DOE releases reports on pathways to clean energy

On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Energy released reports focusing on accelerating the commercialization and deployment of clean energy technologies.

The Pathways to Commercial Liftoff reports represent a department-wide initiative to strengthen the engagement between the public and private sectors with resources on how and when some clean energy technologies – like clean hydrogen, advanced nuclear, and long-duration energy storage – can reach full-scale deployment. The department said its new initiative recognizes its critical role in adopting clean energy technology.

“As we combat the climate crisis and race towards an equitable clean energy future, public and private partnerships will be more important and critical than ever before,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm said. “The Liftoff reports will help drive engagement between government and industry to unlock exciting new opportunities and ensure America is the global leader in the next generation of clean energy technologies.”

Part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act passed last year is allocated to invest in and support large-scale demonstrations of clean energy technologies over the next 10 years. The billions of dollars in investments are intended to drive commercialization, the DOE said, as well as unlock money from private investments to hit the Biden Administration’s long-term decarbonization goals. The Liftoff report, the department said, provides insights to help steer those investments.

The report said that clean energy technology will need to increase from $40 billion to $300 billion by 2030 and will continue to need more investment through 2050 to realize those long-term goals.