Electric Vehicles
DOE Funds Fuel Cell Car Research
With electric cars now a reality on American roads, the Energy Department is turning its attention—and money—to fuel cell vehicles.
The Department of Energy is hoping to spur development of fuel cell vehicles. (ECT File Photo By: Michael W. Kahn)
DOE is awarding up to $7.4 million for research into hydrogen storage technology that can be used in fuel cell cars. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said such vehicles have benefits beyond just easing the nation’s dependence on foreign oil.
“As we focus on energy security, strengthening our portfolio to include domestically produced hydrogen and American-made fuel cells for transportation and energy storage applications will create new jobs and reduce carbon pollution,” Chu said.
The projects DOE selected include one at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Washington state, which is working with Ford Motor Company and other firms on reducing the cost of compressed hydrogen storage systems.
Another project involves the testing of what DOE described as promising new materials for hydrogen storage. The University of Oregon will work with the University of Alabama and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
DOE said the organizations it picked will provide almost $2 million in cost sharing.
Tags: Electric Vehicles, Fuel Cells