The U.S. Department of Energy’s Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO) has launched the Guiding Universal Indicators in Developing Ecosystems for Hydrogen (GUIDE-H2) competition to tackle challenges faced by commercial-scale hydrogen projects. These challenges often lead to delays or cancellations due to the lack of tools, training, and local support in assessing and optimizing deployments for maximum positive impact. GUIDE-H2 aims to provide consistent and universally understandable indicators to guide deployments, accelerate progress, and ensure long-term sustainability. The competition offers up to $200,000 in awards to competing teams for developing assessment tools and best practices for sustainable hydrogen deployment projects. The initiative targets enhancing practitioner experience in assessing the benefits and impacts of hydrogen deployment projects to incentivize sharing of best practices and improve transparency and optimization. By supporting the development of training tools, lessons learned, and best-practice guidance, GUIDE-H2 aims to increase the economic, social, and environmental benefits of hydrogen deployments, thereby increasing the likelihood of project success. Diverse stakeholders, including project developers, end users, communities, and investors, are expected to benefit from the hands-on application of assessment tools and resulting guidance provided by the GUIDE-H2 competition. The competition aligns with the goals of the Hydrogen Interagency Task Force and the U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap. Additionally, GUIDE-H2 supports the H2 Twin Cities program, serving as a pilot that could be expanded and shared internationally through the Clean Energy Ministerial’s Hydrogen Initiative. The results and outcomes of the GUIDE-H2 competition will be shared globally to foster collaboration and accelerate successful hydrogen deployments and user acceptance. This sharing of knowledge aims to build a strong community of practice involving leaders and implementers from various regions, industry sectors, government entities, and stakeholders. The deadline for Phase 1 submissions to the GUIDE-H2 competition is set for June 30, 2025, offering an opportunity for teams to contribute to advancing sustainable hydrogen deployment practices.