FuelCellsWorks

A major milestone has been reached in bringing a fleet of five hydrogen fuel cell buses to the Capital.

The Olympic Delivery Authority has granted planning permission for a hydrogen refuelling facility to be built in east London.

First, who will operate the five hydrogen buses, were granted the planning permission for the facility to be located at their bus garage on Temple Mills Lane, Leyton.

Work is due to begin early in the New Year and should be complete by summer 2010.

The five hydrogen hybrid fuel cell buses are due to join Transport for London’s (TfL) bus fleet next year operating on route RV1 which runs between Covent Garden and Tower Gateway.

The buses will be refuelled and maintained at the Temple Mills Lane site.

Hydrogen buses will help the Mayor and TfL in their bid to tackle climate change and reduce CO2 in the Capital.

The buses emit nothing but water vapour, helping to improve air quality and traffic noise in the areas they are operating.

Kit Malthouse, Chair of the London Hydrogen Partnership and Deputy Mayor for Policing, said: ‘This is excellent news which secures the arrival of five zero-polluting hydrogen buses on London’s streets next year.

‘With the right refuelling structure, we can expand our use of hydrogen technology to provide cleaner fuel for transport and greener energy to heat homes and businesses.

‘Hydrogen has massive potential to cut carbon emissions and improve air quality in the Capital to enhance Londoners’ quality of life.’

David Brown, Managing Director of Surface Transport, said: ‘The Mayor and TfL are committed to reducing the impact of public transport on the environment.

‘Gaining planning permission for the refuelling station means we are one step closer to operating hydrogen buses in London.’

Adrian Jones, Managing Director of First in London, said: ‘First continually seeks to find ways to reduce carbon emissions in its delivery of transport services.

‘Working in partnership with TfL to operate five hydrogen buses in London should deliver significant improvements and we welcome the planning permission.’

Air Products will supply the hydrogen and refuelling equipment.

They will also provide specialist maintenance equipment.

TfL is also applying for additional funding from the Europe Union to increase the hydrogen bus fleet to eight buses.

· TfL is a member of the Hydrogen Bus Alliance, an international partnership whose members are committed to supporting the continued and rapid development and commercialisation of hydrogen technology in the transport sector

· First submitted a planning application to build hydrogen bus maintenance and refuelling facilities in their bus garage on Temple Mills Lane, Waltham Forest, in August 2008

· First’s bus garage on Temple Mills Lane also houses diesel buses

· There are currently 56 hybrid buses operating in London’s bus fleet. TfL is committed to increasing the number of diesel electric hybrid buses and expects every new bus entering the fleet to be a hybrid from 2012.

MCLEAN, Va. & NEW YORK–Two years after installing one of the cleanest power generating technologies available on its roof high above Avenue of the Americas, one New York hotel is now dissolving food waste with microorganisms to reduce garbage volume. Hilton New York’s innovative approach to eco-stewardship is apparent as it marks its second year using revolutionary UTC Power fuel cell technology by introducing three new initiatives to reduce waste throughout the hotel.

“Hilton New York is an innovator in implementing sound environmental practices, and the work of leaders like them will help New York City meet the ambitious goals in PlaNYC, our long-term vision for a greener, greater New York,” said Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. “Unlike most cities, New York generates the bulk of its emissions from buildings, so greening existing buildings is key to reducing carbon emissions 30 percent by the year 2030.”

Just last week, the hotel was the recipient of the 2008-2009 Environmental Recognition Program – “Green Street” Award by the Avenue of the Americas Association. This new award highlights efforts to adopt environmentally sustainable programs or improvements to the workplace. Hilton New York received the award in the Energy Efficiency / Sustainability Projects category for “Buildings Over 1M Square Feet” in recognition of its energy fuel cell which reduces the hotel’s overall carbon footprint in the community.

As the largest hotel in Manhattan, Hilton New York’s implementation of the fuel cell power system – currently the only fuel cell powering a New York area hotel – represented a huge undertaking in the hospitality industry. The PureCell® system provides electric power and hot water throughout the hotel’s 2,000 rooms, operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week without combustion. The system is nearly three times more energy efficient than the electric grid when used in combined heat and power applications. Since the fuel cell’s installation in October 2007, it has produced approximately 1.75M kilowatts of electricity per year for the hotel for a total of nearly 3.5M kilowatt hours to date. That equates to approximately 6% of the hotel’s consumption.

Supplementing the hotel’s energy needs with fuel cell technology is just one of the ways Hilton New York is helping the city’s environment. The Hilton Hotels brand was one of the first to employ sustainability-focused initiatives now common within the hospitality industry, such as linen and towel reuse programs; paper, bottle and can recycling; and the use of energy-saving light bulbs. Hilton New York demonstrates this leadership again with its recent introduction of the following new leading-edge initiatives to reduce waste throughout the hotel:

• Organic waste decomposition system: To reduce the eight tons of wet garbage – the equivalent of approximately 5,000 meals – produced on average at the hotel each day, Hilton New York catering and operations team members turned to science. The hotel’s new organic waste decomposition system – distributed by New Jersey-based BioHitech America, LLC – located in the hotel’s New York Marketplace restaurant banquet kitchen, enables employees to dispose of table and kitchen scraps into a unit the size of a chest freezer. Microorganisms and water inside the unit break down the food wastes into a disposable liquid that is ultimately returned back to the ecosystem via the existing drainage and sewer system. The digestion process, which has exceeded 100 pounds per hour, eliminates approximately 400 bags of garbage per day.

• Water purification system: Hilton New York has implemented an on-site water purification system created by Natura® Water. The Natura® system connects to the existing water source. The water flows through two different high tech Natura® filters and then sterilizes the water through a prolonged exposure to UV light. Tap water is purified into chilled, high-quality still and sparkling water and served in re-usable glass bottles, available in the hotel’s restaurants and room service. By year’s end, the hotel anticipates that the use of these re-usable bottles will have eliminated approximately 12,000 disposable glass and plastic bottles from daily circulation in the hotel.
• Biodegradable guestroom access key cards: Hilton New York is introducing a new room key made from biodegradable PVC supplied by Guest Access Int’l®, a pioneer in developing green products. Biodegradable key cards are part of the EnviroKeys™ line, a comprehensive program of environmentally friendly alternatives offered by Guest Access Int’l®. The biodegradation process begins when the bioPVC™ film is introduced into a fertile environment allowing the plastic card product to break down in as little as nine months. The hotel estimates that using the new biodegradable key cards will save 250 pounds of plastic from clogging landfills over the next five years.

“Sustainability is now an essential element of our hotel culture. It shapes both our actions as team members and the experiences we provide our guests,” said Conrad Wangeman, General Manager, Hilton New York. “The accomplishments of our 2,000 room hotel are significant and prove that a hotel of any size can provide a premium product while minimizing its impact on the environment.”

The bold steps taken by Hilton New York are part of Hilton Hotels’ global focus on sustainability. The brand is working to reduce energy consumption, CO2 emissions and output of waste by 20 percent and reduce water consumption by 10 percent before 2014.

“One of the biggest challenges for hotels seeking to be eco-centric is to generate a compelling return on investment,” said David Horton, Global Head – Hilton Brand. “We are pleased to share lessons learned at Hilton New York about how sustainable initiatives deliver tremendous benefits for a hotel, its guests, and the environment with our other hotels so that they can be applied across the Hilton brand.”

About UTC Power

UTC Power, a United Technologies Corp. (NYSE:UTX) company, is a world leader in developing and producing fuel cells that generate energy for buildings and for transportation, space and defense applications. With more than 50 years of experience, the company is based in South Windsor, Conn.

Port Edwards village leaders hope a proposed sustainable power plant would serve as a catalyst to thrust central Wisconsin into the spotlight of the nation’s green energy sector.

Officials continue to closely work with engineers from Ballard Power Systems, a Vancouver-based fuel cell producer, to study the feasibility of locating a fuel cell site in Port Edwards.

“A project of this size at this particular application would bring a lot of attention,” said Ethan Brown, Ballard Power’s director of business development. “Ideally, we would like to put a fuel cell plant here and help the state expand its use of sustainable energy.”

The facility would use hydrogen — a byproduct of a chemical process at ERCO Worldwide — to generate electricity for other green businesses and increase energy efficiency. While it would not necessarily add more than a handful of jobs, it would put Port Edwards on the map for the green industry sector, Brown said.

As part of the study, Ballard Power will work with ERCO and village leaders to determine whether such a project would benefit all involved. Currently ERCO uses all its excess hydrogen, either to make hydrochloric acid or to burn in its boilers to offset the price of natural gas, plant manager Geoff Bertin said previously.

Brown presented more details of Ballard Power’s operations to municipal and business leaders during a visit Wednesday to Wisconsin Rapids. He expected to meet today in Madison with staff members from the state’s Office of Energy Independence, which awarded Port Edwards a $50,000 grant in August to help fund the study.

Meanwhile, village leaders continue their efforts to search out parties interested in using the shutdown Domtar paper mill site, and company officials recently became more involved in the conversation, Port Edwards Village Administrator Joe Terry said.

“There has been no more information (about any potential plans for the mill), but they’ve been listening. That’s encouraging,” Terry said.

The village previously contracted with Madison-based consulting firm Vandewalle & Associates to develop a strategy for the possible reuse of the mill site. In working with Ballard Power, that strategy has now moved into the implementation phase.

“We really would like to get this (study) done by the end of the year,” said Peter Bach, an engineer for Ballard Power. “This will be a very cooperative effort that will go back and forth several times before it’s finished.”

CommScope, Inc., a provider of infrastructure solutions for communications networks, announced it will have its fuel cell technology and developments on display in the new Green Pavilion at the SCTE Cable-Tec Expo 2009.

According to CommScope, the Fuel Cell Cabinet utilizes hydrogen-powered fuel cells to provide a DC backup power solution for cable network head-ends and hub equipment. Unlike diesel generators or batteries, the only by-products of hydrogen fuel cells are heat and water. With the highest density integrated fuel cell system available in the market and a cabinet design that is modular, CommScope’s Fuel Cell Cabinet can meet stringent backup power needs and improve system reliability.

“In the cable industry, the trend is well underway to find new ways to improve the reliability and environmental impact of backup power solutions,” said CommScope’s Anil Trehan, CTO, Carrier and Cabinet Solutions. “CommScope is honored that its Fuel Cell Cabinet was recognized by the cable industry as a green solution and worthy of inclusion in the SCTE Green Pavilion.”

The SCTE Cable-Tec Expo takes place through October 30 in Denver, Colorado