FUELCELLSOUTH Partners Forum

Nancy B. Powell
Associate Professor
College of Textiles
NCSU Integrated Transportation Research Group

As a part of its Transportation Research initiative, the College of Textiles hosted the FuelCellSouth Partners Forum at its Convocation Center on the NC State Centennial Campus. FuelCellSouth partners with a local southeastern community and one or more of its research universities to host a seminar pertaining to the hosting regions' area of interest in fuel cells and the hydrogen economy. The Fuel Cell South Partners Forum also provides local stakeholders the opportunity to participate in planning programs and activities that pertain to growing the fuel cell market in the southeastern United States. The North Carolina Solar Center, the North Carolina Energy Office, StrataGrowth Partners, AVRNC, and Appalachian State Energy Office sponsored the event as part of the Energy Independence Days in North Carolina. http://continuingeducation.ncsu.edu/energy-independence-days.htm

Sam Logan
Fuel Cell South

The forum provided an understanding of fuel cells in terms of cost, performance and reliability. The second focus was the challenges and opportunities of creating a hydrogen distribution network. This event was an opportunity for attendees to provide feedback on collaborative opportunities in North Carolina for fuel cell technology, hydrogen generation and distribution, biomass feedstocks and general policy making of interest to both North Carolina researchers and manufacturers.

Renewable Portfolio

Mr. Tom Militello, Executive Director for FuelCellSouth, highlighted the importance of regional collaboration among industry, government and academic institutions and applauded the efforts in North Carolina to focus itself on the opportunities for utilizing biomass as a renewable source of power for fuel cells. He challenged the attendees to formally structure a renewable portfolio standard in North Carolina that highlights biomass as a feedstock for fuel cells and to pursue areas of research and fuel cell application engineering to make all forms of biomass viable sources of power. Militello encouraged the attendees to work locally, but think regionally when seeking federal funding and industrial sponsorship. Specifically, he urged the support of entrepreneurial companies in collaboration with local universities and offered FuelCellSouth as a resource to assist in planning these activities. www.fuelcellsouth.com

Fuel Cell Implementations at Waste Water Treatment Facilities

Mr. Sam Logan of LOGAN Energy provided an in-depth review of fuel cell implementations at waste water treatment facilities. Mr. Logan presented an overview of fuel cell technologies, planning and siting a fuel cell implementation, the opportunity for collaborative funding, and project management. Also Mr. Logan reviewed fuel cell implementations in a number of municipalities, highlighting the project challenges and specific benefits derived at these facilities. Mr. Logan challenged the FuelCellSouth Partners Forum attendees to work with local municipalities to identify the opportunities for back-up power at their waste water treatment facilities and the possible opportunities for onsite power generation at larger facilities (i.e. greater than 8 million gallons / day). The forum noted that these solutions do not obviate the need for grid connection or natural gas, but in fact reduce the risks associated with potential power interruptions and improve the overall facility efficiencies. Mr. Logan shared specific research and development underway at LoganEnergy to create an intelligent management system for creating and distributing hydrogen at a fuel cell site such that a hydrogen refueling station may be co-located and share from the reforming capabilities of the fuel cell system.

Southeastern Hydrogen Highway Program

Mr. Dick Dell of the North Carolina Advanced Vehicle Research Center (AVRC) gave an update on the Southeastern Hydrogen Highway Program, including plans to site a fuel cell and hydrogen refueling station at AVRC in Northampton County, North Carolina adjacent to I-95. Dell and Militello proposed plans to link North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia along I-95 with the Mid-Atlantic Hydrogen Highway in Virginia and the Florida Hydrogen Highway. Mr. Dell also shared his vision of how North Carolina can site hydrogen refueling stations in nine key areas of the state to provide optimal interstate highway and municipal coverage. Individuals interested in working on the Southeastern Hydrogen Highway Team are encouraged to contact Tom Militello about a planning meeting in Washington in early November. www.avrnc.com

North Carolina Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Economy Roadmapping

The N.C. Fuel Cell Alliance (NCFCA) is dedicated to supporting economic development, research, and education efforts centered on fuel cells in North Carolina. Dr. Dennis Grady, Director of the ASU Energy Center launched its planning and prioritization process for establishing North Carolina’s own roadmap to the future during the Forum. www.energy.appstate.edu/fuelcells/

Clemson ICAR

Mr. Robert Geolas from the Clemson International Center for Automobile Research (Clemson ICAR) shared the plans for the Clemson ICAR Campus and Graduate Engineering Programs. Mr. Geolas stressed the importance of Vehicle Systems Integration as the prime knowledge base of future automobile engineers and highlighted the opportunities for fuel cells and on-board hydrogen storage systems in next generation vehicles. Mr. Geolas emphasized the regional nature of Clemson ICAR, situated along I-85 in Greenville, South Carolina and the importance of collaboration with industry, universities and technical colleges throughout the southeastern United States. www.clemson.edu/autoresearch/

FuelCellSouth 2006 Conference will be held in Columbia, South Carolina on April 24 - 26 at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center. Inquiries may be sent directly to James Barnhill at jbarnhill3@sc.rr.com

Inquiries about the Integrated Transportation Research Group at NCSU may be sent to Nancy_Powell@ncsu.edu

College of Textiles
P.O. Box 8301
Raleigh, NC 27695-8301
Telephone: (919) 515-6646
FAX: (919) 515-3733
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Last Site Revision:
September 15, 2005