Techcetera
Fuel-cell momentum builds in Hudson Valley
But state lags Connecticut in tech efforts, initiatives
By ALEXANDER SOULE
Despite tangible evidence on local roads of New York’s
prowess in fuel cells, the technology merited only
scant mention in a new “roadmap” recommending a $400
million increase in state funding for “clean” energy
technologies.
General Motors Corp. is currently handing dozens of
New York City-area drivers the keys to SUVs powered
by fuel cells manufactured upstate, and with Shell
Oil has installed in White Plains a hydrogen pump for
the vehicles.
A task force led by New York Lt. Gov. David Paterson
highlights renewable fuels in its recommendations,
including hydrogen used for fuel cells, but does not
suggest any concrete steps to reinforce the aims of
a “fuel cell” roadmap the state published in October
2005.
Task force members with local connections included
Roger Kelley, CEO of White Plains-based New York Power
Authority; and Nicola Coddington, energy coordinator
for the town of Greenburgh.
A fuel cell essentially uses a chemical reaction to
strip away a hydrogen atom’s lone electron, with those
electrons creating an electrical current. The electrons
are then recombined with the hydrogen atom and oxygen
to form water, along with heat the lone emissions.
New York is already home to several fuel-cell laboratories,
including General Motors’ plant outside Rochester that
is making fuel cells for GM’s Chevrolet Equinox SUV;
and Albany-area labs run by General Electric Co. and
Plug Power Inc.
By comparison, the lower Hudson Valley has a thin mix
of companies working on fuel-cell or hydrogen technology,
and the region failed to draw any of $3 million in
funding awarded last year for various projects in New
York.
In Saugerties, Precision Flow Technologies added 18,000
square feet of space last year to accommodate increased
sales for its systems that test the effectiveness of
fuel-cell membranes..
The eVionyx unit of Hawthorne-based Reveo Inc. developed
a fuel cell to power small engines, in 2001 running
it for 30 miles on a Tarrytown golf course. The company
has yet to announce any major commercial contracts
in the United States, however.
And Yonkers-based Markinter Co. supplies powders for
use in electronic components, including those in fuel
cells.
In the October 2005 fuel-cell roadmap, New York policymakers
articulated a “cities, clusters and corridors” vision
of fuel-cell and hydrogen companies coalescing beginning
in 2009, and weaning off state support within a decade.
The New York State Energy Research and Development
Authority (NYSERDA) is finalizing plans for a 280-acre
energy park in Saratoga County that will likely include
space for fuel-cell companies.
With nearly 40 fuel-cell related patents in 2006, New
York inventors still trailed the 60 piled up that year
by engineers in Connecticut. Last month, Connecticut
policymakers proposed $50 million in annual funding
to support new fuel-cell and hydrogen initiatives,
noting the state’s industry expanded its work force
25 percent in 2006. Danbury, Conn., manufacturer FuelCell
Energy Inc. recently received a $4 million loan from
the state to add 100 jobs.
In the Connecticut roadmap, policymakers noted that
both states face increasing competition from Massachusetts
and California, and relative upstarts like Ohio and
South Carolina.
For the time being, New York continues to capture headlines.
At last week’s Fuel Cell Expo in Tokyo – billed as
the industry’s largest convention – Albany-based MTI
MicroFuel Cells Inc. unveiled tiny fuel cells that
plug into cell phones or cameras to recharge conventional
batteries, keeping them running longer. And the Chevy
Equinox and other fuel-cell powered prototypes from
other companies will be on display starting March 21
at the New York International Auto Show in Manhattan.
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