Military to get a look at Spokane area firm’s fuel cell work-Genesis showing processors in D.C.

A Spokane company will present its fuel cell systems to military personnel at a Washington, D.C., conference Tuesday.

Alison Boggs
Staff writer

The Electric Platforms Conference will be held Monday and Tuesday, focusing on emerging technologies that can be used by the military.

"We’re the only people who are talking about fuel cells (at the conference)," said Genesis President Phillip Piffer.

Genesis Fueltech makes processors that extract hydrogen from methanol for fuel cell systems. Fuel cells convert hydrogen into electricity through an electrochemical reaction. The technology has been lauded as a nonpolluting way to produce energy.

Genesis is working with Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp. of Colorado to develop integrated fuel cell systems. The fuel cells are supplied by H Power Corp. of New Jersey.

Since President Bush proposed $1.2 billion in federal support for automotive fuel cells in his State of the Union address, the technology has taken on a higher profile. Avista Labs, a subsidiary of Avista Corp., is a local manufacturer of fuel cells, but does not produce them for automotive applications. Genesis doesn’t either, at this point, company personnel said.

Avista Labs has two contracts with a research laboratory that is funded by the U.S. Army and has sold fuel cells to the Energy Department. Genesis has not secured any government contracts yet, but, Piffer said, "We’re hopeful."

Genesis’s fuel processors were developed by David DeVries. A former Avista Labs employee, DeVries left that company two years ago to start Genesis.

Genesis has a prototype processor for sale that is mostly geared toward military use and testing, Piffer said. The company’s first prototype was sold under a development contract to Ball Aerospace this year.

"We expect to deliver several more this year to military contractors and directly to the military," Piffer said.

Piffer said the main military use for Genesis’ fuel processors is to aid in battery replacement or recharging. The company’s presentation, he said, will focus on helping the military extend its field missions by replacing and recharging batteries with fuel cells.

The conference is sponsored by the National Military Intelligence Association, the American Institute of Engineers and the Association of Naval Aviation.

•Business writer Alison Boggs can be reached at (509) 927-2150 or by e-mail at [email protected]

http://www.spokesmanreview.com/news-story.asp?date=030803&ID=s1315529&cat=section.business