It's not difficult to remember the elemental symbol for hydrogen (H) or that it is the most common element in the universe. But what do you do when you're an ambulance medic and the pile-up you've just pulled up at involves one of the GM Equinoxes that will take to the public roads this fall? This is the scenario that the Department of Energy would like to prepare first responders for with a new course, Introduction to Hydrogen Safety for First Responders, something the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Safety organization is probably quite pleased to hear.

The DOE created the course with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the Volpentest Hazardous Materials Management and Emergency Response (HAMMER) Training and Education Center. According to the DOE, "the course provides basic information to help raise awareness among fire, law enforcement, and emergency medical personnel and provides access to resources for more detailed information if needed."

Basic understanding hydrogen and how it is stored and dispensed are two of the topics addressed in the course; videos and animations act as information carriers here. The course is available online, so if you want to test your skills (or are actually a first responder), check it out here.

[Source: DOE]

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced research awards of $11.2 million for "overcoming the scientific challenges associated with the production, storage and use of hydrogen" this week. While not a huge amount by DOE standards, the money will go to 13 projects that "will focus on fundamental science in support of hydrogen technologies," the DOE says. Nanotechnologies figure in over half of the money.

Here are the DOE's descriptions of the 13 projects:

Novel Materials for Hydrogen Storage (7 projects, $5.6 million over three years)
Both the National Academy of Sciences and DOE have identified hydrogen storage as a key technology for the successful implementation of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. A broad range of research in hydrogen storage is covered by these projects, including: complex hydrides; nanostructured and novel materials; theory, modeling and simulation; and state-of-the-art analytical and characterization tools to develop novel storage materials and methods.

Nanoscale Catalysts (6 projects, $5.6 million over three years)
Catalysts play a vital role in hydrogen production, storage and use. Specifically, catalysts are needed for producing hydrogen from water or carbon-containing fuels such as coal and biomass, increasing hydrogen storage kinetics and producing electricity at low cost from hydrogen in fuel cells. Research areas include: innovative synthetic techniques; novel characterization techniques; and theory, modeling and simulation of catalytic pathways.


There is a list of new projects, and where they will be conducted, after the jump.

Related:

• Bush Administration and the DOE helping invest in solar technology
• ABG POLL RESULTS: Best way to spend the DOE's money
• DOE pours $385 million into cellulosic ethanol production

[Source: DOE]

One way the Department of Energy gauges the state of a market is by asking those in the market for news. These
are called "Request for Information" (RFI) and are used to develop further policy. The DOE's Hydrogen Program just released an RFI on hydrogen and fuel cell early markets, especially three main topics: early market financial assistance, fuel cell performance testing, and community partnerships.

The DOE wants "information from relevant stakeholders to assist in the development of a possible Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for early market activities that will facilitate the commercialization of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies." Once the information is collected, the FOA will give monies to organizations that "cultivate demand for new hydrogen and fuel cell technologies, accelerate market development, and reduce non-R&D barriers that hinder market penetration." Sounds like a marketing agency could fill that role, doesn't it?

This particular RFI is open to any type of entity and the deadline to submit information is June 30, 2007. There's more information here.

[Source: DOE]

With the only hydrogen-drive luxury performance automobile on the market (the Hydrogen 7, above, which is actually coming soon), it's no surprise that BMW is supportive of new hydrogen fueling stations. One such station opened at the University of California, Irvine, with BMW as a project collaborator. BMW's CleanEnergy strategy has as a core goal, "establishing a solid hydrogen infrastructure in the United States." But we all know this is something that is likely decades away. Still, BMW decided that liquid hydrogen is a viable choice for powering a car for sale in 2007.

The station, operated by Air Products, is the first in the United States that can dispense hydrogen at varied and advanced pressures, 700 and 350 bar (10,000/5,000 psi). Gaseous hydrogen is available now, and liquid hydrogen capability is coming in late 2007 The U.S. Department of Energy and California's South Coast Air Quality Management District, California Hydrogen Infrastructure Project (CHIP) are also partners in the station. Other carmakers involved are Toyota, Honda and Nissan.

Related:

• An Inconvenient Truth director takes hydrogen-powered BMW 7 to the Oscars

[Source: BMW, Air Products]

Last week, the Department of Energy started a program for first responders (fire fighters, EMS/ambulance teams, etc.) on hydrogen safety. The on-line course, "tutorial acquaints first responders with hydrogen, its basic properties, and how it compares to other familiar fuels; its use in fuel cells for transportation and stationary power; potential hazards; and initial protective actions responders should take if they witness are called to an incident." Never too early to start, I guess.

The Hydrogen Program at the DOE is offering the course, which was designed with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and the Volpentest Hazardous Materials Management and Emergency Response (HAMMER) Training and Education Center.

You might say the course helps you gain skills to use in an emergency; the DOE calls it "Increas[ing] Your H2IQ."
While there is no link to the course as today, the description does say that "other individuals" can take the course, so perhaps we'll be able to learn about the dangers of hydrogen ourselves (I think Section One might be: "How hydrogen raises hopes in otherwise sensible people").

[Source: EERE]

The hydrogen economy is here. Well, at least it's starting. Slowly. The Department of Energy still estimates 15-20 years before L.A. and New York start to see serious hydrogen infrastructure, but that doesn't mean there aren't little infrastructure parts popping up here and there. We mention them now and again here on AutoblogGreen, but if you're looking for a detailed database of where ongoing or closed hydrogen/fuel cell installations, vehicle demonstrations and hydrogen fueling stations are located in the United States, I've found the database for you.

The State Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Policy and Demonstration Database is a partnership between FuelCells.org and the DOE's Hydrogen Project. There is also a separate chart for upcoming hydrogen fueling stations, the Hydrogen Fueling Station Chart. Stationary fuel cells are listed in a different area, the Worldwide Stationary Fuel Cell Installation Database.

I poked around the main database a bit, searching for hydrogen vehicle items and found 11 hydrogen fuel cell vehicle projects here in Michigan, part of 187 in the entire country. The DOE says this database is a work in progress, so if you find information missing or that is incorrect, let them know.

[Source: FuelCells 2000]

Sigmund Gronich scoffed at me. I'd just told him that I write for AutoblogGreen and wanted to get his name right for the post about the presentation he and others had just given at the 2006 Fuel Cell Seminar in Honolulu. He chuckled to himself – and to the surrounding delegates from the fuel cell industry – and rolled his eyes. I asked him what he was worried about. He said, "Who knows what you guys write on your blogs." Well, Siggy – can I call you Siggy? – what I wanted to share the information that you and your co-presenters gave with a wider audience. Would that be all right with you? I hope so, because here it is.

Gronich is technology validation manager at the U.S. Department of Energy – Hydrogen, Fuel Cells & Infrastructure Technologies. He led a group of researchers – including Julie Perez, project engineer at Directed Technologies Incorporated, Paul Leiby, senior scientist-environmental sciences division at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Margo Melendez, senior project Leader at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory – in a presentation called U.S. DOE Scenario Analyses of a Nascent National Hydrogen Transportation System. This presentation was a snapshot of what the DOE understands right now about how the upcoming hydrogen economy might be installed. The scenarios (described below) the teams are looking at are at the recommendation of the National Research Council, and Gronich's team will present their final report to the NRC in March 2007. As if this needs to be said considering the topic, but the hydrogen economy is a work in progress.

(read the rest after the jump)

Here are some more details on two of the companies that are receiving grants as part of the Department of Energy's $100 million funding announcement for hydrogen projects around the country last week. One company, United Technologies Corporation, is researching more durable and less costly seals and catalysts for transportation fuel cell stacks and received $8.4 million. Another, Nuvera Fuel Cells, Inc., is receiving $5 million for their work on proton exchange membrane fuel cell water management. Nuvera has developed a metallic bipolar plate design with a patented open flow field construction to move water around within the fuel cell, and claims this can improve performance and lengthen the cell's life cycle cost.

[Source: UTC Power, Nuvera]