Aug 12 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Chris Camire The Sun, Lowell, Mass.

Cars are clogging the roads as never before. Gasoline prices have hit record highs. Global warming is a worldwide concern.

Add these up, and experts agree the world's demand on petroleum fuel supplies must be reduced. The solution may lie in alternative power sources being developed in Billerica.

Dozens of spectators were given the chance yesterday to see and touch a fleet of hydrogen-powered vehicles at Nuvera Fuel Cells.

Nine of the vehicles quietly rolled into the company's Concord Road parking lot around noon to fuel up at what is now the first hydrogen refueling station in Massachusetts.

The station looks like a typical gas pump. There's the tank. The hose. The nozzle. In about four minutes, a

light-purple Mercedes hatchback, powered by hydrogen fuel cells, was gassed up and ready to go.

"Just like a regular car," said Robert Cordaro, Nuvera's president and CEO.

A sly smile spread across Cordaro's lips as he talked about hydrogen fuel cells, the technology that powers these cars. First he mentioned the vehicle's waste.

"It's only water vapor," he said. "No pollution."

To prove it, Cordaro knelt beside the exhaust pipe of the Mercedes and waved his hand through the warm, white steam pouring out. Like a humidifier.

Set a cup under the pipe, and the steam would fill it with water.

Cordaro breathed it in.

"You could drink it," he said.

Fuel cells generate electricity when hydrogen and

oxygen are combined in the presence of a catalyst. A hydrogen-powered vehicle can drive about 300 miles on a full tank.

While yesterday's event unveiled Nuvera's hydrogen fueling station, it was also the second stop in a nationwide tour to demonstrate hydrogen-powered vehicles. Cars from nine manufacturers are traveling from Portland, Maine, to Santa Monica, Calif., over the next two weeks. The trek includes 31 stops in 18 states.

"We're trying to draw attention to the fact that we

need a hydrogen-refueling-station infrastructure before auto manufacturers start producing these cars," said Roy Kin, a spokesman for the California Fuel Cell Partnership, which helped organize the cross-country trip.

That's still years away, however. There are only 61 hydrogen refueling stations in the country right now, and 21 of them are in California.

Cordaro anticipates hydrogen cars won't hit the market in significant numbers until 2015 at the earliest.

The problem, he said, is auto manufacturers won't produce hydrogen-powered vehicles if there aren't enough fueling stations to support them. And energy companies are reluctant to invest in the stations if there aren't enough vehicles.

But he called yesterday's ribbon-cutting ceremony a "milestone event" that could "break the chicken-or-the-egg problem everyone is talking about."

As companies like Nuvera work to lower the cost of hydrogen technology, some hydrogen vehicles are already being tested by consumers. There are about 200 vehicles on the roads in California right now, said Kin.

In the meantime, Nuvera is marketing its fuel-cell technology to companies that use forklifts.

By converting to hydrogen-powered forklifts, companies can eliminate many of the frustrations and delays that come with recharging heavy lead-acid batteries, said James Cross, Nuvera's vice president of technology and product development.

State Rep. Barry Finegold, one of the state's strongest advocates of hydrogen technology, is hoping Massachusetts companies like Nuvera can eventually help wean the United States off of foreign oil.

"Something that just drives me crazy is that we're a country with 5 percent of the world's population, and we use 25 percent of the world's oil," said the Andover Democrat. "There has to be alternatives out there."

Several Billerica officials were also on hand yesterday. They praised Nuvera's contributions to the local economy.

"It's great to have the facility here," said Selectman Bob Correnti. "New jobs, a new company in town and a new technology."

"When they first worked with us to come here, they had plans to expand and they needed a facility that was going to do that," added Selectman Jim O'Donnell. "And I think what we're witnessing is they're making their commitment come true."

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