Nuvera Fuel Cells

The mission of Women in Fuel Cells (WFC) is to foster the professional growth and leadership of women in the fuel cell industry, provide a forum for discussion of issues common to our members, and encourage scientists, engineers and professionals to pursue careers in hydrogen and fuel cells.

The keynote speaker was Dr. Deidre Meldrum, Dean of the Fulton School of Engineering at Arizona State University.  Her talk echoed much of the WFC’s strategic goals for the future.  She spoke about her desire to attract more women to the field of engineering in the quest for balance.  Balanced teams, made up of men and women, are key to achieving good products, good design and good processes. In order to achieve this balance, the number of women in engineering, and in fuel cells, needs to be increased.  She talked about the need for female role models and mentors to encourage and guide young women in this field.

As the meeting drew to a close, Dr. Meldrum’s comment on mentoring young people resonated with the group, sparking discussion on how to excite young people, and young women, into fuel cells.  With the inspiring group of women and men that have formed under Women in Fuel Cells, I have high hopes that we will make significant progress in this area.

Interested in joining WFC?  Send an email to womeninfuelcells-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.  To keep up with the group, log on to the yahoo group Women in Fuel Cells.

By Pete Colantonio, Lead Product Engineer
Nuvera Fuel Cells

(L to R) Pete Colantonio and James Cross

I attended a short course on Fuel Cell Fundamentals & Manufacturing Technology where various speakers from the National Fuel Cell Research Center at the University of California Irvine, Toyota, Ballard and Plug Power presented on the subject matter.  The speakers did an excellent job of covering the operation, technical challenges and applications of all fuel cell types.  A presentation from Ballard on PEMFC durability was particularly exceptional as it covered a level of detail and disclosure absent in many of the other presentations.

The following day, plenary session speakers from the US, Japan and Europe stated the need for increased industry collaboration, recognizing that market competition limits it from being widespread beyond academia. So how does industry collaborate to advance fuel technology for the benefit of mankind, while maintaining competitive advantage and diversity, which arguably also promotes progress?  This is a challenge that certainly will test both government funding & policy, and the mission statements of companies to be profitable while serving their customers and the environment.

One of five plenary session speakers was Byron McCormick, the Executive Director of GM Powertrain Fuel Cell Activities, who gave a compelling and inspirational speech for continuing to put forth our best efforts to develop and promote fuel cell technology despite any obstructions from the near-term economic climate and slow adoption of fuel cell technology.  He was part of the EV1 project at GM and stated that battery technology does not compete with, but complements fuel cells considering their technical differences, infrastructure requirements, and lack of customer acceptance of reduced autonomy or convenience in the automotive market. This was determined by market research from his experience that concluded that while many commuters could utilize a battery-only electric vehicle, if they could not have the freedom to take those occasional extended range trips free of “range anxiety” due to the need to recharge, most customers would not buy a battery-only electric vehicle. Thus, fuel cells are the only feasible solution for non-fleet vehicles.  I’m sure this would upset ardent battery advocates who would be quick to mention quick charging and other enabling technology that continues to improve battery performance.

Well, that debate is clearly alive and well, as a question from the audience quasi-defended batteries when considering well-to-wheels efficiency vs. hydrogen generation from various sources to be used for fuel cells.  However, Mr. McCormick was quick to point out that comparison of technology must be holistic, where all technical and customer factors must be considered.  He also emphasized that engineering correctness often cannot overcome either consumer or political will, as people will only buy what they are willing to live with. 

Being a six-sigma black belt, his message of being mindful of your customer while developing technology certainly resonates, and I believe it is also a message that the fuel cell community as a whole must heed to if adoption of our technology is to be accelerated in the automotive and other markets as well.  Clearly, this theme impacts design solutions and how value propositions are presented to our customers for acceptance, as they cannot be solely based upon non-holistic engineering metrics as Mr. McCormick so eloquently stated in his address.

Starting tomorrow, Pete Colantonio, Aslam Khan and I will be posting from the Fuel Cell Seminar in Phoenix, Arizona.  Pete is a Product Engineer, Aslam is the Manager of Supplier Development at Nuvera, and as I have posted previously (here and here), I will be attending the first Women in Fuel Cells luncheon on Wednesday.

Check back here all week to get three different perspectives on one exciting conference!

The results of a well-to-forks study, conducted by Argonne National Labs, were released last week at the Industrial Truck Association annual meeting.  A typical well-to-wheels analysis looks at the green house gas emissions of a vehicle from production of the fuel that runs the vehicle all the way to operating the actual unit.  This particular study was on lift trucks (hence the well-to-forks term, as in forklift), and compared three different operating modes:  fuel cell powered lift trucks using hydrogen generated on-site from natural gas, battery electric lift trucks recharged by the US average grid mix, and propane engine lift trucks.

The study concludes that fuel cell trucks produce 800 g/kWh of greenhouse gas emissions, while battery powered lift trucks produce 1300 g/kWh - 63% more than fuel cells. This is an increasingly important consideration in corporate America, as more and more companies look at the financial, environmental, and social impact of their carbon footprint. Not surprisingly, the study found that both fuel cell and battery powered trucks are significantly cleaner than ICE trucks operating on propane.

By Olga Polevaya, Senior Engineer, Electrochemical Technology
Nuvera Fuel Cells

I was invited by Maria Flytzani-Stephanopoulos, Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Tufts University to give an educational lecture about fuel cells and Nuvera’s place in the world of sustainable energy.

For several years in a row Nuverians presented to Professor’s Stephanopoulos’ students about fuel cells and reforming technologies. In the past years the presentations were given by James Cross and Scott Blanchet.

This year I shared the advanced status of Nuvera fuel cell technology and fuel cell based products with Maria’s new class. The interest was high and the conference room was full.  Students learned about the fuel cell applications, remaining hurdles for the commercialization of the technology and about the ongoing efforts at Nuvera.  The students’ questions focused around hydrgoen production and reformate cleanup.