DOE and Army TARDEC partner to advance hydrogen and fuel cell technologies
04 October 2017
The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Fuel Cell Technologies Office (FCTO) and the US Army’s Tank Automotive Research Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) will collaborate on jointly funded projects to advance progress in hydrogen and fuel cell technologies.
This announcement follows a workshop held by DOE in January that led to successful outcomes identifying critical needs for tactical hydrogen infrastructure in remote areas. The workshop was immediately followed by an evaluation of a military fuel cell-powered vehicle (Chevrolet Colorado ZH2) developed by General Motors and sponsored by Army TARDEC. (Earlier post.)
This vehicle’s concept marries fuel cell technology and its advantages of on-board water production, exportable electric power, and near silent operation with extreme off-road capability.
TARDEC and General Motors tested the Chevrolet Colorado ZH2 at Fort Carson, Colorado, 27-30 June 2017. Soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division and 10th Special Forces Group exercised the limits of the demonstrator to evaluate the ZH2’s off-road capabilities, power (torque) responsiveness, silent mobility, high exportable power, and fuel cell technology.
TARDEC is also working with DOE on its Hydrogen at Scale (H2@Scale) initiative aimed at research toward large-scale use of hydrogen across sectors and applications. (Earlier post.) These new collaborations will advance the state-of-the-art in novel hydrogen infrastructure, fuel cell vehicles, and quiet-portable stationary power technologies.
Army TARDEC and DOE FCTO will work together to analyze performance data to guide future early-stage research and development and will specifically evaluate technical performance parameters for medium- and heavy-duty fuel cell vehicle applications.
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