Fuel cells can lead to substantial energy savings and reductions in imported petroleum and carbon emissions. To realize these benefits, DOE’s FCT Program focuses on funding fuel cell research and development (R&D) and technology validation activities supporting a portfolio of fuel cell technologies and applications. This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), which specifically supports the Technology Validation program element, will collect, analyze, and validate performance data from light-duty hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) operating in real-world environments. Feedback will be provided to the DOE hydrogen and fuel cell R&D projects and industry partners to help determine what additional R&D is required to move the technology forward.
With this FOA, DOE is accepting new applications for projects seeking to validate light-duty fuel cell electric vehicle performance and durability. The objective of each proposed project must be to collect and submit dynamometer and real-world vehicle performance data to a DOE-sponsored third-party collection and analysis provider to provide statistically valid projections on key metrics including durability of fuel cell systems. R&D of these technologies is not the focus of this effort and will not be funded through this announcement.