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.

The University of Liverpool is to open the first interdisciplinary centre dedicated to energy research in the North West.

The Stephenson Institute for Renewable Energy, named after the nineteenth century engineering pioneers George and Robert Stephenson, will undertake research into renewable energy sources such as fuel cell technology and bio fuels.

As supplies of current fossil-based fuels diminish, the development of new energy sources is one of the defining challenges of the 21st Century.  The Stephenson Institute will bring together energy-related research activities to focus on developing clean and sustainable energy technologies including hydrogen generation and storage, solar harvesting, wind and marine energy and fusion technology.

The Institute is also recruiting 10 world-class scientists to join existing research groups in Chemistry, Physics, Materials Science and Engineering.  The recruitment underlines the University of Liverpool’s priorities for future research and represents a major investment by the institution.

Professor Werner Hofer, the Director of the Institute, said: “The provision of energy is one of the greatest challenges facing the world today and the Stephenson Institute for Renewable Energy will provide a new approach to developing new, cleaner and safer ways to produce energy.  Many of the new technologies that will power our future are still emerging and the creation of the Institute will enhance our ability to help tackle this global challenge.”

In addition to its research programme, the Stephenson Institute will allow students and postgraduates to work on energy-related projects and technologies providing them with relevant skills and knowledge to meet the UK and global demand for graduates in this emerging job market. The Institute will develop expert networks, including policy-makers and management, to highlight global energy and sustainability issues.

Source: University of Liverpool

Ditlev Engel, President and CEO of Vestas Wind Systems A/S and convener of the  working group for creating green jobs, is asking every G20 Head of State for a  date – one hour in their calendar over the coming months. Mr Engel and working  group colleagues offer to personally present tailor-made recommendations specific to each G20 country.

The working group for creating green jobs (comprised of CEOs and Chairmen from the following companies: Cisco Systems, Inc.; EDF; GDF Suez; Hyundai Heavy  Industries Co.; PGE Polska Energetyczna S.A.; Robert Bosch GmbH; Shanfari Group of Companies; Siam Cement Group and Vestas Wind Systems A/S) has spent the last three months developing a report including concrete and ready-to-go economy-wide recommendations for creating green jobs.                                       

The green jobs working group wants G20 leaders to commit to these four actions:

• Set a robust price on carbon – high enough and stable enough to change people’s  behaviour and investment decisions
• Scale up research and development – and do that dramatically
• Eliminate fossil fuel subsidies as quickly as possible – and within five years at most
• Allow free trade in environmental goods and services

“It’s not a one-size fits all approach,” said Mr Engel. “We have only a short  time with the leaders here at the G20. That’s why for us, it starts here in Seoul. Our offer to each of the G20 leaders is simple: give us an hour of your time and we’ll come to you. Give us a date in your calendar and we’ll help you  create a tailor-made policy framework to meet your country’s specific needs.  Instead of a 1 x 20 solution, we suggest a 20 x 1 solution, finding what works  best for each country.”                                                        

He continues: “Creating green jobs on a massive scale is a two-way street. Give us the policy frameworks, and we’ll give you the results. We’ll make the investments, we’ll take the risks, and we’ll create the jobs. But this requires a policy framework that re-balances the incentives indisputably in favour of  green investment.”                                                             

The report provides additional details on four sectors – power, buildings,  industry, and transportation – with examples from around the world that work, policies that have been shown to create results. Countries that have been fastest to embrace the green economy have already created huge numbers of green jobs and new economic growth engines that are not dependent on fossil fuels or  scarce natural resources.                                                      

“The ‘green jobs race’ is on,” says Ditlev Engel. “The question is, how much can each G20 member benefit? This is why we’re asking each G20 leader to give us a date, an hour of their time, so we can help them and their countries win.”   

You can find more about Vestas and the working group for creating green jobs here:                                                                          
http://www.vestas.com/en/g20.aspx

Below are summaries of the global economy wide recommendations from the working group for creating green jobs to the G20                                       

Set a robust price on carbon

Carbon pricing is the foundation on which a truly successful green economic and job creation revolution must be built. Consumers and industry at large will  respond rationally and efficiently to the carbon price signal, but to motivate investment on the scale needed, the carbon price must be transparent,  long-lived, and certain (“TLC”).  Emissions trading systems such as the EU-ETS are not currently delivering these objectives. New measures are needed to provide more certainty (e.g., a floor price) and longer horizons (e.g., carbon  price contracts for targeting key long-term investments such as renewables). In some regions, a carbon tax could be considered. Even without a global climate deal or a global carbon market, much can be done on a national and regional  level in G20 countries. Over time, as carbon prices stabilize and converge, carbon markets can further integrate to create even greater market certainty and
efficiency.   
Dramatically scale up research and development

R&D spending needs to be increased by a factor of four in order to get anywhere near the optimal level. This will create highly skilled jobs directly as well as generate positive ripple effects in other parts of the economy through faster  uptake of more advanced technologies, leading to lower costs and increased efficiency. A range of delivery approaches will be needed, including public subsidies, grants, partnerships, and co-investments. And we need market-based technology transfer agreements to maximize the impact of this spending, particularly in the developing world.                                          

End fossil fuel subsidies                              

The G20 leaders have already committed to phasing out over the “medium term” some of the US$ 557 billion spent annually (2008) on fossil fuel subsidies.   While this is an important start, we believe faster and broader action is required in light of the clear economic and environmental benefits. We urge G20 leaders to end all such subsidies within the shortest possible time frame, and not more than five years. Equity issues need to be addressed, but a number of countries have already proven it is possible to protect the poor without  simultaneously encouraging over-consumption of fossil fuels.                   

Allow free trade in environmental goods and services

Existing tariff and non-tariff trade barriers such as local content requirements restrict free trade in green goods and services and thereby increase prices, reduce competition, discourage innovation, and inhibit green job growth. Eliminating tariff and non-tariff trade barriers on environmental goods and  services will accelerate diffusion of green technologies, increase economies of scale, lower prices, encourage competition and innovation, and result in faster job creation. Therefore we urge G20 leaders to create a safe haven for the free trade of environmental goods and services by urgently agreeing first to  eliminate such trade barriers among the G20 countries, and then using the power of that leadership example to expand such a free trade safe haven to an ever-greater number of countries.

The Federal Transit Administration announced the award of $1.7 million to the Anaheim Transportation Network (ATN) for cutting-edge transportation projects that create “green” jobs, promote the use of clean fuels, and help reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gases and other pollutants.

The money is being provided through FTA’s Fiscal Year 2010 Discretionary Sustainability Funding Opportunity, announced last April, which comprises two programs: $89.7 million from FTA’s Clean Fuels Grant Program and $75 million from FTA’s Transit Investment in Greenhouse Gas and Energy Reduction (TIGGER) Program.

The Clean Fuels funds were awarded to 36 transit recipients through a competitive nation-wide selection process based on the ability to help communities achieve or maintain the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for ozone and carbon monoxide, while supporting emerging clean fuel and advanced propulsion technologies for transit buses. The winning proposals were submitted by transit agencies from across the country. The FTA reviewed more than 274 applications seeking a total of $1.4 billion.

This funding coming to the ATN is in addition to $2.2 million the ATN previously received from the Federal Transit Administration from the State of Good Repair Program. Over 400 requests from transit providers across the country, requesting over $4.2 billion in funding were received by the Federal Transit Administration. The ATN is among 152 other grant recipients to receive funding under the State of Good Repair discretionary grant program.

“Service reliability and environmentally conscious solutions are our highest priorities and they go hand-in-hand with making sure that the ATN’s Anaheim Resort Transit system is in a solid position to meet the needs of the Anaheim community,” said Paul Sanford, ATN Chairman. “The millions of people who depend on the Anaheim Resort Transit system each year expect a safe, comfortable, and eco-friendly transportation service.”

About Anaheim Transportation Network – The Anaheim Transportation Network’s mission is to enhance transportation options by delivering reliable and efficient transportation solutions. Our commitment to customers consists of integrity, customer service, can-do spirit, communication and partnerships. ATN’s members include businesses in-and-around The Anaheim Resort District and its Board of Directors includes members and ex-officio members from the City of Anaheim and the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce. Formed in 1995 as part of the expansion of The Anaheim Resort District, the ATN improves mobility and air quality throughout the cities of Anaheim, Garden Grove and Orange. www.RideArt.org

The Los Angeles Trade-Technical College has a range of green-related courses and programs that range from alternative fuels and emissions reduction in the Diesel Technology Program to a Supply Water Technology AS degree with an emphasis in water purification.  Currently the college has 52 green-integrated courses and four green-related degree and certificate programs in career-technical, science, health, and liberal arts programs.

In the summer of 2007, the college launched several green-related workforce development initiatives through its Regional Economic Development Institute (REDI). To date as a result of these initiatives, the college has: convened a two-day Sustainability Industry and Educators Forum to define green industry sector trends and needs including career and academic pathways, occupations, and skills/competencies; completed research on the demand/supply side of green construction, transportation and energy sectors in the Los Angeles Region; identified and prioritized industry sectors and occupations for developing green workforce training programs; is currently developing curriculum for Alternative Fuels and Solar Technician program(s); is currently in research and development phase for developing a fuel cell technician program; and is planning for the implementation of a Green Business Certification Program.

Included in the College’s green Associates degrees are two which focus on Water Technology: 

For more information on the College and its programs, please visit http://www.lattc.edu/dept/lattc/WED/GCIPrograms.html