US Energy Secretary Chu Announces Nearly $300 Million in Grants to Support Clean Fuels, Vehicles, and Infrastructure Development

BLUEFUELENERGY.COM: On Wednesday, August 26, the US Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced in a speech and on the US Department of Energy (DOE) website the selection of 25 cost-share projects under the Clean Cities program that will be funded with nearly $300 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. These projects will speed the transformation of the nation’s vehicle fleet, putting more than 9,000 alternative fuel and energy efficient vehicles on the road, and establishing 542 refueling locations across the country. The Department of Energy also estimates they will help displace approximately 38 million gallons of petroleum per year.

“The Clean Cities program is helping give state and local governments the tools they need to build a greener transportation system that will create new jobs and help to put America on the path to a clean energy future,” said Secretary Chu. “Advancing the number of alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles on the road will increase our energy security, decrease our dependence on oil, and reduce pollution across the country.”

Under the Recovery Act, the Clean Cities program will fund a range of energy efficient and advanced vehicle technologies, such as hybrids, electric vehicles, plug-in electric hybrids, hydraulic hybrids and compressed natural gas vehicles, helping reduce petroleum consumption across the U.S. In addition, funding will support refueling infrastructure for various alternative fuel vehicles, including biofuels and natural gas. Other efforts under the Clean Cities program include public education and training initiatives to further the program’s goal of reducing the national demand for petroleum.

The projects announced by Secretary Chu will support a combined total of more than 9,000 light, medium and heavy-duty vehicles and establish 542 refueling locations across the country. The vehicles and infrastructure being funded include the use of natural and renewable gas, propane, ethanol, biodiesel, electricity, and hybrid technologies. And with the cost share contributions from the recipients, every federal dollar spent will be matched by nearly two dollars from the project partners.

The DOE announcement has several implications for Blue Fuel/DME producers. First, it means that the United States government is taking alternative fuels seriously - clearly a good thing. Secondly, because Blue Fuel/DME is hydrogen rich and can readily be reformed into hydrogen, it is an excellent fuel for onboard hydrogen reforming in hydrogen-powered vehicles. Finally, since natural-gas vehicles are being promoted by the DOE, the need for carbon capture of excess CO2 from natural gas processing plants becomes even more critical. Through the process of active sequestration - the recycling of carbon dioxide for the production of commercial products - combined with renewable energy, we can produce an alternative fuel (Blue Fuel) that represents an immediate solution to the CO2 emissions problems facing natural gas producers all over North America - and, hopefully, even beyond.

New Swedish investment in hydrogen fuel converters

BLUEFUELENERGY.COM: As reported in The Engineer Online recently, two Swedish organizations - one government, one private - are investing in fuel cell development to the tune of over US$30 million over the next three years.

Specifically, the Swedish Energy Agency and Volvo are jointly investing SEK200m (£15.7m or US$25.7m) in the development of fuel cells, a move that should hopefully create roughly 100 jobs in the Gothenburg region over the next three years.

What's exciting from a Blue Fuel/DME Standpoint is that fuel converters can produce hydrogen gas from DME as well as biogas, methanol, ethanol, biodiesel, and also from regular diesel or petrol. The PEM fuel cell then converts the hydrogen gas into electricity. Per Wassén, investment director at Volvo Technology Transfer and chairman of Powercell Sweden said that "This is truly a major step in the development of fuel cells.’

To accelerate the introduction of fuel cells into the market, the Volvo Group, through Volvo Technology Transfer, will receive investment from Midroc New Technology and OCAS, as well as from the Swedish Energy Agency.

Powercell Sweden is founded on two patented components: a fuel converter (reformer) and a PEM fuel cell, which is the type of fuel cell most often used in transport applications.

"Thanks to our reformer technology we are now ready to start our production without having to wait for an infrastructure for the distribution of hydrogen gas,"’ said Wassén.