Idaho fuel cell work may get more cash- Bush speech backs funding for research

President Bush may have given fuel cell research in Idaho a shot in the arm by announcing in his State of the Union address that he wants to more than double federal funding to research the eco-friendly technology.

Idaho Statesman

Researchers at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Lab in eastern Idaho say it´s too early to tell if they will get any of the additional research money, but they´re excited at the prospect that they may.

INEEL has worked on fuel cell research for about 10 years and has three projects under way.

“We recognize this is a significant gain … in the research that would be done,” said Mike Anderson, INEEL´s project manager for advanced transportation technologies. “That causes us to think about how we could apply more of our resources in that program.”

Supporters of increased fuel cell research said they were surprised by Bush´s announcement and called it visionary.

“Our future, I truly believe, is the fuel cell,” said Ron Cogan, publisher of the Green Car Journal.

But critics say Bush´s focus on fuel cells is an effort to divert attention from his poor record on protecting the environment. Fuel cells could be a vital technology in a generation but will do little to cut oil consumption in the short term, environmentalists said.

Car makers, energy companies and others have invested more than $1 billion over the past few years to develop fuel cells, which chemically convert hydrogen into electricity with water as the main byproduct. The technology is both nonpolluting and reduces oil consumption but has not proven economically viable.

“We have a good background in understanding hydrogen and the issues you face when dealing with hydrogen,” Anderson said. “A lot of that comes from the nuclear safety analysis background this lab has.”

Bush, who last year announced support for fuel cell research, proposed increasing funding to $1.2 billion over five years — an increase of $720 million. This comes at a time of concern about global warming and preparation for a possible invasion of Iraq that has oil prices at a two-year high.

“With a new national commitment, our scientists and engineers will overcome obstacles to taking these cars from laboratory to showroom so that the first car driven by a child born today could be powered by hydrogen,” Bush said in his speech.

Progress has been made developing fuel cell batteries and small electric generators for buildings. But putting the technology under the hood at affordable prices is a still a decade away at best, said David Redstone, publisher of the Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Investors´ Newsletter.

“Anything that´s going to replace the internal combustion engines in cars has to be as good,” he said. “A car engine is the most difficult application for a fuel cell.”

That is because car engines require higher electric outputs for acceleration and durability under various weather conditions, he said. The nation also would have to create a network of hydrogen filling stations. Two Democratic senators and environmentalists criticized Bush´s fuel cell plan as promising something far down the road while doing little to curb auto emissions now.

The Bush administration opposes meaningful fuel economy standards for new cars and is fighting California´s efforts to reduce vehicle greenhouse gas emissions, said David Hawkins, director of the Natural Resources Defense Council Climate Center.

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