Order Code RS21442
Updated April 5, 2007
Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Vehicle R&D:
FreedomCAR and the President’s
Hydrogen Fuel Initiative
Brent D. Yacobucci
Specialist in Energy Policy
Resources, Science, and Industry Division
Summary
FreedomCAR and the Hydrogen Fuel Initiative are two complementary
government-industry research and development (R&D) initiatives that promote the
development of hydrogen fuel and fuel cell vehicles. Coordinated by the Department
of Energy, these initiatives aim to make mass-market fuel cell and hydrogen combustion
vehicles available at an affordable cost within 10 to 15 years. However, some questions
have been raised about the potential effectiveness of the initiatives. This report
discusses the organization, funding, and goals of the FreedomCAR and Fuel
partnerships, and it discusses legislation relevant to the partnerships.
Introduction
As one highlight of the State of the Union Address on January 28, 2003, President
George W. Bush announced a new $720 million research and development (R&D)
initiative for hydrogen as a transportation fuel. The Hydrogen Fuel Initiative is intended
to complement the FreedomCAR initiative,1 which focuses on cooperative vehicle
research between the federal government, universities, and private industry.
The FreedomCAR initiative replaced a related Clinton Administration initiative, the
Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV).2 While both initiatives aimed to
increase fuel efficiency of the automotive fleet, FreedomCAR extends the time frame by
another ten years and focuses research on hydrogen fuel cell vehicles; PNGV focused
1 FreedomCAR (Cooperative Automotive Research) was announced on January 8, 2002 at the
Detroit Auto Show by Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham.
2 For a more detailed discussion of PNGV, see CRS Report RS20852, The Partnership for a New
Generation of Vehicles: Status and Issues, by Brent D. Yacobucci.

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mainly on diesel-fueled hybrid vehicles.3 Through FY2003, the overall level of funding
for PNGV- and FreedomCAR-related research at the Department of Energy (DOE)
remained relatively constant, with some of the funds for hybrid vehicles transferred to fuel
cell research.4 For FY2004, however, overall funding for research (within the Office of
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy) into hydrogen fuel, fuel cells, and vehicle
technologies increased by about 30%. Some of this increase was offset by funding
reductions in other programs, but the majority was new funding. For FY2005, funding
was increased an additional 8%. For FY2006 Congress appropriated roughly a 2%
increase above the FY2005 level.5 As part of DOE’s FY2008 budget request, the
Administration is requesting an additional 33% above the FY2006 level for this research.6
Organization and Funding
Most federal research on hydrogen fuel and fuel cell vehicles is overseen by two
offices within the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). The
Office of FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technologies (FCVT) coordinates research on
automotive fuel cells and other advanced vehicle technologies, including electric
propulsion systems, vehicle systems, materials technology, and other areas. The Office
of Hydrogen, Fuel Cells and Infrastructure Technologies (HFCIT) coordinates research
on fuel cell technologies (for all applications, not solely transportation),7 as well as
research on hydrogen fuel production, delivery and storage systems. As part of its
FY2006 budget request for the Hydrogen Fuel Initiative, DOE added ongoing research
funded through three additional DOE offices, as well as a small amount of research at the
Department of Transportation. The three DOE offices are the Office of Fossil Energy
(FE), the Office of Nuclear Energy (NE), and the Office of Science (SC).
Funding for FreedomCAR and Hydrogen Fuel Initiative research (including
hydrogen-related research fossil energy research, nuclear hydrogen research and basic
scientific research) is contained in the Energy and Water Development appropriations
bill.8 Funding for these areas is shown in Table 1.
3 For more information on fuel cell and hybrid vehicle technology, see CRS Report RL30484,
Advanced Vehicle Technologies: Energy, Environment, and Development Issues, Brent D.
Yacobucci.
4 It should be noted that PNGV research did not terminate per se. The majority of PNGV-related
research is ongoing through FreedomCAR and other DOE programs.
5 Between FY2005 and FY2006, the Administration added existing previously existing programs
in offices outside of EERE to the list of FreedomCAR- and Hydrogen Fuel-related funding.
These offices include Nuclear Energy and Fossil Energy. For all programs listed in the FY2006
budget request, Congress approved an increase of roughly 8%.
6 An increase of roughly 19% for all FreedomCAR and Hydrogen Fuel Initiative funding.
7 Key fuel-cell-related portions of the FreedomCAR partnership will actually be funded by the
HFCIT program, through its Hydrogen Technology Budget.
8 Before FY2006, funding for several DOE programs, including vehicle technology and fuel cell
research, was included in the Interior and Related Agencies appropriations bill. As of FY2006,
all DOE funding is contained in the Energy and Water appropriations bill. U.S. Department of
Energy (DOE), FY2006 Congressional Budget Request. February 2005. Volume 3. p. 61.

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Table 1. FreedomCAR- and Hydrogen Fuel-Related R&D Funding
($ millions)
FY
FY
DOE
FY
FY
FY
FY
Program
2007 a
2008
Office
2003
2004
2005
2006
Request
Request
EERE-
FreedomCARb
87.6
86.7
83.4
99
109.8
126.6
FCVT
EERE-
Fuel Cell
57.0
63.8
0e
0e
0e
0e
HFCIT
Technologiesb
EERE-
Hydrogen
40.0
80.4
166.8
155.6
195.8
213.0
HFCIT
Technologyc
Subtotalc
184.6
230.9
250.2
254.6
305.6
339.6
NE
Nuclear
n.a.
6.2
8.9
24.8
18.7
22.6
Hydrogenc,d
Initiative
FE
President’s
n.a.
21.3
16.5
21.6
23.6
12.5
Coal Research
Initiative —
Fuelsb,d
SC
Basic Energy
n.a.
7.7
29.2
32.5
50
59.5
Researchc,d
Department of
n.a.
n.a.
0.5
1.4
1.4
1.4
Transportationc
Total
184.6
266.1
305.3
334.9
399.3
435.6
Notes: n.a. means funding levels not available.
a. For FY2007, Congress approved a continuing resolution funding programs at the 2006 level (P.L. 110-5).
b. Before FY2006, appropriations for Fuel Cell Technologies, FreedomCAR, and the President’s Coal
Research Initiative were contained in the Interior and Related Agencies appropriations bill.
c. Before FY2006, appropriations for Hydrogen Technology, the Nuclear Hydrogen Initiative, and Basic
Energy Research were contained in the Energy and Water appropriations bill.
d. Before FY2006, only the FreedomCAR, Fuel Cell Technologies, and Hydrogen Technologies line items
were considered part of the FreedomCAR and Hydrogen Fuel Initiative Budgets.
e. For the FY2007 budget request, DOE combined funding for the Fuel Cell Technology program within
the funding for Hydrogen Technology. The comparable appropriations levels for previous years were
similarly combined. DOE, FY2007 Congressional Budget Request. February 2006. Volume 3. p.
82.
Members of the partnerships include the federal government and the national
laboratories, as well as universities, state governments, vehicle manufacturers, energy
companies, equipment manufacturers, and industry groups.
The mission of the Hydrogen Fuel Initiative is to “research, develop, and validate
fuel cells and hydrogen production, delivery, and storage technologies for transportation

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and stationary applications.”9 Fuel cell R&D areas include transportation systems,
stationary systems, fuel processing, fuel cell components, and technology validation.
Hydrogen fuel R&D areas include hydrogen production and delivery, fuel storage,
hydrogen infrastructure, safety, codes and standards, and training and education.
Partnership Goals
The FreedomCAR and the Hydrogen Fuel Initiatives have each set four goals for
2015, and share one additional goal between them. The shared goal is to produce
hydrogen-fueled engine systems that achieve double to triple the efficiency of today’s
conventional engines at a cost competitive with conventional engines.
FreedomCAR’s individual goals mainly focus on reducing system costs for various
technologies. The FreedomCAR goals are to develop:
! Electric drive systems with a 15-year life and significantly reduced
hardware costs;
! Advanced internal combustion engine systems with double to triple the
efficiency of current systems at no more cost and no higher emissions
than conventional engine systems;
! Electrical energy storage with improved life and lower cost than current
systems; and
! Materials and manufacturing technologies that achieve a 50% weight
reduction in vehicle structure, while maintaining affordability and
increasing the use of recyclable/recycled materials.
The four goals for the Hydrogen Fuel Initiative focus on improvements in fuel cell
technology and improvements in the storage and delivery of hydrogen fuel. The
Initiative’s goals are to develop:
! Hydrogen fuel cell power systems that are durable, and deliver higher
efficiency at lower cost than today’s systems;
! Transportation fuel cell systems that deliver greater efficiency and lower
cost, and meet or exceed emissions standards;
! Hydrogen refueling systems that are highly efficient and deliver fuel at
the market price of gasoline; and
! On-board hydrogen storage systems with improved energy density and
cost over existing systems.
Debate Over the Initiatives
The creation of FreedomCAR and the President’s Hydrogen Fuel Initiative has raised
debate over several issues. These issues include the proper role of the government in
R&D, as well as the proper level of funding, and concerns over energy efficiency and fuel
consumption.
9 DOE, Hydrogen, Fuel Cells, and Infrastructure Technologies Program, Mission, Vision, &
Goals. [http://www.eere.energy.gov/hydrogenandfuelcells/mission.html], updated January 29,
2003.

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Some environmental groups, including the Sierra Club, have criticized the initiatives.
They argue that while funding will be increased for efficient technologies, the initiatives
will not require auto manufacturers to make fuel cell vehicles available to customers by
any specific time.10 Also, groups such as the Natural Resources Defense Council argue
that the initiatives were put in place to forestall significant increases in national fuel
economy standards.11
On the other hand, the Administration argues that the increase in funding will
provide significant impetus for advancements in hydrogen and fuel cell technologies, and
that without those advancements, the technology would be unaffordable for consumers.12
Further, some engineers argue that FreedomCAR’s efficiency and cost goals may be
difficult to attain in the time frame of the program, and that any sort of sales goal would
be unrealistic.13 Moreover, industry groups argue that an explicit sales goal could force
manufacturers to abandon R&D on other promising technologies like gasoline-electric
hybrids.
Even among supporters of the program, there is criticism that FreedomCAR and the
President’s Hydrogen Fuel Initiative are under-funded and that additional government
commitments to hydrogen and fuel cells must be made. According to some proponents,
these commitments could take the form of increased R&D funding, expanded
demonstration programs, vehicle and fuel sales or production incentives, and other
incentives to make these vehicles attractive to customers.14
Finally, some critics argue that affordable, practical hydrogen and fuel cell
technology may be ultimately unattainable, especially for automobiles, and that federal
research should focus on more attainable goals.
Research at Other Agencies
In addition to DOE, other government agencies are also involved in fuel cell vehicle
R&D, although this funding is considerably lower. For example, the National
Automotive Center (NAC), part of the Army’s Tank-Automotive Research, Development,
and Engineering Center (TARDEC), coordinates fuel cell vehicle research between the
Department of Defense (DOD) and private contractors, and partners with DOE, the
Department of Transportation (DOT), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),
academia, and industry.
10 J. L. Laws, “Budget II: Bush Ups Ante On Hydrogen-Powered Vehicles,” Greenwire. January
29, 2003.
11 Harry Stoffer, “Unmoved by Hydrogen, Critics Seek Higher CAFE,” Automotive News.
January 21, 2002. p. 3.
12 Sheila Schimpf, “Abraham Says Hydrogen Plan to Focus On Lowering Costs, Developing
Infrastructure,” Daily Environment Report. February 10, 2003. p. A-11.
13 Sheila Schimpf, “DOE Official Reaffirms Commitment to Developing Auto Fuel Cell
Technology,” Daily Environment Report. August 9, 2002. p. A-2.
14 Carol Cole, “FreedomFuel Only ‘First Step,’ More Needed to Advance Hydrogen,” Octane
Week. February 10, 2003.

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Current Legislation
The appropriations processes over the next few years will directly affect the future
of FreedomCAR and the President’s Hydrogen Fuel Initiative. Between FY2004 and
FY2008, the Administration is requesting $720 million in funding above FY2003 levels
for the initiatives. This may lead to concerns over budgetary constraints. As some of this
funding increase may be offset through reductions in other research, development, and
demonstration programs (such as the Clean Cities Program), concerns may be raised over
the future of those other programs, as well. For FY2004, Congress agreed to increase
funding for the initiatives at roughly $46 million above FY2003 levels (See Table 1).15
For FY2005, Congress provided nearly all of the requested funding, increasing the
appropriation by approximately $23 million above the FY2004 level.16 But Congress did
not increase overall funding for the vehicle technologies, fuel cell, and hydrogen fuel
budgets in FY2006.17
In addition to appropriations legislation, hydrogen and fuel cell vehicles are
addressed by other recent legislation. On August 8, 2005, President Bush signed the
Energy Policy Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-58). Among other provisions, P.L. 109-58
authorizes appropriations for hydrogen and fuel cell research at higher levels than
requested by the President — $3.3 billion over five years. In addition to R&D funding,
the bill provides tax incentives for the purchase of new fuel cell vehicles.
Issues for Congressional Consideration
FreedomCAR and the President’s Hydrogen Fuel Initiative raise several key issues
for Congressional consideration. Some of these issues are:
! Given rising federal deficits and the potential for increased defense costs,
can the federal government afford the $720 million increase for hydrogen
and fuel cell R&D?
! Should the federal government be picking hydrogen and fuel cell vehicle
technologies over other technologies, such as hybrid vehicles and lean-
burn engines?
! Would the designation of a target deadline for commercialization of fuel
cell vehicles help focus the program and make better use of funding
resources? Alternately, would such a deadline force manufacturers to
abandon other promising technologies or create an unfair burden on the
industry?
! Should the government focus on long-term research or should it focus on
technologies closer to commercialization, or both?
! Is the widespread use of hydrogen and fuel cells technically and
economically feasible, or is the government taking too large a risk on
unproven technology?
15 P.L. 108-137, H.Rept. 108-357; and P.L. 108-108, H.Rept. 108-330.
16 FY2005 Consolidated Appropriations Act (P.L. 108-447; H.Rept. 108-792).
17 FY2006 Energy and Water Appropriations Act (P.L. 109-103; H.Rept. 109-275).

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