The U.S. Department of Energy today announced more than $7 million to fund four projects in California, Washington, and Oregon to advance hydrogen storage technologies to be used in fuel cell electric vehicles. The 3-year projects will help lower the costs and increase the performance of hydrogen storage systems by developing innovative materials and advanced tanks for efficient and safe transportation. These investments are a part of the Department’s commitment to U.S. leadership in advanced fuel cell technology research to help domestic automakers bring more fuel cell electric vehicles into the mainstream market.

“Targeted investments in cutting-edge hydrogen storage technologies will spur American ingenuity, accelerate breakthroughs, and increase our competitiveness in the global clean energy economy,” said Energy Secretary Steven Chu. “As we focus on energy security, strengthening our portfolio to include domestically-produced hydrogen and American-made fuel cells for transportation and energy storage applications will create new jobs and reduce carbon pollution.”

The Energy Department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy is providing more than $7 million to the selected organizations, which are in turn providing close to $2 million in cost share. The projects focus on lowering the cost of compressed hydrogen storage systems and developing advanced materials for hydrogen storage. Compressed hydrogen storage provides a near-term pathway to commercialization, and reducing the costs of compressed tank systems will accelerate their market availability and adoption. Advanced materials-based hydrogen storage technologies will enable more efficient storage at lower pressures than current compressed hydrogen tanks.

As part of DOE’s portfolio of zero-emission electric vehicle technologies that reduce dependence on foreign oil, the innovations achieved through these projects will address technical barriers to storing hydrogen onboard fuel cell electric vehicles. The research may also advance energy storage applications that could enable more efficient use of renewable energy sources like wind and solar power.

 The four projects selected for award are:

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory – Richland, Washington – Up to $2.1 million

DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, in collaboration with Ford Motor Company, Lincoln Composites, Toray Carbon Fibers America, Inc. and AOC Inc., will use a coordinated approach to reduce the costs associated with compressed hydrogen storage systems. The project will focus on improving carbon fiber composite materials and the design and manufacture of hydrogen storage tanks. Through these advances, the team expects to lower the cost of manufacturing high-pressure hydrogen storage vessels by more than a third relative to current projections.

HRL Laboratories, LLC – Malibu, California – Up to $1.2 million

HRL Laboratories will investigate an innovative approach to hydrogen storage using engineered liquids that can efficiently absorb and release hydrogen gas. Liquids confined in porous structures have been shown to absorb significantly more gas and could create sites for hydrogen molecules that did not exist in the bulk liquid alone. HRL will use this concept to develop composite materials capable of dissolving up to 50 times greater quantities of hydrogen than in the bulk liquid, with the goal of enabling a high density, compact hydrogen storage option.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory – Berkeley, California – Up to $2.1 million

DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, partnering with the National Institute of Standards and Technology and General Motors, will use a theory-guided approach to synthesize novel materials with high hydrogen adsorption capacities. The team will develop and test “metal-organic framework” materials that have surfaces allowing high density of hydrogen, as well as materials with pores engineered to enable hydrogen storage at near-ambient temperatures.

University of Oregon – Eugene, Oregon – Up to $2.0 million

The University of Oregon, along with The University of Alabama, DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and Protonex Technology Corporation, will develop and test promising new materials for hydrogen storage. The proposed chemical hydrogen storage materials could enable liquid refueling, and regeneration of the hydrogen storage material, within temperature and pressure ranges suitable for both onboard mobile and stationary fuel cell applications.

Too often, brilliant green ideas stay on paper. This year for the fifth time, the Postcode Lottery Green Challenge is helping some of them actually reach the general public. The global competition encourages people to think creatively about fighting climate change.  Previous winners have gone on to achieve success with their innovative products and services, thanks in part to the publicity and network around the Postcode Lottery Green Challenge.

The Dutch Postcode Lottery received 717 entries from 81 countries in this year’s Green Challenge. Six were named finalists – two from the Netherlands and one each from Sweden, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. Actor Brad Pitt wished the finalists good luck in a video message. William McDonough, guru of sustainable building and production, announced the winner’s name.

Nick Christy of Australia has won the Postcode Lottery Green Challenge 2011 with his Water Recycling Shower. He will receive €500,000 to bring it to market. The shower system cuts water and energy use and costs by 70 per cent without compromising comfort. It works by heating water just before use and sterilising and reusing the excess.This patented shower system reduces water and energy use and cost by 70 per cent without impairing enjoyment. Showering represents households’ biggest use of water and second largest use of energy, but existing green solutions suffer from reduced water flow, length and temperature. This product combines an electrical element that heats the water, recirculation of warm water, and a heat exchanger that runs cooler water past hotter water.

The jury awarded a runner-up prize of €200,000 to Eden Full, 19, of Canada, whose SunSaluter, a $10 bamboo and metal rotator, boosts solar panels’ effectiveness by 40 per cent by tilting them towards the sun.  This $10 rotating tracker increases solar panels’ energy output by up to 40 per cent. A simple mechanism of sustainable bamboo and metal tilts the panels toward the sun. Electricity-free, it needs less maintenance than existing systems. Two prototypes have been deployed in Kenya. The SunSaluter provides a solution to the costliness of high-output solar systems and is easier to use and greener than motorised rotators. Suited to small- and large-scale use, it can encourage clean energy consumption in the developing world and improve its availability in established markets.

The European Union has adopted a highly ambitious target of decarbonizing power generation and other key industrial sectors, in addition to 67% cuts in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from transport and up to 91% in reductions within the residential sector by 2050. To accomplish these goals, the EU embarked on a strategy of developing a holistic view of energy, transport, and efficiency – a departure from the traditional silo approach to policymaking. The roadmaps produced as part of this process provide several directional indicators on technology development in the EU, along with key targets that must be addressed at the member state level.

According to a new white paper from Pike Research, these initiatives will be a major defining force in the structure of the region’s clean energy industry over the next four decades and beyond.

“The implications of the EU 2050 initiatives cannot be understated, as they form a blueprint for the transition to a Smart Energy economy and a Smart Transport network within and across 27 countries, with a total population of 501 million people”

“The implications of the EU 2050 initiatives cannot be understated, as they form a blueprint for the transition to a Smart Energy economy and a Smart Transport network within and across 27 countries, with a total population of 501 million people,” says research director Kerry-Ann Adamson. “This emerging framework will have a profound effect on the development of clean energy, the smart grid, and intelligent transportation systems.”

Analysis in the Pike Research white paper focuses on the implications of EU 2050 targets within several key sectors, including the following:

• Technology development and deployment
• Shipping
• Alternative fuel vehicle refueling technology
• Residential energy markets
• Development of alternative business models
• Energy storage
• Microgrids and distributed generation
• Development of alternative consumption models
• Intelligent transportation systems
• Carbon reduction at residential levels 

The white paper, “European Union Clean Energy Policy”, examines issues related to the EU 2050 targets and analyzes their implications alongside broader economic opportunities, such as creating a world-leading cleantech investment hub in the EU and developing a robust energy infrastructure based on low-carbon technologies. The paper provides interpretation and analysis of policy trends as they relate to the development and adoption of emerging smart energy and transportation technologies and operational models. A full copy of the white paper is available for free download on the firm’s website.

A distinguished group of international leaders in government, business, academia and renowned Green activists has been selected to join the Jury for the Zayed Future Energy Prize. The Zayed Future Energy Prize is recognized as the world’s preeminent award -driving innovation, leadership, long-term vision and impact in renewable energy and sustainability. 

“We welcome to the Prize highly accomplished individuals who bring together a multi-faceted set of experiences in the industry along with a shared passion and commitment to advancing renewable energy and sustainability around the world,” said Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Director General of the Zayed Future Energy Prize. “We will greatly benefit by each of their specific areas of expertise and participation.” 

GovEnergy, the nation’s premier energy training workshop and trade show for federal energy professionals, will take place August 7–10, 2011 at the Duke Energy Convention Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. Embracing the theme A River of Energy Solutions, the event will feature over 130 training sessions within 15 educational categories. More than 250 exhibitors will attend and organizers expect to draw around 4,000 attendees.

The training workshop and trade show asserts GovEnergy Chairman Joe Sabel, is the most comprehensive way for federal agencies to explore ways to meet their mandated sustainability goals, which requires improvements to their environmental, energy, and economic performance.

“GovEnergy is the single best opportunity to get training, gather information, form partnerships, and build networks that will help us meet the challenges of the 21st century and beyond,” said Mr. Sabel. “In the last year, human error, international politics, natural disasters and fiscal realities continually teach us that there is no magic solution when it comes to addressing sustainability, energy security or energy surety.”

Mr. Sabel added, “Our greatest opportunities for success come from adapting the behavior and culture, making every federal employee—every person—a part of the team working towards a sustainable nation.”

GovEnergy features forward-thinking speakers from the public and private sectors. Opening remarks will be presented by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) Administrator Martha Johnson; Dr. Dorothy Robyn, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Installations and Environment; Craig E. Hooks, the Assistant Administrator for the Office of Administration and Resources Management, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); Larry Falkin, the Director of Cincinnati’s Office of Environmental Quality (CEQ) and Dr. Timothy Unruh, Program Manager for the Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP), U.S. Department of Energy. The closing luncheon will include remarks by noted environmental psychologist, Dr. Doug McKenzie-Mohr, as well as John M. McHugh, Secretary of the Army; and Henry Kelly, the Acting Assistant Secretary for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.  

The 2011 program has been updated with a host of unique features. The training workshop will offer five new educational categories: GovEnergy Roundtable, Complying with Federal Directives, Energy Projects A-Z, Energy 501, and Utility Infrastructure. The technology-driven trade show has been expanded to include new technologies and an electric vehicle display.

Exhibitors will benefit from such additions as the technology theater, allowing them to provide brief presentations about their products and services. Exhibitors are also encouraged to attend the expanded two-day exhibitor-focused workshop, Doing Business with the Federal Government.  

GovEnergy attendees have the opportunity to obtain professional development and education credits and participate in numerous networking opportunities. On Sunday, August 7, GovEnergy will offer on-site technical tours where attendees can observe energy saving technologies used within the Cincinnati metro region. On Tuesday, August 9, from 2:00–4:00 p.m., complimentary trade show access will be granted to those who sign in at the GovEnergy registration desk.  

For more information about GovEnergy or to register, visit www.govenergy.gov.