Despite tangible evidence on local roads of New York”™s prowess in fuel cells, the technology merited only scant mention in a new “roadmap” recommending a $400 million increase in state funding for “clean” energy technologies.
General Motors Corp. is currently handing dozens of New York City-area drivers the keys to SUVs powered by fuel cells manufactured upstate, and with Shell Oil has installed in White Plains a hydrogen pump for the vehicles.
A task force led by New York Lt. Gov. David Paterson highlights renewable fuels in its recommendations, including hydrogen used for fuel cells, but does not suggest any concrete steps to reinforce the aims of a “fuel cell” roadmap the state published in October 2005.
Task force members with local connections included Roger Kelley, CEO of White Plains-based New York Power Authority; and Nicola Coddington, energy coordinator for the town of Greenburgh.
A fuel cell essentially uses a chemical reaction to strip away a hydrogen atom”™s lone electron, with those electrons creating an electrical current. The electrons are then recombined with the hydrogen atom and oxygen to form water, along with heat the lone emissions.
New York is already home to several fuel-cell laboratories, including General Motors”™ plant outside Rochester that is making fuel cells for GM”™s Chevrolet Equinox SUV; and Albany-area labs run by General Electric Co. and Plug Power Inc.
By comparison, the lower Hudson Valley has a thin mix of companies working on fuel-cell or hydrogen technology, and the region failed to draw any of $3 million in funding awarded last year for various projects in New York.
In Saugerties, Precision Flow Technologies added 18,000 square feet of space last year to accommodate increased sales for its systems that test the effectiveness of fuel-cell membranes.
The eVionyx unit of Hawthorne-based Reveo Inc. developed a fuel cell to power small engines, in 2001 running it for 30 miles on a Tarrytown golf course. The company has yet to announce any major commercial contracts in the United States, however.
And Yonkers-based Markinter Co. supplies powders for use in electronic components, including those in fuel cells.
In the October 2005 fuel-cell roadmap, New York policymakers articulated a “cities, clusters and corridors” vision of fuel-cell and hydrogen companies coalescing beginning in 2009, and weaning off state support within a decade.
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) is finalizing plans for a 280-acre energy park in Saratoga County that will likely include space for fuel-cell companies.
With nearly 40 fuel-cell related patents in 2006, New York inventors still trailed the 60 piled up that year by engineers in Connecticut. Last month, Connecticut policymakers proposed $50 million in annual funding to support new fuel-cell and hydrogen initiatives, noting the state”™s industry expanded its work force 25 percent in 2006. Danbury, Conn., manufacturer FuelCell Energy Inc. recently received a $4 million loan from the state to add 100 jobs.
In the Connecticut roadmap, policymakers noted that both states face increasing competition from Massachusetts and California, and relative upstarts like Ohio and South Carolina.
For the time being, New York continues to capture headlines. At last week”™s Fuel Cell Expo in Tokyo ”“ billed as the industry”™s largest convention ”“ Albany-based MTI MicroFuel Cells Inc. unveiled tiny fuel cells that plug into cell phones or cameras to recharge conventional batteries, keeping them running longer. And the Chevy Equinox and other fuel-cell powered prototypes from other companies will be on display starting March 21 at the New York International Auto Show in Manhattan.
