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Accomplishments and Progress

DOE has achieved several significant accomplishments since hydrogen and fuel cell RD&D was accelerated in 2004. DOE-supported activities have:

Chart showing the cost of the automotive fuel cell system, which is projected to a high-volume manufacturing of 500,000 units per year. In 2002, the cost of the automotive fuel cell system was $275/kW. The cost decreased to $108/kW in 2006, to $94/kW in 2007, and to $73/kW in 2008. The cost is projected to decrease to $45/kW by 2010 and to $30/kW in 2015, which is the target cost for the hydrogen program.

DOE has reduced the cost of automotive fuel cells from $275/kW in 2002 to $61/kW in 2009 and is targeting a cost of $30/kW by 2015.

  • Significantly reduced the cost of automotive fuel cells (from $275/kW in 2002 to $61/kW in 2009, based on projections of high-volume manufacturing costs)

  • Doubled the durability of fuel cell systems in vehicles operating under real-world conditions (data in 2006 showed 950-hour durability—today, this number is 2500 hours, equivalent to approximately 75,000 miles of driving)

  • Demonstrated fuel cell membrane electrode assembly durability of more than 7,300 hours (with cycling at <80°C) in single-cell laboratory tests, exceeding DOE's 2015 target of 5,000 hours

  • Reduced the cost of producing hydrogen from both renewable resources and natural gas (hydrogen can now be produced by distributed reforming of natural gas at a projected high-volume cost of $3.00/gallon gasoline equivalent—a cost competitive with gasoline)

  • Identified several new materials that show an improvement of more than 50 percent in on-board hydrogen storage capacity

  • Validated the status of the technologies by demonstrating 140 fuel cell vehicles and 20 refueling stations nationwide

  • Developed a coordinated national agenda for hydrogen codes and standards through a collaborative effort with industry and codes and standards development organizations

  • Developed resources to help disseminate information about hydrogen for general educational purposes, for the use of first responders, and to facilitate the process of permitting hydrogen installations

  • Established the International Partnership for the Hydrogen Economy (IPHE) among 16 countries and the European Commission to foster international cooperation on R&D, common codes and standards, and information sharing on infrastructure development through 30 collaborative projects

  • Established the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Interagency Task Force to coordinate federal adoption of hydrogen and fuel cell technology to support commercialization and industry growth (notable deployments include 100 forklifts, more than 40 backup power systems, and several fuel cell vehicles located in federal facilities across the nation).