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 2009-11 prize will be awarded in the area of storage materials in mobile systems for light-duty vehicles.

The H-Prize is managed by the Hydrogen, Fuel Cells & Infrastructure 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 HFCIT 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, the charitable, education-focused arm of the National Hydrogen Association, has been chosen to administer the H-Prize. 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