The primary focus of the centre will be on producing hydrogen from coal, with secondary research in various facets of hydrogen transportation and utilisation.
The funding incorporates a one-year cooperative agreement between the university, industry bodies and the DoE National Energy Technology Laboratory to work towards the creation of a hydrogen economy infrastructure.
The creation of the centre is in-line with the hydrogen economy goals of President Bush's Hydrogen Fuel Initiative and the integrated sequestration and hydrogen production focus of the FutureGen program.
Initial research areas will include hydrogen carrier technologies, end-of-pipe reforming and advanced coal refining to identify the issues preventing the deployment of coal-to-hydrogen technologies.
In addition to the DoE grant, industry backing will bring funding for the centre to $US3.4 million in the first year.
