WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Samuel W. Bodman today announced DOE plans to provide up to $8.2 million, over four years (FY’07-’10), for six hydrogen storage research projects, directly supporting President Bush’s Advanced Energy Initiative (AEI).  The AEI aims to increase our energy security and reduce our reliance on imported oil by changing the way we power our cars, homes and businesses.  These projects, subject to negotiation of scope and funding, are also integral to the President’s Hydrogen Fuel Initiative.

“As a clean energy technology, hydrogen has great potential to help reduce our reliance on imported oil and serve as an integral part of our nation’s energy mix,” Secretary Bodman said.  “Increasing hydrogen’s efficiency and storage capacity are crucial to its long-term success, and we are eager for this research to help move us toward making hydrogen vehicles with a 300-mile plus driving range commercially available to consumers.”

The HFI accelerates research and development of hydrogen technologies including hydrogen storage, production, and polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells, which deliver high-power density and offer low-weight and volume, compared to other fuel cells.  Four projects selected seek to develop high capacity materials that could enable hydrogen storage systems for fuel cell vehicles to meet customer expectations in terms of driving range and performance.  Two projects will also focus on understanding material safety to help select the most appropriate materials for use in future vehicles.

Selected organizations are:

• Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL, for up to $1.88 million for storage research
• Miami University, Oxford, OH, for up $1.44 million for storage research
• Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, CA, for up to $2.0 million for materials safety research
• United Technologies Research Center, East Hartford, CT, two awards: up to $1.07 million for materials safety research and up to $1.01 million for storage research
• University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, for up to $810,000 for storage research.

For more information about DOE’s Hydrogen Program, visit: http://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/.

Media contact(s):
Julie Ruggiero, (202) 586-4940