Developers in the United States have plans to expand hydrogen production using technologies that make use of electricity, an early sign that hydrogen production could move away from its current reliance on hydrocarbon feedstocks in the coming years. Planned electrolyzer installations that use electricity to produce hydrogen from water, if built, would expand capacity in the United States from 116 megawatts (MW) of current capacity to 4,524 MW, according to information collected by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Hydrogen Program Record. If all the planned projects are implemented, annual U.S. production of hydrogen through electrolysis could total about 0.72 million metric tons (MMmt) compared with the current 10 MMmt of hydrogen currently produced from fossil fuels and as a byproduct from other industrial sources. Electrolyzers that meet a threshold for low carbon intensity could qualify for a production tax credit if developers begin construction by 2033. Hydrogen is a critical input for petroleum refining and fertilizer production, and it can also be used as a storable fuel for electric power generation to be used in hydrogen gas turbines or blended with natural gas for use in traditional gas turbines. It is the simplest element found naturally on earth and is traditionally separated out of hydrocarbons, such as natural gas and coal, through a process known as steam methane reforming (SMR). The 10 MMmt of hydrogen produced annually in the United States is almost completely supplied by SMRs or produced as byproduct hydrogen obtained from a chemical plant or other facility where hydrogen is not the main product. Using our Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey 2018—the most recent year for which we have data—and our Annual Refinery Capacity Report, we estimate current U.S. SMR capacity totals 7.6 MMmt of hydrogen a year.

Read more here.