The US government has awarded a further $1.6 million to a project aimed at developing the design of catalysts and technology that could contribute to the use of alternative fuels and fuel cells.

The Department of Energy will contribute the funding over the next three years to the catalysis science initiative, led by the University of Delaware.

It follows an initial grant of $1.1 million made in 2003.

Catalysts are materials that change chemical reactions and pgm catalysts are used in a wide range of industrial processes.

In particular, they are used in catalytic converters in vehicles. Many of the emerging transportation technologies, including hydrogen fuel cells, require catalysts.

"Catalysis by design has been a dream for decades," said Mark Barteau, chairman of the university's Department of Chemical Engineering.

"To specify the composition and structure of matter to effect a desired catalytic transformation with predicted rate and selectivity remains a significant challenge.

"However, today, the field has reached the point where we can actually begin doing this. The tools are in place," he added.

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