Oklahoma House of Representatives
Media Division
October 16, 2003

OKLAHOMA CITY - A metropolitan lawmaker wants to introduce
legislation next year that would position Oklahoma to be a manufacturer
of an energy source that could one day revolutionize the industry.
Rep. Chris Benge, vice chairman of the House Committee on Career
and Technology Education, said research is being developed at Oklahoma
University that could improve how fuel cells operate and could lower the
costs of production.
One type of fuel cell uses hydrogen, the most abundant gas in the
universe, to cleanly and efficiently create electricity. The by-product
is another valuable commodity: water.
Based on research data, fuel cells could provide a source of
electrical energy ranging from thousands to tens of thousands of hours
of uninterrupted electrical energy for home, business, industry,
transportation and military needs, Benge related.
"I want to form a legislative study to help locate avenues of
creating a competitive edge to induce federal funding and private
investment to improve the technology and attract industrial interest for
fuel cell manufacture in Oklahoma," the Tulsa Republican said.
"Providing incentives and locating seed money for research and
development of fuel cells would indicate just how serious we are to
bring such an industry to this state."
Benge described the university's fuel cell research and technology
as a "unique situation" that would fit nicely in Oklahoma's EDGE
(Economic Development Generating Excellence) program.
Gov. Brad Henry has teamed commerce and higher education together
"to combine the technical strength of colleges and universities with the
practical experience of economic development professionals" to help form
a plan to improve economic development in this state.
Approximately one year ago, the Bush administration instituted a
program to provide federal funds to further fuel cell technology, Benge
recalled.
"Fuel cell production is growing in importance for the utilization
of electrical power," said Lance Lobban, director of the University of
Oklahoma School of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science.
"Significant barriers have to be broken to introduce widespread
implementation of fuel cells, and we think there are a couple of
technologies at O.U. that could make a difference."
He said the university has been involved in two research studies
for six years or longer but admits neither technology has been applied
to fuel cell production. "This is a new effort to link those
technologies to fuel cells," Lobban said. "And it's just now building up
momentum."
One involves the use of single-wall carbon nano tubes, which is a
newly discovered form of carbon that has a number of potential
applications in fuel cell technology and improvement, Lobban said. "One
of those properties would provide a high surface area for conductivity
and is able to interact with polymers and related other materials."
A main component used to manufacture the electrodes in a fuel cell
is platinum, Lobban reported. "Research results suggest that one of the
advantages of carbon nano tube technology is that it will reduce the
amount of the expensive metal needed for fuel cell manufacture."
The other technology produced at O.U. is a polymer electrolyte
membrane, which is a critical part of production of electrical energy
from fuel cells.
Lobban agrees with Benge that interest in fuel cell technology is
very active, especially due to the initiative of President Bush who has
raised the level of national interest in hydrogen fuel cell technology
and production.
Lobban said Oklahoma contains an abundant source of inexpensive
materials that produce hydrogen. "Natural gas is a leading producer of
hydrogen," he said. "Other potential producers of hydrogen include bio
fuels or hydro carbons, such as ethanol, a variety of pastureland
grasses and farm waste. Some fuel cells can be powered by methanol or
formic acid, but they aren't as productive as hydrogen fuel cells."
Lobban said advances in fuel cell technology are being made around
the country. "A well-known outdoor sporting goods company is marketing a
type of fuel cell, and fuel cell stacks are providing electrical power
to some government buildings," he said. "But applications are limited
because of costs. Several companies are researching avenues to improve
the technology."
Because fuel cells aren't large compared to the amount of energy
they produce, the power-to-volume ratio is very good. "Competitiveness
for this new energy source is becoming attractive and is an exciting
area of research," Lobban said.
Although this technology could revolutionize the energy industry,
it could be a decades-long process to shift from one energy source to
the next, Lobban said. "Fuel cells are just the thing for that
transition period."
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Scott Hancock
Media Specialist
Oklahoma House of Representatives
1-800-522-8502 ext 422  ¶ 12:23 AM