(Invited) Fuel Cell Technologies: A U.S. Department of Energy Perspective
Authors: Papageorgopoulos Dimitrios C. 
Published: December 2024

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) supports activities focused on the development of fuel cell technologies that are competitive with incumbent and emerging technologies across diverse applications. Fuel cell technologies for heavy-duty transportation applications are of particular interest as significant reductions in both carbon emissions and criteria pollutant emissions can be achieved.

DOE engages in fuel cell research, development, and demonstration (RD&D), working closely with its national laboratories, universities, and industry partners to overcome critical technical barriers to fuel cell development. For heavy-duty applications, RD&D is focused on the development of direct hydrogen-fueled proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). PEMFC RD&D addresses the materials, component, system, manufacturing, and supply chain challenges to accelerate the commercialization of zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, with transferable benefits for other applications.

The DOE’s RD&D strategy for fuel cell technologies is driven by application-specific targets. For long-haul fuel cell trucks, these include 2030 targets for cost ($80/kW at high volume production) and durability (25,000 hours). For comparison, the cost in 2023 of a PEMFC system for long-haul trucks based on next-generation laboratory demonstrated technology is projected to be approximately $170/kW when manufactured at a volume of 50,000 units/year.

DOE supports a portfolio of RD&D projects and has established the national lab-led Million Mile Fuel Cell Truck Consortium (M2FCT) to advance durability and efficiency of PEMFCs for heavy-duty vehicle applications. M2FCT’s RD&D focuses on meeting a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) target by 2025 that combines efficiency, durability, and cost in a single goal: 2.5 kW/gPGM specific power (1.07 A/cm2 current density) at 0.7 V after 25,000 hour-equivalent accelerated durability test.

Supported by the U.S. Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, DOE pursues advances in manufacturing and recycling of clean hydrogen technologies to bridge the gap between technology development and deployment. Enabling economies of scale will require a reliable supply of components, automation of the cell and stack assembly, and manufacturing capabilities not seen in the field to date. DOE established capacity targets for heavy-duty fuel cell component and stack production, including a target of 20,000 stacks per year in a single production line by 2030 to enable market lift-off.

The DOE’s RD&D portfolio includes recently selected industry-led manufacturing and component supply chain development projects. To complement these projects, DOE relaunched the national lab-led Roll-to-Roll Consortium to advance high-throughput fuel cell and electrolyzer manufacturing, with emphasis on PEM MEA and MEA components.

End-of-life challenges for fuel cells and electrolyzers are also addressed. DOE is establishing a consortium of industry, academia, and national labs to develop innovative and practical approaches to enable the recovery, recycling, and reuse of clean hydrogen materials and components, with the goal of securing long-term supply chain security and environmental sustainability.