THE WORKPLAN IS BROKEN INTO FIVE TASKS AND THREE BUDGET PERIODS COMPRISING FOUR QUARTER-YEAR PERIODS EACH: Q1-Q4, Q5-Q8, AND Q9-Q12. PTL COATING DEVELOPMENT (TASK 1) AND PTL STRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT (TASK 2) WILL PROCEED IN PARALLEL TO DEVELOP COATINGS AND TO OPTIMIZE STRUCTURE, RESPECTIVELY. THE RESULTS WILL BE MERGED DOWNSTREAM INTO A DURABLE, HIGH PERFORMANCE PTL FREE OF PRECIOUS METALS AND TAILORED TO THE LOW LOADINGS AND THIN MEMBRANES REQUIRED TO REACH THE PROGRAM OBJECTIVE OF $2/KG HYDROGEN. CELL FABRICATION AND TESTING (TASK 3) PROVIDES FEEDBACK TO THE TASK 1 AND 2 TEAMS ON PROGRESS TOWARDS THE TECHNICAL MILESTONES AND DELIVERABLES. CHARACTERIZATION (TASK 4) PROVIDES STRUCTURAL AND CHEMICAL INSIGHTS NECESSARY TO UNDERSTAND AND IMPROVE PTL PERFORMANCE AND CCM COMPATIBILITY. COMMUNITY BENEFITS (TASK 5) IS COMPLEMENTARY TO THE BALANCE OF THE TECHNICAL PROGRAM THROUGH WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND GENERATION OF COMMUNITY AWARENESS OF OPPORTUNITIES AND SYNERGIES IN THE CLEAN ENERGY SECTOR IN CONNECTICUT. AT THE CONCLUSION OF BUDGET PERIOD 1, THE TEAM WILL DEMONSTRATE A SUBSCALE SHORT STACK DURABILITY TEST FEATURING THE MOST PROMISING PTLS. BUDGET PERIOD 2 WILL CONCLUDE WITH DURABILITY TESTING OF THE SCALED-UP PTL TECHNOLOGY IN A COMMERCIAL CELL FORMAT. BUDGET PERIOD 3 AIMS TO MEET DOE DURABILITY TARGETS IN A MW-SCALE SHORT STACK BASED ON THE OPTIMIZED PTL COATING TECHNOLOGY.