Spending on low-carbon technologies has increased substantially in recent years to reach $19.7 billion and 94% of total budget. In the United States, budget into low-carbon RD&D were boosted by an additional $479 million; while Norway freed up $242 million for a large-scale wind demonstration project.
Spending on hydrogen and fuel cells kept their share at 3% in overall budgets since 2012, but their share is likely to increase as many government are about to launch “"green stimulus" programmes to restart their national economies after the coronavirus crisis.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) hydrogen production is a critical component of the H2@Scale initiative, backed by $64 million in government funding. The investment supports transformational research and development of hydrogen concepts that will increase the scale of hydrogen production, storage, transport, and use. In August 2019, the DOE freed up $40 million funding for 29 dedicated projects on hydrogen production and utilization, including grid resiliency.
In Japan, the ministry of economics, trade and industry (METI) announced earlier it will spend at least 108 billion yen ($975 million) on hydrogen projects over a two-year period ending March 2020. In a renewed roadmap, METI defines new target on three basis technology and seeks to establish a breakdown of costs. Industries and researchers are convened on a regular basis to review their progress in each area stipulated by the roadmap.
In contrast, Germany has not yet adopted any clear hydrogen which had originally been expected a year ago. Ministries have in recent weeks come significantly closer to reaching an agreement, but the government has been slow to act as it seeks to integrate financing on hydrogen into a national “green stimulus” program.
