Demonstrating and Deploying Hydrogen Technologies for Clean and Resilient Energy in Army Installations

Secure and reliable access to energy is essential for our military to deploy, fight, and win in a complex world, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) and its associated Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL) are focused on identifying and mitigating vulnerabilities to avoid disruption of utility services.

CERL is partnering with GTI Energy to execute the Hydrogen Energy Research Operation (HERO) program aimed at increasing resiliency and advancing the industrial base at military installations.

HERO’s mission is to integrate state-of-the-art systems that span hydrogen production, delivery, storage, and end use and demonstrate a viable framework that can be replicated globally to ensure continuity of essential infrastructure.

Explore Each Phase

HERO Fuel cell-powered forklifts

Phase 1:
Testing & Validation

2023-2025

Phase 1

  • Testing conducted at GTI Energy’s Hydrogen Test Pads
  • Focus areas include:
    • Hydrogen production and solid-state storage
    • Fuel cells for building power
    • Hydrogen boilers for heating
    • Fuel cell-powered forklifts
    • Dispensing stations for hydrogen fuel
  • Development of a digital twin and virtual reality (VR) training tool
  • Establishment of safety protocols and engineering design standards
Pilot at the Illinois Army National Guard’s (ILARNG) North Riverside site

Phase 2:
Pilot Deployment

2026-2027

Phase 2

  • Pilot at the Illinois Army National Guard’s (ILARNG) North Riverside site  
  • Compressed hydrogen storage
  • Underground hydrogen pipeline for building distribution
  • Hydrogen boiler for thermal applications
  • PEM fuel cell for building power
  • Hydrogen refueling infrastructure for:
    • 350 and 700 bar fueling
    • Forklifts and intra-installation logistics vehicles
Sorbent Enhanced Reforming of Critical H2 (SERCH)

Phase 3:
SERCH – Enhanced Hydrogen Production

Phase 3

  • Sorbent Enhanced Reforming of Critical H2 (SERCH)
  • Introduces a hydrogen generation plant using domestic natural gas to generate hydrogen
  • Achieves:
    • 20% greater efficiency
    • 43% lower capital cost compared to traditional steam methane reforming (SMR)
    • 19% lower cost hydrogen compared to traditional SMR
  • Supports cost-effective hydrogen scale-up across DoD sites
Comparative demonstration of Hydrogen systems, Electric systems, Hybrid battery systems

Phase 4:
HERO Heat & Power Challenge

Phase 4

  • Comparative demonstration of:
    • Hydrogen storage - PEM fuel cell systems
    • Battery energy storage systems
    • Hybrid systems
  • Assesses performance across a range of operating conditions
  • Informs DoD strategy on future energy infrastructure investments

For more information download the 2024 Energy Exchange presentation.

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