About 60 people participated in a day-long workshop today (Nov. 19) to begin mapping a path for West Virginia to the hydrogen economy.
The West Virginia Energy Roadmap Workshop on Hydrogen was sponsored by the West Virginia Development Office and the National Research Center for Coal and Energy and the College of Business and Economics at West Virginia University. This is the second in a three-workshop series offered by the groups.
Given the federal government’s push toward the hydrogen economy, there is plenty of reason to begin planning now to make sure West Virginia plays a leadership role in the new era energy industry, said event organizers.
President George W. Bush’s challenge that the first car driven by a child born today be powered by hydrogen, and be pollution-free, has sparked national interest in hydrogen. Gov. Bob Wise’s Energy Task Force urged consideration of West Virginia’s role in the potential hydrogen economy.
Experts from the coal, electricity, chemical, automotive and venture capital industries and the research community provided background for participants to use to generate ideas for a West Virginia hydrogen roadmap.
Featured speakers included Rita Bajura, director of the National Energy Technology Laboratory with a location in Morgantown, and Ellen Lutz, director of the Philadelphia regional office for the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.”
West Virginia was the national leader in establishing a state program for the (DOE) EERE Industries of the Future initiative and West Virginia has the potential to be a leader in the hydrogen arena as well,”Lutz said.
Chemical industry experts championed coal gasification as the primary near-term technology for making enough hydrogen to meet the nation’s annual demand for transportation fuel. Gasification is a chemical process in which coal is partially combusted in either pure oxygen or air mixed with steam to produce large amounts of hydrogen and carbon monoxidethe building blocks of many man-made goods.
It is a little-known fact that Institute is the birthplace of synthetic rubber made from gasified coal and Belle is the birthplace of nylon, also made from gasified coal. Both breakthroughs provided strategic materials needed for World War II.
An added benefit of gasification technology is that it generates electricity at the same time. Further, gasification is gaining acceptance in the environmental community, said Craig Schmidt of Eastman Gasification Services Co.
“Gasification is inherently lower in SOx, NOx, and particulate matter, and is potentially the lowest cost technology for mercury and CO2 removal and capture,”he explained.
Renewable fuels such as biomass from timber and farm waste can be gasified, either alone or with coal, said the experts. Dave Nichols of American Electric Power cautioned that the cost of gasification is an issue for power production. Ian Sutherland of GM Fuel Cell Activities noted that the hydrogen fuel cell that powers vehicles is 10 times more expensive than today’s standard internal combustion engine, although he said GM is very confident that the cost will decrease significantly. He was less confident though about technologies for storing hydrogen on board a vehicle.
“What’s needed are technologies and strategies to bridge from today’s petroleum-based transportation industry to tomorrow’s hydrogen-based vehicles,”said Jeff Herholdt, manager of energy efficiency programs for the West Virginia Development Office.
Participants were challenged to”think outside the box”for other routes to hydrogen and to generate ideas for making hydrogen-powered products affordably.
“There are plenty of opportunities for research leading to innovations that would make hydrogen affordable. We’ve got that research capability in West Virginia. We’ve got that legacy, too,”said Richard Bajura, NRCCE director, referring to his center, the U.S. DOE National Energy Technology Laboratory and the chemical industry in the Kanawha Valley.
Michael DeRosa of EnerTech Capital said EnerTech was one of the pioneers of venture capital investing in such technologies.
“There are substantial venture capital opportunities in this area,”he noted.
“Energy has always been one of West Virginia’s greatest strengths. We have an excellent energy industry and research support in our academic institutions and the national laboratory,”said Scott Rotruck, a member of the Council for Community and Economic Development.”The challenge before us is to make sure West Virginia remains an energy leader in new era energy industries.”
A report on the three-workshop series is planned for release early next year. The final workshop, to discuss energy infrastructure needs of the state, is slated for Dec. 11, also in Roanoke. Details are available atwww.WVEnergyRoadmapWorkshops.org.