Nuvera Fuel Cells

I had the chance to see the new James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace, this past weekend.  While it is an action-packed adventure of a movie (and there are worse ways to spend a Sunday afternoon than watching Daniel Craig run around in a tux), I did take issue with the movie’s finale.

SPOILER ALERT!

As the movie speeds along to its eventual climax, bringing all of the major players together in a green energy hotel, you are told that it is powered entirely by fuel cells.  A groan escaped my lips…in a movie low on dialogue, this piece of information had to foreshadow something, and my guess was that it was going to be fiery.  Without giving away too much, fuel cells are inaccurately depicted in the scenes that follow, with the movie makers disregarding science and technological advancements in favor instead of movie magic, explosions, and special effects.  Yet another misunderstanding of hydrogen safety and fuel cell commercial preparedness…

The upside (I am nothing if not a silver-lining devotee), is that fuel cells made it into one of the biggest blockbusters of the year.  Our goal for next year is to make it into a blockbuster, only this time, accurately portrayed!

Thanks Bill

CeMAT this year is very well attended despite the higher than normal temperatures in Hannover, Germany. At the last CeMAT event there was only one fuel cell forklift on display. This year there are three fuel cell forklifts on display and one hydrogen powered ICE forklift. Also available for public viewing is a mobile hydrogen refueling truck.

Nuvera Fuel Cells can be found in two of the three locations at CeMAT displaying fuel cells. The PowerFlow PF5 can be found in the Still FMX-20 reach truck.

Hoppecke Batterien developed the hybrid fuel cell power pack used in the Still truck and displayed a cutaway of that technology in the front of the Hoppecke pavilion. Using nickel metal hydride batteries with the PowerFlow, Hoppecke has been able to realize a full two shifts of operation before refueling with hydrogen is required.

There was tremendous interest at all locations showing fuel cells. This crowd at one display is an example of that interest.

When fuel cell or hydrogen ICE trucks needed hydrogen, they just drove around the building to be refueled at this mobile refueler. Refueling there was quick and easy to give each truck a full tank of 350 bar hydrogen.

Over the past week, a couple of events occurred that show the growth in importance of the Cleantech industry to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. First, on May 16, the Boston Business Journal (BBJ) distributed a special publication entitled “Sustainable Boston” where among other articles, a ranking of the area’s largest Cleantech employers was compiled.

I am happy to report that according to the BBJ, Nuvera Fuel cells ranks as the ninth largest employer in the clean technology industry in the Commonwealth, and the only fuel cell company to make the list of the Top 25.

A few days later on May 20th, the Speaker of the House of Representatives for Massachusetts, Sal DiMasi, filed a bill that would invest $13 million a year for the next five years in the new Massachusetts Clean Energy Technology Center to help fund research at clean energy companies, invest in startups, and train high school and college students for the next generation of “green collar” jobs.

According to the Lowell Sun newspaper, the speaker’s bill would invest $5 million a year into research at clean energy companies throughout the state and provide $500,000 in grants to entrepreneurs in other business sectors to create a broader expertise of available clean energy technology.

Massachusetts is second only to California in its investment in clean technology companies, and with this new bill and focus on the Cleantech sector, the Commonwealth is signaling that it intends to compete for the title of the Cleantech capital of the United States.