Nuvera Fuel Cells Selected for Funding by the U.S. Department of Energy for Manufacturing Next-Gen Fuel Cell Stacks

­Nuvera Fuel Cells, LLC, a leading provider of fuel cell power solutions, has been included in this week’s announcement by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) of $750 million in funding under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) for 52 projects that directly support the national clean hydrogen strategy. DOE selected Nuvera’s project requesting $30 million in federal funds to develop the high-volume production process for its next-generation fuel cell stack technology.

Upon final award, Nuvera will establish the high-volume manufacturing capabilities of its next-generation fuel cell stack designed for heavy-duty vehicle applications. The automated production system, which will be demonstrated at Nuvera’s headquarters in Billerica, Massachusetts, is expected to have the capability of manufacturing 2,000+ fuel cell stacks per year, scalable to the DOE target of 20,000 stacks per year.

“Through this project, we will demonstrate how our comprehensive manufacturing capabilities can provide low-cost, modular and scalable solutions that drive fuel cell adoption in the heavy-duty vehicle market,” said Neil Gillen, chief operations officer at Nuvera. Gus Block, Nuvera’s corporate development director, added that “we thank DOE both for selecting our project as part of this momentous funding announcement and for its ongoing commitment to making clean hydrogen affordable and widely available.”

Nuvera brings more than three decades of continuous hydrogen fuel cell technology development and experience in real-world operations to furthering the aims of the U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap. Nuvera’s ninth-generation stack technology has the performance and cell power density to help accelerate the adoption of fuel cell power systems for vehicle, equipment, maritime, and rail markets, which are among the hardest-to-decarbonize transportation sectors. Federal funding will enable faster time to market for Nuvera’s hydrogen fuel cell stacks at a lower cost than would be possible otherwise.

In addition to providing technology and manufacturing expertise, Nuvera actively supports the federal Justice40 initiative that sets the goal that 40 percent of clean transportation, climate change, workforce development and other federal investments be used to benefit disadvantaged communities. Workforce training, co-op programs, expanding supplier diversity, and community outreach are among the actions the project will undertake to advance these objectives.