U.S. awards $3 million for fuel cell research

WASHINGTON, April 9 (UPI) -- The U.S. Energy Department announced it gave $3 million to FuelCell Energy, a Connecticut company, to increase the U.S. competitiveness of the fuel cell market.

The Energy Department said the investment would help cut the costs and improve the performance of fuel cell and hydrogen technologies for vehicles.

"This project will enhance the performance, increase the lifespan, and decrease the cost of stationary fuel cells being used for distributed generation and combined heat and power applications," the Energy Department said Tuesday.

There was no comment from the Connecticut company. In its quarterly report, it said its production facility in Connecticut produced about 70 megawatts worth of fuel cell components so far this year.

The Energy Department said the award was part of President Obama's so-called all-of-the-above energy policy. U.S. Secretary Ernest Moniz said in a four-year strategy report that, while U.S. oil production gains were curbing imports, energy diversity was the best strategy for the future.