Energy in Oregon

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the major challenge to hydrogen production is cost. To compete as a transportation fuel, hydrogen must be comparable to conventional fuels and technologies on a per-mile basis. For fuel cell electric vehicles to be competitive, the total untaxed, delivere​d, and dispensed cost of hydrogen needs to be less than $4/gge. A gge, or gasoline gallon equivalent, is the amount of fuel that has the same amount of energy as a gallon of gasoline. One kilogram of hydrogen is equivalent to one gallon of gasoline on an energy basis.

Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub

In October 2023, the U.S. Department of Energy selected the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Association's PNWH2 Hub for award negotiations as one of the federal Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs following a competitive nationwide process. The PNWH2 Hub is eligible to receive up to $1 billion in federal funding over four DOE-defined development phases spanning nine years, with $20 million allocated for Phase 1. DOE will evaluate the hub’s activities and deliver go/no-go decisions at each phase.

Learn more: https://pnwh2.com/​

ODOE 2022 Renewable Hydrogen Study

In 2022, ODOE published a study and report on a number of elements related to renewable hydrogen and how it might fit into the state's existing renewable energy and greenhouse gas reduction policies and goals​. Learn more.

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Producing Hydrogen

Pure hydrogen can be produced using a variety of sources, including fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas, or renewable sources such as biomass, wind, solar, geothermal, and water. Currently, about 95 percent of hydrogen in the United States is made from natural gas for use in petroleum processing and fertilizer production.

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Hydrogen Storage

Hydrogen storage for large-scale use has been a challenge due to hydrogen’s low-energy content per volume. Hydrogen can be stored as a compressed hydrogen gas in high-pressure tanks, as cryogenic liquid hydrogen in insulated tanks, as a compound within other materials, or on the surface of other materials. Liquid hydrogen has a higher energy density per volume than hydrogen gas but is costly to produce due to the energy needed for cooling.

 

Fuel Cells

A fuel cell uses oxygen and hydrogen to create electricity through a chemical process instead of combustion. The fuel input may be pure hydrogen or a hydrogen-rich compound such as methanol, ethanol, or other hydrocarbons. Fuel cells that use pure hydrogen as the fuel emit only heat and water as byproducts. Fuel cells are adaptable to scale and can be used in a variety of applications, including utility-sized power plants, back-up generators, powering portable battery-powered devices (e.g., laptop computer), and vehicles. Cost and durability are the primary challenges for fuel cell adoption, although other technical challenges exist based on the type of technology and its intended application. 

Learn about hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in our 2020 Biennial ​Energy Report.​

Distributing Hydrogen

Hydrogen is currently transported by pipeline, in high-pressure tube trailers, or as liquefied hydrogen. Currently, hydrogen is primarily produced near the location where it is used, as a large scale infrastructure for delivery does not exist. Due to gaseous hydrogen’s low-energy density per volume, transport using tube trailers is typically cost effective over distances less than 200 miles from the point of production. Hydrogen can also be transported in chemical carriers, such as ethanol, for easier transport to be converted at the site of use.