July 9, 2021

Cassidy Announces $1 Million to University of Louisiana at Lafayette for Hydrogen Technology Research

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) announced $1 million in grant funding from the U.S. Department of Energy to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (ULL) to advance clean hydrogen technologies. ULL will develop high-performance metal-supported solid oxide electrolysis cells and innovative diagnostic methodologies to achieve net-zero or negative emissions. ULL is one of 31 projects using the nation’s vast fossil-fuel and power infrastructure for decarbonized energy and commodity production through development of technologies for the production, transport, storage and utilization of fossil-based hydrogen.

“The future of natural gas and hydrogen runs through Louisiana. This funding boosts our research and development to make this a reality,” said Dr. Cassidy. 

Hydrogen is a clean fuel that – when combined with oxygen in a fuel cell – produces electricity with water and heat as by-products. Hydrogen can be produced from a variety of resources, such as natural gas, nuclear power, biomass, and renewable power like solar and wind. These qualities make it an attractive fuel option and input for transportation, electricity generation and industrial applications, such as in trucks, buildings, and manufacturing. 

About the Project

The ULL team plans to fabricate metal-supported solid oxide electrolysis cells (MS-SOECs) to improve the electrolysis performance while maintaining mechanical strength for the stack assembly; develop accelerated test protocols for SOECs and apply theoretical analysis to improve its stability and suppress oxygen electrode declamation; and use machine learning to study the dependence of electrochemical performance on microstructural details of an electrode.

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