RIT to have its fleet use hydrogen as fuel
Rochester Institute of Technology hopes to eventually have its entire fleet of vehicles using alternative fuels.
For now, it has three trucks that can use hydrogen as fuel.
On Tuesday, the college got a big boost when New York state government helped RIT unveil its Hydrogen Fueling Station.
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority gave $1 million for the fueling station and granted $1.5 million for a clean-energy business incubator to help young companies grow in the field. The announcements were made Tuesday at RIT.
The decision to grant RIT the money is one aimed at the future and growth, said Francis J. Murray Jr., president and chief executive of NYSERDA.
Paraphrasing President Barack Obama, Murray said investment in alternative energy is not a choice between economics and the environment.
Leaders such as Murray are betting that, eventually, the world economy will turn away from fossil fuels and begin using electricity, hydrogen, fuel cells and ethanol to power automobiles.
To make the point, RIT staff and Nabil Z. Nasr, assistant provost for academic affairs and director of RIT’s Golisano Institute for Sustainability, filled up one of three Ford trucks that use the hydrogen.
A third announcement at the event was the formation of clean-energy classes at RIT and Monroe Community College, which will collaborate on the curriculum.
Nasr said the region is already leading the way, as Monroe County government and General Motors Corp. collaborate with RIT on fueling alternative-energy vehicles and sharing resources.
