NREL and Fraunhofer ISE to Collaborate on Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Research

Oct. 11, 2016 | Contact media relations

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (Fraunhofer ISE) in Germany have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for close collaboration on hydrogen and fuel cell technologies research. The official launch took place on Monday, Oct. 10, at the "f-cell/World of Energy Solutions" conference in Stuttgart.

Under this MOU, hydrogen and fuel cell technology experts from Germany and the United States will collaborate on research and development (R&D) activities to accelerate progress in these fields.

NREL's long-term research and development activities supported by DOE's Fuel Cell Technologies Office in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy include research on advanced electrolysis, hydrogen fueling infrastructure, and analysis of grid-scale hydrogen system performance.

Fraunhofer ISE's work in hydrogen technologies comprises fundamental research on the production, conversion, and catalytic processing of hydrogen as well as models to investigate the role of hydrogen in the future energy system.

The objectives of this collaboration are to accelerate progress toward shared R&D goals and to ensure sustainable use of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. This collaboration will make use of complementary research and capabilities at NREL and Fraunhofer ISE in the following areas:

  • Electrolysis, including cell, stack, and system R&D and characterization
  • Hydrogen infrastructure R&D
  • Analysis and modeling for grid-scale implementation of hydrogen systems
  • Field validation, performance data collection, and evaluation of hydrogen systems
  • Accelerated stack and system evaluation, testing, and deployment.

Learn more about NREL's hydrogen and fuel cell research and hydrogen technologies R&D at Fraunhofer ISE.

Tags: Hydrogen,Transportation