Oklahoma House of Representatives
Media Division
February 18, 2004

OKLAHOMA CITY - A state legislator is shepherding a measure that
would establish a panel dedicated to monitoring fuel cell technology and
coordinating efforts for manufacturing a limitless source of energy in
Oklahoma.
House Bill 2351 by Rep. Chris Benge, R-Tulsa, has passed out of the House Committee on Economic Development and is scheduled to be considered by the full House of Representatives.

The measure would create a 12-member Fuel Cell Initiative Task Force, comprised of House and Senate legislators, energy industry officials, university educators, and representatives from the private business sector.

Benge said fuel cell manufacture is expected to be a $2.4 billion industry by the end of this year and is projected to be worth $7 billion by 2009.

"Fuel cells have the potential to produce not only a cleaner energy source, but also one that could lead to energy security and a lesser dependence on foreign energy sources," Benge said. "My hope would be that this legislative study can help locate avenues for creating a competitive edge to improve the technology and attract industrial
interest for fuel cell manufacture in this state."

Fuel cells were first used in the Gemini space program and have been used in all U.S. manned space craft missions.

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. Industry officials said other types of fuel cells are powered by methanol or formic acid, but they are not as productive as hydrogen.

Benge said 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.

HB 2351 would direct the task force panel to study and provide recommendations to:
the state of the industry or specific components of the industry, alternative programs to accelerate the commercial availability of fuel cells, including similar efforts by other states;
programs considered to encourage the industry to locate manufacturing, system integration or related component parts of services to this state;
development of a statewide plan for the coordinated effort of the commercialization of fuel cell generation in this state, which would include the ongoing monitoring of the industry and communication with fuel cell manufacturers, and;
study tax or other types of economic incentives.

The task force would prepare a report for the Governor and legislative leaders by Feb. 1, 2005.

Benge said research is being developed at Oklahoma University that could improve how fuel cells operate and could lower their costs of production.

The university has been involved in two research studies for the past several years, he said. One involves the use of single-wall carbon nano tubes, he said, which is a newly discovered form of carbon that has a number of potential applications in fuel cell technology and improvement.

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, the lawmaker noted.

Lance Lobban, director of the University of Oklahoma School of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, indicated neither technology at the university has been applied to fuel cell production, but both look promising.

Lobban said Oklahoma has an abundant source of inexpensive materials that produce hydrogen, which include biofuels and hydrocarbons such as ethanol, a variety of pastureland grasses and farm waste.

Because fuel cells are not large compared to the amount of energy they produce, the power-to-volume ratio is very good, Benge 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 across the country," Benge said. "I believe fuel cells may be the right avenue for that transition period."
- 30 -  ¶ 11:42 AM