Highlights from U.S. Department of Energy’s Fuel Cell Recovery Act Projects

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) was an unprecedented effort to jumpstart our economy, create or save millions of jobs, and put a down payment on addressing long-neglected challenges so our country can thrive in the twenty-first century. On April 15, 2009, the Energy Department announced $41.6 million in Recovery Act funding to accelerate the commercialization and deployment of fuel cells; and to build a robust fuel cell manufacturing industry in the United States, with accompanying jobs in fuel cell manufacturing, installation, maintenance, and sup- port services.1 Grants were awarded to develop and deploy a variety of fuel cell technologies including polymer electrolyte, solid oxide and direct-methanol fuel cells in stationary, portable, and specialty vehicle applications (i.e., lift trucks). This funding has supported the deployment of over 1,300 fuel cell systems, exceeding the original target of 1,000. These efforts are accelerating the potential of fuel cells to provide power in stationary, portable, and specialty vehicle applications; and to cut carbon emissions, create jobs, and broaden our nation’s clean energy technology portfolio.

Back-up Power

Three projects were awarded $18.5M in Recovery Act funding for fuel cell deployments in backup power – ReliOn, Inc.; Sprint Nextel; and Plug Power, Inc. ReliOn (with fuel cell deployments at AT&T and Pacific Gas & Electric sites) and Sprint are demonstrating the technical and economic viability of deploying 1 kW to 10 kW polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells with 72 hours of on-site fuel storage to provide backup power for critical cell phone tower sites and utility networks. Data collected from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has already shown over 99.5% reliability of the fuel cells. Since the beginning of the projects, the maximum continuous grid outage the fuel cells have had the opportunity to support was 65 hours, which they did success- fully. Recovery Act funding has also facilitated further market transformation. For example, as a result of Recovery Act deployments, Air Products, with no DOE funding, developed a short-truck bulk hydrogen refueler. This delivery system is being used to deliver hydrogen to a wider range of sites, including the more remote backup power locations.

Plug Power has demonstrated low temperature, 6 kW, PEM fuel cells fueled by liquid petroleum gas to provide clean and reliable primary power and 72 hours or more of emergency backup power. Ten fuel cells were operational at the Warner Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins, Georgia. An additional 10 fuel cells were operating at an engineering building at Fort Irwin in Barstow, California.

• Recovery Act and Market Transformation Activities

  As of August 2015, 100% of Recovery Act funds have been spent, resulting in over 1,300 fuel cells deployed and over 2 million hours of operation. Successful DOE deployments of fuel cells (including deployments from ARRA funding as well as Market Transformation projects) have led to industry orders of almost 8,000 fuel cell forklifts and almost 5,500 fuel cell backup power systems, with no additional DOE funding. In addition, EERE’s investment of approximately $110M in specific hydrogen and fuel cell projects led to more than $870M in revenue and investments of approximately $100M in specific projects led to a nearly $570M in additional private

  investment.3 These projects support domestic fuel cell manufacturers—helping to create high-tech manufacturing jobs, and keep these jobs in the U.S.

  *Results based on a sample of companies reporting data to the Fuel Cell Technologies Office.

National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL) National

Fuel Cell Technology Evaluation Center (NFCTEC) has established data reporting protocols with each of the project teams. Composite Data Products (CDPs) and showing progress to-date have been prepared. The CDPs are available on the NREL HSDC website.2

DOE Recovery Act-Funded Fuel Cell Deployment Locations.

National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Material Handling Equipment (MHE)

Four projects were awarded $9.7M in Recovery Act funding to deploy fuel cell powered lift trucks, or material handling equipment (MHE), as replacements for battery and propane powered lift truck fleets. By the end of December 2011, more than 500 fuel cells for MHE were operational, bringing the Recovery Act MHE projects to full deployment. Combined, these lift trucks already have achieved over 2 million hours of operation and used more than 275,000 kg of hydrogen from more than 329,000 indoor hydrogen refueling events. Various end users have shown evidence of increased productivity in their warehouse operations as a result of using the fuel cells, some as much as 10%.4 NREL analysis has shown that, for Class I and II forklifts, fuel cells could reduce the overall cost of ownership by 10% per year per lift truck and the cost of ownership of Class III forklifts (also known as pallet jacks) can be reduced by 5%, per year for each lift truck.5

The lessons learned from these projects, in part, have leveraged additional fuel cell deployments with no DOE funding. FedEx Freight purchased an additional five fuel cell powered lift trucks for their service center in Springfield, Missouri, bringing their total fleet to 40 fuel cell lift trucks. Sysco Foods is planning to deploy over 900 additional fuel cell lift trucks throughout seven different distribution centers nationwide.

Class III fuel cell powered lift truck at Sysco Houston distribution center in Houston, TX. Sysco Houston.

Indoor refueling station for fuel cell powered lift trucks at FedEx Freight East facility in Springfield, MO. FedEx Freight East.

For More Information

For more information, visit http://www. hydrogenandfuelcells.energy.gov.

• References and Notes

  1. U.S. Department of Energy, “Secretary Chu Announces $41.9 Million to Spur Growth of Fuel Cell Markets” (April 15, 2009)

  http://www1.eere.energy.gov/ hydrogenandfuelcells/news_detail.html?news_id=12456.

  2. National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Composite Data Products

  http://www.nrel.gov/hydrogen/proj_fc_mar- ket_demo.html.

  3.

  http://hydrogen.energy.gov/pdfs/13007_industry_bup_deployments.pdf

  http://hydrogen.energy.gov/pdfs/13007_industry_bup_deployments.pdf.

  4. Nuvera Fuel Cells Inc., “H-E-B Grocery Total Power SolutionTMfor Fuel Cell Powered Material Handling Equipment” (May 2011)

  http://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/pdfs/review11/h2ra008_ block_2011_o.pdf.

  5.

  http://www1.eere.energy.gov/hydrogenandfuelcells/pdfs/fuel_cell_mhe_cost.pdf.