DETROIT ? The Energy Department announced $350 million in grants Tuesday to more than 130 research institutions and companies, including the Big Three automakers, to put hydrogen-fueled cars on the road by 2015.

The projects — which are worth $575 million with private funding — are aimed at removing some of the obstacles to developing the cleaner-burning technology for widespread use.

Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said Tuesday the projects would address problems such as how to store hydrogen and how to make hydrogen fuel cells that are durable and affordable.

“It’s a very comprehensive program that has brought together for the first time the major energy and the major automotive companies of the world to work on this extremely important challenge,” Abraham said.

Hydrogen does not create any pollution or greenhouse gases. But unlike oil or coal, hydrogen must be produced — there are no natural stores of it waiting to be pumped or dug out of the ground.

Roger Billings, a Gallatin, Mo. businessman, has proposed buying the vacant Farmland fertilizer plant east of Lawrence to manufacture hydrogen fuel cells. Billings and his company were not included in the list of grant recipients.

A special connector is used in the fueling tank of a Ford Focus Fuel Cell Vehicle, right, parked in Los Angeles. BP plans to build a network of fueling stations to support hydrogen-powered vehicles in metropolitan Sacramento, Orlando and Michigan. BP is among the companies that the Energy Department has chosen to help with research on hydrogen-fueled cars.