DOE allots $100M in fuel cell funding through 2010

On Tuesday, while speaking to the Council on Competitiveness and the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Energy Department Secretary Samuel Bodman announced that $100 million has been awarded to 25 fuel cell research and development projects. Bodman said, "We expect hydrogen to play an integral role in our energy portfolio and we are eager to see hydrogen fuel cell vehicles on the road in the near future."
The funding is set to be paid over four years, 2007 to 2010, and the selected organizations include 3M, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, UTC Power, Argonne National Laboratory, Plug Power, Case Western Reserve University, the University of Connecticut and Clemson University. The breakdown of funding by topic is as follows:

• Fuel cell membranes - $21.2M
• Water transport within the stack - $17.9M
• Advanced cathode catalysts - $31.6M
• Bipolar plates - $6.8M
  
• Seals - $2.0M
• Stack design - $2.8M
• Balance of plant - $1.0M
• Effects of impurities on fuel cell performance and durability - $7.5M
• Stationary fuel cell demonstration projects (to help foster international and intergovernmental partnerships - $9.8M
  

To see a complete breakdown by organization, click here.

The press release makes sure to mention that the funding works to advance President Bush's Hydrogen Fuel Initiative which seeks to "make it practical and cost-effective for large numbers of Americans to choose to purchase fuel cell vehicles by 2020."

[Source: Fuel Cell Works]