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Apr. 21, 2009

Sprint Wireless says it is the only mobile provider to be awarded a $7.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.

The new program is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding earmarked for fuel cell technology and fuel cell research.

To this day, it is the largest single grant awarded by the Department of Energy for this round of grant funding, which totals $41.9 million, Sprint said.

Overall, the grant will be used to expand Sprint’s hydrogen fuel cell research program at mobile sites throughout the U.S., creating more network resiliency, especially during emergencies and natural disasters.

The grant will be used to further expand the number of Sprint mobile sites that rely on hydrogen fuel cells for emergency power.

Like a UPS (uninterruptible power supply), the fuel cells are activated when power from the local electric utility is disrupted during severe weather or other natural disasters.

Most deployed hydrogen fuel cells are paired with low-pressure hydrogen tanks that provide about fifteen hours of back-up power before needing refueling.

As part of the grant funding, Sprint says it will work with hydrogen fuel cell manufacturers, tank providers and hydrogen suppliers to extend the unassisted run-time to 72 hours.

Some industry observers now say that other wireless service providers could also get similar grants in the coming weeks.

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Source: Sprint Nextel.