UC Davis transportation researchers will receive approximately $10 million in research and outreach grants as part of a U.S. Department of Energy program to bring the hydrogen economy closer.
The $350 million program was announced by U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham April 27. UC Davis researchers at the Institute of Transportation Studies will receive support over five years as part of the program.
One project includes a state-of-the-art hydrogen fueling station to be constructed on campus by ChevronTexaco.
"This multi-million dollar commitment to research is a down payment on a more energy- and environmentally secure future," Abraham said, in a statement announcing the awards.
"UC Davis already partners with the Department of Energy on many clean energy projects. The new hydrogen programs will provide one more outstanding opportunity for us to apply our research and education capabilities in support of federal initiatives," said Dan Sperling, director of the Institute of Transportation Studies at UC Davis.
Researchers from the institute are partners in grants in three of four program areas funded by the energy department.
The institute will join a "Center of Excellence" in hydrogen storage research, led by the Los Alamos and Pacific Northwest national laboratories. The center will address the problem of storing enough hydrogen fuel in a vehicle to allow it to travel more than 300 miles without losing passenger or cargo space.
UC Davis researchers will also play a major role in four hydrogen fleet demonstration projects, out of five funded by the department. UC Davis will provide expertise in: education and outreach; hydrogen production from an advanced energy station; fleet operation and demonstration; and research on infrastructure cost and lifecycle modeling. The projects are intended to carry out the research needed to make vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells a commercial reality.
Each hydrogen-fleet project is led by an automotive manufacturer and an energy company, with multiple academic, government and private sector partners. UC Davis is participating in projects led by ChevronTexaco and Hyundai; Air Products and Chemicals and Toyota; and Ford and BP America. The City of Davis will also host vehicles in the project led by Ford. The campus's next generation hydrogen fueling station is included in the ChevronTexaco project.
In a third category, fuel cell research projects, ITS-Davis researchers will work with industry partners on using fuel cells for off-road vehicles, such as maintenance and utility vehicles.
In a related program announced recently, UC Davis is sharing a grant from the Department of Energy to develop hydrogen technology learning centers for California, Florida and New York in collaboration with other universities and agencies. The 18-month project will include developing displays and exhibits, setting up a Web site, and holding a national conference.
This is the second week running that UC Davis has received national recognition for its hydrogen research and teaching programs. On April 20, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger came to the campus to announce his "Hydrogen Highways" initiative and to inaugurate the first publicly accessible hydrogen fueling station in California. The campus's flagship station for the Hydrogen Highway was made possible by funding from Toyota and federal grants for hydrogen bus research initiated by former Congressman Vic Fazio, and continued by current federal representatives Doug Ose and Mike Thompson.
The campus Hydrogen Pathways research program is supported by 16 industry partners and includes nearly 30 UC Davis faculty and graduate students. The program examines a broad set of economic, environmental and consumer issues that will determine the costs, benefits and challenges of using hydrogen as a broad-based transportation fuel.