We received some very impassioned comments back in May when the Obama Administrations cut hydrogen fuel cell funding for research and development. Several readers felt that a huge opportunity for a long-term eco-friendly vehicle solution had been missed.
Well, those same readers will be pleased to know that Senator Byron Dorgan (D) and the Senate Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee, which he heads, has overturned the DOE’s initial slashing of the hydrogen fuel cell research budget.
The subcommittee has finished altering the DOE’s 2010 budget to now include $190 million for hydrogen research and development.
So tell us what you think? Waste of money or is hydrogen fuel research that might benefit the proliferation of hydrogen vehicles like the Honda FCX Clarity (pictured above) a good investment for the future?
Rodolfo
July 9, 2009 at 6:13 am
A great step in the right direction. Hydrogen is clearly a long term solution to creating an efficient and scalable alternate energy solution. A battery only solution for cars is purely a short term fix but combining that with hydrogen to create a hybrid vehicle is a profitable solution in the long term. If funds are to be allocated it is necessary that the long term goals be met !
Andy
July 9, 2009 at 6:57 am
Halle-freakin-luiah! I’m glad not all people are jumping on the lemming train up there! I thought Chu and Obamma were going to let the rest of the world pass us by! Thank you Mr. Dorgan!
Bay Elliott
July 9, 2009 at 9:35 am
Thank God that the Senate decided to overrule Chu: we were as dumb as we wanted to be and gave away our 95% market share of solar to Germany over the past 15 years and we have been heading down that path on the even more essential and important path of H2 generation and H2 Fuel Cell development. Even with this heightened budget, back to a bit above where it was, we will still be way behind Europe and Japan. I am very thankful that the Senate has the vision and understanding to restore this budget and I hope that it will become a reality. Beyond that, I am praying that Americans will start to realize that not only is H2 the answer but that we have been falling behind in this technology and we need to significantly step up the research and development support from the government. We are much closer than most of our citizens realize to inexpensive, benign, renewable, distributed, scaleable H2 and H2 fuel cells for all power generation and transportation needs. Thank god we are begining to move back in the right direction.
eaglewatch1945
July 10, 2010 at 8:21 am
The problem with Hydrogen Fuel Cells is that it currently requires so much energy to produce. The government funds used towards Fuel Cells are more concerned with the final product more so than efficiency. In the short term, biomass, solar, wind, and hybrid tech should be getting the most mainstream attention. Hydrogen should still be worked upon, but in the private sector so that companies can weigh the benefits and decide when it’s right to implement.