FREEPORT, Texas, Feb 10, 2004 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/
-- The world's largest fuel
cell transaction between Dow and GM is now a reality. With the pull
of a lever by Secretary of Energy,
Spencer Abraham, and Texas Governor, Rick Perry, The Dow Chemical Company
and General
Motors Corp. began the Phase 1 installation operations of a single
fuel cell that will convert hydrogen
into electricity.
Dow and GM intend to prove the viability of hydrogen fuel cells for
a large industrial power system.
Operation of the first cell will last four to six months with more
fuel cells and electrical generating
capacity added during the summer months. Freeport is the home of Dow's
largest chemical
manufacturing installation in the world.
Fuel Cell Unit Capacity
The initial GM fuel cell will generate 75 kilowatts of power. This is
enough electricity for fifty average
homes. Dow and GM plan to ultimately install up to 400 fuel cells to
generate 35 megawatts of
electricity. That would be enough power for 25,000 average sized American
homes. While this is a lot
of electrical capacity, it represents two percent of the total Dow
needs at its Texas Operations site.
"This is a significant milestone from a business, technology, and environmental
perspective," said
Theo Walthie, Business Group President, Dow Hydrocarbons & Energy
and Ethylene Oxide/Ethylene
Glycol. "It is an important step that will make us less dependent on
fossil fuels and help usher in a
more sustainable future."
Advancing Fuel Cell Technology
This transaction is important because it will provide a real-world experience
that will further develop
the technology and bring costs down. "People need to understand the
significance of this event," said
Larry Burns, GM's vice president of research and development and planning.
"The pathway of getting
an affordable fuel cell vehicle in your driveway sometime in the next
decade runs right through Texas.
What Dow is doing will directly impact the date when the hydrogen economy
will become a reality."
Hydrogen At Dow
Hydrogen is a natural by-product of chemical manufacturing at Dow. Dow
currently uses its excess
hydrogen as fuel for boilers. Dow also sells hydrogen to industrial
gas companies for re-sale to their
customers.
Flowing hydrogen through a fuel cell to generate electricity is even
more efficient and economically
desirable than either of these applications. By efficiently consuming
by-product hydrogen in a fuel cell,
Dow will reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and create competitively
priced electricity. The work
between Dow and GM is an example of environmental stewardship making
good business sense for
a more sustainable future.
General Motors (GM) , the world's largest vehicle manufacturer, designs,
builds and markets cars and
trucks worldwide, and has been the global automotive sales leader since
1931. GM employs about
325,000 people around the world. More information on GM can be found
at www.gm.com .
Dow is a leader in science and technology, providing innovative chemical,
plastic and agricultural
products and services to many essential consumer markets. With annual
sales of $33 billion, Dow
serves customers in more than 180 countries and a wide range of markets
that are vital to human
progress, including food, transportation, health and medicine, personal
and home care, and building
and construction, among others. Committed to the principles of sustainable
development, Dow and
its approximately 46,000 employees seek to balance economic, environmental
and social
responsibilities. References to "Dow" or the "Company" mean The Dow
Chemical Company and its
consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted.
For further information, visit www.dow.com .
SOURCE The Dow Chemical Company
Harold Nicoll of The Dow Chemical Company, +1-989-636-5162,
hgnicoll@dow.com; Scott Fosgard of General Motors Corp., +1-586-947-3295,
scott.fosgard@gm.com
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