 President
Bush Requests Funding Boost for FreedomCar and Hydrogen
Fuel Initiatives
A year after President Bush launched a $1.2 billion hydrogen
fuel initiative to support the technology, fuel and infrastructure
challenges to creating a hydrogen-powered economy, Congress
and the Administration have steadily followed through to
make this plan a reality.
At the center of this initiative is the Department
of Energy-led (DOE) FreedomCAR and Hydrogen Fuel Initiative
(FC-HFI), a public-private partnership among DOE, its laboratories,
and U.S. auto manufacturers and energy companies, to commercialize
hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles by the year 2015. According
to the DOE, significant R&D advances over the past year
have increased confidence that the 2015 goal is realistic
and attainable.
In Fiscal Year (FY) 2004, Congress allocated
the DOE more than $248 million to support research relevant
to the President's FreedomCar and Hydrogen Fuels goals. The
DOE's FY 2005 commitment is more than $318 million, a $70
million increase over FY 2004. President Bush requested an
additional $832,000 at the Department of Transportation (DOT)
for FY 2005, increasing research supporting the FreedomCAR
and Hydrogen Fuel Initiative to a $319 million request, across
all agencies.
FY 03-FY 05 DOE and DOT Funding Supporting The President's
FreedomCar and Hydrogen Fuel Initiative (In Thousands)
| Programs |
FY
03 Approp |
FY 04 Approp |
FY 05 Approp |
| Fuel Cell Technologies |
|
|
|
| Transportation Systems |
6,160 |
7,506 |
7,600 |
| Distributed Energy Systems |
7,268 |
7,408 |
7,500 |
| Stack Component R&D |
14,803 |
25,186 |
30,000 |
| Fuel Processor R&D |
23,489 |
14,815 |
13,858 |
| Technology Validation |
1,788 |
9,877 |
18,000 |
| Technical/Program Management Support |
398 |
395 |
542 |
| Fuel Cell Total |
53,906 |
65,187 |
77,500 |
| |
|
|
|
| Hydrogen Technology |
|
|
|
| Production and Delivery R&D |
11,215 |
22,564 |
25,325 |
| Storage R&D |
10,790 |
29,432 |
30,000 |
| Infrastructure Validation |
9,680 |
18,379 |
15,000 |
| Safety, Codes & Standards |
4,531 |
5,904 |
18,000 |
| Education and Cross-Cutting Analysis |
1,897 |
5,712 |
7,000 |
| Hydrogen Technology Totals |
38,113 |
81,991 |
95,325 |
| |
|
|
|
| Other DOE Programs |
|
|
|
| Vehicles |
84,081 |
89,736 |
91,400 |
| Hydrogen from Fossil Fuels (FE) |
2,280 |
4,889 |
16,000 |
| Hydrogen from Nuclear Energy (NE) |
2,000 |
6,377 |
9,000 |
| Hydrogen from Biological and Solar
Energy (SC) |
0 |
0 |
29,183 |
| DOE Total |
180,380 |
248,180 |
318,408 |
| DOT Addition |
0 |
555 |
832 |
| FC-HFI Total |
180,380 |
248,735 |
319,240 |
|
Beyond the Administration's FreedomCar and
Hydrogen Fuel Initiative, many other federal agencies support
the commercialization of fuel cells through a variety of
grant programs that fund the development of technology, physical
infrastructure, educational curricula and more.
For more information on federal fuel cell research,
grant programs, reports, 2004 appropriations, and President
Bush's FY 2005 Budget, contact us at info@techvision21.com or
(202) 263-0168.
|
