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.