James F. Miller
Argonne National Laboratory
Hydrogen   The fuel of the future

In his 2003 State of the Union Address, President Bush stated his commitment to developing clean, hydrogen-powered automobiles based on fuel cell technology "so that the first car driven by a child born today could be powered by hydrogen and pollution-free". He proposed a five-year, $1.2 billion program, including $720 million in new funding, to fund research and to begin to develop the technologies and infrastructure to accomplish this goal. Major activities are planned in hydrogen production and delivery, hydrogen storage, and fuel cells and other hydrogen end-use technologies. This renaissance of hydrogen offers the prospects of a domestically-secure and environmentally-friendly fuel for the future. This talk will address the US Department of Energy's new initiatives on hydrogen technology, discuss the technical challenges involved in achieving a future
hydrogen economy, examine the technical targets which have been established, and describe recent progress. Argonne has a broad range of research interests in hydrogen technology, ranging from basic science to technology development. Highlights of selected research activities underway at Argonne will be presented.