meeting report
Hydrogen Day at Penn State University
University Park, PA USA
October 25, 2004
Penn State hosted its second annual Hydrogen Day on October 25, featuring noted speakers, poster sessions, hydrogen vehicles, and a tour of the construction site for the University’s hydrogen fueling station.
More than 250 faculty, staff and students, along with industry representatives from 40 companies, attended the October 25 event at the University Park Campus that showcased advances in hydrogen and fuel cell research and demonstrated the depth of Penn State’s – and Pennsylvania’s – involvement in research into this important technology.
The day started with tours of the prototype hydrogen fueling station on the north end of campus near Beaver Stadium. According to University officials, the fueling station will serve as a cold weather test site, since most other hydrogen stations are located in milder climate zones. The station is co-sponsored by Penn State and Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. and is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. The tour also included a ride in a Toyota hybrid fuel cell vehicle and looks under the hoods at Ford, Honda, and Lexus hybrids.
More than 30 poster presentations were on display throughout the event featuring some of the latest research into fuel cell analysis and technologies, hydrogen storage and generation, as well as a host of other hydrogen topics. Attendees also enjoyed two afternoon panel discussions.
“You can’t turn anywhere these days without mention of hydrogen,” said Eva Pell , vice president for research and dean of the Graduate School, shortly before introducing the lunchtime keynote speaker, Kathleen McGinty , head of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
“Clean energy is our future as energy has been our past,” McGinty said, referring to our nation’s first oil wells in Pennsylvania. “It’s not just talk, it’s not just research. Penn State is putting this research to work.”
She also stressed the state’s commitment to developing clean energy sources, and praised the growing collaboration of academic and industry partners through the Pennsylvania Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Consortium coordinated by her office. “Pennsylvania’s efforts to promote clean energy are being noticed nationally,” she said.
Tom Mallouk , DuPont professor of materials chemistry, also addressed the gathering, saying that there is still more work to be done. “There’s some daunting technology problems to deploying hydrogen,” he said. “This is not a simple problem and will require a significant effort, especially in hydrogen storage and generation.”
The first afternoon panel discussion, moderated by Mallouk, featured Bruce Logan , Kappe professor of environmental engineering and director of the H2E Center, which he founded five years ago as a mechanism for drawing together a wide range of Penn State hydrogen research; Peter Eklund from physics, Digby Macdonald from materials science and engineering; and Matthew Mench from mechanical engineering. The discussion focused on hydrogen and fuel cell research as well as the obstacles to making hydrogen a mainstream fuel, like gasoline or other energy sources.
“It’s ultimately got to be better in some way for people to buy it,” Mench stated.
Some of the challenges to bringing hydrogen to the masses include cost, durability, how to “cold start” a hydrogen engine, dynamic control, nascent technology, and system integration, manufacturing, and optimization.
Logan also argued that researchers need to think about different ways of producing hydrogen. “If we’re going to embark on a hydrogen economy, we need to think about where we’re going to produce it. Not all hydrogen will be produced in one way.”
Logan said hydrogen could potentially be produced with biomass, wastewater, or wind. “The kinds of technology we’re pursing is not totally science fiction,” he said.
The second panel session focused on hydrogen infrastructure and the national labs. Moderated by Logan, the meeting featured Ed Kiczek , product development manager for Air Products and Chemicals; George Parks , senior principle scientist at ConocoPhillips; George Sverdrup , technology manager for the National Renewable Energy Lab; and Matt Younkins , research engineer for Ford.
These panelists discussed the logistics behind the hydrogen economy and enticing people to consider hydrogen-powered cars. “Something is going to make the consumer want this vehicle,” Parks asserted. “To justify the current research and work, the payout has to be huge.”
The evening ended with a dinner and a speech by U.S. Congressman John Peterson (R-PA), who said, “The most important issue facing our country is energy. The need for hydrogen energy has never been greater.”
An undergarduate student assigned to write a report on Hydrogen Day gets information from a poster presenter.
A hydrogen production system is the subject of grad student Priti Pharkya’s handiwork during the all-day poster session.
A poster from the Pennsylvania Transportation Institute, based at Penn State, explains the role of hydrogen in fuel cell cars.
On display outside the Nittany Lion Inn is a gas/electric-powered Lexus RX400h premium SUV for conference attendees to inspect.
A television news cameraman records discussions around Air Products’ hydrogen pump at the fueling station.
A microbial fuel cell built by Penn State researchers produces electricity from bacteria and sugar. The fan on top is bacteria-powered.
At the hydrogen fueling station Joel Anstrom shows attendees a 1.2kW fuel cell that could run house electricity for 5-6 hours.