FuelCellsWorks

FUNDING CUTS COULD BE DEVASTATING TO ROCHESTER REGION’S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND NATIONS’ ENERGY INDEPENDENCE

Schumer Toured RIT Fuel Cell Labs, Drives in Hydrogen Vehicle, and Visits Hydrogen Fueling Station – Honeoye Falls, RIT, U of R and Delphi Make Region Fuel Cell Capitol of North America

Schumer: Rochester Region is the Nation’s Epicenter of Fuel Cell Development – Let’s Keep it That Way

Today U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced that he is urging the Congress to reverse the Administration’s proposed $37 million cut to the Department of Energy’s hydrogen fuel cell research program. Schumer toured the Rochester Institute of Technology’s (RIT) fuel cell labs, rode in a fuel cell propelled car (made start-to-finish in Rochester) and visited their hydrogen fueling station. Schumer said that the combination of the Honeoye Fuel Center, RIT, University of Rochester, and Delphi’s local plant make the region the leading fuel cell location in North America. He also said that fully funding the fuel cell program would help secure the future of fuel cells in this country and ultimately provide the region with a huge economic boost.

Schumer was joined by RIT President William Destler, Dan O’Connell from General Motors Honeoye Falls lab and Delphi Union representative Dan Maloney.

“Between Honeoye Falls, Rochester Institute of Technology, University of Rochester and Delphi, Rochester has become the place to be for fuel cell research and development in this country,” said Schumer. “With the right investments, we can use what we’ve developed here to wean our country off of foreign oil and grow a local economic engine – but without the right investments, it will be much more difficult. It is wrongheaded for the administration to cut funding for this incredibly promising technology, especially in light of what is happening in the Gulf, and I will fight with every ounce of strength I have to restore these cuts.”

RIT President Bill Destler joined Schumer on a tour of the fuel cell lab and hydrogen fueling station. “We are very honored that Senator Schumer has chosen RIT to highlight the strategic national significance of fuel cell technology,” says President Destler. “We believe that our region can be a national hub for fuel cell technology, thanks to an unparalleled cluster of academic and industry resources and expertise working together to advance research, development and commercialization in the field.”

The federal government funds hydrogen and fuel cell research through a Department of Energy (DOE) program called the Fuel Cell Technologies Program. That program, wrongly, Schumer believes, has been targeted for significant cuts by this administration. The fiscal year (FY) 2009 DOE budget funded the program at $168 million, but the current administration proposed cutting the budget by about $100 million (60%) for FY 2010. Schumer and his colleagues were able to restore the FY2010 funding and the program ended up being funded at $174 million. This year the administration is again proposing to cut the program by $37 million (20%) in the FY2011 budget.

Today Schumer announced that he would be asking the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development to not abide by the administrations recommendations and to not cut the program. The Subcommittee is the ultimate arbiter of the Department of Energy’s budget.

Rochester is home to a number of cutting edge hydrogen fuel cell research, development and production institutions, and has become the nationwide leader in the technology:

· RIT has the Center for Sustained Mobility which has research programs in hydrogen fuel technology, fuel cell development, alternative fuels and hybrid vehicle systems – the propulsion system for the car Schumer rode in today was designed and built entirely in Rochester.

· The University of Rochester is engaged in research to improve the quality in fuel cells, and was responsible for last year’s breakthrough development of long platinum nanowires that will assist in fuel cells’ commercialization.

· Honeoye Falls is where General Motors, in a partnership with RIT, is researching and developing all of the company’s hydrogen fuel cell technology.

· Delphi’s Rochester plant, working with its neighboring partners, is also working on fuel cell development, including for military purposes.

Recognizing what it could mean for the Rochester region, Schumer has long been an advocate for fuel cells. He was integral in securing full funding for fuel cell research last year when the federal program was targeted for huge cuts, and has introduced legislation to allow fuel cells built for off-highway use (such as in forklifts) to be eligible for federal tax credits, which will increase the demand for fuel cell products. Most recently, Schumer has been working with the Navy, pushing them to choose General Motors’ Honeoye Falls plant to design and build high-tech fuel cell technologies that will ultimately be deployed in a new fleet of underwater vehicles.

Schumer said that the fuel cell industry is just beginning to achieve its promise and could ultimately create thousands of jobs locally and hundreds of thousands across the country. A growing fuel cell industry also means growth in manufacturing across the supply chain, sales, service and related fields. According to the U.S. Fuel Cell Council, Department of Energy and private sector studies project that up to 700,000 new jobs are possible in the fuel cell industry in the next 10 to 20 years. And a strong public-private partnership is key to ensure the benefits of fuel cell commercialization are realized in the US.

A new work item on Gaseous hydrogen – Cylinders and tubes for stationary storage has begun in ISO/TC 197. Working Group (WG) 15 met for the first time on May 19 in Essen, Germany. The Convenor is Frederic Barth from Air Liquid, France.

The draft scope was discussed. The standard will cover pressure vessels (e.g. cylinders and tubes) intended for the stationary storage of gaseous hydrogen of up to a maximum water capacity of XX,000 L and a max pressure of 110 MPa, of seamless metallic construction or of composite construction. The volume is under discussion as there is a need to cover volumes that are likely to be used. The United Nations definitions of “tubes” and “cylinders” specify volume. If WG 15 wants to include up to 10,000 L, another term such as “tanks,” “receptacles” or “pressure vessels” may be needed. A limit of 10,000 L may not be sufficient as there are much larger tanks in construction. This covers the cylinder or tube – a component – rather than a system, or bundle. Manifolds are not covered.

There were several participants who are also active in ISO/TC 58. It was noted that TC 58 will probably take this document and modify it for other gases. The WG noted it may be useful to get an agreement that the draft would be passed on to TC 58 to be expanded to other gases.

The general approach of the work is to develop design, manufacturing, and testing requirements for tubes and cylinders intended for a specified stationary service, starting from design and testing requirements covering tubes and cylinders used as transportable pressure vessels.

The work is not starting necessarily to approve for stationary use cylinders and tubes that are presently approved for transportable use. WG 15 wants to develop the requirements based on stationary use, and then look at whether the existing vessels that are approved for transportable use meet the requirements. However, it was noted that much information from requirements for transportable cylinders may be used in the development of this work.

Task groups were formed to address conditions of use, composite cycling and composites stress rupture, and hydrogen embrittlement.

Development timeline
CD: January 20, 2011
DIS: January 20, 2012
FDIS: July 30, 2013
IS: January 10, 2014

The next meeting is tentatively planned for September 2010 in Montreal.

German aerospace technology centre DLR showed off a range of advanced projects – but none so “blue sky” as the Antares DLR-H2 motor glider, with its world-first capability to take off using only the power from its hydrogen fuel cell.

German aerospace technology centre DLR showed off a range of advanced projects – but none so “blue sky” as the Antares DLR-H2 motor glider, with its world-first capability to take off using only the power from its hydrogen fuel cell.

DLR technical team member Martin Saballus calls Antares a “flying test laboratory” for high-efficiency, zero-emission energy conversion. From hydrogen stored in the pod under the right wing and oxygen from the ambient air, the fuel cell in the other pod generates a maximum 24kW.

Maximum power output is sufficient to get the craft off the ground, but it uses much less in cruise. Saballus says one key to success with this power system is to overcome the natural effect of power loss that is expected at altitude, where the fuel cell will get less oxygen in reduced air pressure. Flights so far have achieved only 3,000ft (915m), so that power-drop has not been observed yet, but further tests will be aiming for higher altitudes, he says

Nazim Muradov, a principal research scientist at UCF’s Florida Solar Energy Center, was awarded the honorary title of International Association for Hydrogen Energy Fellow at the organization’s 18^th biennial World Hydrogen Energy Conference.

More than 1,000 scientists and decision-makers in politics, finance and research gathered last month in Essen, Germany, for presentations on cutting-edge research on hydrogen and fuel cell technologies.

Muradov has been involved in hydrogen energy research for the past 30 years. He spearheaded U.S. Department of Energy-funded research efforts on the development, patenting and licensing of a novel process for producing hydrogen.  Under a NASA contract, he led a research and development program on the local production of hydrogen from renewable resources such as landfill gas and citrus waste.

Muradov is the author and co-author of 200 publications and 34 patents, and three of his technologies have been licensed to industry.  He recently received a patent for a new approach to cleaning up oil spills using carbon materials that can soak the oil up like a sponge. He is planning to collaborate with an industrial partner to determine the commercial potential of the technology.

Muradov’s areas of focus include hydrogen production, fuel reformers for fuel cells, catalytic solar energy conversion, hydrogen sensors, carbon nanostructures, fossil fuel decarbonization and hydrocarbon processing.

He is an associate editor of the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy and a member of the international editorial council of the Processes of Petrochemistry and Oil Refining. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the International Association for Hydrogen Energy and the Board of Trustees and Scientific Council of the Madrid Institute of Advanced Studies (IMDEA Energia), Spain. He received a University of Central Florida Research Incentive Award in 2003, and he earned UCF’s Distinguished Researcher of the Year Award for institutes and centers in 1996.

Sen. Daniel K. Akaka

The National Hydrogen Association presented Sen. Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii) with the Spark Matsunaga Memorial Hydrogen Award Tuesday, June 15 in recognition for his work supporting clean renewable energy from hydrogen and its related technologies. The other 2010 recipients are Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-North Dakota) and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

“It is critical that we transition away from using energy in ways that pollute our land, air, and oceans to using clean technologies like hydrogen fuel cells,” Akaka said. “I am honored to receive this award named for Sparky, who was an early champion of hydrogen technologies here in Congress.”

National Hydrogen Association President Jeff Serfass said: “For over two decades Sen. Akaka has demonstrated a strong commitment to hydrogen technologies, first by authoring companion legislation in the House to Sen. Matsunaga’s Hydrogen Development Act, then by succeeding Sen. Matsunaga and carrying on his legacy by championing his bill through the Senate. In the years since, he has maintained consistent support of deployment of hydrogen and fuel cell technology.”

Akaka is a founding member of the Senate Hydrogen Caucus, dedicated to increasing the visibility and understanding of hydrogen energy. Akaka authored the Spark M. Matsunaga Hydrogen Act of 2005, which was included in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-58). This provision led to a hydrogen fuel cell project at Hawaii Natural Energy Institute.

The National Hydrogen Association, founded in 1989, is a membership organization composed of university, research, and business members. Its mission is to foster the development of hydrogen technologies and their utilization in industrial, commercial, and consumer applications and promote the role of hydrogen in the energy field.