Energy Department funding has led to more than 730 U.S. patents and 30 technologies related to hydrogen and fuel cells.
October 17, 2018
minute read time
Under Secretary of Energy Mark Menezes drove a fuel cell car on Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Day. | Energy Department
Aptly named for the atomic weight of hydrogen (1.008), Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Day took place earlier this month (10/08). The Energy Department, industry organizations, National Labs, and state and federal government agencies celebrated with a variety of communications activities and outreach events around the world. Here at DOE, we celebrated by hosting a ride and drive with two of the world’s very first commercially available fuel cell cars, one of which I had the pleasure of driving.
I learned firsthand that driving a fuel cell car is exactly the same as driving a traditional car. Get in, fasten your seat belt, push the start button, and step on the (gas) pedal! The only difference is that a fuel cell car has no ignition and uses hydrogen instead of gasoline, but is powered by a chemical reaction that produces only water and heat as byproducts. Fuel cell cars refuel in minutes at hydrogen stations and have a range of more than 300 miles.
But there’s more to hydrogen and fuel cells than just cars. Hydrogen is the world’s most abundant element and has the potential to unite all of our nation’s energy resources. A critical part of the Energy Department’s “all of the above” energy portfolio, hydrogen can be produced through diverse domestic resources like renewables, nuclear, and fossil energy. Hydrogen and fuel cells can also be used to power material handling equipment like forklifts or used as emergency backup generators for data centers or hospitals.
Our H2@Scale initiative brings together stakeholders and national labs to figure out how to provide affordable hydrogen production, transport, and storage to be used across multiple sectors like steel manufacturing, energy storage, and other transportation modes including truck, rail, and maritime. Hydrogen technologies can be coupled with nuclear power plants to generate an additional revenue stream. Many utilities are now considering integrating nuclear energy production with other industrial processes to optimize thermal and electrical energy production.
You can see we’ve been hard at work. DOE-funding has led to more than 730 U.S. patents and 30 technologies that have been further developed and commercialized by the private sector. With our support, stakeholders have decreased the cost of transportation fuel cells by 80% since 2002. We’ve quadrupled fuel cell life so you can now get 120,000 miles from one fuel cell.
As we continue or work here at DOE we’d like your input. We recently issued a Request for Information seeking stakeholder feedback on opportunities to enable high volume production and multi-sector use of hydrogen. Responses are due October 31, 2018 and we hope you to hear from you.
Mark W. Menezes
Mark Wesley Menezes served as Deputy Secretary of Energy. The Deputy Secretary is responsible for driving transformative energy progress and technology solutions through coordinated planning, management, and innovation. Prior to being confirmed as Deputy Secretary of Energy, Mr. Menezes served as the Under Secretary of Energy.
Having served as an executive at Berkshire Hathaway Energy, a partner at Hunton & Williams LLP, and a Chief Counsel, Energy and Environment, at U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce – Mr. Menezes has held many positions within the energy sector prior to coming to the Department of Energy. Before his service with House Energy & Commerce, he was Vice President with Central and South West, and upon its merger with American Electric Power, served as Vice President and Associate General Counsel for federal and state legislative and regulatory affairs.
Mr. Menezes has been named in National Journal’s “Hill 100”—top Congressional staff for his work on both energy and environmental matters. He has been frequent guest speaker and lecturer before numerous associations and civic groups, including legal education seminars where he has been called on to address the nation’s energy and environmental policies, utility restructuring, telecommunications, ethics, merger and acquisition practices, and regulatory and legislative processes. He has co-authored numerous articles, a practice manual, and been quoted in the New York Times, Law360, Oil and Gas Journal, Politico as well as interviewed by E&ETV. He’s been listed Best Lawyers in America 2013–2016, Corporate Counsel’s Top Lawyers 2006–2011, Washington Post’s Top Lawyers 2008–2016, and DC Super Lawyers 2012–2016.
Mr. Menezes is a graduate of Louisiana State University receiving both his undergraduate and juris doctor degree. Until joining the government he was a charter member of the Advisory Council, Louisiana State University Law John P. Laborde Energy Law Center, and served on the Board of Directors of the Congressional Chorus & American Youth Chorus.