Fuel cell industry powering up
The state’s growing fuel cell industry is gathering in North Canton this week to celebrate successes and discuss new directions.
The Ohio Fuel Cell Symposium — an annual affair sponsored by the Ohio Fuel Cell Coalition — kicked off a two-day event Wednesday with a reception, exhibitions and a ”Fuel Cell 101” course.
While many people might still scratch their heads over what a fuel cell is, that hasn’t stopped Ohio from becoming an industry leader, said coalition director Pat Valente.
The organization was founded in 2004, when the state needed a partner for the fuel cell arm of its Third Frontier technology grant-making program.
Today, ”Ohio has the best supply chain for fuel cells of anyone in the country,” Valente said. ”Any component you need for a fuel cell can be purchased in Ohio.”
Fuel cells have long held promise as a clean source of energy, especially for their potential to replace the polluting engines of automobiles and airplanes. They combine hydrogen and oxygen to generate electricity, with water as the only byproduct.
But they are complex to build, and expensive because of their reliance on the rare metal platinum.
Still, several Ohio companies are having success commercializing new products, such as a fuel cell-powered forklift being sold by Crown Equipment Corp. in New Bremen.
William Whittenberger, president of Catacel Corp., a Portage County company that develops and manufactures catalytic heat-exchange materials, said fuel cell clients will help push his revenue to more than $2 million this year.
Plans are under way to expand the Garrettsville facility, he said, and grow the work force of 20 by another 10 to 12 people.
The company is also celebrating a patent it just won for a new, more efficient reactor for fuel cells.
”The hydrogen and fuel cell industries are at a stage where they have the momentum and energy to accomplish some truly revolutionary things in terms of how they apply their technologies” and the new reactor is part of that effort, Whittenberger said.
Also exhibiting at the symposium is an Akron-based company called item North America that makes aluminum machine-building systems. Think giant erector sets for everything from manufacturing equipment to office desks.
Territory manager Jered Lance said item attended last year’s symposium and made quite a few connections.
While the company’s product is available for just about any facility, item has picked up six fuel cell customers in the past year.
”This event opens doors,” Lance said.
During today’s lineup, Valente said he will explain a new ”road map” for the coalition, which until now has had a very broad mission of establishing Ohio as a hub for fuel cell activities.
The new focus, he said, will include creating a fuel cell work force (through programs such as the one started by the Stark State College of Technology), and better coordination of resources around the state to support existing companies and attract new ones.
