US Energy Dept. selects H2 Refuel H-Prize finalist

The US Energy Department has announced SimpleFuel as a finalist for the US$1 million H2 Refuel H-Prize Competition. SimpleFuel was selected by an independent judging panel and will have until July 2016 to deploy their small scale onsite hydrogen generation and fuelling system, and prepare it for testing.

SimpleFuel plans to develop a home scale refueller that can provide a 1 kg fill to vehicles in 15 minutes at 700 bar using hydrogen produced via electrolysis, with a design that minimises setback distances and reduces the physical footprint of the system. SimpleFuel is a collaboration of three companies: Ivys Energy Solutions (Massachusetts), McPhy Energy N.A. (Massachusetts), and PDC Machines (Pennsylvania).

Data collection will begin in July and continue through October to evaluate the system based on the technical and cost criteria laid out in the guidelines. An open house during the testing phase will provide an opportunity for the public to get a look at the system. When the testing phase ends, the data will be analysed to determine if SimpleFuel's system meets the criteria to win the US$1 million prize.

The H2 Refuel H-Prize competition opened in October 2015 to challenge America's innovators to deploy onsite hydrogen generation systems that use electricity or natural gas and can be used in homes, community centres, retail sites, or similar locations to fuel hydrogen vehicles.

Adapted from press release by Francesca Brindle

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/clean-fuels/02022016/us-energy-department-selects-simplefuel-finalist-h2-refuel-prize-2336/