BEVERLY HILLS - An inventor working on hydrogen storage systems designed to be backyard fueling stations for hydrogen cell cars has applied for a federal Department of Energy grant to start producing the tanks.

Bob DeCuir is seeking a $600,000 grant from a $1.3-billion fund established by the federal government to use hydrogen fuel cells to power cars. These cars use hydrogen in a tank and oxygen from the outside to power a fuel cell for electrical energy to run the motor.

He built a backyard solar tracking array this summer to make the hydrogen gas. What he's seeking now is a safe way to store the gas in high-pressure tanks that will be 6 feet long and 2 feet in diameter.

One tank would supply the normal requirements of two hydrogen cell vehicles, he said. A six-tank configuration would fuel 10 vehicles.

Switching cars to run on hydrogen is not part of DeCuir's research. That will have to come from the auto manufacturers, he said. His niche is to provide home- and business-based fuel storage tanks.

The tanks would deliver a hydrogen flow rated at 5,000 pounds per square inch at the nozzle. He said he recently enlisted the assistance of a research group headed by NASA to solve a high-pressure connection problem that had baffled him.

"The normal off-the-shelf stuff didn't work," he said. "I guess you could say I had rocket scientists working with me."

With the connection problem solved (he won't divulge too much, saying it's a trade secret), DeCuir finished a business plan and applied for the grant from the Energy Department.

If he gets the grant, he will be able to purchase the machinery needed to make the tanks.

These will be high-pressure Kevlar fiber storage systems, with about 10,000 pounds of storage pressure. When hydrogen becomes a widely used alternative fuel, DeCuir said, there won't be a need for gas stations. Instead, each home will have its own fueling system.

DeCuir is working full time on the project from his garage workshop. A byproduct of his research is that he is able to generate enough electricity from his hydrogen unit to supply most of the electrical needs of his house.

He said Florida is lagging behind in hydrogen fuel research.

"To me, $600,000 from a $1.3-billion fund is not that much," DeCuir said. "It's about time for Florida to get into the hydrogen research act."

DeCuir said he met with Sen. Bill Nelson and Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite and asked them for letters of support.

"They were nice and said they'd support me, so I should be getting letters from them soon," he said.

He expects to hear from the Energy Department by early spring on whether the grant has been approved.