UT is trying to ease environmental concerns and energy costs by creating an alternative-energy vehicle.

Tom Stuart, a professor in the College of Engineering, is one of the people working on a combination electric/hydrogen vehicle. The group is trying to add a fuel cell and a hydrogen tank to an electric car used by UT Motor Vehicle Operations, he said.

"We are going to take the electricity produced by the solar panels on campus to power a device called an electrolyzer that takes water and breaks it into hydrogen and stores it," Stuart said.

The hydrogen will be transferred to the vehicle and run the fuel cell to produce more electricity for the battery, according to Stuart. It is an alternative energy demonstration project.

"We use the sun to create electricity that drives the electrolyzer and creates hydrogen that can be stored on the vehicle," he said.

Martin Abraham, dean of the UT College of Graduate Studies and professor of chemical and environmental engineering, is also working on this project.

"The basic essence of the project is to put in a hydrogen fueling station and operate two vehicles off of a fuel cell/electric combination," Abraham said.

The group will install a fuel cell into a university cart for use by the MVO on campus, according to Abraham. He also hopes the other vehicle will be used for tourist activities in the area.

"I have a vision that, for example, when people go to Put-In-Bay and rent a golf cart, they will use this ultra-light vehicle instead, which runs on a fuel cell that uses hydrogen produced by a solar-powered array," he said.

UT Manager of Transit and Motor Vehicle Operations Steve Wise is working with Stuart and Abraham on this project.

Wise said UT owns 165 vehicles and spends an estimated $300,000 annually on maintenance and an estimated $170,000 on fuel for vehicles and equipment such as lawnmowers, tractors, and snow removal equipment. The university doesn't own any hybrid gas/electric vehicles such as the Toyota Prius, the most popular hybrid model that has an EPA rating of 55 miles per gallon and a sticker price of $22,175, according to the Toyota Web site.

UT does own vehicles that use alternative fuel sources other than gasoline, though, Wise said.

"Bio-diesel is 20 percent renewable resources," he said. "The buses and most of our lawnmowers and tractors run on it."

Wise said the university is required to buy flex fuel vehicles, which can use gas or ethanol. As for hybrid vehicles, Wise said they would like to buy them, but the cost is too high.

"We are a university and we want to do the right thing for the environment," he said. "It's something we should lead the city in doing, but our hands our tied because we have to be fiscally responsible."

Wise said converting one bus to a hybrid would add $100,000 to the cost of the vehicle. He is hoping that electric/hydrogen technology will help UT move toward new and effective ways to save money and help the environment.

"The first step is to demonstrate the feasibility of this new technology, so we can understand how much it costs to convert the vehicle and to operate it," Abraham said.

He added that UT will work on this project over the summer and hopefully do the demonstration of the electric/hydrogen vehicle in the fall.