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| Center for Fuel Cell Research and Applications |
The Center focuses Supplemental Projects on identifying and addressing barriers inhibiting the deployment of fuel cell and hydrogen technologies. We engage in practical, market oriented projects with specific goals for moving promising technologies into large, desirable markets. Our work may include applications studies, market studies, product testing, and technology development. We are mostly focused on overcoming market and technical barriers affecting the adoption of near-commercial systems. The Center is actively working to develop projects in the following three broad categories. We invite input from any party interested in initiating a multi-participant research effort consistent with these guidelines.
Fuel Cells
The Center is particularly interested in expanding our fuel cell evaluation and research beyond that achieved in our Core Program. In particular, we desire to initiate evaluations on fuel cell systems from APC/Hydrogenics, IdaTech, NanoDynamics, Voller Energy, and Smart Fuel Cell. The Center is interested in using our remote monitoring capability to assess the operation of fuel cell systems. The Center is actively working to engage with others to study and evaluate the best potential commercialization pathways for residential combined heat and power applications, including the development of hybrid systems for enhanced (i.e., off-grid) motor starting. We are also interested in using the large commerical and industrial base along the Texas Gulf Coast to evaluate the potential for fuel cells combined heat and power applications using high temperature fuel cell technologies.
Potential Projects
Hydrogen
The Center is interested in initiating projects to evaluate options for building regional and national hydrogen infrastructure. We desire to initiate projects to test and evaluate a wide range of hydrogen production technologies, especially those technologies that reform fossil fuels and in a size suitable for distributed production of hydrogen at existing fueling stations. In particular, the Center is interested in testing distributed hydrogen production equipment from Proton Energy Systems, Teledyne Energy Systems, and H2Gen Innovations. We are also pursuing studies to evaluate the opportunities for using the existing hydrogen infrastructure in the Texas Gulf Coast region and to establish regional and state-wide hydrogen infrastructure implementation plans. HARC is also working to create programs to produce and distribute hydrogen by large-scale centralized methods.
Potential Projects
Vehicle and Mobile Hydrogen Demonstrations
The Center is interested in evaluating technologies with the potential to stimulate demand for hydrogen in the near-term, thereby driving the deployment of hydrogen infrastructure in advance of the arrival of fuel cell powered vehicles. Programs in this area would both assist in the development of profitable hydrogen businesses by evaluating those technologies stimulating hydrogen demand.
Potential Projects
- Texas Mobile Hydrogen Demonstration Center
Plug-In Hybrid Vehicles
In this program, the Center will work with program sponsors to identify key information and data needs to support the design and rollout of internal plug-in hybrid programs. The program objective is to provide the background establishing the benefits of the technology, the status of the technology, commercialization trends, and provide innovative ideas about how plug-in hybrid technology programs can be designed and advanced for maximum impact. The Plug-In hybrid Program is intended for companies wishing to get involved in advancing Plug-In Hybrid vehicles, including electric utilities, automotive fuel cell companies, battery suppliers, environmental organizations, fleet operators, venture capitalists, and similar organizations.
Potential Projects
- Benefits, Roadmap, and Program Design for Plug-In Hybrid Vehicles
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| Page Updated/Reviewed: 05/25/2006 10:05 AM |
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