"Through the five universities and colleges that are stakeholders in New Jersey, we want to engage the next generation. Let them become familiar with hydrogen fuel cell technology," said Nora Lovrien, spokeswoman for the learning center, part of the Bloustein School at Rutgers University.

The center held its first stakeholders meeting Wednesday in the technology building at Ocean County College, with about 50 attendees representing businesses, nonprofit organizations, academia and state government.

"There are about 20 stakeholders currently, but the number should increase as we get the word out," Lovrien said.

OCC is one of the New Jersey institutions of higher learning that employs a fuel cell to provide at least part of its energy needs. The learning center's campaign encourages the schools to use their fuel cells for public and academic demonstrations and to develop fuel efficiency curricula around the cell.

Lovrien said that Richard Stockton College of New Jersey in Galloway already incorporates the fuel cell in certain courses.

A fuel cell is an electrochemical device that generates power without combustion. It uses an outside fuel source — in OCC's case, natural gas — that is worked on by a chemical catalyst and stripped down to hydrogen gas. The hydrogen electrons react with the cell's anode and cathode electrodes, producing direct electric current, which is then converted to alternating current and sent into the campus' power system.

The college's fuel cell supplies 90 percent of the electric power for the instructional building, the nursing arts building and the lecture hall.

The technology also makes use of both byproducts of the process — heat and water — channeling the heated water through the heating systems of the school's buildings. Seven campus buildings receive up to 20 percent of their heat from the cell.

The cost of the cell was $1.65 million, half of which was paid for by the state through the New Jersey Clean Energy Fund. College officials estimate an annual savings on electric bills of $60,000 and expect the cell to pay for itself in 12 years.

Operating without combustion, there is minimal exhaust, minimal air pollution, proponents say. "Anything you do in New Jersey has to be needs-based," Ken Olsen, OCC director of facilities said. "When I presented the idea of a fuel cell to the college's board of trustees, they wanted to know the result. I said "cleaner air,' and they got behind the project."

Cleaner air also appeals to Jonathan Rybczynski, 18, of Point Pleasant, a freshman at OCC.

"The less pollution, the better for the world, the better for the future," he said. "It's everyone's responsibility — corporations, schools, people — to take steps now to make the environment cleaner for future generations. Fuel cells that cause no pollution are certainly the way to go."

The Hydrogen Learning Center's Lovrien explained that there are some chemicals emitted into the air depending on the fuel cell's power source. When natural gas, for instance, breaks down into hydrogen, small amounts of other chemicals are released.

"But you can use more environmentally friendly power sources, like solar power, to produce hydrogen," Lovrien said. "Such processes are, however, much more expensive at this time."

The initial capital cost to install fuel cells is the main drawback to their wider use, experts say. "We have to be realistic," said Steven Amendola, president of Reaction Sciences, Inc. in Long Branch. "If we stakeholders recommend things that are too expensive to market, we'll be defeating our own purpose."

The Hydrogen Learning Center's awareness-raising campaign is based on a 2004 Bloustein School study on the hydrogen alternative, and it is funded by a 12-month grant from the state Board of Public Utilities.

A year from now, the stakeholders will present recommendations to the BPU on what role New Jersey should play in the nascent hydrogen economy.