$350 Million in Hydrogen R&D Grants Issued

Thirty lead organizations and more than 100 partners were selected to receive $350 million in Department of Energy grants for hydrogen-related R&D. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham made the announcements on a national tour last week, saying the funding is a significant "down payment" on the President's $1.2 billion commitment to hydrogen R&D. The funds will be spread out over five years, DOE says, and are broken down by area: $150 million for hydrogen storage, $190 million in vehicle demonstration projects, and $13 million for fuel-cell R&D. The hydrogen storage research will be overseen by three hydrogen "centers of excellence" at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The $190 million vehicle demonstration grants go primarily to automakers that are expected to match the funds.