See the Pennfuture Web site . The 32 projects range from a highly efficient industrial furnace to automotive glass that can selectively filter out the sun's heat. See the DOE news release . The California Fuel Cell Partnership announced last week that DOE has joined as a partner. The partnership was formed in April 1999 to help commercialize fuel-cell electric vehicles.
Fuel cells convert hydrogen into electricity and emit only water vapor.
The vehicles can be fueled with hydrogen or can derive the hydrogen from fuels such as methanol, ethanol, natural gas, or gasoline. The electricity from the fuel cell is used to power an electric motor that propels the car. To commercialize fuel-cell electric vehicles, the California Fuel Cell Partnership has brought together four automakers, three oil companies, a fuel cell company, the State of California, and now the federal government. The partnership intends to place 50 fuel-cell cars and buses on the road by 2003. In December, it announced the construction of a hydrogen refueling station and a facility for maintenance and testing of fuel-cell electric vehicles.