The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Loan Programs Office (LPO) today announced a conditional commitment to Plug Power Inc.’s (Plug) subsidiary, Plug Power Energy Loan Borrower, LLC, for an up to $1.66 billion loan guarantee to help finance the construction as many as six facilities across several states to produce clean hydrogen. The plants will use Plug Power’s own electrolyzer technology. (AutoInformed on: EPA Wants Toughest Federal Emission Standards Ever)
“Advancing clean hydrogen is a key component of the Biden-Harris Administration’s whole-of-government approach to building a robust clean energy economy that creates healthier communities, strengthens energy security, and delivers new economic opportunities across the nation. Today’s announcement will help unlock the full potential of this versatile fuel and support the growth of strong, American-led industry that ensures the United States remains at the forefront of the global economy for generations to come,” said Jigar Shah, Director of the Loan Programs Office.*
Plug has a development plain that includes the build-out of clean hydrogen facilities in several potential locations across the United States to supply its national customer base with end-to-end clean hydrogen. This conditional commitment advances President Biden’s efforts to strengthen domestic clean energy supply chains, which are essential to meeting the nation’s ambitious climate goals and enhancing U.S. national and energy security. If finalized, the project will support an integrated and resilient commercial scale clean hydrogen fueling network across several regions of the United States.
The hydrogen fuel from the project is expected to power fuel cell-electric vehicles used in the material handling, transportation, and industrial sectors, resulting in an estimated 84% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to conventional hydrogen production, which derives hydrogen from natural gas (CH4) and ultimately produces carbon dioxide (CO2). The benefits of harnessing hydrogen fuel cells in applications such as material handling equipment include enhanced operational efficiency, reduced environmental impact through zero-emission operations, and increased productivity due to faster refueling times compared to conventional batteries. Major corporations such as Amazon, Walmart, and Home Depot use Plug’s hydrogen fuel cells across their warehouse and distribution centers.
The clean hydrogen facilities will use Plug’s electrolyzer stacks that are manufactured at what is claimed to be the company’s state-of-the-art gigafactory in Rochester, NY. They will use modular designs to ensure a resilient hydrogen fuel delivery network. Plug says it is among the leading commercial-scale manufacturers of electrolyzers in the United States and currently operates the largest Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolyzer system in the United States at its Georgia hydrogen plant.
Electrolyzers use electricity to split water into its component parts, hydrogen and oxygen. Plug’s PEM technology allows it to operate efficiently even with variable electricity, enabling it to leverage electricity from intermittent renewables. Electrolyzers that use renewables to power their hydrogen production produce emissions-free clean hydrogen. The electrolyzer stacks can be easily configured to produce systems at 1 megawatt (MW), 5 MW, and 10 MW scales. (One MW powers the equivalent of 750 American homes based on their instantaneous demand.)
This announcement is part of a broader suite of actions LPO has taken in line with the President’s Investing in America agenda, which is growing the American economy from the bottom up and middle-out—from rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure, to creating a manufacturing and innovation boom powered by good-paying jobs that don’t require a four-year degree, to building a clean-energy economy that will combat climate change and make our communities more resilient. Using loan authority from the President’s Inflation Reduction Act, LPO is spurring billions in public-private investments to boost the nation’s competitiveness, strengthen supply chains, and create good-paying jobs to power the clean energy economy.
The financing would be offered through LPO’s Title 17 Clean Energy Financing Program. This includes financing opportunities for innovative energy and supply chain projects such as Plug’s, certain state-supported projects, and projects that reinvest in existing energy infrastructure. “While this conditional commitment indicates DOE’s intent to finance the project, the company must satisfy certain technical, legal, environmental, and financial conditions before the Department enters into definitive financing documents and funds the loan guarantee,” said Shah.
More about the U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap, the Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Clean Hydrogen report, and how the DOE Hydrogen Program and Hydrogen Interagency Task Force are supporting the Biden-Harris Administration’s all-of-government strategy to addressing the climate crisis and delivering a clean and equitable energy future for all.
*Jigar Shah was most recently co-founder and President at Generate Capital, where he focused on helping entrepreneurs accelerate decarbonization solutions through the use of low-cost infrastructure-as-a service financing. Prior to Generate Capital, Shah founded SunEdison, a company that pioneered “pay as you save” solar financing. After SunEdison, Shah served as the founding CEO of the Carbon War Room, a global non-profit founded by Sir Richard Branson and Virgin Unite to help entrepreneurs address climate change. Shah was also featured in TIME’s list of the “100 Most Influential People” in 2024. Originally from Illinois, Shah holds a B.S. from the University of Illinois-UC and an MBA from the University of Maryland College Park.
AutoInformed on
Hydrogen – Plug Power Energy Gets $1.6B Loan Guarantee
The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Loan Programs Office (LPO) today announced a conditional commitment to Plug Power Inc.’s (Plug) subsidiary, Plug Power Energy Loan Borrower, LLC, for an up to $1.66 billion loan guarantee to help finance the construction as many as six facilities across several states to produce clean hydrogen. The plants will use Plug Power’s own electrolyzer technology. (AutoInformed on: EPA Wants Toughest Federal Emission Standards Ever)
“Advancing clean hydrogen is a key component of the Biden-Harris Administration’s whole-of-government approach to building a robust clean energy economy that creates healthier communities, strengthens energy security, and delivers new economic opportunities across the nation. Today’s announcement will help unlock the full potential of this versatile fuel and support the growth of strong, American-led industry that ensures the United States remains at the forefront of the global economy for generations to come,” said Jigar Shah, Director of the Loan Programs Office.*
Plug has a development plain that includes the build-out of clean hydrogen facilities in several potential locations across the United States to supply its national customer base with end-to-end clean hydrogen. This conditional commitment advances President Biden’s efforts to strengthen domestic clean energy supply chains, which are essential to meeting the nation’s ambitious climate goals and enhancing U.S. national and energy security. If finalized, the project will support an integrated and resilient commercial scale clean hydrogen fueling network across several regions of the United States.
The hydrogen fuel from the project is expected to power fuel cell-electric vehicles used in the material handling, transportation, and industrial sectors, resulting in an estimated 84% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to conventional hydrogen production, which derives hydrogen from natural gas (CH4) and ultimately produces carbon dioxide (CO2). The benefits of harnessing hydrogen fuel cells in applications such as material handling equipment include enhanced operational efficiency, reduced environmental impact through zero-emission operations, and increased productivity due to faster refueling times compared to conventional batteries. Major corporations such as Amazon, Walmart, and Home Depot use Plug’s hydrogen fuel cells across their warehouse and distribution centers.
The clean hydrogen facilities will use Plug’s electrolyzer stacks that are manufactured at what is claimed to be the company’s state-of-the-art gigafactory in Rochester, NY. They will use modular designs to ensure a resilient hydrogen fuel delivery network. Plug says it is among the leading commercial-scale manufacturers of electrolyzers in the United States and currently operates the largest Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolyzer system in the United States at its Georgia hydrogen plant.
Electrolyzers use electricity to split water into its component parts, hydrogen and oxygen. Plug’s PEM technology allows it to operate efficiently even with variable electricity, enabling it to leverage electricity from intermittent renewables. Electrolyzers that use renewables to power their hydrogen production produce emissions-free clean hydrogen. The electrolyzer stacks can be easily configured to produce systems at 1 megawatt (MW), 5 MW, and 10 MW scales. (One MW powers the equivalent of 750 American homes based on their instantaneous demand.)
This announcement is part of a broader suite of actions LPO has taken in line with the President’s Investing in America agenda, which is growing the American economy from the bottom up and middle-out—from rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure, to creating a manufacturing and innovation boom powered by good-paying jobs that don’t require a four-year degree, to building a clean-energy economy that will combat climate change and make our communities more resilient. Using loan authority from the President’s Inflation Reduction Act, LPO is spurring billions in public-private investments to boost the nation’s competitiveness, strengthen supply chains, and create good-paying jobs to power the clean energy economy.
The financing would be offered through LPO’s Title 17 Clean Energy Financing Program. This includes financing opportunities for innovative energy and supply chain projects such as Plug’s, certain state-supported projects, and projects that reinvest in existing energy infrastructure. “While this conditional commitment indicates DOE’s intent to finance the project, the company must satisfy certain technical, legal, environmental, and financial conditions before the Department enters into definitive financing documents and funds the loan guarantee,” said Shah.
More about the U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap, the Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Clean Hydrogen report, and how the DOE Hydrogen Program and Hydrogen Interagency Task Force are supporting the Biden-Harris Administration’s all-of-government strategy to addressing the climate crisis and delivering a clean and equitable energy future for all.
*Jigar Shah was most recently co-founder and President at Generate Capital, where he focused on helping entrepreneurs accelerate decarbonization solutions through the use of low-cost infrastructure-as-a service financing. Prior to Generate Capital, Shah founded SunEdison, a company that pioneered “pay as you save” solar financing. After SunEdison, Shah served as the founding CEO of the Carbon War Room, a global non-profit founded by Sir Richard Branson and Virgin Unite to help entrepreneurs address climate change. Shah was also featured in TIME’s list of the “100 Most Influential People” in 2024. Originally from Illinois, Shah holds a B.S. from the University of Illinois-UC and an MBA from the University of Maryland College Park.
AutoInformed on