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January 2003    Fuel Cells Bulletin - Elsevier

2/28/2003   Feds Trim Oil Research Funding by Ted Monoson - Casper Star-Tribune (WY)

"How do you explain a 60 percent cut for oil exploration research and development?" the committee's top Democrat Jeff Bingaman, N.M., asked Abraham. "This is particularly hard to understand because you are also calling for an increase in domestic energy production." The administration's budget proposal would cut funding for oil technology development from $36 million in 2003 to $15 million for 2004. In 2002, $56.2 million was set aside for oil technology development. In general, Abraham said that the administration had proposed the cuts because of concerns about the programs. "The issue that comes into play is the effectiveness of the program as they are run," Abraham said. "We are in the process of making the programs more effective in the future." The Bush administration has proposed a $1.2 billion program to develop cars that are powered by hydrogen cells.

2/25/2003   Blair Urges Europe to Turn Green with Hope by Anthony Browne - Times (UK)

The Kyoto treaty commits Britain to reducing greenhouse gasses by 12.5 per cent by 2010, but the White Paper, Our Energy Future — Creating a Low Carbon Economy, commits Britain to cutting levels by 60 per cent by 2050. It puts a moratorium on building nuclear power stations, and promises to meet the reductions by raising fuel efficiency and boosting renewable energy, such as wind, solar and biomass. ...The White Paper sets out the main challenges for the Government’s energy policy, the most important of which is to curb greenhouse gas emissions to help to limit climate change. The Government also said that, for the first time since the discovery of North Sea oil, Britain would become a net importer of energy as its own supplies ran dry. Britain will become dependent on imports of gas by 2006, and on imports of oil by 2010. By 2020, Britain could be dependent on imports for three quarters of its energy needs. ...Professor David Wallis, vice-president of the Royal Society, said: “The White Paper shows a lack of political courage to make the hard decisions necessary to move this country away from its dependence on fossil fuels. It outlines a future in which nuclear power could be shut down faster than renewables and energy efficiency measures could make up the shortfall.”

2/24/2003   Bush's $1,200,000,000 Hydrogen Contribution Highlights Dennis Weaver's Four Big Newsworthy Events - Dennis Weaver/PRNewswire

Ten years of crusading to help "save the planet" from air pollution by gasoline, and substitution of hydrogen, by Dennis and his wife-for-57-years, Gerry, just rewarded by President Bush's endorsement of hydrogen in his State of the Nation address and several times since. Dennis publicly announced in 2001 his writing the President urging conversion to hydrogen. ...Other celebrities also are on the Drive to Survive Support Committee, some of whom will drive non-gasoline cars part way. ...Ed Begley, Jr., Valerie Bertinelli, Mike Farrell, Beverly Garland, Larry Hagman, Daryl Hannah, Governor Gary Johnson, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Michael Nouri, Joseph Sargent, Tom Skerritt, Jeffrey Tambor, U.S. Rep. Mark Udall, Lindsay Wagner, Roger Williams and others are on the Committee.

2/24/2003   Hydrogen Power Lures Companies, Politicians by Sharon Collins - CNN

Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut has called Bush's hydrogen proposal a "pipe dream." If Bush wants to reduce oil dependence, he said, the United States should emphasize things like better fuel efficiency. In addition to political opposition, there are several other barriers to developing hydrogen-powered cars. For one, it costs about 10 times more to power a car with hydrogen than with gasoline. One reason is that most methods of producing hydrogen require electricity. A bigger problem is that few refueling stations exist. There are only two in California and fewer than a dozen around the country. Bush hopes the allocation would to address these problems in the next generation or two. "I don't know if you or I are going to be driving one of these cars, but our grandkids will. And we can say we did our duty [and] proposed some initiatives," he said. Hydrogen-powered cars might be closer than he thinks. Amory B. Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute, a global energy research institution, predicts, "At least eight major automakers will be introducing low-volume fuel-cell cars from this year through 2005."

2/24/2003   Hydrogen Car Gets L.A. Test by Brent Hopkins - L.A. Daily News (California)

"Right now, Los Angeles is the key focal point for these efforts, primarily because of the air quality issues in that area," said Venki Raman, business development manager for fuel-cell energy solutions for Air Products and Chemicals Inc., the Allentown, Pa.-based firm that provides Williams' Honda with its hydrogen. "It's probably the best lab to prove all these technologies." The city currently leases one FCX from Honda for $500 a month, and expects delivery of four more by year's end for use within its General Services fleet. Within a month, Alvin Blain, the assistant general manager of the department who oversees the program, plans on having access to a hydrogen station downtown to fuel up, making the city a key part of understanding the tricks of running such vehicles. From the outside, the FCX looks more or less like a normal car, albeit compacted and plastered with decals proclaiming its alternative power. But its specs are considerably different from its gas-driven cousins. An onboard tank holds 3.75 kilograms of hydrogen, compressed at 5,000 pounds per square inch, providing roughly 120 miles worth of city driving.

2/23/2003   `Still Quite a Bit of Work to Do' by Matt Nauman - Ledger-Inquirer (OH)/Mercury News (CA)

The biggest hurdle will be changing recent history, says Bob Rose, executive director of the U.S. Fuel Cell Council, a 115-member trade association. ``We have an entrenched system that's going to take time to get out from under. Even if every car sold tomorrow was a fuel-cell car, it would only slow the increase in oil imports for the rest of the decade.'' Davis researcher Ken Kurani puts it another way: ``We have hundreds of millions of vehicles in this country, and a gasoline network that crisscrosses everywhere.'' Industry statistics show that more than 216 million cars and light trucks, nearly all gasoline burning, were in use in the United States in 2001. There were 180,000 gas stations in the United States, according to the American Petroleum Institute, and Americans stopped for gas 11 billion times last year.

2/22/2003   Our New Hydrogen Bomb by Nicholas D. Kristof - New York Times/Naples Daily News (FL)

"We see fuel cells as the first technology that has come along in 100 years that has the potential of competing with the internal combustion engine," said Scott Fosgard, a GM official involved in hydrogen cars. "We're doing this because we're going to make a boatload of money." ...Hydrogen does not exist on its own but is locked up in water and fossil fuels. The goal is to use wind energy to pluck hydrogen from water in the ocean, but in the near term it's more likely that the hydrogen will come from natural gas. The bottom line is that President Bush was dead right last month to offer $1.7 billion to boost hydrogen technology, although it would help if the White House also promoted high-mileage hybrid cars for the present. The government could also do more, by deregulating commercial power supply by fuel cells and by encouraging fleet purchases of hydrogen vehicles. What does any of this have to do with Iraq? Hydrogen cars are a reminder that there is more than one way to ensure our supplies of energy in the years ahead, even if invading Iraq and investing in hydrogen address the issue on very different time horizons. Nonetheless, I have to say that waging war seems a reflex, pushing toward a hydrogen economy a vision. As Fosgard of GM put it only half-jokingly: "I don't want to say that this car will eliminate war, but we might not have wars for energy anymore. We'd have to find different reasons to go to war."

2/20/2003   Fuel Cell Advocate Predicts Doubling of Hydrogen Refueling Sites in 2003 - Chemical Week/Hoovers

First things first, this guy knows it will take a lot of time, money and new production methods before hydrogen- powered fuel cell vehicles are commercialized and on the road in mass quantities. He knows it's the 'Holy Grail' and he knows it won't be easy getting there. Nonetheless, Stefan Geiger, of advocacy group Fuel Cell Today, predicts a major uptick in established hydrogen infrastructure around the world for 2003. In fact, by the end of the year, he estimates that the number of hydrogen refueling sites in the world will double to slightly more than 60, from the end-of-2002 total of approximately 30. Yes, the majority of these stations will be for fleet vehicles, such as light-duty vehicles and buses like the ones being tested in trials under the European Union's "Clean Urban Transport for Europe" program and various other publicly funded research efforts. However, "this is probably the first step in the right direction," Geiger wrote in a recent report on the fuel cell industry. Currently, there are 69 hydrogen refueling stations across the globe, with the majority (44%) in Europe - 20% in Germany alone - and the remainder in Japan (19%), the U.S. (21%) and other worldwide locations (16%), according to Geiger. By the end of 2004, he predicts there will be just shy of 100 hydrogen refueling sites in operation worldwide. "Even though this number seems impressive, it is mainly test stations that will be built," Geiger acknowledged.

2/20/2003   CARB: It's In the Air: Hydrogen vs. Hybrid Debate by Don Thompson - San Mateo County Times/AP

President Bush said the generation born now could be driving the cars that will wean the world from the internal-combustion engine to a pollution-free dependence on the universe's most common element. But skeptical California regulators and environmental groups say there's no need to wait to battle the state's legendary air pollution, because the technology exists now. The California Air Resource Board's staff abruptly withdrew its latest proposed zero emission vehicle regulations last week after clean-air groups complained major manufacturers could avoid selling zero emission vehicles for a decade. Now, the board staff is considering adding new requirements for "hybrid" or "partial" zero emission vehicles that use various technologies to boost efficiency and cut pollution from internal combustion engines -- and which are available and affordable right now.

2/18/2003   EnBW Energie Begins Operation of Fuel Cell Power Plant in Germany - Oil & Gas Journal

The German energy firm EnBW Energie Baden-Wurttemberg AG has begun operation of a direct fuel cell (DFC) power plant at a Michelin tire plant in Karlsruhe, Germany. The plant, which will supply both electricity and process steam for tire vulcanization at the site, was built by DaimlerChrysler AG subsidiary MTU CFC Solutions GMBH. Danbury, Conn.-based FuelCell Energy Inc. manufactured the fuel cells for incorporation into the power plant known as the "hot module." Direct fuel cells currently generate electricity at both commercial and industrial facilities. At an event in Karlsruhe Feb. 7, MTU officials noted that other such "hot modules" are in use in various European operations: at a De Te-Immobilien und Service GMBH facility in Munich; at a IPF Heizkraftwerksbetriebsgesellschaft plant at Otto von Guericke University in Magdeburg; at a RWE-DEA AG facility in Essen; at a Rhon-Klinikum AG hospital in Bad Neustadt/Saal; and at an IZAR Construcciones Navales SA facility in Cartagena, Spain.

2/17/2003   Living Without Oil by Marianne Lavelle - US News

How soon will cars that run on hydrogen be on the market? "My answer has always been `four years after we figure out how to have hydrogen at the corner gas station,' " says Thomas Moore, vice president of DaimlerChrysler's advanced car division. Perhaps scores of firms are working on solutions. DaimlerChrysler, which has earmarked $1.4 billion for fuel cell research from 2001 to 2004, has worked with Millennium Cell on a concept car, the Natrium, named after the Latin word for sodium. It is fueled with a water solution of the compound sodium borohydride, and a chemical reaction releases hydrogen as needed. Energy Conversion Devices, a Rochester Hills, Mich., company chaired by former General Motors CEO Robert Stempel and developer of the nickel metal hydride battery that now powers hybrid cars, has worked with ChevronTexaco to convert that same technology into a hydrogen storage and delivery system. A metal hydride element aboard the car would absorb hydrogen, like a sponge, then release it as needed into the fuel cell to power the vehicle.

2/16/2003   Columbia's Power: The River Contains the Secret to Drive a National Energy Revolution by Jack Robertson - Register-Guard (OR)

The mighty Columbia River's nighttime flow holds a remarkable secret. This secret can put the Northwest at the center of a global energy revolution, create thousands of new jobs and help end forever our dependence on Middle East oil. While you sleep, the power of the Columbia River can create a revolutionary new energy source - lighter than air, completely renewable, and yet with the highest energy content of any fuel. In the Northwest we can produce this new fuel faster, cleaner and cheaper than anywhere in the world. What's its source? Water. That's right. The power of the Columbia River can unlock hydrogen from water. It can turn the Northwest into the Saudi Arabia of hydrogen - the revolutionary fuel at the center of President Bush's bold, $1.2 billion proposal to build hydrogen-powered cars and a national hydrogen infrastructure. [CHBC Note: This article has been nominated as one of the most significant recent published works on creating a hydrogen future.]

2/16/2003   President's Focus on Missile Defense, Hydrogen Power Encouraging by Ben Bova - Naples Daily News (FL)

Lost in the glare of headlines about Iraq and the Columbia tragedy is the fact that President Bush's recent State of the Union speech contained two significant items dealing with high technology: ballistic missile defense and hydrogen power for automobiles. Both these programs have been strongly criticized. Both of them are important to America's well-being, perhaps even to our survival. 

2/14/2003   Scientists Discover How Hydrogen-Making Bacteria Thrive with Cyanide by Lori Stiles - University of Arizona

A University of Arizona chemist and colleagues from Munich, Germany, have discovered how microbes avoid being poisoned by the cyanide and carbon monoxide compounds they make and incorporate into enzymes. The bacteria use the enzymes to turn water into hydrogen for energy. Bacteria with this remarkable ability have long been widely dismissed as one of Mother Nature's interesting, if largely useless and unimportant, oddities, said UA chemistry professor Richard S. Glass. But they now interest industry searching for cheap hydrogen sources for such things as hydrogen-fueled cars and other technologies that fall under President Bush's proposed $1.2 billion hydrogen research program. It may be possible to mimic the microbes' use of iron or other cheap metal in making hydrogen, rather than expensive platinum currently used, Glass said. The petroleum industry, which uses hydrogen to remove sulfur for cleaner-burning fuels, also seeks cheaper sources of hydrogen, he added.

2/14/2003   EU Project to Deliver Hydrogen Fuel Pumps at Petrol Stations - Cordis News (Europe)

Large scale industrial processes can already produce hydrogen from natural gas, but such methods cannot be scaled down to a practical size for filling stations. To be cost effective, the process will need to be automated, remotely controlled, and able to work in a confined space. The Hydrofueler team believe they have the solution, which draws on technology developed by Warwick University and its partners in France, Italy, Norway and the UK. The answer lies in the combination of innovative heat exchange technology, new ways of managing and using heat and pressure within a reactor, novel compact plated reactor technology, and leading edge coated nanocrystaline catalysts that greatly increase the efficiency of the reactions. These techniques will allow the development of a reactor roughly the size of a double bed that can be integrated onto existing petrol station forecourts and which can produce hydrogen at a cost effective rate and without any emissions problems. A further advantage of this technology is that, at various stages in the process, hydrogen of different levels of purity is produced. This is ideal, as different fuel cells require different mixes of hydrogen, and the teams reactor will be able to provide what could be described as two, three and four star hydrogen.

2/14/2003   Anchors Away for Hydrogen Research  by Peter Carvelli - Solar Access.com

The question of what to do with the hydrogen produced was answered when Brown came across a surplus "Flying Scot," 19-foot sailboat. The rigging and centerboard of the boat have been removed to make room for a five-foot long compressed hydrogen tank and an advanced prototype 5 kW hydrogen fuel cell that is being tested by Plug Power who is donating the unit to the program. Plug Power and LILCO, who are working under a cooperative agreement to develop the new prototype fuel cell, are presently working directly with the Merchant Marine Academy students to incorporate the 5 kW test unit into the Kings Point hydrogen system. The hydrogen produced in Brown's lab will be compressed into tanks, feeding the fuel cell to generate electricity. That power will charge three, 12 volt, deep cycle marine batteries which in turn will power a small trolling motor mounted on the stern of the boat. (The technical issue of converting the 200-300 v of generated by the fuel cell into the 36 v the battery bank needs is currently being tackled at Plug Power.) The power should be enough to generate 110 pounds of thrust for the trolling motor allowing the ship to travel at between 8 to 10 knots (10-12 mph), according to Brown.

2/13/2003   These Fuelish Things - The Economist (UK)

Mr Bush insists that hydrogen is a good way to bolster his country's “energy independence” from Middle Eastern oil. Hydrogen can be made from America's plentiful supplies of coal, as well as from locally produced biomass and renewable energy, says John Marburger, Mr Bush's top science adviser. Thus, America's reliance on oil from fickle foreign regimes will decline. That vision of energy independence through fossil hydrogen is also gaining popularity among the leadership in coal-rich but oil-starved China. Does that mean the American approach is ungreen? Not necessarily. Even if fossil fuels were used to produce hydrogen without sequestration, fuel-cell-powered cars would still produce zero local emissions on roads. (Wags call this “drive here, pollute elsewhere”.) Further, hydrogen is likely to be produced by some green sources anyway: in the Pacific north-west, hydro-electric power is dirt cheap at night, and on the windswept Great Plains renewables or biomass may prove more economic than fossil fuels. If America pursues its hydrogen vision by using fossil fuels with techniques such as sequestration, a technology Mr Bush has repeatedly applauded, its hydrogen embrace will indeed be greener than green. What is more, if Big Oil also gets behind hydrogen—as it is now starting to do thanks to the new push from the Texan oilman in the White House—the thorny question of where you can find hydrogen could one day become very simple to answer.

2/13/2003   A Greener Bush - The Economist (UK)

In recent days, Mr Bush has unveiled a vision of a clean-energy future based on two ideas: promoting hydrogen and constraining carbon. His administration has declared its unqualified support for a shift from the internal combustion engine to fuel cells, which use hydrogen to produce energy without harmful emissions. ...Mr Bush is unlikely ever to be a born-again green—or so we must hope—but there is no reason to dismiss his ideas for a shift to clean hydrogen just because car and oil companies may benefit. Their support is necessary if hydrogen is ever to take off. The shift from internal combustion engines to hydrogen fuel cells envisaged by Mr Bush could eventually lead, in the words of a senior administration official, to a “low-carbon energy system” in America. ...The best way forward, on fuel cells as on climate, would be through the use of taxes. A higher petrol tax, or better still a tax on all carbon emissions, would mean that the full cost to the environment and human health from the use of petrol (and other fossil fuels) was reflected in the price. Unlike the CAFE law or any other central target, taxes of this kind would encourage the development of cleaner energy without biasing energy users in favour of any specific technologies or energy sources. Best of all, Mr Bush could use the extra revenues to finance tax cuts elsewhere, or to trim looming budget deficits. An intelligent green policy that improves America's fiscal position—now that really would be visionary.

2/11/2003   Bush Administration Issues First Certification of a Fuel Cell Vehicle - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

EPA’s Ann Arbor Lab is the first federal facility capable of testing and certifying a fuel cell vehicle for emissions and fuel economy. As a result, the 2003 Honda FCX was the first to be certified as a U.S. hydrogen fuel cell zero emission vehicle. As with any new motor vehicle that will be sold in the U.S., EPA has responsibility to certify each model as complying with all emission standards.

2/11/2003   GM Says Fuel Cell Cars Will be Ready by 2010 by Ed Garsten - Detroit News (OH)

During a speech before the Detroit Economic Club last Friday, U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said a decision on whether to commercialize fuel cell vehicles could be made by 2015 -- with vehicles arriving in showrooms about five years later. "I'm not buying it," Larry Burns, GM vice president of research, development and planning, said in an interview during a media event showcasing the automaker's advanced technology vehicles. "He's listening to a lot of different companies," Burns said. "If you're telling a story about 2020, I'm not sure people want to hear about that." Burns said GM is sticking with its target of making fuel cell vehicles widely available by around 2010. ...One hurdle has been the development of a hydrogen refueling infrastructure, the goal of the year-old partnership between the federal government and Big 3 automakers called FreedomCAR. But Burns insists the use of electrolyzers, devices that create hydrogen from electricity, natural gas or water, could be made available fairly quickly. Within three months, GM's Adam Opel AG plans to test a home electrolyzer, according to staff engineer Gerd Arnold. The device is about the size of a refrigerator and would sit in a home's garage, producing enough hydrogen in 24 hours to let a fuel cell vehicle travel about 240 miles, Arnold said.

2/11/2003   Neah Power Systems: Bothell Startup Gets Boost from Intel by Cydney Gillis - King County Journal (WA)

The 3-year-old company, which employs 29, said Monday that it's working on ``micro-fuel cells'' as a replacement for today's rechargeable lithium batteries. The cells run on small plastic cartridges of methanol and oxygen that can last up to 10 hours -- three times the pricey rechargeable units -- for about the cost of AA-size batteries. Unlike rechargeable batteries, which only store electricity, fuel cells combine methanol and oxygen in a chemical reaction that actually creates energy. When the methanol is depleted -- leaving only water and carbon dioxide -- the cartridges can be tossed or recycled. The technology is decades old. But Neah, which came out of ``stealth mode'' Monday by announcing funding from Intel Capital and the hiring of General Electric veteran David Dorheim as its first CEO, says it has come up a new twist. Where other fuel cells use a ``polymer electrolyte membrane,'' or PEM, to contain the energy-making reaction, Neah's fuel cells rely on silicon. The result, said company spokesman Gregg Mackuch, is that Neah's cells aren't as big and bulky as their PEM-based counterparts.

2/11/2003   Fuel-Cell Technology for Clean Cars Could Power Mobile Devices by Paul Eng - ABC News

Much like the automobile industry, mobile electronics makers will have to work with retail outlets and other partners to develop the infrastructure to easily supply the fuel to consumers. Also, the fuel-cell industry will have to work out safety and regulations issues with the federal government. Current regulations, for example, prohibit passengers from carrying fuels aboard commercial airliners. That means mobile workers wouldn't be able to take advantage of the technology during long overseas flights. Fuel-cell advocates are confident, however, that all the parts will come together soon — especially with Bush's recent push toward more research.

2/10/2003   Ottawa May Aid Fusion Project by Peter Calamai - Toronto Star (Canada)

The federal government is leaning toward substantially sweetening the pot for an industry-led bid to win a $12-billion "green electricity" project for Ontario. Senior officials say Energy Minister Herb Dhaliwal will try to sell the project to cabinet colleagues as a good fit for both Ottawa's innovation strategy and the Kyoto action plan on climate change. ...Dhaliwal said Ottawa is looking at the project more seriously since the Bush administration rejoined the project's five other international partners, after withdrawing in 1998, and pledged at least $750 million for construction costs. "It changes the dynamics when you have the U.S. government on board," Dhaliwal said.

2/10/2003   Fuel Cells Design to Replace Batteries by Michael Kanellos - ZDNet

However, the amount of electrons produced is directly related to the surface area of the membrane. Increasing the power means expanding the physical size of the fuel system. Polymer membranes can also tear and leak. To boost surface area, Neah's fuel cell uses layers of silicon chips, each shot through with pores, to serve as the surface area for the chemical reaction. Just as Greece--with its islands and rocky coastline--has almost as much coastline as all of North America, Neah said the collective surface area from pores in its chips will far exceed the surface area of most polymer membranes. As a result, more energy can be produced at once, even though the external dimensions of the polymer membrane and silicon chip are the same. The Bothell, Wash.-based company, which started in 1999, asserts that it can make a fuel cell with eight porous chips that will be adequate to run a standard notebook and will be no bigger than today's standard laptop battery pack.

2/9/2003   Hydrogen Hits the Road in Test Cars by Jeanne Morris - The Union Leader Sunday News (New Hampshire)

U.S. Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., would like to see the hydrogen fuel-cell techology put on par with the space program. “We need to be bold, and there needs to be an Apollo-type project where we set goals and set dates,” Dorgan told national news media. He has called for a $6.5 billion program for hydrogen-energy development over the next decade, comparable to the country’s early push into space. After drawing wide attention to the potential of hydrogen as a fuel in his State of the Union Address, Bush on Thursday urged Congress to approve his $1.5 billion hydrogen-development proposals as “a legacy” for future generations. Bush’s proposed funding brought widespread applause from automakers and executives of companies trying to make hydrogen the fuel of the future, eventually replacing fossil fuels such as coal and oil to run power stations and automobiles. But most agree that figure falls far short of the amounted needed to bring hydrogen-powered cars to the public. Mercedes-Benz spokesman Fred Heiler said, “Two billion sounds conservative to me. I’m sure we’ve spent that much already.”

2/9/2003   INDIA:  Gensets to Give Way to Fuel Cells Soon - Navakal

The day is not far when the noisy polluting diesel generating sets for back-up power at homes and offices would be replaced by fuel cells that are quiet, efficient and absolutely clean. "Its time for these noisy gensets to give way to fuel cells ", said Paul Ratnasamy, of the National Chemical Laboratory (NCL) in Pune. The first home-made 5-kilowat fuel cell will be ready for demonstration in June, according to Ratnasamy, who was a participant at the Indo-German conference on catalysis organised by the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology here. Ratnasamy also said that the Indian fuel cell power pack is the result of Rs 60 million national programme launched by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research only 18 months ago. The NCL, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, the South India Petrochemical Corporation and Kirloskar Engineering Company are all partners in the project.

2/8/2003   Renewable Power Sexy to Ex-Internet Whiz Kids by Amy Cortese - New York Times

Alternative energy, like the Internet a decade ago, is largely the realm of arcane technology and technologists. The newcomers see an opportunity to apply the formula they honed with the Web: Take technology with big market potential and add managerial talent and venture capital. It remains to be seen, of course, whether that will result in the equivalent of Webvan -- the Web-based grocery store, a multibillion-dollar Internet-era idea that vainly searched for a market before going out of business -- or in something as wildly successful as eBay. "The tech refugees are moving in," said Martin Lagod, managing director of Firelake Capital Management, an investment firm that specializes in energy, advanced materials and communications companies. And he says that's a good thing. "They are technically savvy, know how to build companies and access capital," Lagod said.

2/7/2003   Bush's Push for Fuel Efficient Cars Falls Short - Poughkeepsie Journal (NY)/Advocate (OH)

President Bush's pledge to spend $1.2 billion to help develop more environmentally friendly cars is an excellent long-term investment for this country. But his short-term plan to deal with gas-guzzling cars is lacking. In his State of the Union speech, the president said the money would go to help bring hydrogen-powered cars to the market. Yet his idea does nothing to mitigate this fact: Despite technological advances, American vehicles are burning more gas than ever before, largely because of SUVs.

2/6/2003   Hydrogen Fuel Initiative Can Make "Fundamental Difference" for the Future -
U.S. White House

President Bush:  One of the greatest results of using hydrogen power, of course, will be energy independence for this nation. It's important for our country to understand -- I think most Americans do -- that we import over half of our crude oil stocks from abroad. And sometimes we import that oil from countries that don't particularly like us. It puts us at a -- it jeopardizes our national security to be dependant on sources of energy from countries that don't care for America, what we stand for, what we love. It's also a matter of economic security, to be dependent on energy from volatile regions of the world. Our economy becomes subject to price shocks or shortages or disruptions, or one time in our history, cartels. If we develop hydrogen power to its full potential, we can reduce our demand for oil by over 11 million barrels per day by the year 2040. That would be a fantastic legacy to leave for future generations of Americans. See, we can make the world more peaceful, and we will; we can promote freedom, and we will. Those will be wonderful legacies. But also think about a legacy here at home, about making investments today that will make future citizens of our great country less dependent on foreign sources of energy. And so that's why I'm going to work with the Congress to move this nation forward on hydrogen fuel cell technologies. It is in our national interest that we do so.

2/6/2003   Fence Goes Up at Albany Research Center; Budget May, Too by Hasso Hering -   Albany Democrat-Herald (NY)

Security is going up at the Albany Research Center, and so apparently are the budget and the mission at this outpost of the federal Department of Energy. For more than a week now a subcontractor from Salem has been installing a six-foot chain link fence around the 44-acre campus, part of a security project announced last summer but delayed until now. And when the Bush administration Monday issued its proposed budget for fiscal 2004, it included an appropriation for the Albany center of $10 million, up from $6 million in the current year's budget still pending in Congress.

2/6/2003   Hydrogen Cars Fuel U.S. Energy Debate by H. Josef Hebert - AP/SiliconValley.com

"We must make hydrogen more plentiful and produce it in the most efficient, cost-effective way," said Bush. But on Capitol Hill, some Democrats, including several who are running for president, called Bush's hydrogen agenda "a smoke screen" to divert attention away from the controversies of drilling in environmentally sensitive areas in Alaska or requiring more fuel efficient automobiles today. "It's just the latest installment of the president's drill today, drill tomorrow" agenda, said Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., who has strongly opposed Bush's attempt to open an Alaska wildlife refuge to oil drilling and called for tougher auto fuel economy standards on current vehicles. Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., who like Kerry is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, called Bush's hydrogen proposal a "pipe dream" if its goal is to reduce America's dependence on foreign oil anytime soon. He said more emphasis should be place on short-term efforts to curb oil use, especially by cars. Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., commended the president for elevating the issue of hydrogen fuels, but said his programs falls short. "We need to be bold, and there needs to be an Apollo type project where we set goals and set dates," said Dorgan, who has called for a $6.5 billion program for hydrogen development over the next decade, comparable to the country's early push into space.

2/6/2003   Group Moved by Hydrogen's Power by David Persons - Fort Collins Coloradoan (CO)

Albertson and other members of a nonprofit group called Hydrogen Now want to be at the forefront of the country's hydrogen program as it develops over the next 10-15 years. Their goal is to make Colorado the top renewable hydrogen-producing center in the United States. They believe the first step will be to form a wind-to-hydrogen production system in Larimer County. If that works, Albertson said the concept would be copied all across Colorado. Albertson said the best way to undertake such a project would be to create a co-op of interested landowners. The co-op, once formed, would start by securing loans to purchase the necessary wind turbines. The co-op then would lease land for the turbines from its membership. The electricity generated would be put on a small grip for co-op members. Any excess electricity would be redirected to an electrolyzer that would break down water into hydrogen and oxygen, which would be collected.

2/6/2003   Hydrogen Now! Responds to the State of the Union Address - Hydrogen Now!

Let’s take the $533 million allocated for fossil fuel research and put it into renewable energy to produce hydrogen. ...That type of funding could actually make some significant impact in providing hydrogen fueling stations, research on internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles and cheaper methods of producing hydrogen from renewable energy.

2/3/2003   Toshiba IFC to Start Mass Production of 5kW Residential PEM by Stefan Geiger - Fuel Cell Today

According to the Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun, Toshiba International Fuel Cells Corporation (TIFCC) intends to start mass producing a 5kW PEM fuel cell at Toshiba’s manufacturing plant in Kamo-City. The unit aims to target the commercial market in Japan and the residential market in Europe and the USA. Powered by city gas or LPG, the fuel cell system will use a partial oxidation reformer which was developed by Hydrogen Sources, a joint-venture of UTC and Shell Hydrogen. The start-up time of the unit will be around nine minutes, the weight about 550kg and the overall efficiency will be higher than 32 per cent. Toshiba plans to sell its PEM FC for 3 million yen (US$ 25,000).

2/3/2003   Despite Commitment to Hydrogen, Energy Efficiency to be Cut in President's FY'04 Budget Request - Alliance to Save Energy

While research into fuel cell vehicles and low-income weatherization assistance is increased, the DOE energy efficiency budget would be cut by $35 million from last year's budget request, as a host of marketplace-friendly programs would be slashed. This budget shortchanges effective technologies and programs in favor of long-term research that may or may not pay off in the coming decades. Programs to help cut the energy bills of industry, homeowners, consumers, and even the federal government itself would be hurt, despite the fact that energy efficiency is the quickest, cheapest, and cleanest way to improve our nation's energy security.

1/31/2003   Hydrogen Car Plan Fuels Skepticism by Lisa Friedman - Tri-Valley Herald (California)

Nearly the entire United States Congress jumped to its feet and clapped wildly Tuesday night as President Bush pledged $1.2 billion to fuel the development of hydrogen-powered cars. Not George Miller. Miller, the East Bay congressman considered one of the House's most outspoken environmental activists -- and whose district includes one of the world's few hydrogen refueling stations -- remained seated. His applause was polite, but brief. "I think it's a bit of a ruse," Miller said Wednesday of Bush's proposal. While he said he welcomed additional federal aid, Miller argued that the nation's air quality problems can't wait for the President's decade-out spending plan. "The president's answers are always 10 years away," Miller charged. Bush's vision of pollution-free cars cruising America's highways "has a lot of sex appeal, but there are a lot of things he could be doing today. He could be supporting California's efforts to reduce emissions."

1/31/2003   Platinum Hits New 17-year High in Asia - The Star (Malaysia)

Platinum forged a new 17-year high in Asia yesterday morning, buoyed by rising lease rates, fears of supply disruptions and high hopes for the metal after US President George W. Bush called for research into fuel cells.   Spot platinum hit US$668/673 an ounce in thin morning trade, a level not seen since September 1986. It was last quoted at US$664/670 in New York.  The metal, used mainly in catalytic converters and jewellery, got a boost from Bush's State of the Union address on Wednesday, in which he called for US$1.2bil in research funding to develop fuel cells. 

1/31/2002   Hydrogen-Fueled Vehicles - Why Wait Sixteen Years? by George Ditmar - Frost & Sullivan/PRNewswire

Technology that provides benefits almost as great as FCEVs is available today. Hydrogen can be used not only in fuel cells to generate electricity, it can be burned cleanly and efficiently in internal combustion engines. This is a far smaller leap in technology than a shift to FCEVs would be. Unlike an effort to develop practical, affordable FCEVs, an effort to develop hydrogen-fueled internal combustion engine (H-ICE) vehicles would be virtually assured of success. Lack of a hydrogen refueling infrastructure is the main obstacle to the introduction of H-ICE vehicles. Other obstacles are the relative difficulty of handling a gaseous fuel such as hydrogen, and the fact that the cost of providing hydrogen on a large scale is unknown. Developing a hydrogen refueling infrastructure would be a better use of government money than pursuing a program that may or may not yield benefits in 16 years, even if those benefits would be greater.

1/31/2003   Hydrogen-powered Cars Draw Diverse Supporters by Peter Behr & Greg Schneider - Washington Post/Wichita Eagle (KS)

President Bush's vision of a hydrogen-powered, nonpolluting "Freedom" car for the next generation of American motorists pulled out silently from a Newport Beach, Calif., garage Wednesday morning with Gregg Kelly at the wheel, bound for his office 10 miles away. Kelly, president of a California robotics company, happens to drive a Toyota prototype of a hydrogen-fueled car, one of a handful in the United States today.

1/31/2003   Not So Fast for Fuel-cell Stocks by Roland Jones - MSNBC

David Schoenwald, co-manager of the New Alternatives Fund, which currently has $36.5 million under management and invests in companies in the solar-power and alternative-energy industries, is skeptical that the President’s initiative will have much of an impact. “Time will tell how this proposal translates into dollars and where they will be allocated,” Schoenwald said, adding that companies in the sector are unlikely to recover until the power market recovers from its current slump caused by overcapacity.

1/30/2003   Bush's Hydrogen Fuel Cell Plan Losing Power - Canadian Press

Of the $1.2 billion, only $720 million will actually reflect additional spending, beyond what already has been planned. And the money will be spread over five years. A year ago, the administration announced a 10-year program aimed at helping automakers develop fuel cell technology to replace the internal combustion engine. That "Freedom Car" program is getting about $50 million a year. The new program - called "Freedom Fuel" by the White House - would focus on spurring research to develop the technologies and infrastructure needed to produce, store and distribute hydrogen for use in future fuel-cell vehicles or stationary electric generating facilities. Last year about $31 million was spent on such programs. Congress already is planning to increase that to $45 million this fiscal year.

1/30/2003   Virent Aims to Supply Cheap Hydrogen Power by Jeff Richgels - Capitol Times (WI)

Rather than making hydrogen fuel cells, as the now shuttered Enable Fuel Cell Corp. of Middleton was doing, Virent Energy Systems LLC is looking to supply hydrogen to the makers and users of fuel cells. Virent CEO Mark Daugherty cautioned, though, that the technology is at least a couple of years from the commercial stage. "We're just learning how to apply it and what it can and can't do," said Daugherty, who was senior vice president and general manager at Enable. James Dumesic, Steenbock Professor of Chemical Engineering, and Randy Cortright, a chemical engineering researcher, discovered the "Aqueous-Phase Carbohydrate Reforming" process at the UW in 2001 while working to generate chemicals from biomass such as corn stalks. They started setting up the company in January 2002 and incorporated it in June. There are more complicated methods for creating hydrogen from biomass, but Dumesic and Cortright developed a single-step, low-temperature reforming process. ..."We'd like to be able to get to a point where we can use a waste stream from, say, ethanol production or cheese production," said Ken Kenyon, a researcher with Virent. "There are a number of waste streams that have very little value and are essentially scrap. Then you're starting from basically no cost and really creating a positive. And when hydrogen is made from plant matter it's a completely recyclable process." Kenyon said the company has seen no limits on the scale of the process. "We think we can scale it down to very small units and up to huge industrial-size things," he said. ..."We think we have a good solution for autos because the problem with autos is storing the hydrogen" which is explosive and requires pressurized tanks, Daugherty said. "With our technology we can store a safe, non-flammable, non-toxic liquid in just a plastic tank at atmospheric pressure. And then the reformer (to convert it to hydrogen) is on-board."

1/30/2003   National Hydrogen Association: President's Address to Shape the Future of Hydrogen, Energy Security, the Environment - National Hydrogen Association/PRNewswire

The NHA believes the President's proposal to allocate $1.2 billion shows a firm dedication to the development of a hydrogen infrastructure which will be necessary to build a hydrogen economy. The funding, part of Bush's energy security plan "to promote energy independence ... while dramatically improving the environment," is a large step forward for hydrogen as the link between the fossil fuels of today and the clean, self-sufficient energy of tomorrow.

1/30/2003   Oil Industry to Get Hydrogen Funding by Mike Soraghan - Denver Post

Bush's proposal, if approved by Congress, would expand an existing program called FreedomCAR that Bush created to replace a Clinton-era program aimed at developing a car that would get 80 mpg. Most commercially used hydrogen is now produced in petroleum plants to reduce the sulfur content of gasoline.

1/29/2003   Bush Sells Vision of Hydrogen Future by Miguel Llanos - MSNBC

Bush didn’t get into specifics about his plan, which still requires congressional approval of any funds. But the Energy Department on Wednesday elaborated that the initiative — dubbed FreedomFUEL — was created to work with FreedomCAR, a program announced by Bush in 2002 and since funded by Congress. “FreedomFUEL will develop technologies for hydrogen production and distribution infrastructure,” the department stated on its Web site. FreedomCAR, on the other hand, funds R&D efforts to build the actual fuel cell vehicles. The two programs are part of an even bigger picture: a hydrogen-based economy, with fuel cells powering not just cars but buildings and homes. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham unveiled that vision in November.

1/29/2003   Carmakers and Environmentalists Differ Over Fuel Cell Proposal by Danny Hakim - New York Times

Besides the technological challenges that remain for fuel cells themselves — particularly the challenge of finding a safer way to store hydrogen, which is now stored in highly pressurized tanks — there is the daunting notion of outfitting the nation's filling stations with hydrogen instead of gasoline. Environmentalists, though enthusiastic about fuel cells in the longer term, want to see more aggressive development of hybrid cars. Those vehicles achieve sharp increases in fuel economy by supplementing gasoline engines with electric motors. General Motors and the Ford Motor Company have said they plan to join Toyota and Honda in equipping some vehicles with the hybrid technology.

1/29/2003   Plan Moves Fuel Cells Out of Lab by Jeff Plungis - Detroit News (OH)

President Bush's call for a major expansion of fuel-cell research in his State of the Union address Tuesday boosts automakers' efforts to deliver clean, hydrogen-powered cars to consumers in the coming decades. ...The new five-year, $1.2 billion initiative is called Freedom Fuel. According to the Department of Energy, the program will use partnerships with private companies to develop vehicle technologies and fuel infrastructure "to make it practical and cost-effective for large numbers of Americans to choose to use fuel cell vehicles by 2020." The Bush administration announced FreedomCAR, the government-industry automotive research partnership focused on fuel-cell research, last January in Detroit. The program replaced New Generation of Vehicles, which had promised an 80 mpg family sedan by 2004. Energy secretary Spencer Abraham will be in Detroit on Feb. 7 to expand on the president's remarks. The administration projects a total $1.7 billion in investment over the next five years in Freedom Fuel and FreedomCAR.

1/29/2003   Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers Praises President Bush's Call For Fuel Cell Research Funding - Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers

"Automakers commend President Bush's dedication to forging a government-industry partnership to develop fuel cells," said Alliance President & CEO Josephine S. Cooper. "Fueling infrastructure is one of the major challenges for making fuel cell vehicles commercially available, especially delivery of hydrogen. Proper government and consumer incentives will be needed to initiate this infrastructure. For environmental gains to be realized, consumers must be convinced that the new technologies will deliver the performance, function, safety and utility they desire."

1/29/2003   California Fuel Cell Partnership Comments on President Bush's State of the Union Announcement on Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Vehicles; Invites the President to Visit - CaFFP/Business Wire

California Fuel Cell Partnership Chairman Alan Lloyd today released the following statement following President Bush's State of the Union speech, and his reference in support of hydrogen fuel and fuel cell vehicle development: "It's heartening to hear the positive words of President Bush in support of hydrogen and fuel cell development. Federal support is timely and valuable, as we confront the remaining hurdles to commercialization. We're making great strides here in California, where the California Fuel Cell Partnership is already demonstrating fuel cell-powered cars in real-world use. I invite the president to come out and see what our auto and energy partners are doing here, and how our progress will lead to environmental improvement, energy efficiency, energy diversity, and new economic opportunity."

1/29/2002   United States Fuel Cell Council Reaction to President Bush's
State of the Union Announcement on Fuel Cells/Hydrogen  USFFC/Business Wire

"It was particularly encouraging that the president noted the importance of hydrogen to the nation's overall energy mix, not only as a fuel for vehicles but for electrical power as well. Fuel cells are a family of technologies, suited for transportation, electric power generation and portable applications. We believe that all family members can contribute to reaching our goals of energy security and cleaner air for the United States. The nation needs a comprehensive fuel cell and hydrogen commercialization strategy. The President's remarks represent a vigorous beginning."

1/29/2003   Fuel Cell Cars Face High Hurdles to Reality by Justin Hyde - Reuters

The $720 million in new federal funding proposed by Bush is aimed at hydrogen production, storage and delivery. That is on top of another $1 billion already devoted to automotive fuel cell research. A senior administration official said on Wednesday the funds would help solve the "chicken-and-egg problem" of whether fuel cell vehicles can come to market without a fueling structure. "It's designed to show a national commitment to ensure that both the automobile and the infrastructure of hydrogen-fueled vehicles can be deployed rapidly and together," the official said. Environmentalists chided Bush's proposal for failing to require automakers to build fuel-cell vehicles in return for federal funding.

1/29/2003   Your Child's Car? by Ned Potter - ABC News

Borroni-Bird leads a team at General Motors that designs precisely the kinds of fuel-cell cars the president was talking about when he said, "America can lead the world in developing clean, hydrogen-powered automobiles." "The first car driven by a child born today could be powered by hydrogen, and pollution-free," said President Bush. "I got a lump in my throat when I heard those words," said Borroni-Bird. "We're on the right track here. That kind of emotion came out loud and clear." Dan Becker heard the president and went right back to work too. He heads the Global Warming and Energy Campaign at the Sierra Club, trying to push the White House to do more for the environment. "But the president isn't serious," said Becker. "He's just throwing taxpayer money at the auto companies, and not even requiring them to produce a single fuel-cell vehicle." The one thing these men agree on is that fuel cells could put an end to smog days and worries about Middle East oil. Instead, they could promise clean, cheap and plentiful power.

1/29/2003   Lorain County Officials Want Fuel Cells to Generate Jobs by Catherine Gabe - Cleveland Plain Dealer (OH)

"The internal combustion engine is a goner," said Oberlin College Professor David Orr, who applauds the chamber's efforts at looking for alternatives. "There is nothing unrealistic about their ideas," said Orr, who chairs Oberlin's Environmental Studies Program. "We can attract businesses here. Someone is going to make this stuff somewhere, and it is a billions of dollars market. Why not build it here?"

1/28/2003   Minister Maps Path to Clear Air by Daniel Clery - The West Australian

Trials with two alternative fuel systems on buses and 20 hybrid electric cars in the State fleet feature in a sustainable transport energy program announced yesterday. Planning and Infrastructure Minister Alannah MacTiernan said the program, which includes a switch to four-cylinder cars in departments under her control, was a "get serious" approach on alternative fuels. She said WA's dependence on roads made the economy sensitive to small oil price fluctuations and the search for sustainable transport energy sources had to start now. ...A trial of pollution-free hydrogen fuel cell technology for three Transperth buses will also be persisted with, despite the program running almost 18 months late and potentially millions of dollars over budget. The vehicles, from Germany and worth about $2.3 million each, are yet to be built. The Government said in 2001 that they would be operating on Transperth routes by late last year but now does not expect to get them until early 2004.

1/27/2003   Stuart Energy: Jon Slangerup Lauds Electrolysis Route to Hydrogen by Robert Gough - Hart Downstream Energy Services/Octane Week/Hoovers

"I believe that hydrogen-powered internal combustion engines will bridge the gap until fuel cells are commercially viable. Ford has emerged as the leader in hydrogen internal combustion engines with its concept Model U vehicle. The Model U is an electric-drive vehicle with a modular hydrogen engine that can eventually be replaced by a fuel cell. Ford's new design is evolutionary, not revolutionary. It satisfies a strong market demand for cleaner cars, while developing the acceptance and infrastructure for hydrogen- powered vehicles. And it's interesting that hydrogen technology is being used in SUVs, not only by Ford, but by Toyota and others. There might be a small market for sub-compact hydrogen cars, but the widely preferred SUVs can be clean and fuel-efficient by using hydrogen fuel. As Ford penetrates this new market, we expect that others will follow their lead and quickly move to offer a wide range of hydrogen internal combustion engine-powered vehicles to their customers."

1/27/2003   Alt-fuels Violate Carpool Regulations by Mary Jo Pitzl - Arizona Republic

Barbara Herber got a taste of the uneven treatment between alt-fuel vehicles and hybrids when she bought her Toyota Prius more than a year ago. She was issued the special alt-fuel license plate of white clouds against a blue background and enjoyed several weeks of unquestioned HOV-lane use. That ended when she got a terse letter telling her to turn in the cloud plates. Herber views her fuel-efficient hybrid as an antidote to the large pickups and SUVs that qualified as alternative-fuel vehicles because they added propane or compressed-natural-gas fuel tanks in addition to gasoline. "You can't tell which fuel they're using," Herber said of the trucks and SUVs that drive in the carpool lanes. "And my suspicion is they are not using (the alternative fuel)." To Herber, the solution is simple: "Either get them off or let us in."

1/27/2003   Automakers: Making Enviro-Friendly Cars Is Hard Without Demand by Jeff Plungis - Gannett/Salt Lake Tribune (UT)

There is more technology and scientific advances available today than ever to boost fuel economy, but the fuel efficiency of new U.S. light vehicles continues to fall. And automakers are spending billions of dollars on a kind of arms race to achieve breakthroughs in fuel-cell technology, diesel engines and other alternative fuels. Environmental groups and government regulators are increasing the pressure on automakers to boost the fuel economy of new cars and trucks, yet marketing surveys show American consumers pay little attention to environmental issues when they decide which cars and trucks to buy.

1/27/2003   Entegris Expands Fuel Cell Operations - Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal (MN)

The new facility was built at the company's headquarters in Chaska and will be used to manufacture large quantities of compression-molded plates used in fuel cells.

1/24/2003   ChevronTexaco: Businesses May Rev Up On Siting Fuel Cells by Alan Doyle - East Bay Business Times (California)

ChevronTexaco already has demonstration projects in operation at sites near its East Bay headquarters and in Houston, including a 200-kilowatt unit that powers critical computer systems at corporate headquarters in San Ramon with digital-grade electricity. The San Ramon unit, operated by Chevron Energy Solutions, went on-line last year. Besides ChevronTexaco, fuel cell research has drawn commitments from such global corporate giants as the Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Cos., ExxonMobil Corp., BP PLC and automakers DaimlerChrysler, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, Toyota and Volkswagen, plus utilities such as Pacific Gas & Electric Co.

1/24/2003   Ohio State University Aggressive Suitor for Innovation Funding - Columbus Business First (OH)

Battelle Memorial Institute and the Ohio Supercomputer Center also are involved in several of the letters of intent that have been submitted for the new centers which are expected to boost technology research and commercialization in Ohio. "We are very impressed with the letters of intent and the direction they are going in," said Pat Valente, the Ohio Department of Development's deputy director for its technology division. The university is a collaborating organization in 14 other projects that focus on areas such as photonic, electronic and optical materials and innovative electric power and hydrogen generation, for instance. Valente said the letters of intent are full of examples of the state's universities and private businesses joining forces for proposed projects. He noted Case Western Reserve University's project that would create a statewide collaboration of universities and companies to build a competitive advantage in power and energy generation and usage with an initial focus on fuel cells. OSU, American Electric Power Co. Inc., Ohio University, the University Toledo and Cleveland State University, among others, would be involved in the project.

1/23/2003   Institute of Advanced Science and Technology (AIST) Develops Proton Conductive Film - National Institute of Advanced Science and Technology

The research group has modified the surface of porous glass by introducing functional groups with proton conductivity to the glass surface as well as to the glass's nano-scale fine pores to form the film. Since the new conductive film uses nano-scale fine pores, it is not subjected to swelling caused by vapor or organic solvents. Nano-scale pores function as a conductive path, which gives a possibility of providing high proton conductivity. The joint research group expects that the latest technology will help speed up development of new methanol-based fuel cells and sensors.

1/22/2003   Toward Tomorrow's Energy: Speeding the Commercial Use of Fuel Cells and Hydrogen by Peter Hoffmann and Robert Rose - Progressive Policy Institute

Federal research on cost reduction should be expanded. The federal government is well positioned to help bring down the cost of fuel cells in other ways. It is the nation's largest energy consumer (using 1.5 percent of the nation's electricity at a cost of $8 billion per year), and much of the power it purchases is used to light, heat, and cool federally owned buildings at a cost of $3.4 billion per year. Although the federal government is required to follow standards to promote energy efficiency and Congress has helped several agencies develop fuel cells, there are no requirements that govern fuel cell use in federal facilities. For that matter, the federal government has undertaken no substantial recent analysis of the potential for fuel cells to efficiently serve the government's power needs. The benefits of fuel cell use in federal facilities are likely to be quite substantial.

1/20/2003   Powerball: Great Balls of Hydrogen by Lynn J. Cook - Forbes

The Powerball solution: Ship metallic sodium as a fuel source to the filling station and--presto!--hydrogen on demand. The sodium comes in the form of metal pellets, 35 millimeters in diameter, wrapped in plastic. A tanker truck could carry 22 tonnes of sodium powerballs, enough to generate 950 kilograms of hydrogen--or 191 fill-ups. Safe? Hmm. Sodium is one of the most reactive metals in the table of the elements, but Freise insists it is also the most cost-effective. (Powerball is experimenting with other elements, too.) Throw water on it, and it bursts into flames: Sodium reacts with water to produce a mixture of sodium hydroxide (a.k.a. lye) and hydrogen gas, and the reaction spits out enough heat to set the hydrogen on fire.

1/20/2003   Plug Celebrates Year of Powering Arsenal Buildings - Albany Business Review (NY)

The company said the Watervliet Arsenal project is the largest implementation of proton-exhange membrane (PEM) fuel cells at a military facility.

1/20/2003   Ford Hybrid-to-Fuel-Cell Strategy: Looking for Help from Washington - Automotive News

Bill Ford wants the federal government to provide tax credits to encourage the sale of hybrid-electric vehicles, in part because automakers have no alternative technology up their sleeves. "If (hybrids) don't get customer acceptance, I really don't know what we do next," Ford Motor Co.'s CEO told the Automotive News World Congress. "What our entire industry needs is government help. Hybrids are more costly. We know consumers have a very limited appetite for paying more for these vehicles." Hybrid vehicles are "a very good bridge" between today's technology and fuel cells, he said. Ford will introduce the Ford Escape HEV sport-utility at the end of 2003, he said. The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers favors consumer tax credits for advanced technology vehicles. In February 2002 the Bush administration asked lawmakers to approve tax credits of as much as $4,000 for buyers of hybrid vehicles and as much as $8,000 for purchasers of fuel cell vehicles. A version of that proposal was included in the congressional energy bill that lawmakers failed to pass before adjourning in November.

1/20/2003   The $375,000 Engine by Jonathan Fahey - Forbes

General Motors says it spends at least $375,000 to build a fuel-cell engine, not including the car or truck to carry it. How to lower those costs? Start selling fuel-efficient engines to the U.S. military--and hope that the volume and lessons learned will yield new efficiencies. ...Paul Kern, general of the U.S. Army matériel command, estimates that tanks, trucks and airplanes make up just 20% of the weight of the equipment brought to battle. Supplies like food, water, diesel fuel and ammunition make up the other 80%. As the Army tries to become more agile, it is looking for ways to cut weight. Fuel cells, stationary or mobile, also provide tactical advantages. To run communications and surveillance equipment soldiers now must tow diesel generators or giant battery packs behind trucks. Along with electricity the diesel generators create heat and noise that can be detected by the enemy. The big battery packs last just an hour or so. Generators powered by fuel cells quietly whir and produce half the heat of diesel as they combine hydrogen with air to create electricity. Soldiers could drink the fuel cell's only emissions, water.

1/18/2003   Hydrogen Power - Don't Hold Your Breath by Andrew English - Telegraph (UK)

The trouble is, while the Hy-wire was impressive in a Dan Dare futuristic sort of way, it was also desperately first-generation in feel and not nearly as persuasive as the progress GM has made on its conventionally-steered, fuel-cell-powered Zafira, known as Hydrogen 3. Round the streets of Monaco, this whirring mini-MPV could more than mix it with the principality's exotic jams of Ferraris and Jaguars. Compared with its Hydrogen 1 predecessor, Hydrogen 3 (number 2 was an engineering research vehicle never released to the press) was quieter and steered, braked, rode and handled better than any other fuel-cell car we have driven. The 200-cell unit delivers its 94kW to a 60kW electric motor driving the front wheels, giving a top speed of 100mph. With compressed hydrogen stored at 10,000psi in Quantum-made, spun-carbon tanks, the range is 170 miles.

1/17/2003   Magazine Praises Muskegon SmartZone - Muskegon Chronicle (MI)

The Siemens stationary fuel-cell technology will power a new GVSU energy research center, the initial building in the $50 million mixed-use development. The "office building of the future" is a Steelcase Workstage facility designed to be energy self-sufficient with a fuel cell, nickel-metal hydride battery storage and solar cells. In making the Newsmaker of the Year presentation, Grand Rapids Business Journal Editor Carole Valade-Copenhaver said: "Certainly, ... (the SmartZone) in Muskegon will profoundly impact this region for a long, long time. These partnerships are forged in compromise and demonstrated by those who are the best examples of leadership in this region."

1/17/2003   Napans Get a Whiff, Drive of Hydrogen-powered Car of the Future by Nathan Crabbe - Napa Valley Register (California)

The car is a Daimler-Chrysler prototype, powered by a hydrogen fuel cell and producing no emissions but water. Members of an area clean-vehicle coalition were given a presentation on the technology and the chance to test drive the car from the Wine Train lot to Copia. The car started with an unfamiliar click and whir under the hood, as its fuel-cell system kicked into gear. Acceleration was delayed a second after the push of the pedal, but soon the car sped into motion. Daimler-Chrysler engineer Jess Schneider said the car can go more than 150 miles without refueling, at speeds similar to a gas-powered vehicle. The car can go at least 90 mph, Schneider said with a knowing smile.

1/16/2002   Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and Georgetown University Enter Agreement to Test Fuel Cell Bus - WMATA (Washington, D.C.)

The fuel cell bus initiative is a program established by the Transportation Equity Act for the 21set Century (TEA 21) and administered by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). Under today's agreement, Metro will operate a fuel cell bus in revenue service provided by Georgetown University. Metro will modify this fuel cell bus to insure compatibility with Metro transit buses. The bus will be positioned on the campus of Georgetown University when it is not in service and Georgetown University will provide the methanol fuel to power the bus. Metro will provide the operator for in service revenue testing. The fuel cell bus will operate on various Metrobus routes throughout the entire metropolitan region.

1/15/2003   Nanotechnology is Going Where Only Science Fiction Writers Went Before by Clodagh O'Brien - The Telegraph (UK)

In a world driven by technology there is always a need to create and store information more efficiently. As your mobiles and laptops get smaller their source of power needs to do the same. A revolutionary nanocube that can store hydrogen may solve this problem. Hydrogen gas is cumbersome to store and carry around which makes it impractical to use in mobile phones where space is crucial. These cubes, combining the features of both PET drink bottles and sun cream - terephthalic acid and zinc oxide - have a huge range of applications. The high surface area and porous nature of these cubes allows them to adsorb hydrogen and release the gas as energy when a rapid drop in pressure occurs. As they are rechargeable, they could replace conventional batteries and storing the gas in a container the size of a cigarette lighter would mean they could power small portable appliances for up to 10 hours. Nanocubes could be a big breakthrough for laptops and mobiles.

1/15/2003   Military Hybrid May Drive Civilian Fuel Cell Use by John O'Dell - Los Angeles Times (California)

The space program gave us Teflon, and military aircraft development gave us disc brakes and drive-by-wire systems, so maybe it will take the U.S. Army to give us civilian fuel-cell vehicles. That's some of the thinking behind a collaboration between General Motors Corp. and the Army on a battle truck project that could help improve troop mobility and safety while slashing fuel costs. A GM executive said the Army wants to begin placing hybrid trucks in its fleet by the end of the decade. Because the military can pay much higher prices than civilians for new technologies, GM executives think the program will help hasten the day fuel-cell-powered passenger vehicles are available at car dealerships. GM and the Army's National Automotive Center unveiled last week a hybrid heavy-duty pickup that combines diesel-electric power with an on-board fuel cell to generate power for battlefield electronics such as portable radar and weapon systems. The fuel cell also would enable the trucks to generate electricity in so-called stealth mode, with the diesel engine off for as long as five hours, said Larry Burns, GM vice president of research, development and planning.

1/14/2003   Drivers Plugging In to a New Way to Commute by Dan Weikel - Los Angeles Times (California)

An experimental program that lets motorists tap a pool of electric cars at the Irvine train station is gaining popularity among Orange County companies and institutions interested in alternative means of transportation. ...Participants use 12 to 15 cars per day, including the small, egg-shaped Toyota e.com. One executive uses the more exotic Toyota Highlander, a sport-utility vehicle equipped with hydrogen fuel cells that generate power for an electric motor. Six other corporations are interested in becoming part of the program. ..."This is a new transportation strategy. It is not a substitute for freeway commuting. It is an alternative to freeway commuting," said G. Scott Samuelsen, director of the National Fuel Cell Research Center.

1/14/2003   Renewable Energy Plan Looks to Wind, Seawater, Fuel Cells - Japan Times

The Environment Ministry will begin developing a system in the next year to extract hydrogen from seawater to power fuel cells in hopes of creating a fully renewable energy supply, ministry officials said. The ministry said it is looking forward to creating "energy that can really be renewable" if hydrogen can be produced using the natural energy of wind power. ...A power station will be built on a large floating structure in the sea where winds are relatively strong. The research project will try to develop an efficient way to extract hydrogen from seawater and transport it to land.

1/13/2003   Blue Sky Hy-Way: A Drive in GM's Hy-Wire Offers a Clear View of the Road Ahead by Kevin A. Wilson - AutoWeek

Driving HyWire is almost as disorienting an experience as it would be to be asked to design it. Start with the climbing aboard part. First, they ask you which side you want to drive from—the controls slide easily to either side. Enough of the rest is strange, so we chose to drive from the familiar left. The seat is near the floor, but the floor is pretty high—ground clearance plus a foot, so there’s a little hop upward for a five-foot-10 driver. It’s rather like getting into a minivan or SUV, only your knees aren’t bent once you’re in but on a level with your hips, like in a Camaro. The team’s goal is to get the center of the floor nearer the nine-inch thickness of the edge, and taper the edge even more... a couple of inches would make a lot of difference. Still, you’ll know you’re sitting atop the floor—this is a reversal of the norms established when Hudson met success with its step-down chassis some 50 years ago. Regard Hy-wire as a luxury vehicle, not only because it would cost a fortune but also because it’s about the length of a Cadillac Seville, quite a bit taller, and without the drivetrain in the way the interior is more spacious than you’d imagine.

1/13/2003   GM's Hydrogen3: Much Like a Real Car by Kevin A. Wilson - AutoWeek

The HydroGen3 uses a throttled fuel cell (as does the Hy-wire, which shares the drivetrain parts, though it mounts them differently). When you press the pedal to request more speed, it responds by pumping more hydrogen into the cell to generate more electricity to feed the engine. This is a tough nut to crack, making the cell respond as quickly as an engine, so most fuel-cell cars are really hybrids, using the cell to charge a battery, which stores enough juice to meet a driver’s demand for a burst of acceleration. In practice, that may still be the better answer, since we detected a mild lag in the HydroGen3 and Hy-wire. It’s not any worse than the lag in some current turbocharged cars, but it’s evident even when your demand for power is fairly modest. Engineers in the program told us the throttled system was a good technical exercise that pushed them to great improve- ments in fuel-cell responsiveness, but production models would need a battery for electric accessories (and perhaps by-wire control systems), so it could be easily wired into the drivetrain, anyway.

1/11/2003   Your Car, 2022 by Michelle Krebs - Popular Science

The working prototype of the Autonomy that will be unveiled later this year will be about 11 inches thick, almost twice the desired dimension. Still, engineers at GM and elsewhere are confident that work is advancing quickly enough that within 20 years the roads will be filled with radically redesigned cars like the Autonomy. Those cars will be produced by a completely altered auto industry, in which traditional engine building will wane and new technology suppliers will rise. In developing the Autonomy, GM turned not only to traditional automotive suppliers, but also to a company that specializes in electrical generation for submarines and another with expertise in hydrogen storage tanks. ...But no fuel-storage system as compact as that required by the skateboard is in view; if the skateboard is 6 inches thick, the tanks will have to be mere inches high. Liquid hydrogen requires thick, insulated tanks that can maintain the fuel at 253° C below zero. Compressed hydrogen requires even more bulky, highly stressed tanks. One alternative is to store hydrogen in a solid medium, a kind of metal sponge, with the fuel chemically bonded to the metal and released when warmed by waste heat from the fuel cells. Chemical storage would be the safest approach, but current metal sponges cannot hold enough hydrogen to fulfill a vehicle's energy needs.

1/11/2003   Filling Up on Fuel Cell Vehicle Technology by Eric Convey - Boston Herald

Hybrids drive a lot like traditional gasoline-powered cars. The difference is that they cost a little more and get much better mileage under certain conditions. But significant as their arrival is, experts in many quarters of automotivedom think the time will come in the not-too-distant future when mainstream vehicles make a far more dramatic jump. According to this vision, electric motors will not just assist internal combustion engines but replace them outright. And the power will come not from batteries but from fuel cells. If the billions of dollars being spent each year on fuel cell development bear fruit, drivers will add chemicals other than gasoline to on-board tanks. The leading contender, far and away, is hydrogen. Environmentalists love it in large part because the main byproduct of fuel cell reactions is water. ...Considering this very column ridiculed the fuel cell community for excessive hoopla just a year ago, Motor Mouth reaches this conclusion with some embarrassment: The fuel cell may be benefiting from something of a perfect storm. Very smart people are working to develop them. Investors are still pouring money into the projects. And car companies have gone beyond merely talking about gasoline alternatives to silence environmentalists in Congress.

1/10/2003   The Dawn of the Hydrogen Economy by Jeremy Rifkin - The Globalist

Experts had been saying that we had another 40 or so years of cheap available crude oil left. Now, however, some of the world’s leading petroleum geologists are suggesting that global oil production could peak and begin a steep decline much sooner, as early as 2020. ...We are at the dawn of a new economy, powered by hydrogen. That change could have implications which go well beyond energy and the environment. It will fundamentally change the nature of our market, as well as of political and social institutions. ...More than 1,000 companies around the world are already racing to the hydrogen future — the speed up in R&D and market introduction is reminiscent of the early days of the personal computer revolution and the emergence of the world wide web. A recent study done by Price Waterhouse Coopers forecasted that in less than 18 years hydrogen technologies and related goods and services will exceed 1.7 trillion dollars in worldwide sales. We are truly on the cusp of a new economic era — with far reaching consequences for society.

1/10/2003   Turning from Fossil Fuels - Asahi Shimbun (Japan)

The 4,400 residents of Samso, a small Danish island off the east coast of the Jutland Peninsula, have undertaken an ambitious environmental project to become independent of fossil fuels and live off renewable energy sources. The project involves wind turbines all over the island, local heating systems powered by solar energy and biomass fuels derived from farm products, and replacement of gasoline-fueled vehicles with electric-powered and eventually fuel-cell autos. ...Japan trails Europe in use of renewable energy.

1/8/2003   Ford Model U Concept - Waitnews

Model U is powered by an internal combustion engine (ICE) that is optimised to run on hydrogen. The engine is supercharged and intercooled for maximum efficiency, power and range. Its emission of all pollutants, including carbon dioxide, is nearly zero, and the engine is up to 25 percent more fuel-efficient than gasoline engines. The hydrogen ICE is based on Ford's global 2.3-litre 4-cylinder engine used in the Ford Ranger, the European Ford Mondeo and a number of Mazda vehicles. The engine is optimised to burn hydrogen with 12.2:1 high-compression pistons, fuel injectors designed to handle hydrogen gas, a coil-on-plug ignition system, an electronic throttle and new engine management software. The hydrogen ICE is joined with an advanced hybrid electric transmission technology called the Ford Modular Hybrid Transmission System (MHTS). The torque converter from a conventional transmission is replaced with a high-voltage electric motor and two hydraulic clutches that permit the motor to operate independently of, or in concert with, the engine. The electric motor simultaneously fills the role of flywheel, starter, alternator and hybrid traction motor.   

1/7/2003   Auto-makers' Drive for Eco-friendly Cars - AFP/Sify (India)

The Ford Motor Company -- the world's number-two but financially-strapped automaker -- is sticking with hydrogen fuel cells as the route to a more fuel efficient fleet. On Sunday, Ford showed off its Model U concept vehicle, which runs on a supercharged internal combustion engine modified to run on hydrogen. The concept vehicle borrows much of the technology that powers the hybrid-electric version of the Escape, which goes on sale later this year. The Model U's engine is called "hydrogen ICE," and offers many of the environmental benefits of a hydrogen fuel cell, but is less complex and costly. "The hydrogen ICE can act as a stepping stone to hydrogen-fueled mass transportation that eventually will incorporate fuel cells," said Gerhard Schmidt, vice president of Ford research and advanced engineering. "Hydrogen will be the fuel of the future."

1/7/2003   Hiss Turns to Roar for Quiet Cars by Joshua Dowling - Sydney Herald (Australia)

When hydrogen-powered cars hit the road sometime in the next five years, the largely silent vehicles will come equipped with artificial engine noises that blare out through the stereo system. The car of the future would be so quiet that car makers are designing electronic devices to simulate engine sounds, said General Motors product development boss, Bob Lutz, at the annual Detroit Motor Show. "You could pick sport mode - you could pick a Ferrari V12 - or you could pick the sound of a diesel and give yourself the impression of low-end torque as you hear chugging sounds as you go away from the stop sign," Mr Lutz said.

1/6/2003  DBX Natrium: Fuel for Change by Chris Vander Doelen - Windsor Star (Canada)

Sitting at the wheel of the one-of-a-kind experimental fuel cell vehicle is enough to make a driver feel like the captain of a submarine, given all the strange liquid and mechanical sounds emanating from amidship as it sits idling: Whoooosh. Whirrrr. Fshhhhhh . . . Thunk! "That's the spent fuel being injected back into the fuel tank," explains controls engineer Euthemios (Euthie) Stamos. "There's a lot of pumps down there." Why didn't they install quieter pumps, he is asked? "Um, well, it's an experimental vehicle. We didn't really pay any attention to noise levels when we put this thing together -- we just grabbed what we needed off the shelf," Stamos explained recently to a group of automotive writers. "Look, give us a break: People have spent a century perfecting the gasoline engine and the chemistry of the gasoline that goes into it. We put this thing together in only 18 months. Eighteen months to build a vehicle that basically runs on sea water!" ...Natrium is the Latin-based German word for salt, because the Natrium Town and Country runs on sodium borohydride. Sodium borohydride is a naturally occurring mineral which is a salt-based relative of borax, the main ingredient of laundry detergent. Mixed carefully in a 25-per-cent solution, this unlikely 'fuel' can propel the Natrium to 130 km per hour. Its range is 480 km on a full tank of, um, soap. The amount of imported petroleum products needed to fuel the Natrium: zero. Toxic emissions: zero. Smog contributors: zero.

1/6/2003   Cellular Connection: With a Hum Instead of a Roar, the Fuel Cell is Here by Jonathan Rauch - Reason (USA)

What isn't clear is whether the AUTOnomy will ever fly as a business proposition. GM won't even decide whether to produce it for several years. The Japanese, always more practical than visionary, are first and fastest with actual fuel cells in actual cars. Honda, according to Kawaguchi, aims for customer availability ASAP. The message from Toyota is much the same: Push the technology out the door and onto the streets. ...Breaking the hundred-year monopoly of the internal combustion engine is as vast a project as capitalism has ever undertaken. Given the immensity of the risks involved and the uncountable billions of dollars of capital investment required, the project is nothing short of planetary in scale. Simultaneous competition and collaboration across national borders—also known as globalization—provides the only hope of success. These days, therefore, Japan looks less like a rival than a resource.

1/6/2003   Automakers Invest Billions into Hybrids by Chris Vander Doelen - Windsor Star (Canada)

The myth that the supply of hydrogen is endless also makes it attractive to politicians concerned about geo-politics: hydrogen could eventually free the U.S. from the economic straightjacket imposed by oil and therefore by unfriendly Middle Eastern nations which affect world oil prices. In fact, hydrogen is expensive to produce and the process also consumes energy, making the supply of this fuel anything but limitless. ...The investment so far: In the U.S., the Big Three say they will spend $3 billion US altogether developing hydrogen fuel cells and the vehicles they will power. The European Union has been talking about spending $3 billion on hydrogen research. The Japanese have already made their investment, thought to be several billion.

1/4/2003 Yakushima Island:  Mister Natural Aims to Change the World - The Star (Malaysia)

Skipping stones across an inlet, the 64-year-old cement executive hardly seems like someone out to change the world. But Masatsugu Taniguchi aims to do exactly that. He is leaving Taiheiyo Cement Co to start a new career on Yakushima Island, south of Kyushu, Japan, a place designated by the UN as a world heritage nature preserve. His mission: to create the world’s first zero-emission, hydrogen-based economy – and to pull it off through no-nonsense business principles, not tree-hugging wishful thinking. “I heard that Iceland was planning to switch its economy over to hydrogen, and I realised we could do it way faster on Yakushima,” says Taniguchi. The 338-square-mile Yakushima makes a perfect test case. It is a steep granite island drowning in 320 inches of rainfall a year. That means it can, says the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, potentially generate 233 megawatts of hydropower without having to build any dams bigger than 100 feet. Strong ocean winds are another potential source of energy. In addition to harnessing hydroelectric power from an existing 60-megawatt plant to make silicon carbide, used in various industries, Taniguchi realised he could make plenty of cheap hydrogen fuel with current technology.

1/3/2003   It's All About U by Christopher A. Sawyer  Automotive Design & Production

The Model U’s 2.3-liter Duratec HE four-cylinder has been upgraded with high-compression pistons, a redesigned intake manifold, two intercoolers (one air-to-air unit behind the front fascia and a second air-to-air conditioning piece in the engine compartment), a Vortech centrifugal supercharger, dual fuel rails, hydrogen-tolerant fuel injectors, and an Aston Martin V12-sourced coil-on-plug ignition system. “The engine is running a 12.2:1 compression ratio,” says Bob Natkin, senior technical specialist, Advanced Spark Ignited Engine Powertrain and Vehicle Research Lab, “and produces 88 kW.” Similar engines without the supercharger produced 35% less low-end torque and 50% less top-end power than their gasoline-fueled cousins, a performance Natkin stresses was “unacceptable.” As the engine is further developed, Natkin says boost will rise from its current 13 psi level to nearly 16 psi, and the supercharger will be replaced by an electronically controlled turbocharger. Moving the 30 pounds of air per minute through the supercharger eats up 30 hp, with mechanical losses from the crank-driven device adding another 10%.

1/3/2003   GM Banking on Fuel-cell Technology to Power Cars by Donald Hammonds - Post Gazzette (Pittsburgh PA)

If for some reason GM hasn't shifted to fuel cells by 2010, it almost surely will in the decade that follows, said Lawrence D. Burns, vice president of GM Research & Development and Planning. In other words, this isn't pie in the sky, Burns said, adding, "Boy, if it is I'd like to have a piece of that pie." ...The advantages of switching to fuel cells are tremendous for consumers, Burns said. "These cars will have better acceleration, and no other real emissions other than water. "You also will have a lower center of gravity for better handling and more exciting styling designs because we have eliminated a lot of design constraints that our designers have had to worry about in the past -- mainly that big engine in the front of the car." ...GM feels that pursuing the use of fuel cells is an astute business decision that will help it maintain a competitive edge in the future. "If somebody else beats us here, they have just made our asset base -- a significant asset base -- obsolete," Burns said. "Do unto yourself before others do unto you. If you're not trying to obsolete your own strongholds and technology base, be assured somebody else is out there trying to do that."

1/3/2003   Actor Dennis Weaver Visits Valley by Paul Fattig - Mail Tribune (OR)

I’ve been walking around the planet for a number of years and have seen some very disturbing changes taking place," said Weaver, now 78. "Scientists are telling us that we are now heading toward environmental suicide." But Weaver believes that direction can be changed. "We can have a sustainable future," he said. "This idea that we have to choose one (ecology) over the other (economy) is a false idea." To drive home this message, the institute on May 1 will start the Drive to Survive 2003. That project involves driving a fleet of vehicles powered by alternate energy sources, including hydrogen fuel, from California to the nation’s capital. The cross-country trip reverses one made in 1919 by then Army Maj. Dwight Eisenhower to show the potential of the internal combustion gasoline engine. "We think it’s time to make that trip again, but demonstrate the need and tremendous potential of hydrogen," Weaver said. The reliance on oil and gas is not sustainable, given the finite sources of those fossil fuels, he said. Moreover, the nation needs to conserve its oil now so there will be time to make the transition to alternate fuels, he stressed. "We need to push the envelope a little bit," he said. "We need a national commitment, the same kind we made when we decided to rebuild after World War II." If public and private entities concerned about the ecology and the economy work together, a sustainable future will result, he said. "I often describe the environmentalists and the industrialists like two horses in the same harness, pulling in different directions," he said. "We need to get those horses pulling in the same direction. "We don’t have to choose between the two," he reiterated. "We can have a strong economy and still save the place where we live."

1/2/2003   DuPont Membrane Plays Key Role in Fuel Cells by Al Greenwood - Fayetteville Observer (NC)

The sheets of plastic made at DuPont's Fayetteville Works site look like something you would use to wrap a sandwich. But without that plastic membrane, DuPont wouldn't have a fuel cell business division. The membrane is Nafion, an indispensable component in fuel cells - devices that produce clean power efficiently. ...Fuel cells aren't common because they are expensive to make, Henry said. Companies are trying to find a cheaper, more efficient way to supply fuel cells with hydrogen, the element that provides the positive particles in a fuel cell. Because the fuel cell industry is still being developed, it does not buy the majority of DuPont's Nafion. Instead, DuPont sells its Nafion to companies that use it to make chlorine and caustic soda. Nafion is also used in devices that remove humidity from the air. Nafion can absorb 40 percent of its weight in water.

January 2003