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The International Clearinghouse for Hydrogen Commerce  www.hydrogencommerce.com

THIS COLUMN IS OPTIMIZED FOR THE APPLE  iPHONE

Creating Hydrogen
Researchers worldwide are
discovering new ways to bring down the cost of producing hydrogen.
Wind hydrogen is now cheaper than gasoline!


Pathways to Hydrogen    Image courtesy of Kenneth Stewart, General Motors

Solar Cell Directly Splits Water
To Produce Recoverable Hydrogen

Science Daily     February 17, 2007

   "This is a proof-of-concept system that is very inefficient. But ultimately, catalytic systems with 10 to 15 percent solar conversion efficiency might be achievable," says Thomas E. Mallouk, the DuPont Professor of Materials Chemistry and Physics. "If this could be realized, water photolysis would provide a clean source of hydrogen fuel from water and sunlight."


Making Hydrogen at Home without George Bush
Back Yard Gasifiers Turn Wood into Hydrogen
Gavin D. J. Harper     EcoGeek     January 29, 2008

    With hydrogen production currently dominated by the petrochemical industry, it's nice to see some simple carbon neutral solutions to producing hydrogen, which you can make yourself.  more

"This report is one in a series of emergency technology assessments sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The purpose of this report is to develop detailed, illustrated instructions for the fabrication, and operation of a biomass gasifier unit (that is, a producer gas generator, also called a wood gas generator) which is capable of providing emergency fuel for vehicles, such as tractors and trucks, in the event that normal petroleum sources were severely disrupted for an extended period of time. These instructions are prepared in the format of a manual for use by any mechanic who is reasonably proficient in metal fabrication or engine repair."
     -- U.S. Defense Technical Information Center

  • Construction of a Simplified Wood Gas Generator for Fueling Internal Combustion Engines in a Petroleum Emergency
    H. LaFontaine, Biomass Energy Foundation, lnc. Miami, Florida and F. P. Zimmerman, Oak Ridge National laboratory, Energy Division FEMA lnteragency Agreement Number: EMW-84-E-1737 Work Unit: 3521 D for: Federal Emergency Management Agency Washington, D.C. 20472 "This report has been reviewed in the Federal Emergency Management Agency and approved for publication. Approval does not signify that the contents necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Federal Emergency Management Agency." Date Published: March 1989 APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE: DISTRIBUTION UNLIMITED Prepared by: Oak Ridge National laboratory Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831-6285 for the U.S. Department of Energy

Denmark's Wind-Hydrogen Projects
Fuel Cell Today (UK)     February 4, 2008
    This summer, six new hydrogen plants will be opened in western Jutland, all of which will use renewable energy such as wind to produce hydrogen.

  • Northern Jutland Invests Millions in H2 and Fuel Cell Projects
    Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark     December 20, 2007
        Hydrogen technology is an innovation and enterprise focus area in Jutland, with the development of a "Hydrogen Valley" cluster centred around the town of Hobro, which is centrally located between three of Denmark's leading centres for hydrogen and fuel cell research as well as bioenergy research – the universities in Aalborg and Ĺrhus, and the Centre for Danish Agricultural Sciences near Viborg.

  • Catching the Wind   Jim Motavalli    EMagazine.com   Jan/Feb 2005
        Claus Moller of the Danish Wind Energy Association says that the concept of hydrogen from wind is being actively pursued in Denmark, with small-scale demonstration projects and long-term feasibility studies underway in research institutes. If economics of scale come into play to dramatically reduce the cost of wind-powered hydrogen electrolyzers, reports a paper by Harry Braun of the Hydrogen Political Action Committee posted on EV World, then electricity could be generated at a cost of one cent per kilowatt-hour, resulting in liquid hydrogen produced for the same cost as gasoline at $1.95 a gallon. Braun calls for 12 million wind systems to be mass-produced and installed within 24 months and coupled to an interstate hydrogen pipeline. “It is possible for the U.S. to be energy independent, with a pollution-free and inexhaustible energy resource within five to 10 years,” he says.

NASA: SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS ON  PROTOTYPE MOON POWERPLANT!
NASA Glenn Research Center     December 12, 2007

 Artist's concept of full-scale NASA Lunar Power Plant     Images courtesy of NASA
"On the moon, you would start with a tank of water. You'd use the solar arrays to make hydrogen and oxygen during the day, then use the hydrogen and oxygen to make electricity during the night when there's no sun. Ideally, if nothing broke and nothing wore out, it could run forever without being refueled."
David Bents, NASA Glenn Research Center


Schematic of closed-loop lunar power system

Artist's concept of  basic array.

Rengenerative fuel cells at NASA.

    NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland is leading an effort to develop systems that could store energy for use during the long, frigid lunar nights. The solution may be a fuel cell system that originally was designed for a high-altitude solar-electric airplane. ...."Even though it was originally designed for an airplane, the system has given us a leg up," said Ann Over, chief of Glenn's Advanced Capabilities Project Office. "The knowledge we gained will feed directly into our lunar regenerative fuel cell technology program." Glenn plans to begin work in 2008 on a prototype regenerative fuel cell system for the lunar outpost.   more
Helios in flight. Image: NASA  Graphics: ICHBC Helios crash.  Image: NASA

          AeroVironment HELIOS                      In-flight breakup of HELIOS - June 2003

Quantum Energy Kft. Eyes Wind Electrolysis
for Urban Transport in Hungary

Hungary Around the Clock     November 20, 2007

    H2 Bus has finished the pilot version of its hydrogen-fuelled bus, Napi Gazdaság learnt. The bus was made for Quantum Energy, which signed a letter of intent with the government to make hydrogen fuel available in Hungary. "Quantum Energy is planning hydrogen-producing wind power plants for use in mass urban transport," CEO László Molnár said. "This will help to reduce city pollution and aid the utilisation of the notoriously erratic wind power," Molnár explained.

BREAKTHROUGH!
HAS PENN STATE'S BRUCE LOGAN SUDDENLY SOLVED HUMANITY'S ENERGY CONUNDRUM?

DOES HIS RESEARCH MARK THE END FOR
THE GREAT ETHANOL FRAUD?

Microbial Hydrogen Production Threatens Extinction for the Ethanol/Biofuel Dinosaur
Jason Mick     Daily Tech     November 15, 2007

     Traditional ethanol production requires either hydrocarbons from fossil fuels or the fermentation of sugary plants. This necessitates sugary crops such as corn or sugarcane to be grown solely for fuel, not for human use. Bacteria-produced ethanol and enzymatic produced ethanol are both being researched, but they have been very costly, and have relatively low efficiencies.
     Logan and his team found that with certain configurations nearly all the hydrogen in the source material could be converted into hydrogen gas. He foresees this allowing for the process to be adopted on a large scale for easy hydrogen production.
     Even with the initial electrical jolt, energy lost to processing the hydrogen and other inputs, the overall efficiency of the system is 80 percent in the vinegar driven system. This is far better than any existing process for ethanol generation. It also handily beats electrolysis generation, being between three to ten times more efficient.
   more

BREAKTHROUGH IN MICROBIAL PRODUCTION:
LOGAN AND CHENG PROVE 99% H2 EXTRACTION

Hydrogen Brewing Gets an Electrical Boost

Mason Inman     New Scientist     November 12, 2007

    In tests the system produced hydrogen that if burned would make between two and six times the amount of energy put in as electric power. By comparison hydrogen extracted from water can only pay back 50 to 70 per cent of the energy used to extract it. "It is surprising that such high hydrogen yields can so readily be obtained," says Patrick Hallenbeck of the University of Montreal in Canada. "The net energy yield appears much higher than what people are getting in other biofuel production processes – bioethanol, for example," he adds.     more


"Our country does not have a long-term, national policy in place to promote
renewable energy development."

 
Randall Swisher, AWEA executive director
 
U.S. Wind Industry Blowing Past Previous Development Records
RenewableEnergyAccess.com     November 8, 2007

    The U.S. wind industry is on track to complete roughly 4,000 megawatts (MW) of wind projects in 2007, shattering the 2006 record of 2,454 MW and solidifying wind as a major source of new power in the country today, according to a new market report from the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA).

BREAKTHROUGH

Self-aligned, vertically oriented titanium iron oxide nanotube arrays demonstrate the ability to split water under natural sunlight.

Revolution in Solar Hydrogen
on the Horizon

Penn State Materials Research Institute

"As I see it, we are a couple of problems away from having something that will revolutionize the field of hydrogen generation by use of solar energy."
Craig A. Grimes, Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering, Penn State

    The prospect for the wide spread use of hydrogen as a portable energy carrier is dependent on finding a clean, renewable method of production. At Penn State University, a research group headed by professor of electrical engineering Craig Grimes in the Materials Research Institute is "only a couple of problems away" from developing an inexpensive and easily scalable technique for water photoelectrolysis - the splitting of water into hydrogen and oxygen using light energy - that could help power the proposed hydrogen economy.
    ...Previously, the Penn State scientists had reported the development of titania nanotube arrays with a photoconversion efficiency of 16.5% under ultraviolet light. Titanium oxide (TiO2), which is commonly used in white paints and sunscreens, has excellent charge-transfer properties and corrosion stability, making it a likely candidate for cheap and long lasting solar cells. However, as ultraviolet light contains only about 5% of the solar spectrum energy, the researchers needed to finds a means to move the materials band gap into the visible spectrum.
    They speculated that by doping the TiO2 film with a form of iron called hematite, a low band gap semiconductor material, they could capture a much larger portion of the solar spectrum. The researchers created Ti-Fe metal films by sputtered titanium and iron targets on fluorine-doped tin oxide coated glass substrates. The films were anodized in an ethylene glycol solution and then crystallized by oxygen annealing for 2 hours. They studied a variety of films of differing thicknesses and varying iron content. In this paper they report a photocurrent of 2 mA/cm2, and a photoconversion rate of 1.5%, the second highest rate achieved with an iron oxide related material.
    The team is now looking into optimizing the nanotube architecture to overcome the low electron-hole mobility of iron. By reducing the wall thickness of the Ti-Fe-O nanotubes to correspond to the hole diffusion length of iron which is around 4nm, the researchers hope to reach an efficiency closer to the 12.9% theoretical maximum for materials with the band gap of hematite. 
more

Wind Hydrogen Limited to List as WHN on Australia's ASX August 10
Australian Securities Exchange

“Using Minnesota wind to make nitrogen fertilizer for farmers could transform agriculture, wind and hydrogen economics overnight. The fact that this could reduce input costs for farmers and boost wind development without the need for transmission lines or power purchase agreements makes this approach a potential grand slam."
 Rolf Nordstrom, Director
Great Plains Institute’s Upper Midwest Hydrogen Initiative

University of Minnesota to Develop Wind to Hydrogen
to Nitrogen Pilot Project

Iowa Farmer Today (IA)     August 2, 2006    


White Plains: Hydrogen Fuel Vehicles
Forbes/AP     August 20, 2007
The hydrogen fuel depot will extract hydrogen from water, producing
what would be the equivalent of up to about 40 gallons of gas a day.

North Dakota Wind map derived from NREL sources

North Dakota State University Dedicates Wind-to-Hydrogen System
Basin Electric Power Cooperative      July 17, 2007


 Minot: Basin Electric wind turbine
Bismarck, N.D. --  Dedication ceremonies for a Wind-to-Hydrogen project have been set for Saturday, July 21 at 2:30 p.m. The event will be held at the project site located at North Dakota State University's (NDSU) North Central Research Extension Center, one mile south of Minot, N.D. on U.S. Highway 83. The public is invited to attend and enjoy refreshments, provided by Verendrye Electric Cooperative. The hydrogen fueling site is the first of its kind in the nation. A short program will include a speech by U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan
and speakers from electric cooperatives and industry sponsors.
    Curtis Jabs, senior legislative representative for Basin Electric Power Cooperative, said that the Wind-to-Hydrogen project was a joint effort between a consortium of energy companies and research institutions in North Dakota and made viable through funding arranged by Sen. Dorgan through the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy division.
    "Senator Dorgan has been a huge supporter of wind and developing hydrogen as a fuel of the future," Jabs said. "We're thankful to have him involved, as well as our many other project sponsors and participants."
    The primary consortium members include Basin Electric, Verendrye Electric Cooperative, Velva; Central Power Electric Cooperative, Minot; NDSU North Central Research Extension Center; the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association's Cooperative Research Network; and the Energy and Environmental Research Center, Grand Forks, N.D.
    The $2-million project just received the final component last month, a hydrogen electrolyzer delivered from Belgium. Now the research begins to turn variable wind energy into a firm, value-added energy source that can be stored and used as needed in the form of hydrogen fuel.
    The wind energy will come from Basin Electric's wind resources at Minot, Edgeley/Kulm and Wilton, N.D. As electricity is produced by wind turbines, it will be dynamically scheduled over the local transmission system to the project site where it will be used in an electrolyzer that separates water into oxygen and hydrogen through electrolysis. The hydrogen produced will primarily be used to refuel hydrogen-powered vehicles and a converted tractor, which will operate on a blend of hydrogen and diesel fuel.
 more
  • Converting Wind into Hydrogen   
    Bismark Tribune (ND)  
    May 8, 2007
        The modified tractor is part of a project involving Bismarck-based Basin Electric Power Cooperative to take wind energy, from two turbines near Minot, and convert it to hydrogen. The project was made possible by $1.5 million in federal grants. Early this summer, project collaborators will install equipment at the NDSU agricultural experiment station south of Minot, which will pass an electrical current through water to separate hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen will be used to help fuel the prototype tractor and three pickup trucks that can run on hydrogen, regular gas and E85 ethanol-blended fuel. The modified tractor will be subjected to field tests at the Minot experiment station plots.
     
  • Basin Electric Prepares to Launch Pilot Project   Aug 23 2006
    Andrea Blowers     National Rural Electric Cooperative Association
        The production facility will be at the NDSU/NCREC research site south of Minot. Basin Electric wind resources planned for the project include two wind turbines located approximately 10 miles south of the research center and two larger wind farms located near Edgeley, ND, and Wilton, ND. These wind farms will provide the electricity required for the hydrogen production process. As electricity is produced by the wind turbines, it will be dynamically scheduled over the local transmission system in “near real time” from the turbines to the hydrogen production site. The dynamic scheduling will be done using software currently being developed by Basin Electric and EERC. Meters at the production facility and each wind farm will use telecommunication paths to achieve the dynamic scheduling interconnection. ...Sen. Dorgan says this project has enormous implications for the future of wind energy, hydrogen power and economic growth in America’s Heartland. “ North Dakota is positioned to become a world leader in wind power, and North Dakota scientists are already doing some of the most important hydrogen technology work in the world.”
     
  • Hydrogen-Wind Project   September 17, 2004
    North Dakota sustainable Energy for Economic Development
        Wayne Backman, Senior vice president of generation at Basin Electric, said funding for this project could be a major step toward efficiently producing hydrogen fuel using wind energy in North Dakota. “While research is always uncertain, the effort is centered on the creation of a wind-to-hydrogen facility and accompanying hydrogen uses.”

Project Turns Wind into Hydrogen
Patrick Springer     In-Forum News (ND)     May 7, 2007

Dedication of a $2 million project between the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Xcel Energy at the National Wind Technology Center 12/14/2006. The Wind to Hydrogen Project will examine the systems intergration issues with wind-hydrogen production, compression, storage and use. Shown l-r: NREL scientist Ben Kroposki, NREL Director Dan Arvizu, Xcel Chairman Dick Kelly and Project Leader Frank Novachek. Credit: Jack Dempsey
Wind-to-Hydrogen Project Video
This video features the wind-to-hydrogen project, which uses electricity from wind turbines to produce hydrogen at NREL's National Wind Technology Center.

Wind-to-Hydrogen Demonstration Project   Xcel Energy


Click for Wind2H2 Report by Ben Kroposki          Image: NREL  

"Converting wind energy to hydrogen
means that it doesn't matter when the wind blows since its energy can be stored
on-site in the form of hydrogen
."
Dick Kelly, CEO of Xcel Energy
Clean Energy Blowin' in the Wind  
Steve Raabe   Denver Post   
December 14, 2006

Experimental Wind-to- Hydrogen System Up and Running
Xcel Energy     December 14, 2006

    The facility links two wind turbines to devices called electrolyzers, which pass the wind-generated electricity through water to split the liquid into hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen can be stored and used later to generate electricity from either an internal combustion engine turning a generator or from a fuel cell. In either case, there are no harmful emissions, and the only by-product from using the hydrogen fuel is water. On site is a new building that houses the electrolyzers and a device to compress the hydrogen for storage; four large, high-tech tanks to store the hydrogen; a generator run by an engine that burns hydrogen; and a control room building, where computers monitor all the steps of the process. Xcel and NREL are each paying part of the $2 million budget for the two-year project.

DENMARK'S FIRST HYDROGEN PLANT OPENS
The Copenhagen Post (DK)     May 24, 2007
Backers are promoting the facility as a way to solve the problems
with excess energy produced from windmills.

"The large investors in California need locally based facilities where they can test new environmental technologies at full scale, in order to see whether it is possible to bring them the critical way from the desk to the market. Lolland has arranged itself in a way which is perfect to become such a test area."
Californian Assemblyman Fred Keeley

"The Americans are very interested in how to integrate large amounts of renewable energy into the existing net. Denmark has gained experience in this over many years, and Lolland is now offering the opportunity to test it in practice."
Peter Winarsky of Innovation Center Denmark, Silicon Valley
California Shows Interest in Lolland Testing Facility for Renewables
 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark     May 24, 2007

Lolland, Denmark to Become
Hydrogen and Fuel Cell-powered Island

Fuel Cell Today     September 2006

    "Our goal is to use fuel cells to produce heat and electricity right at people's homes," said Nakskov's mayor, Flemming Bonne Hansen according to Borsen, adding that he hoped the investment in the region by fuel cell developers would also bring jobs to the local economy.

Southern California Edison Unveils Hydrogen Demonstration  Kevin Smith  San Gabriel Valley Tribune   May 23, 2007
    Southern California Edison and Chevron Technology Ventures LLC unveiled a hydrogen energy station evaluation and demonstration program Monday at SCE's Rosemead headquarters. ...The SCE facility includes a state-of-the-art alkaline electrolyzer that generates up to 40 kilograms of hydrogen a day, a power-analyzing system that gathers energy-impact data on the hydrogen production process, advanced and redundant safety systems and a fleet of up to nine zero-emission Hyundai fuel-cell cars, which will be evaluated.

Mike Strizki: The Zero-Energy Solution
Mark Svenvold     The New York Times     May 20, 2007
The implications of the solar-hydrogen house are immense. Eventually, it seems, for the price of a home-improvement loan, millions of homeowners could install solar-hydrogen systems, with zero emissions, generating 100-percent clean renewable energy.

Project Turns Wind into Hydrogen
Patrick Springer     In-Forum News (ND)     May 7, 2007

BREAKTHROUGH
Platinum nanocrystals boost catalytic activity for hydrogen production. Credit: Zhong Lin Wang, Georgia Institute of Technology
(A) Low-magnification SEM image of a platinum tetrahexahedral nanocrystal and its geometrical model. (B) High-resolution transmission electron microscopy image recorded from a platinum tetrahexahedral nanocrystal to reveal surface atomic steps in the areas made of (210) and (310) sub-facets.

Platinum Nanocrystals Boost Catalytic Activity for Hydrogen Production
Georgia Institute of Technology Research News     May 3, 2007

     Depending on conditions, the new nanocrystals can be as much as four times more catalytically active per unit area than existing commercial catalysts. But since the new structures tested are more than 20 times larger than existing platinum catalysts, they require more of the metal – and hence are less active per unit weight.



H2CAR Could Fuel Entire U.S. Transportation Sector
Lisa Zyga     Physorg     April 24, 2007

    In a recent study, scientists have demonstrated that a hybrid system of hydrogen and carbon can produce a sufficient amount of liquid hydrocarbon fuels to power the entire U.S. transportation sector. Using biomass to produce the carbon, and solar energy to produce hydrogen, the process requires only a fraction of the land area needed by other proposed methods.

Hydrogen Pioneer and European Leader Linde Presents 3 Excellent New Hydrogen Fuel Videos
April 16, 2007    
Requires Flash Player
                                 Due to EU popularity, these files can take a long time to download

Hydrogen Project Could Point Way to New Energy Paradigm
Richard Doak     Des Moins Register (IA)     April 1, 2007

     There are no electric transmission lines to transport wind-generated electricity from the Plains, and building enough lines wouldn't be feasible. Leighty's proposed solution is to use the wind to produce hydrogen and ship it to population centers through pipelines. At the end of the pipes, the hydrogen could be burned as a motor fuel, converted back into electricity to power homes and businesses, or used to manufacture ammonia or other chemicals. His proposal has one more element - 15,000 salt caverns on the Plains to store hydrogen underground, to assure a steady supply would be available when the wind isn't blowing.

Solar -hydrogen refueling station opens in Las Vegas, April 17, 2007   Photo: Las Vegas Valley Water District

Second Las Vegas Hydrogen Fueling Station Opens
Kathrine Fernelius     The Rebel Yell (UNLV)     April 17, 2007

     In order to manufacture hydrogen, the LVVWD’s fueling station uses solar panels to collect energy from the sun. Then, through electrolysis, hydrogen is removed from water that is then stored and used as fuel.

Las Vegas Valley Water District Dedicates
Hydrogen Refueling Station
Las Vegas Valley Water District     April 17, 2007

    The project is part of a multi-faceted research project that received $12 million in research and development funding from the Department of Energy. An additional $4 million was contributed in matching funds. Other components of the project include a hydrogen safety workshop; a hydrogen road-mapping exercise for Nevada; research into the production of hydrogen using photoelectric chemistry; and improvements on membrane and electrolyzer performance and efficiency.
"Our technology is designed to help make wind power a more reliable, affordable and scalable power generating solution and thereby expand the penetration of wind power in energy markets."
Dr. Tapan Bose, President HEC

Hydrogen Engine Center, Inc. Demonstrates Its
Hydrogen-Fueled 4 + 1 Power Generator System

Hydrogen Engine Center     April 4, 2007

    By integrating HEC Oxx Power™ generator systems with wind-sourced power, customers can bring on line a sustainable solution that extends the capacity and value of wind energy, while reducing customers' dependence on petroleum and gas burning technology.
Solar-Powered Hydrogen Generation
Rust-based solar panels could make hydrogen cheap and efficient
Kevin Bullis     Technology Review     December 12, 2006
Researchers in Switzerland have demonstrated more-efficient water-splitting solar cells based on a cheap, abundant, and long-lasting material: rust. The advance could lead to a cheap and energy-efficient way to generate hydrogen for fuel-cell vehicles using solar energy. ...The findings suggest several strategies that could help the iron-oxide-based panel reach the 10 percent efficiency level that would make the technology competitive with current ways of creating hydrogen...

Hydrogen Pioneer and European Leader Linde Presents 3 Excellent New Hydrogen Fuel Videos
April 16, 2007    
Requires Flash Player
                                 Due to EU popularity, these files can take a long time to download


Click for Progress Report          Image: NREL  

"Converting wind energy to hydrogen
means that it doesn't matter when the wind blows since its energy can be stored
on-site in the form of hydrogen
."
Dick Kelly, CEO of Xcel Energy
Clean Energy Blowin' in the Wind  
Steve Raabe   Denver Post   
December 14, 2006

Experimental Wind-to- Hydrogen System Up and Running
Xcel Energy     December 14, 2006

    The facility links two wind turbines to devices called electrolyzers, which pass the wind-generated electricity through water to split the liquid into hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen can be stored and used later to generate electricity from either an internal combustion engine turning a generator or from a fuel cell. In either case, there are no harmful emissions, and the only by-product from using the hydrogen fuel is water. On site is a new building that houses the electrolyzers and a device to compress the hydrogen for storage; four large, high-tech tanks to store the hydrogen; a generator run by an engine that burns hydrogen; and a control room building, where computers monitor all the steps of the process. Xcel and NREL are each paying part of the $2 million budget for the two-year project.

Video: Wind to Hydrogen
Xcel

Swiss Researchers Claim "Unprecedented" 42% Efficiency
in Water-Splitting

Physorg     December 4, 2006

RELEASED!
Click to download "Microbial Energy Conversion" by the American Society for Microbiology
Click image to download the report

    Imagine the future of energy. The future might look like a new power plant on the edge of town—an inconspicuous bioreactor that takes in yard waste and locally-grown crops like corn and wood chips and churns out electricity to area homes and businesses. Or the future may take the form of a stylish-looking car that refills its tank at hydrogen stations. Maybe the future of energy looks like a device on the roof of your own home – a small appliance, connected to the household electric system, that uses sunlight and water to produce the electricity that warms your home, cooks your food, powers your television, and washes your clothes.
    All these futuristic energy technologies may become reality some day, thanks to the work of the smallest living creatures on earth: microorganisms. “Microbial energy conversion” is the shorthand term for technologies like these. In microbial energy technologies, microorganisms make fuels out of raw organic materials, thereby converting the chemical energy in the biomass into chemical energy in the form of ethanol or hydrogen, for example. In addition, microbes can convert solar energy to hydrogen. Those fuels are then burned to make electrical energy or, in the case of internal combustion engines, kinetic energy to power a car. Another technology that falls under the heading of microbial energy conversion is the microbial fuel cell, a bioreactor in which bacteria transform the chemical energy in biomass directly into electrical energy.
    The world faces a potentially crippling energy crisis in the next 30 to 50 years.  ...The means of preventing the twin catastrophes of energy scarcity and environmental ruin is not clear, but one part of the solution may lie in microbial energy conversion.

  • An Answer to the World's Energy Problems?
    Bacteria Could Be the Source of an Unlimited Supply of Power
    Lee Dye     ABC News     December 1, 2006
        The smallest creatures on the planet may help solve one of the world's biggest problems, according to a new report from a distinguished panel of scientists.
     

  • VIDEO: Tasios Melis discusses his groundbreaking discovery of genetically modified hydrogen-producing bacteria.
    Click on image to view movie. RealPlayer required

Do deep subterranean bacteria create the hydrogen that makes oil and natural gas - and someday promise humanity unlimited clean power?
Hydrogen in Rocks:
An Energy Source for Deep Microbial Communities
FRIEDEMANN FREUND, J. THOMAS DICKINSON,  and MICHELE CASH
Recent estimates suggest the mass of the subsurface biosphere may exceed the mass of all other life forms on Earth.

Image: "Photosensitized Reduction of Water to Hydrogen Using Human Serum Albumin Complexed with Zinc-Protoporphyrin IX" by Teruyuki Komatsu, Rong-Min Wang, Patricia A. Zunszain, Stephen Curry, and Eishun Tsuchida

Solar Split
The Engineer     December 1, 2006

    Scientists have combined two molecules that occur naturally in blood to engineer a molecular complex that uses solar energy to split water into hydrogen and oxygen.  ...This molecular complex can use energy from the sun to create hydrogen gas, providing an alternative to electrolysis, the method typically used to split water into its constituent parts. The breakthrough may pave the way for the development of novel ways of creating hydrogen gas for use as fuel in the future.

Cheap Hydrogen: GE's Low-Cost Electrolyzer
Logan Ward    Popular Mechanics    November 2006

The Storage of Wind Energy
Technological and Economic Realisation

Jörg Linnemann, Dr. Robert Steinberger
1st International Renewable Energy Storage Conference (IRES I)
Gelsenkirchen, Germany  
 October 30 - 31st , 2006

Ammonia
The Key to
a Hydrogen
Economy

Iowa Energy Center
Thursday and Friday, October 13-14, 2005
Argonne National Laboratory

Iowa Company Turns to Ammonia
to Solve the Hydrogen Storage Problem

PRNewswire/Yahoo     September 19, 2006
Making Engines to Run On Hydrogen, Ammonia
The Chief Engineer     September 19, 2006
Can Ammonia Engine Make Gas Obsolete?
Wired News     May 20, 2006
Internal Combustion Engines and Ammonia
Ted Hollinger     Hydrogen Engine Center     2005

When Kitchen Waste Isn't Wasted
Upscale Bay Area restaurants helping feed machine
that turns scraps into electricity, vehicle fuel

Glen Martin     San Francisco Chronicle    October 25, 2006

Popular Mechanics Magazine Awards GE Researchers
for Electrolysis Breakthrough

The Business Review (NY)    October 6, 2006
The GE design uses a special plastic to replace expensive metal parts. Metal coating techniques borrowed from aircraft engine and power turbine products were used to make high performance electrodes at low processing costs. 


2.4 MW Robert Moses Niagara Generating Station near Lewiston
PATAKI BEATS BONNEVILLE TO THE PUNCH!

Niagara Hydro to Power New York Hydrogen Generating Stations
Fred O. Williams    The Buffalo News    October 4, 2006

    The board of the New York Power Authority approved the "hydropower-to-hydrogen" plan Tuesday, and Pataki is expected to formally announce it today. Transit buses and state fleet vehicles are among the possible hydrogen-consuming vehicles.
    "It puts New York State in the cutting edge of this clean-fuel technology," Power Authority spokesman Michael Saltzman said.
    Details of the plan released Tuesday envision two fueling stations at undetermined locations, potentially at Niagara Falls State Park and at locations operated by the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority.  more

Hydrogenics Leaves Prince Edward Island Wind/Hydrogen Project
Work Begins on $56-million Wind Turbine Power Project
Andy Walker     The Chronicle Herald (Canada)     September 20, 2006
Canada Supports Development of Alternative Energy Project

Industry Canada     April 22, 2005

AUSTRALIA LEAPS AHEAD WHILE AMERICA WAGES
A FOOLISH WAR AGAINST A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

Wind Hydrogen Ltd. Acquires Rights for Australia's Most Powerful Wind Farm
The Age     September 11, 2006

    Wind farm operator Wind Hydrogen Ltd has bought the rights to Australia's most powerful wind farm a week after announcing plans to raise new capital and float on the Australian Stock Exchange.
    The renewable energy company said it had entered into an asset purchase agreement for the 232-megawatt Mount Gellibrand project at Colac in Victoria, which it estimates to be worth $460 million on completion.
    "Wind Hydrogen will acquire the project for an undisclosed sum from German development group Pro Ventum International GmbH, which will continue to have an advisory role on the project's development and will retain a minority interest," WHL said in a statement.
  more