The July 2014 issue of the of the Fuel Cell Technologies Office newsletter includes stories in these categories:

In this issue:

In the News

SBIR/STTR Phase I Release 1 Technical Topics for FY15 Announced

On Monday, July 14, the U.S. Department of Energy announced the Fiscal Year 2015 Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) Phase I Release 1 technical topics. These topics include non-platinum catalysts for fuel cells and detection of contaminants in hydrogen. The full SBIR/STTR Funding Opportunity Announcement will be issued on August 11, 2014, and applications will be due October 14, 2014.

SAE International Publishes New Standard to Enable Hydrogen Fueling for Light Duty Vehicles Worldwide

SAE International published new standard SAE J2601 that establishes protocol and process limits for hydrogen fueling of light duty vehicles. The J2601 fueling protocol, which has been validated over the past 13 years, relies on a look-up table methodology and an average pressure ramp-rate that allows for the standardization of hydrogen fueling for both 35 MPa and 70 MPa pressure classes. The standard constitutes an important tool to help address some of the institutional barriers related to safety codes and standards faced by fuel cell electric vehicles today.

NIST Announces the Development of Prototype Meter for Hydrogen Refueling

On July 21, 2014, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced the development of a prototype field test standard to check the accuracy of hydrogen fuel dispensers. Once tested, the prototype could be used as a reference for constructing similar measurement devices for hydrogen refueling. The introduction of a hydrogen refueling test standard in the near future will be beneficial especially with current plans of states such as California to build new public hydrogen refueling stations. This work on 350 bar dispensing complements the device built by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) for 750 bar dispensing.

New Online Tool Provides State and Local Energy Data at Your Fingertips

The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy recently launched the NREL-developed State and Local Energy Data (SLED) Tool which provides state and local decision-makers easy access to a wealth of energy data specific to their location. SLED aggregates data and resources on energy generation, energy efficiency, renewable energy, transportation, community planning, and makes it accessible by ZIP code and easily downloadable. Users can create a profile of local energy use and compare it to national averages, learn about applicable policies and incentives that might affect clean energy projects in their state, get details on alternative transportation fuel costs, and much more.

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Funding Opportunities and Requests for Information

DOE Issues Request for Information on Fuel Cells for Continuous On-Board Recharging for Battery Electric Light-Duty Vehicles

The Fuel Cell Technologies Office (FCTO) has issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking input related to the technical and economic feasibility of commercializing fuel cell range extenders as on-board power generators for all-electric vehicles in the United States market. All-electric light-duty vehicles with fuel cell range extenders may reduce "range anxiety" for daily driving distances longer than current commercial technology can provide. This concept may include benefits such as batteries for delivering most of the base power and fuel cell systems for energy storage and peak power needs. Potential applications may include, but are not limited to, light parcel deliveries, couriers, dispatch utility services, and taxis. RFI responses are due to FCTO by August 7, 2014.

Updates and future funding opportunity announcements will be posted on the FCTO's financial opportunities website.

Webinars and Workshops

Proceedings and Final Report of the 2014 Hydrogen Transmission and Distribution Workshop Available Online

The 2014 Hydrogen Transmission and Distribution Workshop proceedings and final summary report are now available on EERE's website. The workshop was held on February 25–26, 2014, at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The event brought together experts from the industrial gas and energy industries, national laboratories, academia, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology to discuss and share information on the research, development, and demonstration needs and challenges for low-cost, effective hydrogen transmission and distribution from centralized production facilities to the point of use.

July 29 Webinar: Supporting a Hawaii Hydrogen Economy

On July 29, the Energy Department presented a live webinar titled "Supporting a Hawaii Hydrogen Economy." This webinar featured representatives from the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute discussing the status of current and planned hydrogen projects in Hawaii. Hawaii's diverse and ample availability of renewable resources and its focus on diversifying the state's energy mix by producing hydrogen make it the state with the nearest-term potential to evolve toward an energy economy that includes significant use of renewable hydrogen. Slides from the webinar are available.

Upcoming Webinar August 19: Increasing Renewable Energy with Hydrogen Storage and Fuel Cell Technologies

The Energy Department will present a live webinar titled "Increasing Renewable Energy with Hydrogen Storage and Fuel Cell Technologies" on Tuesday, August 19, from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). The webinar will feature representatives from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory presenting a unique opportunity for the integration of multiple sectors including transportation, industrial, heating fuel, and electric sectors on hydrogen. This talk will look at the architecture of hydrogen storage systems and economic competitiveness for those systems when compared with conventional systems. Register to attend this webinar.

Visit our website to see webinar archives or workshop presentations.

Studies, Reports, and Publications

2014 DOE Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Program Annual Merit Review Proceedings Available

The 2014 Annual Merit Review and Peer Evaluation Proceedings are now available on the Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Program's website and include presentations and posters on individual project status and results as well as overview presentations from the plenary session. The Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Program's Annual Merit Review and Peer Evaluation Meeting took place June 16–20, co-located with the Vehicle Technologies Office's Annual Merit Review and Peer Evaluation Meeting, and showcased more than 350 oral presentations and 150 poster presentations on projects funded by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and the Office of Science. More than 1,800 people attended.

2013 Cost Projections for Automotive Fuel Cell Systems and Hydrogen Production via PEM Electrolysis

The DOE Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Program has added two new cost records to its database. Record 14012: Fuel Cell System Cost – 2013 summarizes the results of the annual cost analysis funded by FCTO to estimate the cost of an 80-kWnet automotive polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell system based on 2013 state-of-the-art technology and projected to a manufacturing volume of 500,000 units/year. The record also describes the expected cost of automotive PEM fuel cell systems planned for commercialization in the 2016 time frame, using current technology and manufactured at a volume of 20,000 units/year. The second program record, 14004: Hydrogen Production Cost From PEM Electrolysis, details the projected high-volume, untaxed cost of hydrogen production from PEM electrolysis in 2013 and 2025.

Visit our website for details on these and other program records.

Water Emissions from Fuel Cell Vehicles

Another DOE Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Program Record released on July 14 estimates the amount of water emitted by a fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV). As detailed in record 14007: Water Emissions from Light Duty Vehicles the water emissions from an FCEV are estimated to range from approximately 10% less water to approximately 10% more water per mile (or per km) than today's average internal combustion engine vehicle.

New Fact Sheets Available on Models and Tools for Systems Analysis

Twenty new fact sheets on the models and tools used for system analysis of hydrogen and fuel cells were recently posted on EERE's website. The models and tools summarized in the fact sheets are used by the Fuel Cell Technologies Office’s system analysis program to perform hydrogen/fuel cell-related calculations, evaluations, and environmental assessments. The models provide the basis for analyzing alternatives at the system and technology level in terms of cost, performance, benefits, and risks.

Visit our website to access technical information about hydrogen and fuel cells. This information is provided in documents such as technical and project reports, conference proceedings and journal articles, technical presentations, and links to other websites.

National Laboratory and Principal Investigator Achievements

Dr. Branko Popov Recognized in "2014 World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds"

Thomson Reuters has included University of South Carolina professor Branko N. Popov as one of the 2014 World's Most Influential Scientific Minds and one of our nation's most highly cited researchers from 2002 to 2014. Dr. Popov's work has had a profound impact on energy-storage materials used in advanced batteries and catalysts for hydrogen fuel cells, all of which are accelerating the commercialization of electric vehicles. He is currently the principal investigator of a DOE-funded project entitled "Development of Ultra-Low Doped-Platinum Cathode Catalysts for PEM Fuel Cells."