Ohio in race to develop fuel cell technology
By Dale Dempsey, Dayton Daily News, Ohio Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
The technology is so promising for the future that nearly every state wants to be a part of it.
Working with universities, industries and the federal government, the state
hopes to capture manufacturing jobs from the emerging fuel cell industry in the
next decade.
Fuel cells are a way to convert an abundant element like hydrogen into
electricity, and its development would cause a dramatic shift in how energy is
produced and used.
It would make cars run more efficiently, diesel trucks run cleaner, and power
plants run without producing greenhouse gases.
Unlike fossil fuels, which emit dozens of pollutants, a hydrogen fuel cell
engine releases only water.
There are, however, numerous technological, economic and political obstacles
to overcome before that future can be realized.
"We've got to lay the pipe down now for us to become a major player in
fuel cells," said Frank Svet, executive director of the Edison Materials
Technology Center in Kettering.
Edison has received two government grants to conduct research into two areas
of the fuel cell problem.
The company has a $3 million project to study solid oxides, which free the
hydrogen atoms to make electricity.
Last month it received a $719,200 grant from the Third Frontier for research
into low cost manufacturing of membrane electrode assemblies (MEA), through
which the hydrogen passes to create electricity.
Edison is collaborating with Faraday Technologies of Clayton, PIA Group and
Case Western Reserve University.
Gov. Bob Taft will announce the next round of Third Frontier grants for the
Miami Valley today at the University of Dayton.
The market for MEAs is expected to be $9 million by 2009 and $40 million
shortly thereafter.
Edison expects to capture 30 percent of that market, creating 100 to 150
jobs.
"We want to take it out of the laboratory and develop applied research
that gets it to market," Svet said. "I am happy to report we've made
some gains."
Sales of fuel cell equipment increased 41 percent from 2002 to 2003, from
$240 million to $338 million, according to the Worldwide Fuel Cell Industry
Survey.
"The market could grow to $6 billion in the next three to four
years," Svet said.
Ohio faces considerable competition for its share of that market, from states
like New York, California, Massachusetts and Connecticut.
"With the rapidly changing fuel cell industry, no one can accurately
predict which technology will eventually find the greatest market
acceptance," the Ohio Roadmap states.
The federal government is investing heavily.
In early 2003, President Bush announced a $1.2 billion FreedomCar program to
develop a fuel cell car.
The U.S. Department of Energy invested $50 million in 60 projects in 2002.
Four were in Ohio, but the state did not receive money for any DOE projects
in 2003.
By comparison, California received eight projects and Massachusetts seven.
"Fuel cells have a role in the military," Svet said. "The
first applications will be for things that need premium power and price is not
an issue, like submarines. The main issues are still cost and reliability."
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