Grand Forks, N.D. — The U.S. Department
of Energy today announced the award of $2.7 million to the University
of North Dakota to establish a National Center for Hydrogen Technology.
The new center will focus on obtaining hydrogen from coal, America’s
most abundant fossil fuel, and will test a range of technologies from
hydrogen production to transportation to utilization.
Hydrogen has the potential to solve at least two major energy
challenges confronting America today: dependence on imported oil and
emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants.
The one year cooperative agreement among the University of North
Dakota, DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory ( NETL ), and
several industry partners will initiate a diverse research program in
pursuit of a hydrogen economy infrastructure.
Research conducted at the center will advance President Bush’s Hydrogen
Fuel Initiative, which calls for developing the technology needed for
commercially viable hydrogen-powered fuel cells, and FutureGen, an
initiative to build the world’s first integrated sequestration and
hydrogen production research power plant.
Initial projects will address coal refining, hydrogen carriers,
end-of-pipe reforming, and strategic studies to identify the research
areas most likely to overcome barriers to the deployment of
hydrogen-from-coal technologies.
NETL will provide program oversight for the center’s first year of
operation. Industry cost share funding brings the program’s first year
total value to $3.4 million.
For more information, contact:
David Anna, DOE National Energy Technology Laboratory, 412-386-4646,
david.anna@netl.doe.gov |
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