Savannah River National Laboratory has been chosen to lead a consortium of universities and corporations in efforts to develop hydrogen vehicles that will reduce dependence on gasoline.
The new Hydrogen Storage Engineering Center of Excellence, to be based at the Aiken County lab, is not a physical building, but rather a "virtual center" with 10 partners around the country that will collaborate to advance hydrogen research.
"The Department of Energy's goal with this is for hydrogen vehicles to essentially do what today's gas vehicles will do," lab spokeswoman Angeline French said.
The department's Hydrogen, Fuel Cells and Infrastructure Technologies Program, an arm of the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, sought applications earlier this year to fund a multidisciplinary Center of Excellence team. The Savannah River lab's selection was announced Thursday.
The center, expected to operate for five years, will develop onboard hydrogen storage systems that can allow cars to drive 300 miles or more. The center also will develop scale model prototype vehicles for testing. The Energy Department expects to provide as much as $6 million in fiscal year 2009 for these projects.
The director of the center will be the lab's Dr. Don L. Anton, who led development of a prototype sodium aluminum hydride-based hydrogen storage system. The lab's Dr. Ted Motyka, who has designed and developed metal hydride hydrogen storage systems for more than 25 years, will be the assistant director.
Dr. Sam Bhattacharyya, the lab's director, said the choice of the lab to lead the program was a good one.
"Over a decade ago, we led a team that put a hydrogen-powered bus on the streets," he said. "And for decades before that, we have built up core competencies in this area by developing practical tritium storage systems that support the nation's defense."
The combined knowledge of the lab's scientists and experts from the nine other partner groups, he predicted, will lead to reasonably priced hydrogen-fueled cars that will reduce or eliminate the need for gasoline.
Reach Rob Pavey at (706) 868-1222, ext. 119, or rob.pavey@augustachronicle.com.
HYDROGEN-FUELED CAR RESEARCH
The Hydrogen Storage Engineering Center of Excellence team:
- Savannah River National Laboratory (Aiken)
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (Richland, Wash.)
- United Technologies Research Center (East Hartford, Conn.)
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (Los Alamos, N.M.)
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Pasadena, Calif.)
- The Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (Golden, Colo.)
- General Motors Corp. (Warren, Mich.)
- Ford Motor Co. (Dearborn, Mich.)
- Oregon State University (Corvallis, Ore.)
- Lincoln Composites Inc. (Lincoln, Neb.)
KEY RESEARCH OBJECTIVES:
- Reducing the cost of hydrogen, which includes production and delivery, from multiple pathways including renewable energy sources.
- Reducing the cost of fuel cells and improving their durability.
- Improving onboard hydrogen storage technology to enable a 300-mile drive without compromising passenger and trunk space, performance or cost.
Source: U.S. Department of Energy's Hydrogen Program
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