National Renewable Energy Laboratory

NREL Programs

Hydrogen, Fuel Cells, and Infrastructure Technologies Program Overview

Hydrogen and fuel cells are an important part of the comprehensive and balanced technology portfolio needed to address the nation's two most important energy challenges—significantly reducing carbon dioxide emissions and ending our dependence on imported oil. Together, hydrogen and fuel cells represent a radically different approach to energy conversion. Hydrogen, an energy carrier, can be produced from abundant and diverse, domestic resources; fuel cells provide a clean and efficient way to use this energy carrier (or other fuels) for numerous applications.

Through its Hydrogen, Fuel Cells, and Infrastructure Technologies Program, NREL conducts research and development in hydrogen production and delivery, hydrogen storage, fuel cells, manufacturing, technology validation, analysis, safety, and codes and standards. Because the fundamental science behind hydrogen and fuel cell systems spans NREL's diverse renewable energy specialties, researchers across the laboratory—in photovoltaics, bioenergy, transportation, wind, buildings, and basic sciences—contribute to this work.  Learn more about NREL’s hydrogen and fuel cell research.

NREL also works in partnership with government agencies, industry, universities, and other national labs. These partnerships are instrumental in advancing the development and market introduction of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies.

NREL supports the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Fuel Cell Technologies Program as well as the DOE Hydrogen Sorption Center of Excellence.

Contact George Sverdrup for more information about NREL's Hydrogen, Fuel Cells, and Infrastructure Technologies Program.