Two of the U. S. Energy Department’s research facilities, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Sandia National Laboratories, will be spearheading the H2First project aimed at accelerating the rollout of a nationwide hydrogen fueling infrastructure. Hyundai will be rolling out a limited amount of hydrogen cars any time now and Toyota has stated that in 2015 it will start rolling out its fuel cell vehicles.
According to Sandia, “H2FIRST’s technical goal is to develop and apply physical testing, numerical simulation and technology validation to help create low-cost, high-performance materials, components and station architectures. H2FIRST also will collect and distribute data supporting industry’s efforts to reduce the costs of integrated fueling systems and networks …
“…Sandia’s facilities will develop and test innovative infrastructure technologies to accelerate market readiness, drawing upon Sandia’s broader hydrogen program, which includes research on storage, delivery, production, systems analysis and safety, codes and standards.
“NREL will use its performance-testing, analysis, and safety, codes and standards expertise to study renewable hydrogen generation and infrastructure systems and components. At NREL’s new Energy Systems Integration Facility, capabilities such as a hose reliability testing robot and construction of additional refueling hardware will support H2FIRST’s hydrogen infrastructure research needs.”