Fuel cell test site boosts hydrogen research
Pacific Business News (Honolulu) - by Ben DiPietro Pacific Business News
This week's opening of the state's first fuel-cell test facility will establish the islands as a center for hydrogen energy development and act as a magnet for additional research projects, supporters said.
The opening of the center -- in Hawaiian Electric Co. Inc.'s Cooke Street warehouse -- coincides with a Bush administration decision this week to abandon a $1.5 billion Clinton administration project to build super-fuel-efficient cars and instead develop hydrogen-powered vehicles. The initiative will take place through a government-business partnership involving General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co., DaimlerChrysler AG and the U.S. Department of Energy.
Fuel cells combine hydrogen and oxygen to create energy, with water the only byproduct. Advocates say they will reduce dependence on fossil fuels while providing a sustainable and renewable source of energy that can be produced pollution-free, depending on how the hydrogen is created.
As fuel cells become more prominent, America will lessen its dependence on foreign oil, making their development an issue of national security as well as one of economic development for Hawaii, which has everything to become a world leader in fuel cell technology, said Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii.
The project is a collaboration between UTC Fuel Cells Inc. a division of Connecticut-based United Technologies; the University of Hawaii's Hawaii Natural Energy Institute; Hawaiian Electric; and the Department of Defense's Office of Naval Research. The project received $1.6 million in federal funding last year and has $2.6 million this year. Inouye is being asked to secure $5 million for next year. The money comes from the Office of Naval Research budget, the senator said.
Oil has been at root of most U.S. military conflicts in recent decades, although the government never admits that, Inouye said at Tuesday's opening of the test facility.
Becoming energy independent will save the nation billions of dollars now spent on oil, money that could be spent on education and other worthy projects, the senator said.
"This will make it possible for our nation to step forward and someday, say, we got independent and we don't have to kowtow to others to get fossil fuels. We don't have to go to war for oil," said Inouye, who secured the federal funding. "It's much more than important to Hawaii; it's a matter of national vested interest."
The facility will focus on using fuel cells in transportation applications, with a focus on commercial and military uses, said Rick Rocheleau, interim director of the UH energy lab.
"We'll be doing testing, looking at engineering associated with optimal performance, durability, these types of issues," said Rocheleau, who is awaiting UH Board of Regents approval to become permanent lab director. "The technology still is too expensive but we are making big advances in durability performance and cost reduction and are moving rapidly toward commercialization."
Test fuel cells will be provided by UTC, which has been making fuel cells since the 1960s for NASA and other commercial operations from hospitals to data centers.
Eight test stands eventually will be brought to Hawaii, Rocheleau said, with the first expected to be up and running within six months.
The university expects to hire at least a half-dozen scientists and engineers to work on the project, he said, with more jobs coming from partnerships the university hopes to make with other private-sector companies.
Hawaiian Electric is providing space, staff and infrastructure like water, power and drainage, while the university will run the facility and retain all rights to the research, Rocheleau said.
"UH will basically develop an understanding of the technical capabilities of fuel cells unprecedented from other universities," said Mark Morelli, vice president of UTC Fuel Cells.
UTC will use data from the research to help develop its next generation of fuel cell products. The company eventually wants to hire UH students who get experience on the project, Morelli said.
"Sen. Inouye and Hawaii are taking the first critical steps to create a hydrogen future. This establishes Hawaii not only as a leader in the U.S., but in the world as well, in fuel cell deployment and development," Morelli said. "We are pleased to see the visionary approach Hawaii is taking and we're proud to be a part of these initial steps."
The Office of Naval Research is looking at fuel cells for various uses, including as power supplies for submarines and ships, and to power vehicles like trucks, tanks and unmanned submersibles, said Gary Jensen, director of the ONR's Hawaii office.
Hawaiian Electric chose to participate because of its long-standing affiliation with the university and also to stay close to developments in fuel cell technology, said Mike May, Hawaiian Electric CEO.
"Fuel cells will be a big part of our energy future and we want to be there and be a part of making that a reality," May said.
Participants hope the project lures other fuel cell companies to Hawaii for research. Negotiations are taking place with interested parties, but are at an early stage, Rocheleau said.
Having UTC as a partner sends a signal to other companies that Hawaii is a choice location for fuel cell research, Inouye said.
"United Technologies never associates itself with losers," Inouye said. "That [UTC] vice president would not be in town if he thought Hawaiian Electric and the University of Hawaii we're a bunch of losers."
Reach Ben DiPietro at bdipietro@bizjournals.com or 955-8039.
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