Hoku Scientific says former Hawaii Gov. George Ariyoshi has agreed to serve as a company business advisor.

Ariyoshi will work on international business development and strategic planning, with a focus on the Japanese market.

Ariyoshi served as Hawaii governor from 1974 to 1986 and worked with Japanese businesses and private entities to promote Hawaii business then. He is now president of Prince Resorts Hawaii, part of an international hotel conglomerate headquartered in Japan, and counsels U.S.-based organizations on business development in Japan.

Lynx Motion Technology Corporation http://www.lynxmotiontechnology.com recently announced the development of a new permanent magnet axial gap motor primarily designed for fuel cell and refrigeration compressors and now available for licensing and manufacturing. Principal characteristics of the new motor are very high efficiency, high power density, high peak torque across a wide speed range, and very fast transient response. The motor development was funded under a Cooperative Automotive Research for Advanced Technology (CARAT) grant from the Department of Energy, and a design contract with a Lynx customer. Manufacturing costs are expected to be under $100 once they are produced in volume. The initial customer is expected to generate the volume required to achieve that cost

On March 6, the first Hydrogen Expo USA closed its doors in Washington, DC. Nearly 800 visitors came to see the latest developments in energy technology at the exhibition and the simultaneously held National Hydrogen Assocation's Annual Conference. The exhibit hall in the Capital Hilton was sold out with 23 booths, in addition to this vehicles with hydrogen internal combustion and fuel cell powertrain could be seen in and outside of the hotel.

"We were quite overwhelmed by the amount of interest", says Ines Freesen of Hydrogen Expo USA organizer Freesen & Partner. "The latest announcement about the US billion dollar program for hydrogen fuel cells has created an enormous pull among politics, the industry and the media, which will be followed by a number of projects." Accordingly, international participation at the event was strong, with over 25% of the exhibitors based in Europe.

According to the Denki Shimbun, the home and office technology manufacturer Kyocera Corporation has developed a 1kW solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) for home used. Due to its strong background in ceramic materials, the company provides all necessary ceramics itself. 

The development team consists of around 25 researchers which aim to put the first prototypes into action by the end of the year. After an initial one-year test period, the company plans to bring its fuel cell to commercial markets by 2005. 

IAS has conducted many tests during the past two years at its own testing facilities, at a university laboratory and at various power plant facilities. Conservative
numbers demonstrate remarkable advantages in areas of cost, maintenance, size, efficiency and versatility. IAS expects to deploy its new technology into the marketplace this year.

IAS believes that for the first time, renewable energy such as thermal solar and geothermal will compete economically with fossil fuels. Utilizing these free and
virtually unlimited sources of energy has previously been cost prohibitive. IAS' technology can economically produce environmentally clean electricity, heat and
cold air for homes and businesses, and clean hydrogen fuel for automobiles and fuel cells. The new turbine is small enough for many homes and businesses to
house their own mini power plant.

Umberto Agnelli, chairman of Italian conglomerate Fiat, was in Madrid yesterday to deliver the prototype of CityClass Fuel Cell, a hydrogen-powered bus. The new vehicle is manufactured by Irisbus, a division of Fiat in Spain. It is powered with a hydrogen battery which needs to be recharged every 16 hours

Teledyne Technologies Incorporated (NYSE:TDY) today announced that Teledyne Energy Systems, Inc.delivered a 5 kilowatt breadboard proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell power system to NASA. The delivery was made as part of Teledyne Energy Systems multi-year contract with NASA's Glenn Research Center to develop an advanced PEM fuel cell power plant for NASA's Next Generation Launch Technology (NGLT) Program.

The 5 kilowatt fuel cell breadboard includes all components and control systems to allow safe, unattended operation. The unit delivered by Teledyne Energy Systems met or exceeded all current program design requirements including weight, volume, efficiency, and total power. In addition, Teledyne's unit demonstrated the ability to deliver substantial peak power beyond its nominal 5 kilowatt rating. Such additional power will provide NASA with substantial flexibility as it designs new launch vehicles.

Symyx Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:SMMX) today announced that U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham visited the company on April 1, 2003 and toured Symyx' fuel cell research
laboratory located in Santa Clara, CA. Secretary Abraham had the opportunity to see the technologies Symyx has developed for the high-throughput synthesis and screening of fuel cell electrocatalysts. At the end of his visit, the Secretary also viewed four fuel cell-powered vehicles that had been brought in to Symyx.

La Stampa via NewsEdge Corporation : Umberto Agnelli, chairman of Italian conglomerate Fiat, was in Madrid yesterday to deliver the prototype of CityClass Fuel Cell, a hydrogen-powered bus. The new vehicle is manufactured by Irisbus, a division of Fiat in Spain. It is powered with a hydrogen battery which needs to be recharged every 16 hours.

IT WILL have come as no surprise to most that George W. Bush used last month's State of the Union address to pump America up for the war now being waged in Iraq. 

But did anyone expect the US president to use his annual congressional address to plug hydrogen-powered cars? 

"In this century, the greatest environmental progress will come about through technology and innovation. Tonight I'm proposing $1.2 billion (1.1 bn) in research funding so that America can lead the world in developing clean, hydrogen-powered automobiles." 

And it will, if the EU doesn't get its act together soon, warns Marcus Nurdin, president of the Frankfurt-based International Platinum Association (IPA).  

HydrogenSource LLC, a leading developer of fuel processors for the fuel cell industry, today
announced it has completed initial testing of its gasoline-to-hydrogen fuel processor for fuel cell vehicles.
The 78 liters system is designed to fit under the chassis of a fuel cell-powered automobile, enabling the car to be operated on currently available fuels.  It operates on unleaded, California reformulated gasoline, and generates enough hydrogen to operate a 50 kilowatts Proton Exchange Membrane(PEM) fuel cell.
    
"We have demonstrated that on-board fuel processing of gasoline is technically viable for powering fuel cell vehicles," said Phil Snaith, president of HydrogenSource. "We are providing a path to a compact, quick-start option for fuel cell vehicle developers that previously has been considered unachievable. We believe this can become a practical bridge to the hydrogen economy."

The Shell Hydrogen station will be located next to an existing Shell retail station in Vesturlandsvegur in the east of the Icelandic capital and will be the first Shell branded hydrogen station built at a Shell retail site anywhere in the world. Its construction is a major step towards bringing hydrogen to the public.

The station will be used to refuel three fuel cell buses that will be run on Reykjavik’s streets on a commercial basis by Straeto bs, the local bus company. Private hydrogen vehicles are expected to be driving on Iceland’s streets in the future. The Icelandic authorities have issued all necessary permits for the station to operate on a commercial basis.

Astris Energi Inc. says joint-venture partner CareAction Inc. has acquired a large fuel-cell laboratory and plant in Montreal as part of a plan to produce a quiet, no-emission ZENN mini-car later this year. 

Kirin Brewery Co. on Wednesday began using a fuel cell to help power its brewery in Toride, Ibaraki Prefecture, company officials said. 

The high-efficiency molten carbonate fuel cell runs on methane gas generated in the process of wastewater treatment, they said.

The Senate Finance Committee on April 2 passed a package of incentives that would encourage development and use of alternative, cleaner fuels.

The measures include tax incentives for consumers to purchase vehicles that run on clean fuels. The CLEAR Act, an acronym for Clean Efficient Automobiles Resulting from Advanced Car Technologies, would provide tax incentives for purchasing low-pollution or no-pollution automobiles and alternative fuel, as well as for installing alternative fuel stations.

 The package also includes tax credits to consumers who purchase residential and commercial electric fuel cell systems. The tax credit would apply to all types of stationary and portable fuel cell systems and would remain in place for five years. The tax credit would amount to $1,000 per kilowatt for business and residential fuel cell power plants that have an electrical generation efficiency of greater than 30 percent and generate at least one-half kilowatt of electricity using an electrochemical process.

Another provision, known as the Growing Renewable Energy for Emerging Needs Act, extends the tax credit for the production of biomass energy and expands the definition of biomass to include forest waste, agricultural byproducts, cellulosic materials and untreated construction debris.

The initiatives are included in the Energy Tax Incentives Act of 2003, which now awaits action by the full Senate.

Texas State Technical College officials would like to have a fuel cell technology program operating by September 2004.

They say the technology, which uses hydrogen to create electricity and has been lauded by President Bush, is the wave of the future and could lessen the United State's dependence on foreign oil.

And, as TSTC-Waco interim President Elton Stuckly Jr. puts it, it's TSTC's job to stay on the cutting edge.

The EU High Level Group on hydrogen recommends the formation of a H2 and FC Technology Partnership

In October last year the EU established a High Level Group on hydrogen. Today they will present their preliminary work in a draft report. Bellona has read the document.

At the annual HANNOVER FAIR’03, April 7-12, Hanover, Germany, the Group Exhibit - Hydrogen + Fuel Cells (H2/FC) initiated and organised by Arno A. Evers FAIR-PR, Starnberg, Germany brings together numerous representatives of this emerging industry. 

International H2/FC hub
The Group Exhibit Hydrogen + Fuel Cells with 90 exhibitors and 9 Forum participants out of 19 countries is an established part of the “Energy” trade show during the HANNOVER FAIR. It teams up an international mixture of organisations including global players, as well as, SME’s and research institutions. The entire H2/FC production cycle is visually displayed, from R&D and manufacturing to customer satisfaction. All exhibitors will showcase their most recent developments in H2/FC applications, components, materials & peripherals.
 

Five-Year Service Agreement Signed for Heat and Power Unit Funded through The Connecticut Clean Energy Fund
FuelCell Energy, Inc., (Nasdaq: FCEL - News) has signed an agreement with Yale University to install and service a DFC300A fuel cell power plant that will provide heat and power for the university's Environmental Sciences Building near the Peabody Museum in New Haven.

The Voller Energy VE1000 is part of the Voller Energy Portapack range of portable fuel cell products and provides 1kW of continuous power from both AC and DC sockets. The VE1000 can run on either compressed hydrogen or internal canisters of metal hydride.