With gas prices up and hurricane season looming, Chattanooga is playing a key role in an initiative that will be highlighted this week at a forum dealing with a more energy-independent America.

A leading-edge fuel cell that one day could produce enough electricity to run a house and make sufficient hydrogen to power a car will be featured at the Tennessee Valley Corridor summit starting Wednesday.

More than 500 business people, government off icials and others in the corridor from Huntsville, Ala., to Southwest Virginia are to take part in the two-day meeting. Chattanooga is hosting the summit, which seeks to position the region as a top high-tech destination for the private and public sectors, for the third time in 11 years.

U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn., said the fuel cell project fits with what he and others see as a big part of Chattanooga's future -- manufacturing related to energy and alternative transportation.

"Our economy is not just tourism-related," he said.

The fuel cell, created by Silicon Valley-based Ion America and installed near the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's SIM Center earlier this year, is performing well in tests, according to project manager Jim Henry.

Dr. Henry, a UTC engineering professor, said the unit is about the size of a refrigerator and already is one of the most powerful for its design in the United States.

He said the U.S. Department of Energy is pleased with the energy conversion the unit is providing from natural gas to electricity.

"We're not where we want to be yet but at the lead of the pack," Dr. Henry said.

He said a fuel cell works like a car battery in that it converts chemical energy into electricity. The unit undergoing testing has the potential to do so at a higher efficiency than internal combustion engines or traditional power plants, and it also produces hydrogen, Dr. Henry said.

Joe Ferguson, who heads Chattanooga's Enterprise Center, said the unit is slated to undergo tests for the rest of the year.

Up next is a test run of units to produce enough electricity to power a commercial building. However, Mr. Ferguson said that round of tests depends on funding. He estimated that up to $10 million in funds will be needed for that effort, with a large part to come in federal money. The current test phase is pushing $5 million, with $2.5 million coming from federal funds, Mr. Ferguson said.

While the existing unit runs on natural gas, plans are to test future fuel cells with ethanol, but that likely won't take place before 2007, he said.

The majority of the ethanol in the United States is made from renewable resources such as corn, though the fuel also can be produced from feedstocks such as grain sorghum, wheat, barley or potatoes.

Brazil, the world's largest ethanol producer, makes the fuel from sugar cane. Instead of gasoline, many Brazilians are using ethanol to power their cars.

Fuel cell advocates said the units will help drive the so-called hydrogen economy, with less dependence on fossil fuels and creation of a cleaner environment. They foresee a time when hydrogen-powered cars can use the byproduct from the fuel cell unit. With hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico creating havoc with gas supplies last year, hydrogen offers a potentially reliable substitute for vehicles, advocates say.

Dr. Henry said the ultimate goal for Chattanooga is to become a site where the units are commercially manufactured.

He said the existing unit has had "a few short-term glitches" but has run steadily under differing scenarios.

Mr. Ferguson said there's another unit that is running in California.

"We've proven it works," he said.