On May 27, 2008, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) issued two Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOA) that offer 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. DOE's announcement is part of the President's Hydrogen Fuel Initiative, which accelerates the pace of research and development (R&D) of hydrogen-powered fuel cells. In addition to seeking proposals for R&D projects in the areas above, DOE is also seeking proposals to demonstrate fuel cells in distributed energy systems and to support market transformation that provides real world operation data.
"Through the President's Hydrogen Fuel Initiative, we have made great progress in reducing the cost and improving the durability of fuel cells. Today's investment will move us closer toward our goal of clean, reliable, durable, and cost-competitive fuel cell technology," Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy John Mizroch said. "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."
DOE anticipates making up to 50 awards through this competitive funding opportunity, which is open to industry, universities, and national laboratories. With a minimum private sector cost share of 20% for R&D projects and 50% for the demonstration projects, the total DOE and private sector investment under this funding opportunity may exceed $170 million.
Applications for the fuel cell funding opportunity are due on or before August 27, 2008, with funding subject to appropriations from Congress. For more information about this FOA, see the DOE Hydrogen Web site.
Meanwhile, DOE also expanded its fleet of alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles with the addition of a Chevrolet Equinox fuel cell electric vehicle. The new vehicle produces zero emissions and is powered by hydrogen; it will be used to transport DOE employees to official events and meetings in the Washington, D.C., area.
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