DOE Announces Initial $1 million H-Prize Competition for Breakthrough Advances in Materials for Hydrogen Storage
The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of Energy (DOE) has given Notice of Initial H-Prize Competition for Breakthrough Advances in Materials for Hydrogen Storage (‘‘H- Prize Competition’’).
As authorized in Section 654 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, DOE is announcing the Initial H-Prize Competition which will be a single award for $1 million in the subject area of advanced materials for hydrogen storage—a critical challenge to enable widespread commercialization of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies.
Evaluation of entries will begin approximately 15 months after the date this announcement appears in the Federal Register (FR). A single prize of $1 million will be awarded, unless no entries are significant enough to merit an award. The essential elements of the H-Prize Competition are included in this announcement; further updates and answers to questions asked by participants will be available on a public Web site, http://hydrogenprize.org, and through future FR notices as required. We encourage prospective participants to visit the Web site, as it will be updated periodically.
DATES:
February 15, 2010: Deadline for Registration and Eligibility Documentation.
November 15, 2010: Deadline for submittal of material samples for testing.
Dec 2010/Jan 2011: Sample testing by an independent third party laboratory.
Dec 2010/Jan 2011: Panel of Judges reviews and evaluates the independent third party testing data.
February 2011: Award of $1 million prize, if the Panel of Judges determines that there is a winning entry.
Background: The H-Prize is authorized by Section 654 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, Public Law 110–140, as an amendment to Sec. 1008 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, Public Law 109–58. Under Section 654, the Secretary of Energy is authorized to carry out a program to competitively award cash prizes to advance the research, development, demonstration and commercial application of hydrogen energy technologies. The purpose is to
accelerate the development of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies by offering prizes to motivate and reward outstanding scientific and engineering advancements. The mobilization of private funding, in concert with a core of Federal and other public funding, is at the heart of the H-Prize concept. This broadens the base of investment in
incentivizing notable scientific and engineering breakthroughs, while elevating their significance with the public, and builds on DOE’s steady achievements in research, development and demonstration. The H-Prize is administered by the Hydrogen Education Foundation (HEF) for the Department of Energy.
DOE is developing hydrogen and fuel cell technologies for multiple applications, including the transportation sector where the largest benefits in reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and oil use are likely.
Hydrogen storage is one of the challenging critical barriers to the widespread market penetration of hydrogen-fueled vehicles. Techniques and materials are needed to store hydrogen on-board a vehicle while meeting consumer expectations for driving range, performance, and refueling time without compromising safety or payload.
