A Mercedes-Benz O530 Citaro powered by hydrogen fuel cells, in Brno, Czech Republic. (Credit: Aktron / Wikimedia Commons)
US Department of Energy have announced last week a $1 million investment into hydrogen fuel technologies. Money would be used to analyze possible cost-effective ways for hydrogen fuel production and transport. This action is a part of a long-term plan aimed at lowering hydrogen fuel prices to $2-$4 per gallon gasoline equivalent (the amount of alternative fuel it takes to equal the energy content of one liquid gallon of gasoline) by year 2020.
The project, led by Strategic Analysis in Arlington, Virginia, will help accelerate commercialization of cost-competitive, U.S.-made hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. The project will conduct thorough cost analyses of hydrogen pathways to identify the most economical hydrogen production and delivery methods and highlight remaining research and development challenges. With the help of this Energy Department investment, Strategic Analysis will examine a range of hydrogen production pathways, including electrolysis from the electrical grid and renewable energy sources, converting biofuels to hydrogen, biomass gasification, solar thermochemical hydrogen, photoelectrochemical hydrogen, and biological hydrogen.
