U.S. Rep. Bob Inglis (R-SC) participated in a demonstration Monday of a commercial, hydrogen fuel cell-powered forklift Monday, and said such innovation coupled with the incentives of the H-Prize legislation can help secure America’s energy future.

The H-Prize Act, reintroduced by Inglis and Illinois Democrat Dan Lipinksi this year has been included in the energy bill (H.R. 6) expected to be passed by the House this week and signed by the President.

“The time is right for the H-Prize because advances in hydrogen technology are now at a point where the cash awards and incentives of the prize can spark the needed innovative technology,” Inglis said.

“We need a pedal-to-the-metal strategy to spend what it will take to galvanize whatever talents we have to push through to the hydrogen economy.”

Inglis made the comments during a demonstration of a hydrogen-powered lift truck that will be concluding a two-week trial period at Leigh Fibers.

The LiftOne demonstration was one of six-sites for the project awarded under the Greater Columbia Fuel Cell Challenge.

"This shows the use of hydrogen and fuel cells can begin to reduce our dependence on foreign sources of energy right now,” Inglis said.

The lift trucks are equipped with HyPX Fuel Cell Power Packs manufactured by Hydrogenics of Toronto, Canada and installed by LiftOne, a division of Carolina Tractor, in electric lift trucks manufactured by Linde Materials Handling of Summerville. The lift truck will be concluding a two-week trial period at Leigh Fibers, part of a six-site demonstration project awarded under the Greater Columbia Fuel Cell Challenge.

"Fuel cells offer clean high performance power to these customers," Troy Garrison, manager of this project for LiftOne, said. "There also are other real and compelling cost-effective reasons for looking at this technology."

The Fuel Cell Challenge shows competition produces results, Inglis said. Likewise, the national H-Prize will help ignite the entrepreneurial spirit of the best and brightest minds across the country to develop our hydrogen infrastructure.

The H-Prize, modeled after the successful Ansari X Prize – which spurred the first privately funded suborbital human spaceflight last year – would help overcome technical challenges related to hydrogen by offering prizes in three categories:

    * Technological Advancements – Four prizes of up to $1 million awarded biennially in the categories of hydrogen Production, Storage, Distribution and Utilization;
    * Prototypes – One prize of up to $4 million awarded biennially that forces working hydrogen vehicle prototypes to meet ambitious performance goals; and
    * Transformational Technologies – One grand prize consisting of a $10 million cash award, funded in whole or in part by federal contribution. The goal of $40 million in additional matching funds could be awarded for development of wells-to-wheels breakthrough technologies.

The legislation would direct the Secretary of Energy to contract with a private foundation or other non-profit entity to establish criteria for the prizes and administer the prize contest.

The Prize is now included in Section 654 of the energy bill (H.R. 6) and would authorize appropriations during fiscal years 2008 through 2017 totaling:

    * $20 million for the Technical Advancement prizes;
    * $20 million for the Prototypes prizes (awards in these two categories alternate each year);
    * $10 million for a single Transformational Technologies grand prize; and
    * $2 million annually for administrative and advertising costs.