Last week, the Department of Energy, or DOE, released a road map for scaling up three emerging technologies that could make or break the U.S. energy transition. According to the agency, advanced nuclear, clean hydrogen, and long-duration energy storage are crucial for reaching net-zero emissions. The problem is, self-sustaining markets for these technologies don't exist yet.
The department's new "Pathways to Commercial Liftoff" reports identify key challenges and potential solutions for getting these industries off the ground. They provide, for the first time, concrete numbers on how much additional energy capacity is needed from each of the three new technologies to reach U.S. climate goals. They also spell out how much money private and government actors will need to invest in research and development, and what challenges stand in the way of commercializing these sectors.
