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Symposium in Akron is providing insights into possibilities for future sources of energy
By Paula Schleis
Beacon Journal business writer
Published on Wednesday, May 14, 2008
It took nearly 80 years to create a light bulb that could be commercialized for home use, and Thomas Edison and his predecessors faced a lot of skeptics along the way.
Similarly, fuel-cell technology has been decades in development, but high are the hopes that a global energy crisis has finally provided the motivation to push fuel cells to their full potential.
This week, hundreds of believers have assembled in Akron to share their successes, create new partnerships and work toward a cleaner, greener, sustainable future.
The 2008 Ohio Fuel Cell Symposium, hosted at the University of Akron's Quaker Square Inn by the Ohio Fuel Cell Coalition, will wind up today with speeches, presentations and an exhibitor show.
Ken Alfred, executive director of the Ohio Fuel Cell Coalition, said the symposium is a crucial networking opportunity for the industry.
''People are so buried in their own small little area of expertise that these kinds of meetings are really crucial . . . To be able to have a couple of days to pop their head out of the foxhole that they've been in over the prior 111/2 months and see what other people are doing,'' Alfred said.
Some new applications for fuel cells are moving into the market this year.
Even as the symposium was under way, Honda announced in Japan that it will soon introduce a new hydro
gen-powered vehicle that radically reduces the size of its fuel cell and motor, leaving the same interior space as a regular car.
''A lot of the buzz this year is, the foot is in the door so how do we start accelerating that?'' Alfred said.
FirstEnergy, for one, hopes the technology will one day be able to generate enough energy to power entire neighborhoods.
The utility company recently pledged $2 million toward the FirstEnergy Advanced Energy Research Center at the University of Akron to support ongoing research into carbon capture and coal-based fuel cells.
Despite gas approaching $4 a gallon, ''People still have a huge appetite for energy,'' said Gary Leidich, executive vice president of FirstEnergy and president of FirstEnergy Generation. ''Our challenge is meeting those needs going forward.''
It isn't a ''slam dunk'' that fuel cells will be able to replace our dependence on fossil fuels, Leidich said, but the evolution of the light bulb is an important lesson in patience and perseverance.
On Tuesday, the symposium revealed a diversity of interested parties.
Gabe Sciarretti, business development director for Middough Inc., was looking to get exposure for his company, Northeast Ohio's largest engineering firm.
''There's a lot of synergy in this market. It's a technology that changes very fast and we have to stay on top of it,'' Sciarretti said.
Middough designed the Fuel Cell Prototyping Center at Stark State College of Technology, which is now home to the North American headquarters of Rolls-Royce Fuel Cell Systems, a division of England's Rolls-Royce plc.
There are special needs for buildings that manufacture fuel cells, Sciarretti said, ''and I guess you could say we're a servant of the fuel-cell industry.''
Another exhibit Tuesday belonged to FirstFuelCells.com, a Parma-based organization that was promoting its Fuel Cell ''Green Machine'' Competition for high school students.
The competition — in which teams build fuel-cell-powered robots — has grown from 1,000 competitors in 20 states to 12,500 people in all 50 states, President Diane Sadowski said.
Today's students could be part of the generation when large-scale fuel-cell use comes of age, and Sadowski said many of the youngsters take it seriously.
''They want more. They accomplish what we give them and go beyond it and give us ideas to put into the next competition,'' she said.
Encouraging businesses and academic centers to work together is a major theme of this year's symposium.
In addition to collaborating with university researchers, the industry hopes to inspire students to join their cause.
There are currently about a dozen students enrolled at Stark State College of Technology, where four fuel-cell courses help graduates earn a mechanical engineering technology degree with a fuel-cell concentration.
Vern Sproat, who teaches in the program, said college students certainly appreciate the need for alternative energy.
''The gas prices are really driving that awareness,'' he said.
Paula Schleis can be reached at 330-996-3741 or pschleis@thebeaconjournal.com.
It took nearly 80 years to create a light bulb that could be commercialized for home use, and Thomas Edison and his predecessors faced a lot of skeptics along the way.
Get the full article here.
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