April 23, 2013 Request for Home Hydrogen Refueling Systems and Potential H-Prize Topics Issued The U.S. Department of Energy's Fuel Cell Technologies Office has issued a Request for Information seeking feedback from stakeholders about a potential H-Prize competition involving home hydrogen refueling systems. These systems would provide supplemental hydrogen for vehicle fueling at single- or multi-family dwellings, using feedstocks commonly delivered to most residences (e.g., electricity and natural gas). Information regarding individual components of the systems are of interest, but responses regarding complete systems (including the hydrogen generation technology and the components required for refueling, including compression and filling equipment) are of particular interest. For details, see the RFI announcement for DE-FOA-0000907. Comments must be provided by no later than 5:00 p.m. EDT on May 24, 2013. Learn more >> The H-Prize, enacted by Congress, authorized the Secretary of Energy to create a program to competitively award cash prizes that will advance the commercial application of hydrogen energy technologies by dramatizing and incentivizing accelerated research. The H-Prize was originally established by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, in Sec. 654. There are several H-Prize categories, including production, storage, distribution, utilization, and prototypes and transformational technologies. The H-Prize is managed by the Fuel Cell Technologies Program in the U.S. Department of Energy. DOE is the lead Federal agency for directing activities in hydrogen and fuel cell R&D, and the FCT Program is responsible for coordinating activities. It is designed to help the U.S. achieve a diverse, secure and emissions-free energy future by improving efficiency, reducing oil imports and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The Hydrogen Education Foundation, H-Prize administrator, promotes clean hydrogen energy technologies through student scholarships, innovative national competitions, and educational programs to encourage environmental stewardship, improve energy security, and create green jobs. The HEF objectives are to: create a pilot award process organize and manage a comprehensive fund raising program to leverage Federal funding deploy H-Prize funds through fair and open competition focus on critical technical challenges Read more about the H-Prize >> Read more about the Hydrogen Education Foundation >>