US powers up fuel cell funding

The division of President Obama's $100bn clean tech stimulus package continued last week with the announcement that $41.9m has been earmarked for investment across 13 different fuel cell projects.

An additional $72.4m of private sector funding will also be invested in the projects, which primarily focus on areas where fuel cells have already enjoyed some success, such as in providing back-up power for buildings, battery packs for consumer electronics devices, and fuel for fork-lift trucks.

Combined, the 13 pilot projects will result in nearly 1,000 fuel cells being deployed for emergency back-up power and material-handling vehicles, while a number of larger fuel cells will also be used to provide combined heat and power to residential and commercial buildings.

The projects will also cover a range of different fuel cell technologies, including polymer electrolyte, solid oxide and direct-methanol fuel cells.

Energy secretary Steven Chu said that the funding would help accelerate the commercialisation of fuel cells in markets where they have already proven to be technically feasible.

"The investments we're making today will help us build a robust fuel cell manufacturing industry in the US," he added. "Developing and deploying the next generation of fuel cells will not only create jobs – it will help our businesses become more energy efficient and productive."

Industry experts have long maintained that despite high expectations that fuel cells could one day replace the internal combustion engine as the primary means of powering cars, it is as stationary generators that the technology is most likely to gain mainstream support.

They argue that using fuel cells to provide heat and electricity to buildings or fuel depot-based vehicles largely avoids the challenge of building a nationwide hydrogen refuelling network, the absence of which has to date undermined the attractiveness of fuel cell-powered vehicles.