LIVERMORE, Calif.— Sandia National Laboratories and SRI International, an independent research and innovation center, will join forces to explore, test and evaluate a broad range of hydrogen and natural gas fuel systems and components for transportation applications under a new agreement.

The five-year memorandum of understanding (MOU) is the first agreement in Sandia’s new Center for Infrastructure Research and Innovation (CIRI), an alternative fuel research and innovation facility whose goal is to accelerate hydrogen and natural gas infrastructure technologies into the marketplace. The collaboration also will capitalize on research at Sandia’s renowned Combustion Research Facility (CRF).

CIRI will be located at Sandia’s Livermore Valley Open Campus (LVOC), adjacent to the CRF. The LVOC was established in 2011 as a space for open, collaborative work in such fields as bioscience, energy, cybersecurity and detection technologies.

Through the MOU, Sandia and SRI International together focus on such research areas as:

• High-pressure system/component durability testing
• Destructive testing of components and systems
• Fire engulfment/impingement testing
• Life-cycle testing
• Risk assessments of hydrogen infrastructure
• Advanced storage technology
• Hydrogen and natural gas release experiments
• Evaluation of material/component/system failure modes

Sandia National Laboratories' new Center for Infrastructure Research and Innovation (CIRI) is an alternative fuel research and innovation facility whose goal is to accelerate hydrogen and natural gas infrastructure technologies into the marketplace. An MOU with SRI International represents the first agreement to be part of CIRI, which is located at Sandia's Livermore Valley Open Campus (LVOC). Image courtesy of Sandia National Laboratories

“Together, Sandia and SRI will address the most challenging barriers associated with alternative fuel infrastructure, including cost, performance and availability of the fueling systems,” said Daniel Dedrick, hydrogen program manager at Sandia. “We’re excited to kick off this collaboration with SRI and see it as a critical step toward a comprehensive gaseous-fuel research capability for the nation.”