The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) presented opportunities with potential for hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. Signed into law on February 17, 2009, the Recovery Act was an unprecedented effort to jumpstart our economy, create or save millions of jobs, and put a down payment on addressing long-neglected challenges so our country can thrive in the twenty-first century.
Fuel Cell Project Highlights
Highlights from U.S. Department of Energy's Fuel Cell Recovery Act Projects features fuel cell deployments for backup power and material handling equipment.
Fuel Cell Funding Announcement
On April 15, 2009, DOE announced $41.9 million in Recovery Act funding to accelerate fuel cell commercialization and deployment. With approximately $54 million in cost-share funding from industry participants—for a total of nearly $96 million—the new funding supported immediate deployment of up to 1,000 fuel cell systems in emergency backup power, material handling, and combined heat and power applications. These efforts were funded to improve the potential of fuel cells to provide power in stationary, portable, and specialty vehicle applications; and to cut carbon emissions, create jobs, and broaden our nation's clean energy technology portfolio.
Projects Awarded Funding
Learn about the Recovery Act projects funded for fuel cell market transformation. The map graphic shows the location of these projects as well as other fuel cell deployment projects using DOE market transformation funding.
Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Opportunities
Funding opportunity announcements through the Recovery Act included potential opportunities for hydrogen and fuel cell technologies.
In addition to supporting funding opportunities, the Recovery Act extended and expanded incentives to encourage the installation of fuel cells and hydrogen fueling infrastructure. The following table summarizes the expansion of tax credits.
Expansion of Tax Credits
| Hydrogen Fueling Facility Credit | Increased the hydrogen fueling credit from 30% or $30,000 to 30% or $200,000. |
| Grants for Energy Property in Lieu of Tax Credits | Allowed facilities with insufficient tax liability to apply for a grant instead of claiming the investment tax credit or the production tax credit. Only entities that pay taxes are eligible. |
| Manufacturing Credit | Created 30% credit for investment in property used for manufacturing fuel cells and other technologies. |
| Residential Energy Efficiency Credit | Raised ITC dollar cap for residential fuel cells in joint occupancy dwellings to $3,334/kW. |
Learn More
Visit the DOE Recovery Act website to learn more about the Recovery Act.
To learn more about the fuel cell market transformation Recovery Act projects, view past proceedings from the DOE Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Program Annual Merit Review and Peer Evaluation (AMR) Meeting: