DOE Seeks to Invest up to $130M in Advanced Fuel Cell Tech

June 5, 2008 // Published as a news service by IHS

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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) issued a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for up to $130 million over three years, subject to Congressional appropriations, to advance the development and use of fuel cells for automotive, stationary and portable power applications.

The DOE announcement is part of the U.S. federal government's Hydrogen Fuel Initiative that accelerates the pace of R&D for hydrogen-powered fuel cells.

In addition to the FOA opportunity, DOE expanded its own fleet of alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles with the addition of a Chevrolet Equinox fuel cell electric vehicle.

The DOE Chevrolet Equinox fuel cell electric vehicle is a zero emissions vehicle powered by hydrogen and will be used to transport DOE employees to official events and meetings in the Washington, D.C. area.

"Hydrogen fuel cell research and development is a critical component of our comprehensive strategy to commercialize and deploy advanced clean, renewable technologies that will allow us to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and become less reliant on carbon-based fossil fuels," Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy John Mizroch said.

In addition to seeking proposals for R&D projects in the areas of transportation, stationary and portable power, DOE is also seeking proposals to demonstrate fuel cells in distributed energy systems and to support market transformation that provide real-world operation data.

The DOE anticipates making up to 50 awards through this competitive funding opportunity, which is open to industry, universities and national laboratories. With a minimum 20% private sector cost share for the R&D projects and a minimum 50% applicant cost share for the demonstration projects, the total DOE and private sector investment in advanced hydrogen fuel cell technologies under this funding opportunity may exceed $170 million, said DOE.

Applications for the fuel cell funding opportunity are due on or before August 27, 2008. For more information on this FOA, visit the DOE Hydrogen Program web site.

Source: U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).