Budget cuts announced by US president Barack Obama will slash spending on hydrogen technology by around 40 per cent, leading to concerns that the US' competitiveness in the sector could be impacted.

In an interview with E&E TV, executive director of the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association Ruth Cox said she was "mystified" by the position the administration has taken, given the success of American fuel cell technology projects.

"It sends a message to the market that they don't believe in this technology … Yet you see corporations and universities and other organisation's using it very effectively for distributed power, distributed, clean, reliable, and efficient power," she commented.

Ms Cox went on to say that there remains a lot of support for funding fuel cell technology within the government, not least because there is a $10 billion (£6.2 billion) national investment in what she described as "the microprocessor of the energy age".

Meanwhile, in the UK, the Carbon Trust recently granted £1 million for Cheshire company ACAL Energy, to develop hydrogen fuel cell technology, as part of the trust's Polymer Fuel Cell Challenge initiative.

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Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy group's Cox discusses proposed budget cuts (23/02/11)

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