WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced a grant of $2.36 million to REB Research & Consulting of Ferndale, Mich., for the development of metallic membrane technology to purify hydrogen to the level required for polymer-electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells.

PEM fuel cells are used in both stationary applications and fuel cell vehicles. REB will work with researchers at Iowa State University, DOE's National Energy Technology Laboratory, and DOE's Los Alamos National Laboratory on the three-year project. The research is expected to significantly reduce the cost of palladium membranes while increasing the durability required for the long-term extraction of hydrogen from synthesis gas, produced by gasifying biomass materials or fossil fuels.

The grant is part of a larger $4.3-million award to Michigan researchers announced by Acting Under Secretary of Energy David Garman.