AC Transit Still Committed To Fuel Cells

The mood was heavier this week at Sandia National Laboratory's Hydrogen Research program in Livermore, after Energy Secretary Steven Chu recently cut funding for fuel cell research next year by $100 million.

"This topic is weighing on people's minds," said Mike Janes, a spokesman for Sandia, which runs a $20 million program on development of hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles.

Half that money comes from the Department of Energy, and the rest from industry and other sources. The lab will continue its research with funds in hand, but the future is less certain.

At AC Transit, which runs a pioneering pilot fuel cell bus program, Jaimie Levin said he was "highly disappointed" by the government's decision to cut funding. But it's not going to stop their program, added Levin, director of alternative fuels policy for the Oakland-based transit agency, which serves Alameda and Contra Costa counties.

"We'll do it one way, by hook or by crook," Levin said. "We've made too much progress to not proceed with what we're doing."

The project began in 2006, and results show the fuel cell buses operate reliably, seven days a week, Levin said. The buses are far more energy efficient than diesel-based buses, emit no pollutants, and are popular with riders for their smooth, quiet ride, he said.

Chu's announcement, made May 7 when he unveiled the $26.4 billion Energy Department budget for 2010, cut $100 million from the fuel cell technologies budget. His decision puts the brakes on a key Bush administration initiative.

President George W. Bush, in his 2003 State of the Union address, predicted that "the first car driven by a child born today could be powered by hydrogen, and pollution-free."

Later that year Bush announced his five-year, $1.2 billion hydrogen fuel initiative.

Fuel cell vehicles emit only steam from their tailpipes. Natural gas is primarily used to make hydrogen fuel, however, so pollutants are generated in the process of creating the hydrogen. Still, fuel cell vehicles overall generate about 50 percent fewer pollutants than combustion engines.

Levin said AC Transit will soon open a hydrogen fueling station in Emeryville that's projected to use 30 percent solar power to create hydrogen for its fleet of three fuel cell buses. That fleet will expand with the addition of a fourth bus in August, Levin said, with 11 more fuel cell buses budgeted to join the fleet.

The first three buses cost $3.2 million, and the one expected in August cost $2.5 million.

But costs would sharply drop if the buses were produced in large numbers, he said.

Technical challenges

Chu said too many technical challenges exist for fuel cell vehicles to provide a practical widespread transportation option in the next 20 years.

In an article in Thursday's edition of "Technology Review," Chu elaborated on his concerns, stating that using natural gas to create hydrogen is an inefficient way to use the valuable gas. He also cited persistent concerns over onboard vehicle storage of hydrogen to power fuel cells — which are akin to a battery, but don't run out of power. Storage tanks in a planned test fleet of fuel cell vehicles will compress hydrogen at 5,000 to 10,000 pounds per square inch, creating safety concerns.

However, Jay Keller, Sandia's hydrogen program manager, said the tanks are made from a carbon material and are "extra strong." Sandia is leading research on ways to store hydrogen without compressing it by binding hydrogen to a metal substrate. It's one of several technologies under study for storing hydrogen without compression.

Fuel cell efficiency still requires significant advances for commercial viability, and service stations nationwide would have to offer hydrogen fuel, a major infrastructure enhancement, Chu pointed out.

"In order to get significant deployment, you need four significant technological breakthroughs," Chu was quoted as saying. "If you need four miracles, that's unlikely."

Sunita Satyapal, an acting program manager with the Department of Energy's Hydrogen Program in Washington, D.C., said "we're looking to make impact in the near term" with reducing vehicle emissions and creating jobs in the new energy sector.

Satyapal also noted that the Obama administration provided $41.9 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for fuel cell research. But this research focuses on fuel cells' potential to provide power in stationary applications, such as emergency backup for power grids and fire stations. It will also fund research for fuel cell use for specialty vehicles, like forklifts.

Industry has also contributed $72.4 million for these applications, the Energy Department noted, for a total of $114.3 million.

But industry has also contributed heavily to fuel cell vehicle development, with major automakers sponsoring hydrogen fuel cell development programs.

The California Fuel Cell Partnership, which promotes the commercialization of fuel cell vehicles, counts large automakers among its 30 members.

Competitive disadvantage?

Catherine Dunwoody, executive director of the California Fuel Cell Partnership, said the Energy Department decision will leave the United States at a competitive disadvantage with a promising technology.

She compared the funding cut with "a coach pulling back an Olympic athlete who has trained for years, just as the trials begin."

In March, the fuel cell partnership announced the first phase of commercialization for fuel cell vehicles, including commitments by automaker to have 4,300 fuel cell vehicles on the road by 2013 and 50,000 by 2017. The State of California also provided $40 million to support the expansion of hydrogen fueling stations, Dunwoody noted.

The California Fuel Cell Partnership will continue its work, she said, and although the Energy Department is one member, it gets funding from multiple sources.

But Dunwoody said the group will be lobbying for a restoration of federal funding for fuel cell vehicle research, this time with Congress.

"The (Department of Energy) has made its proposal clear," she said. "So the opportunity is with Congress."

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Source: Contra Costa Times