The University of South Carolina has years of experience in trying to build a better fuel cell. The National Science Foundation recognized that work two-years-ago by naming USC a cooperative research center on hydrogen fuel cells.

Columbia leaders hope hydrogen and alternate fuels will help lead the city to an economy focused on technology. Mayor Bob Coble says the city is joining forces with Aiken and Greenville, which are two areas with similar visions, "We believe we can create an economic cluster that can literally transform not just one city or region's economy, but that of the entire state."

Dr. Harris Pastides, USC's vice president for research, says the reward of such research has a high potential, "We believe we can become to hydrogen what Texas is to petroleum. And if we can, the opportunities will be tremendous."

Members of what is now known as the "South Carolina Next Energy Initiative" say the state has a huge head start on many other parts of the country. They say South Carolina already has as much as 80% of the assets needed to become a hub for a hydrogen economy. Those assets include the Savannah River National Lab. Clemson also has its "ICAR" facility in the Upstate and is already working with companies like BMW.

In a location where they used to serve up hamburgers and chicken, we could someday have dozens of scientists cooking up breakthroughs in fuel cell technology.
 

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