COMMENTARY Global Heating: Why We Must Shift to Carbon-Free Fuel By Peter Hoffmann In a few days, President Bush will be hosting a climate summit in Washington, and Congress will begin what promises to be a long series of deliberations on climate legislation. At long last, there’s basic agreement that we have to get serious about fighting global warming.
Book Review: Winning Our Energy Independence: An Energy Insider Shows How Reviewed by Richard Engel At 81, S. David Freeman is the elder statesman of public power in the U.S. To hear him tell it, he seems to have held about two hundred different public sector jobs in the energy field over the past half-century, including head of the Tennessee Valley Authority, The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, and the California Power Authority. Trained as an engineer and attorney, he has also helped to shape national energy policy as an advisor to both Democratic and Republican administrations.
Briefly Noted: National Gov’s Clean Energy Initiative The National Governors Association (NGA) last month committed itself to promoting clean energy policies across the United States by launching the “Securing a Clean Energy Future” initiative.
Briefly Noted: PolyFuel Mountain View, CA-based PolyFuel developer of direct methanol fuel cell membranes for portable electronics, says it has developed a stack capable of delivering 500 Watts per liter of stack volume, an output level that the company says is twice what’s needed for a typical laptop.
Briefly Noted: Linde Liquefier The Linde Group, the Munich-based industrial gas technology company, has officially started operations of its second hydrogen liquefaction.
Briefly Noted: Defense Agency/Air Products The U.S. Defense Logistics Agency has contracted with Air Products for an indoor hydrogen fueling station for its research and development program.
Briefly Noted: Plug Power/Ballard DoD Contract Plug Power, Inc., Latham, NY and Ballard Power Systems, Inc., Vancouver, have been awarded a joint $3.5 million contract by the U.S. Defense Department to collaborate on the next phase of fuel cell systems development.
Briefly Noted: DoE/Fuel Cell Store The U.S. Energy Department has awarded Boulder, CO-based Fuel Cell Store, the sole contract worth $138,000 to provide hydrogen fuel cell kits and technical support for the 2007 DoE National Science Bowl.
Briefly Noted: Heliocentris Heliocentris Fuel Cells AG, the Berlin-based maker of educational fuel cell products, has teamed up with SMA Technologie AG, a German maker of photovoltaic inverters, in designing a fuel cell backup system for PV installations.
Briefly Noted: Hydrogen Engine Center/Belliss Hydrogen Engine Center, Inc. (HEC), the Algona, IA-based designer and manufacturer of hydrogen-fueled i.c. engines and distributed power generation equipment, has signed a memorandum of understanding with India’s Belliss India Limited, New Delhi, to sell and service its engines and power equipment.
Opportunities The University of Connecticut says it plans to hire new top researchers and professors.
Events The “2nd National Hydrogen Association Fall Forum - Hydrogen Uses in the Military,” is scheduled fo Oct. 2-4 at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center, Columbia, SC.
