President Bush has included $322 million in the FY 2006 Department of Energy (DOE) budget for fuel cell and hydrogen technology programs. That is an increase of $20.5 million over the $301.5 million Congress enacted for the current fiscal year. "A hydrogen energy future means a stronger U.S. economy and a safer world," said Robert Rose, executive director of the U.S. Fuel Cell Council (USFCC). "The President's budget recognizes both the potential of hydrogen and fuel cells and the challenges we still must overcome." Fuel cell and hydrogen-related proposals in the DOE budget include Fuel Cell Technologies (Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy), $83.6 million; Hydrogen Program (Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy), $99.1 million; and Distributed Generation Fuel Cells (Office of Fossil Energy), $65.0 million.

For more information, visit http://www.usfcc.com.