DOE and Sprint team for hydrogen fuel cell project

Sprint joins fuel cell project

Sprint, one of the largest telecommunications companies in the U.S., has partnered with the Department of Energy on a project concerning hydrogen fuel cells. The Department of Energy has grown quite interested of fuel cell technology in recent years after having believed fuel cells to be impractical in the past. The agency is currently backing several fuel cell projects, most of which have to do with transportation in some way. The new project from Sprint involves fuel cells being used for backup power.

$7 million grant split among several companies

Sprint is one of the companies that are sharing a $7 million grant from the Department of Energy. Grant money is being used to fund a project that aims to examine the capabilities of hydrogen fuel cells as backup power systems. The project is focused on lightweight fuel cells that are designed to be refueled quickly and can be moved without the use of heavy duty equipment. These fuel cells may be ideal backup power systems in remote locations that do not have reliable access to an existing energy grid.

Telecommunications industry continues to show interest in fuel cells

The telecommunications sector has become quite interested in fuel cells as backup power systems. Many companies in this industry have been experiencing higher demand for new and more reliable services. As such, they have been working to build new network towers that are often located in remote regions. These towers help expand the reach of a telecommunication network, but their access to electrical power is not reliable. These network towers are also susceptible to natural disasters, which can put whatever committed energy source they take advantage of offline.

Sprint to make use of hydrogen fuel cells and provide information to DOE

Fuel cells have proven that they can provide enough electrical power for telecommunications network towers to ensure that these towers continue operating for prolonged periods of time while repairs are being made to the tower itself or its primary energy source. Sprint is working to put fuel cells to use over the next year in order to examine they value and provide information concerning their performance to the Department of Energy.