According to Dr. Vasantha Amarakoon, CACT director and professor of ceramic and electrical engineering in the Kazuo Inamori School of Engineering, the Center at Alfred University will receive $582,312, with the remaining $267,000 going to the Center for Future Energy Systems at Renssalaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). Together, Amarakoon said, the two centers will be investigating better materials for fuel cells.

Fuel cells convert the chemical energy in fuels, such as hydrogen, methane or butane, into electrical energy. Solid oxide fuel cells are able to convert fossil fuels, such as gasoline and diesel, to electrical energy, and do so with a very high degree of efficiency.

While the technology has been in existence since the early 1960s, wide-scale commercial production of solid oxide fuel cells has been hampered by the cost of the materials to manufacture the cells. That, said Amarakoon, has spurred a great deal of research into materials that are both highly efficient and cost-effective to process.

With the funding, researchers at Alfred University will be working with those at RPI in an “interdisciplinary, inter-university team with the facilities and expertise to investigate every aspect of the solid-oxide fuel materials set and serve as a resource and partner to the SOFC industry in New York,” according to NYSTAR, which announced the award as part of a $26.9 million package of technology and science awards.

Working with Amarakoon on the solid-oxide fuel cell program will be Dr. Doreen Edwards, associate professor of materials science and engineering; Dr. Scott Misture, associate professor of materials science; Dr. Walter Schulze, professor of ceramic and electrical engineering; Dr. Herbert Giesche, associate professor of ceramic engineering; Dr. Alastair N. Cormack, dean of the school of engineering and the Van Derck Frechette professor of ceramic science; and Dr. Alan Meier, associate professor of metallurgy.

“This NYSTAR award complements our previous success in obtaining $1.8 million in NYSTAR funds to construct a pilot plant for the manufacture of nanostructured ceramic materials,” said Amarakoon. He said the new facility will be installed in January 2007 in the Ceramics Corridor Innovation Center in Alfred. AU is partners with Clarkson University in that endeavor.

“Additionally, this positions the Center for Advanced Ceramic Technology at Alfred University to lead efforts in nanomanufacturing, and will allow us to seek out support from federal agencies, such as the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, the Department of Defense and the Environmental Protection Agency,” said Amarakoon. l