The US Department of Energy (DOE) wants to invest $100 million (89 million euros) over five years in two new consortia led by the National Laboratories to research and develop hydrogen and fuel cell technologies to move forward. However, the financing still depends on the approval of funds.
A consortium will investigate the process of producing hydrogen. The task is to develop durable, efficient and cost-effective electrolysers for large-scale industry.
A second consortium will research fuel cell technology for applications in heavy commercial vehicles and trucks. The goal is to “develop a fully competitive fuel cell-powered heavy-duty truck that meets all industry requirements in terms of durability, cost and performance,” according to the DOE.
The two consortia will leverage expertise and equipment from the 17 National Laboratories under DOE and support the strategy called “H2@Scale.” The H2@Scale program is led by the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO), part of the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE).
The aim is to explore and advance the potential for large-scale hydrogen production, storage, distribution and use for various applications in the United States. One of the goals is to make electricity generation and transmission safer and to stabilize it and also to strengthen the competitiveness of the domestic industry with a turnover of several billion dollars and to create jobs.
Ten million tons of hydrogen are currently produced annually in the United States, 95 percent of which comes from centralized reforming of natural gas. Other approaches include hydrogen production through electrolysis and other methods. In January, the DOE awarded H2@Scale research funding totaling $64 million. Back in August last year, 29 research projects received $40 million, co-financed by the DOE's Atomic Energy Agency. Nuclear power is mentioned by the DOE in the same breath as renewable energy and is considered a “clean” energy source.
Deep link:
https://www.energy.gov/eere/articles/doe-announces-new-lab-consortia-advance-hydrogen-and-fuel-cell-rd
https://www.energy.gov/eere/fuelcells/h2scale
Photos:
USA wants to invest 100 million dollars in hydrogen research/ © Department of Energy
