Nuvera Fuel Cells receives $11.1M in DOE technical research awards

Nuvera Fuel Cells announced that it has received two technical research awards from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to increase the durability and performance of fuel cell stacks designed to meet DOE’s 2015 cost and durability targets. Both projects support Nuvera’s product development plans to reduce fuel cell capital and life cycle costs for both advanced automotive technology and next generation PowerEdge material handling products. Both projects are scheduled for completion in 2012. The overall value of these programs is $11.1 million, of which the DOE is directly funding $8.4 million.

The objective of Nuvera’s first project, SPIRE, is to study and identify strategies to assure durability of fuel cells designed to meet DOE 2015 cost targets. Specifically, this program will develop a practical understanding of the degradation mechanisms impacting durability of fuel cells with low platinum loading operating at high power density and develop approaches for improving the durability of these stack designs. Partners on this program are Los Alamos National Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory.

The objective of Nuvera’s second project, AURORA, is to optimize the efficiency of stacks designed to meet the same DOE 2015 cost targets. Specifically, the project will demonstrate stable and repeatable high performance on a full-format fuel cell stack with very low platinum loading operating at high power density. The key deliverable of this program is a performance model validated over a range of stack architectures operating at high power. Partners on this program are Johnson Matthey Fuel Cell Ltd., Pennsylvania State University and Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory.

The DOE’s 2015 technical plan targets for automotive fuel cell stack cost and durability are $15/kWe and 5,000 hours, respectively.

Nuvera Fuel Cells is a global leader in the development of fuel cell systems and fuel processors for both end users and OEMs. With offices located in the U.S. and Europe, Nuvera provides clean, safe, and efficient products for industrial vehicles and equipment in addition to furthering the development of power systems for automotive and transportation applications.