Systems Integration and the Department of Energy´s Hydrogen Program

The Department of Energy (DOE) established the hydrogen program in response to a presidential directive. The role of the hydrogen program is not to build the nation ´s hydrogen infrastructure, but instead to develop and validate technologies that will enable industry to make commercialization decisions that lead to establishing and evolving a national hydrogen infrastructure. To provide a solid foundation for a mission-driven Program consistent with the President´s directive, the DOE asked the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to establish a Systems Integration Office (SIO) and develop an integrated baseline that could be used to effectively and efficiently manage the hydrogen program. The SIO has employed a structured process, based on hierarchical decomposition, to identify, define, and analyze the requirements and tasks needed to satisfy the hydrogen program ´s mission. The result is an on-line integrated baseline (i.e., both technical and programmatic considerations) that ensures that these mission requirements and all aspects of the President´s directive are addressed.