In support of a Memorandum of Understanding between the DOE’s Fuel Cell Technologies Office and the National Science Foundation (NSF), NSF has awarded $2.77 million to four teams to investigate renewable hydrogen fuel technologies.
Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office
September 19, 2014
minute read time
In support of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Energy Department’s Fuel Cell Technologies Office (FCTO) and the Directorate for Engineering at the National Science Foundation (NSF) signed in 2013, NSF has awarded $2.77 million to four teams to investigate renewable hydrogen fuel technologies. Widespread use of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies will lead to significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and oil consumption, as well as improvements in air quality, but production of low cost hydrogen from renewables is a key challenge that requires more research and development.
FCTO and the NSF established a MOU to foster collaborative R&D in the area of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. In December 2013, the MOU resulted in the release of Program Solicitation NSF 14-511, entitled "NSF/DOE Partnership on Advanced Frontiers in Renewable Hydrogen Fuel Production Via Solar Water Splitting Technologies 2014-2016." More than 60 applications were submitted by university-led project teams to this highly-competitive solicitation.
In August 2014, NSF, in collaboration with FCTO, selected four solar water splitting projects to receive funding. The awardees are:
- The University of Toledo: Principal Investigator Yanfa Yan; Co-Principal Investigators Wanjian Yin and Xunming Deng. Project title: "New Metal Oxides for Efficient Hydrogen Production Via Solar Water Splitting".
- Stanford University: Principal Investigator Thomas Jaramillo. Project title: "Engineering Surfaces, Interfaces, and Bulk Materials for Unassisted Solar Photoelectrochemical (PEC) Water Splitting".
- The University of Colorado at Boulder: Principal Investigator Charles Musgrave. Project title: "Accelerated Discovery of Advanced RedOx Materials for Solar Thermal Water Splitting to Produce Renewable Hydrogen".
- Rutgers University New Brunswick: Principal Investigator G. Charles Dismukes; Co-Principal Investigators Eric Garfunkel and Martha Greenblatt. Project title: "Tunable Semiconductor/Catalyst Interfaces for Efficient Solar Water Splitting".
More information on these awards can be found on the NSF website.