A New York state initiative to reduce fossil fuel reliance and bolster alternative fuel advancements is getting a financial boost.
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, or NYSERDA, said this week that it is offering $8 million to fund proposals that would build technology and infrastructure for fuels that are considered low carbon, like hydrogen and ammonia.
“This funding recognizes that advancing the deployment of alternative fuels can address a critical technological gap and strengthen the state’s economy,” Rory Christian, the chair and CEO of the state’s Public Service Commission, said in a statement. “Supporting innovation which targets hard-to-electrify uses and sectors is in line with Governor Hochul’s ‘all-of-the-above’ energy policy.”
Brandon Owens, vice president of innovation and research at NYSERDA, said it’s an opportunity to develop more ways to reduce reliance on fossil fuels in energy-intensive industries — like transportation and manufacturing.
"These technologies are not commercially proven yet," Owens said, “and so our efforts are designed to share some of that early risk to bring down the cost and improve performance of these technologies and test out whether they provide a viable pathway for the state of New York.”
A request for proposals is open for product development and pilots. Large-scale technical projects, like multi-megawatt fuel cells, and infrastructure development for fuel production, storage, and distribution are of particular interest to the agency.
“I don't know that there's a silver bullet,” Owens said. “There's a few technologies and fuels that stand out, but really, this is experimental. So we're trying to run some cases and fund some projects that prove out the commercial case for these fuels and these technologies and provide some evidence that they're scalable commercially.”
Ammonia, which is made of three hydrogen atoms and one nitrogen, does not contain carbon and does not produce carbon dioxide, according to the European research organization SINTEF. However, it is also toxic and comes with hazardous risks.
According to a 2024 Massachusetts Institute of Technology study, while ammonia combustion doesn’t produce CO2, it does emit nitrous oxide and other nitrogen emissions that pose potential harmful effects on air quality and ecosystems. Researchers recommend “stringent emission control” to prevent adverse environmental impacts.
As for hydrogen, RIT professor of sustainability Eric Williams said it comes with its own set of challenges. For one thing, while it is not toxic, it is highly flammable, which poses the risk of explosions.
“It's a very light molecule,” Williams said. “You have to compress it a lot and/or cool it to very low temperatures to make it storable and transportable. And so, to get it to liquefy, very special refrigeration is needed, and then also because the molecule is very small, it leaks very easily.”
Regarding the risks, Owens said every project that the state funds will need to demonstrate compliance with all safety, regulatory, and industry standards including site-specific safety plans and permitting. All projects will also need to work closely with the nearby fire department and the Center for Hydrogen Safety, he said.
Standards in New York are pretty stringent for “known issues,” Williams said.
"That said, new technologies sometimes challenge those standards because they're doing things in a different way,” Williams said. “So if we're looking at a technology that is doing something new in the environment, then it's possible that the standards don't yet address the risks.”
The state funding initiative aligns with the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act of 2019, which requires the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030. That percentage is based on 1990 data, not current emission levels.
Proposals are due to NYSERDA by Sept. 28. According to the agency, projects will be evaluated based on technical innovation, team capability, and benefits to New Yorkers, including disadvantaged communities.
