In Fiscal Year 2009, Congress appropriated $269 million for the DOE Hydrogen Program. The Program is organized into distinct sub-programs focusing on specific areas of research and development (R&D), as well as other activities to address non-technical challenges. The Program has made substantial progress toward its goals and objectives, for example, reducing the cost of fuel cell by 75% since 2002 ($276/kW to $61/kW).
In FY 2009, the DOE Hydrogen Program competitively selected projects to address key barriers in the development of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. These included:
-Twenty-eight projects (approximately $113M; $129M with cost share over five years) in fuel cell technologies to develop novel catalysts, explore innovative concepts in materials and components, identify degradation mechanisms and mitigation strategies, understand the effects of water transport, and improve materials and packaging for portable-power fuel cells.
-Thirteen projects ($41.9M over two years; $114.3M with cost share) to support the deployment of nearly 1,000 fuel cell systems for emergency backup power and material handling applications (e.g., forklifts), as well as the demonstration of fuel cells for residential combined heat and power, auxiliary power units, and portable applications. These projects were funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The deployments will have significant near-term impact, creating jobs in fuel cell manufacturing, installation, maintenance and support service sectors. Industry participants have reinforced their commitment by proposing approximately $72.4 million in cost-share—bringing total project funding to nearly $114.3 million.
