The US Department of Energy (DOE) has announced around $64 million (£50m) of funding for hydrogen research, development and demonstration projects.

The 18 chosen projects will support the government’s ‘H2@Scale‘ vision for affordable hydrogen production, storage, distribution and consumption.

The projects will feature collaborations with the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) on manufacturing reliable and affordable electrolysers and developing low cost, high strength carbon fibre for hydrogen storage tanks.

Other areas of focus include identifying durable and cost-effective fuel cell systems and components for medium and heavy-duty trucks.

In addition, the investment will help spur demonstrations of large-scale hydrogen utilisation at ports and data centres and across industrial sectors like steelmaking as well as help build a comprehensive training programme that will lay the foundation for a robust hydrogen and fuel cells workforce in the US.

US Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette said: “Hydrogen has the potential to integrate our nation’s domestic energy resources add value in industrial and energy-intensive sectors and broaden technology choices for medium and heavy-duty transportation.

“These projects will bring us closer to realising hydrogen’s full potential for a resilient, flexible and affordable energy system for all Americans.”