deployment.

• The Department of Energy, Golden Field Office in the energy sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Request for Information (RFI): Identifying Priorities for Reducing Barriers to Deployment of Hydrogen Infrastructure" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.087.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jun 15, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 10, 2018 Responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically to FY18FCTOBARRIERSRFI@EE.DOE.GOV no later than 500pm (ET) on August 10, 2018. Responses must be provided as attachments to an email. Only electronic responses will be accepted.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $2.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

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