Ohio's hydrogen fuel-cell makers poised for boom times

Jun 13 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Tom Harrison The Lima News, Ohio

Ohio stands poised to become a major player in the hydrogen fuel-cell industry, says the head of a statewide coalition of fuel-cell developers.

"Over the years we've seen the industry evolve, and right now we're on a significant upturn," said Pat Valente, executive director of the Ohio Fuel Cell Coalition. "I see us surpassing some of the other alternative energy areas. Some of this may be because of the economy, but it's also because of the maturity of the industry."

A local member of the coalition, American Trim, is developing components for hydrogen fuel cells. American Trim hosted a coalition board of directors meeting Tuesday, which included a visit to The Lima News.

"Fuel cells we're interesting in developing are for transportation, automobiles," said Steve Hatkevich, director of research and development for American Trim. "The technology is proven, we know it's reliable, it's robust enough, but can we now meet the economics?"

Fuel-cell-driven cars work with stunning efficiency -- nearly three times as efficient as cars with traditional gasoline engines -- but they're still in the prototype phase, being built by hand, one at a time. Hatkevich said. American Trim is developing very specific parts -- specifically, a part called a bipolar plate -- for the fuel cell that eventually will be installed in tens of thousands or even millions of cars -- assuming the coalition's vision for a fuel-cell future materializes.

Right now, parts makers such as American Trim are developing components, figuring out ways to make them better and more economically, in order to supply them to auto manufacturers. The objective is to make fuel-cell-driven cars cheaper to buy and cheaper to drive.

Ultimately, economic as well as environmental concerns will drive the switch from gas to hydrogen cars, Hatkevich said, adding the switch will begin soon, if it hasn't already begun.

"If you're talking about wanting to supply components into the fuel-cell industry, they're having their prequality teams come out to your site to do quality inspections," he said. "The minute they send their advance or prequality teams out into the industry to make sure you're ready, now they're getting ready to make a move. And we're in those processes today."

One hurdle to hydrogen is the limited availability of hydrogen refueling stations. There are a handful, mostly in California. Hydrogen must be manufactured, pressurized and delivered. It can be made from abundant chemical compounds, but hydrogen by itself doesn't exist naturally, said William A. Whittenberger, president of Catacel and chairman of the Ohio Fuel Cell Coalition's board of directors. His Garrettsville-based company makes components for hydrogen production. A recent hydrogen plant Catacel installed for a manufacturer in Guadalajara, Mexico, instantly improved the manufacturer's efficiency by 18 percent, he said.

Catacel is focused on making hydrogen production equipment smaller, cheaper and more efficient, Whittenberger said. That will pave the way for more refueling stations.

Where the industry goes from there is anyone's guess, Hatkevich said. It could become commonplace to install a home hydrogen generator that converts natural gas into electricity, home heating and hot water, he said.

The coalition has targeted a first generation of growth areas including forklifts,

Ohio Fuel Cell Coalition is headquartered on the campus of Lorain County Community College, in Elyria. its 80 members include industries, academic institutions and nonprofit sectors.