FEDERALLY FUNDED FUEL CELL FUTURE - Hydrogen fuel cell funding amendment passed in Washington D.C.

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the Energy and Water Appropriations Act, which includes an amendment to restore $45 million in hydrogen fuel cell research funding, New York Democrats Eric Massa and Steve Israel announced.

Because of the amendment, funding for the Department of Energy’s hydrogen fuel cell budget for 2010 totals $153 million. The initially proposed DOE budget included just $68 million for hydrogen fuel cell research, a substantial decline from this year’s levels.

“I want to thank Congressman Israel for joining me in our effort to make a meaningful investment in zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell technology. My district has a 21st century, state of the art fuel cell research and development center where General Motors has built and is literally driving the cars of tomorrow. By making an investment in this technology today, we are paving the road toward the clean energy economy of the future,” said Massa.

“Hydrogen fuel cell development is driving our auto industry into the future. New York is already home to important hydrogen fuel cell research and development centers. We can’t let Japan and Germany leap frog the United States in the implementation of this promising technology. That’s why I restored federal funding for hydrogen fuel cell research,” said Israe

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