The SimCenter since January 2006 has housed a fuel cell unit that can produce 5 kilowatts of clean electricity, about enough to meet the energy needs of a 5,000-square-foot home.

Rep. Wamp said if the federal money comes through, a 100-kilowatt demonstration unit will take the place of the 5-kilowatt model.

"The 100-kilowatt unit goes into a shipping container that fits into a parking space, yet it could heat and cool a downtown office building of five stories," he said during a news conference at the SimCenter.

The goal is for the fuel cell technology to be mass produced, hopefully at a manufacturing plant that will be located in the Chattanooga area, Rep. Wamp said.

E-mail Angie Herrington at aherrington@timesfreepress.com

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