The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced it closed on a $504.4-MM loan guarantee to the Advanced Clean Energy Storage project in Utah—marking the first loan guarantee for a new clean energy technology project from DOE’s Loan Programs Office (LPO) since 2014. The loan guarantee will help finance construction of the largest clean H₂ storage facility in the world, capable of providing long-term low-cost, seasonal energy storage, furthering grid stability. The project is expected to create up to 400 construction and 25 operations jobs, advancing President Biden’s climate and clean energy deployment goal of net zero emissions by 2050.

“Since President Biden’s first day in office, DOE has made it a priority to leverage the potential of the Loan Programs Office to fund emerging technologies that will deploy clean and reliable energy to Americans,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “Accelerating the commercial deployment of clean hydrogen as a zero-emission, long-term energy storage solution is the first step in harnessing its potential to decarbonize our economy, create good paying clean energy jobs and enable more renewables to be added to the grid.”

To meet President Biden’s goals to achieve a clean grid by 2035 and reach net zero emissions economy wide by 2050, long duration energy storage technologies—including H₂—will play a critical role. Clean energy from H₂ can be produced using renewables, such as solar and wind, before being stored for later use for power generation or as a dispatchable fuel or feedstock to decarbonize the industrial and transportation sectors.

Across all its programs, LPO has attracted more than 70 active applications for projects in 24 states totaling nearly $79 B in requested loans and loan guarantees as of the end of May.  

Earlier this year, LPO announced a conditional commitment for a loan guarantee for Advanced Clean Energy Storage, which will be the first of this kind to a clean H₂ company. The facility in Delta, Utah, will combine 220 megawatts of alkaline electrolysis with two massive 4.5-MMb salt caverns to store clean H₂. Advanced Clean Energy Storage will capture excess renewable energy when it is most abundant, store it as H₂, then deploy it as fuel for the Intermountain Power Agency’s IPP Renewed Project—a H₂-capable gas turbine combined cycle power plant that intends to incrementally be fueled by 100% clean hydrogen by 2045. 

“I’m pleased to see DOE support Utah’s efforts to become a world leader in hydrogen,” said U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (UT). “This is not only a win for Millard County and Utah, but it is also an important step toward developing new energy technologies as we utilize an ‘all of the above’ approach to meet our energy demands.”

“Utah has a wealth of natural resources that make it an ideal location for clean energy innovation,” said U.S. Representative John Curtis (UT-3). “It is exciting to see the ACES project secure funding from the Department of Energy and move one step closer to completion. Hydrogen can, and should, play a large role in powering our society and I am appreciative of Secretary Granholm supporting this important project.”

“It has never been more important to develop domestic energy here in the U.S.,” said U.S. Representative Chris Stewart (UT-2). “I’m so pleased to see Utah’s great technical abilities and resources being used to do just that, and I look forward to continuing to work with President Biden and Secretary Granholm to advance America’s energy agenda.”

With the closing of this loan guarantee, LPO now has $2.5 B in remaining loan guarantee authority for Innovative Clean Energy projects. Since early 2021, LPO has made substantial changes to improve its Innovative Clean Energy Loan Guarantee Program and its Tribal Energy Loan Guarantee Program.