WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that as part of an interagency partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) to strengthen energy security and develop new clean energy technologies, DOD will be installing and operating 18 fuel cell backup power systems at eight military installations across the country. The Departments will test how the fuel cells perform in real world operations, identify any technical improvements manufacturers could make to enhance performance, and highlight the benefits of fuel cells for emergency backup power applications.

DOE said these projects will accelerate the deployment of this technology at DOD facilities and provide data that will help identify future research areas for fuel cells. Continued R&D efforts will enable further reductions in the costs of fuel cells, said DOE, and as costs continue to come down, fuel cells will become increasingly competitive in the commercial marketplace.

Over the last decade, DOE has invested in research and development projects to advance key fuel cell components such as catalysts and membranes at several companies including 3M, Dupont, Gore, Johnson Matthey, and BASF. This research has helped reduce the costs of fuel cells by up to 80 percent since 2002, said DOE, and many of these innovations are now being used in the fuel cell units being deployed by DOD.