FORT COLLINS - Forklifts at the Anheuser Busch brewery in Fort Collins will soon be powered by fuel cells as part of a $41.9 million demonstration project by the U.S. Department of Energy to test the cells' performance in the real world.

The project, funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act stimulus package, is designed to accelerate the use of fuel cells in private industry, according to DOE Secretary Steven Chu.

"The investments we're making today will help us build a robust fuel-cell manufacturing industry in the United States," Chu said in a press release. "Developing and deploying the next generation of fuel cells will not only create jobs, it will help our businesses become more energy-efficient and productive. We are laying the foundation for a green-energy economy."

Fuel cells, powered by hydrogen and hydrogen-rich fuels, emit no greenhouse gases.

The Fort Collins A-B brewery is one of 13 projects in 10 states that will receive funding to help get fuel cells into the workplace. The local brewery, the only Colorado project on the list, will receive $1.1 million to convert its fleet of 23 forklifts - also known as lift trucks - from conventional batteries to fuel cells.

Greg Kellerman, A-B corporate spokesman, said details of the agreement with the DOE were still being worked out but he expected the conversion would likely occur "sometime this year."

"The sooner the better, frankly," Kellerman said. "We're interested in getting it going."

As required by the DOE awards, A-B will be matching the $1.1 million of its grant to perform the conversion.

Kellerman said the A-B brewery is the only one of the company's 12 breweries that will be converting its forklift batteries to fuel cells.

"It's a demonstration project for us," he said. "We're hopeful we'll learn from the project and it'll have additional applications for us."