May 2006   Vol. XXI   No. 5   ISSN 1080-8019
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May 2006   Volume XXI - Number 5

Our Anniversary: 20 Years H&FCL
Time Flies When You're Having Fun, they say. Well, Maybe. Anyway, what you see below is the gestating Hydrogen Economy's equivalent of the Dead Sea Scrolls, complete with original stains, creases and scribbles.

High Energy Costs, Oil Shock Memories Are Backdrop to Hydrogen + Fuel Cell Exhibit
HANNOVER, GERMANY – With skyrocketing oil prices and 1970s energy crises memories looming as ominous backdrop, the 12th annual Hydrogen + Fuel Cell Group Exhibit last month here took on, in the eyes of many participants, special gravitas.

Fast Forward: Nick Abson


Fast Forward: Hydrogenics Mideast Office


Fast Forward: Japanese Fuel Cell Train


Fast Forward: Danish Fuel Cell Commuter Train Plans


Two Russian Companies Plan $217 Million Cash Investment in Plug Power
LATHAM, NY - A group of Russian investors with strong interest in hydrogen and fuel cell development have agreed to make a very large investment in Plug Power, Inc. here, the company announced.

DoE News: Bodman Announces $52.5 Million for Storage, Catalysts & Membrane Research
DETROIT, MI – U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman last month announced an upcoming three-year $52.5 million solicitation to fund basic research in hydrogen storage, catalysts and membranes.

Primary Sources: Geothermal Energy Accelerates in U.S., Europe, Australia, New Zealand
WASHINGTON, DC/BERLIN, GERMANY/MOKAI, NEW ZEALAND – Suddenly, geothermal energy is hot: Reports of proliferating new projects are coming in from many parts of the globe: the United States, Germany, Australia and New Zealand, to name a few.

German "MIT Technology Review" Article Says Hydrogen Economy is a Non-Starter
HANNOVER, GERMANY – "Good-Bye, Hydrogen" is the provocative headline of a front page article in the April issue of the German edition of MIT's respected "Technology Review" magazine.

Briefly Noted: Johnson Matthey/Polyfuel
Johnson Matthey has signed an agreement with PolyFuel, Inc., Mountain View, CA, a developer of engineered membranes for direct methanol fuel cells.

Briefly Noted: U-Texas Anodes
Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have found that a solid oxide fuel cell's anode made of so-called double perovskites material, Sr2Mg1-xMnxMoO6-, offers superior performance with natural gas, plus tolerance to sulfur.

Briefly Noted: Daimler-Chrysler Fuel Cell Patrol Car
F-Cell cars (F as in Fuzz) for police patrol.

Briefly Noted: Unitel Reformer
Unitel Technologies, Mt. Prospect, IL says it has built a fully automated autothermal-reforming pilot plant for producing fuel cell-grade hydrogen from JP8, a military kerosene-based fuel suitable for turbines and used in aircraft.

Briefly Noted: U-North Dakota H2 Center
Key U.S. Senate hydrogen supporter Sen. Byron Dorgan and his colleague, Sen. Kent Conrad, both North Dakota Democrats, helped break ground last month for the new $ 3million National Center for Hydrogen Technology at the University of North Dakota's.

Briefly Noted: Smart Fuel Cells Fundraiser
SFC Smart Fuel Cell AG, the German manufacturer of small DMFC fuel cells for portable applications, announced it has raised Euro 15 million ($18.4 million).

Briefly Noted: Queensland Hypersonic Funding
Australia's Queensland state government has awarded $2 million (US. $1.46 million) to the University of Queensland for the institution's Centre for Hypersonic's hydrogen scramjet research program. The award was announced in early April in Chicago by Queensland's deputy premier and minister for innovation, Anna Bligh, after a meeting with Boeing top executives.

Briefly Noted: Hydrogen Fueling Station Alliance
Shell Hydrogen and Hydrogenics are the first industry leaders to sign on to the newly established AARC/H2 Alliance to conceptually develop prototype hydrogen fueling stations/information centers.

Briefly Noted: LBST Name Change
L-B Systemtechnik, the German consultancy which does a great deal of work for the European Union, has reverted to its roots and has changed its name back to Ludwig-Bölkow-Systemtechnik (LBST).

Briefly Noted: German DWV Innovation Prizes
The German Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association (DWV) has awarded two annual Innovation Prizes for studies on miniature PEM fuel cells and aircraft power systems.

Events
The "greenT Forum" on green trading markets will be held May 1-2 at the McGraw-Hill Conference Center in New York, NY.

Transitions
Ludemann, Reijalt, Weiss, Weingrow, Fox, Abramowitz, Rosen, Ohlsen, Solomon, Walton, Bertrand, Wisniewski, Gallagher, Formisano, van Dokkum, Villanueva, Randolph