Advanced BioFuels USA

by Michael Bates (NGT News)  The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has revealed its intention to invest up to $100 million over five years in two new DOE National Laboratory-led consortia to advance hydrogen and fuel cell technologies research and development (R&D). This funding is subject to appropriations.

“Hydrogen and fuel cell technologies have the potential to enable resiliency, energy security and economic growth across multiple sectors,” says Mark W. Menezes, undersecretary of energy.

“Through these ambitious new initiatives, the Trump administration continues its commitment to all-of-the-above energy solutions, providing a wide variety of clean energy options for both power generation and transportation,” he adds.

One consortium will conduct R&D to achieve large-scale, affordable electrolyzers, which use electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, and can be powered by various energy sources, including natural gas, nuclear and renewables. This R&D will complement and help support large industry deployment by enabling more durable, efficient and low-cost electrolyzers.

The other consortium will conduct R&D to accelerate the development of fuel cells for heavy-duty vehicle applications, including long-haul trucks. This initiative will set a five-year goal to prove the ability to have a fully competitive heavy-duty fuel cell truck that can meet all of the durability, cost and performance requirements of the trucking industry.

The two consortia will leverage expertise and equipment at DOE’s National Labs and support DOE’s H2@Scale vision for large-scale, affordable hydrogen production, storage, distribution and utilization across multiple applications, energy storage and metals manufacturing.

H2@Scale is led by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE’s) Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office.  READ MORE

DOE Announces Request for Proposals for H2@Scale (U.S. Department of Energy)

Excerpt from U.S. Department of Energy: Today (July 1, 2020), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a request for proposals for research and development (R&D) projects that support DOE’s H2@Scale vision for large-scale, affordable hydrogen production, storage, distribution, and utilization across multiple sectors.

Through this request from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), DOE’s Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO), within the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, is requesting proposals for collaborative R&D projects addressing two priority areas of interest:

1. Advancing hydrogen fueling technologies for medium- and heavy-duty fuel cell vehicles
2. Addressing technical barriers to hydrogen blending in natural gas.

This request for proposals looks to increase industrial and stakeholder engagement in H2@Scale through investment and active participation in cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) projects with DOE’s National Laboratories. Support from HFTO will fund the National Laboratory services, staff time, and facilities necessary to support each selected project.

Selected projects must include one or more National Laboratories and must also include partners from one or more of the following: industry, universities, non-profits, institutes, codes and standards organizations, associations, or other relevant stakeholders.

Proposals are due by Friday, July 31, 2020, at 7 p.m. Eastern Time. More information, application requirements, and instructions can be found at beta.sam.gov and on the NREL website. The proposal and any technical inquiries should be directed to H2atScaleCRADAcall@nrel.gov.   READ MORE