Part 1: Fuel Cell Trek Launch (Jan 2002)

(My First Blog Ever)

Dear Friends,

The East Coast Tour is now COMPLETE.  I’ve crossed the Great Plains, and am now in Colorado!! The following letter is an account of what has happened between leaving home and now.  If you’re not interested in reading the entire letter, at least proceed to the Special Thanks section.

(To those who I haven’t spoken to in a while or who are not familiar with the recent activity in my life, I’ve been engaged in a new project over these past six months, and which could last many more years.  My goal is to circumnavigate the world in a fuel cell vehicle in order to educate the public about this new technology and hasten its global commercialization.  A detailed explanation of my plan can be found on my website, www.fuelcelltrek.com.  This is my first distribution letter regarding this plan, which concerns the second phase, Take-Off.)

Take-Off: The East Coast Tour

On January 14th, once the final luggage was stowed in my car, I said my good-byes and drove East through Cananda to Rochester, New York

Rochester, NY:

I arrived at Delphi Rochester early in the morning and began my tour of their fuel cell facility.  It was here that I saw my first dissected fuel cell.  I also learned how they are made and saw the devices used to test the stacks and the reformers.  Delphi has been making some significant progress recently on their stacks and reformer, and been forming some important relationships with other organizations.  It will be interesting to follow their progress.  Before leaving, I was offered an internship with this group.

I then went to GM’s Global Alternative Propulsion Center, a clandestine building lacking any logo whatsoever, located discreetly in the quaint town of Honeoye Falls, NY.  I interviewed with a gentleman in charge of the internship program, and while they were reluctant to release much information about their operations and their facility, I did learn more about GM’s fuel cell activity and future plans.  It was noteworthy to see the frame of a giant building being constructed right next door.  They are clearly expanding, and possibly adding a manufacturing facility. 

I then made the long drive through the rest of the state, to the tiny town of Rhinebeck, located right on the bank of the Hudson River near the south-eastern part of the state.  Here I met the journalist Peter Hoffman, author of the “Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Letter” and Tomorrow’s Energy, for dinner.  It was great to finally meet the writer of the book and newsletters from which I derived so much value over the past 6 months.  I also learned a bit about his history and long-time involvement in the FC/H2 industry, which was interesting.  

Boston:

I then traversed the rest of the distance to the Atlantic Coast, arriving in Boston Monday night.  In the morning I met with three MIT professors, who provided great insights about the Technology and Policy graduate program, the Materials Science department’s research on Solid-Oxide fuel cells, and MIT’s grad school as a whole.  I also learned the difference between “green” and “brown” universities.  The green ones tend to have a bias toward environmental problems and solutions, whereas brown ones look at the cold hard facts, the numbers, the economics, without a slant toward any particular solution.  Apparently, MIT is one of the “brown” schools.   

I also visited my old boss, who is now the Vice-President of Acumentrics, a promising fuel cell company that specializes in Tubular Solid-Oxide fuel cells.  They’ve made some recent breakthroughs in design that have significantly enhanced their performance, and lowered their cost.  He led me through their lab where they actually make and test the fuel cell tubes.  It was great to hear his perspective on the industry and how they view themselves as a strong competitor in the stationary power market.  Expect an IPO from them within the next 12 months.

My last stop in Boston was the company where I was a summer intern in 1999, HEC (now Select Energy).  It was great to see the familiar faces, talk to old friends, and gather some valuable advice.  HEC was actually involved in the biggest stationary fuel cell installation in the world last year.
 
Princeton:

What a beautiful University!  I rode my bike around the campus for a bit, before finally locating the Professors I wanted to talk to.  Joan Ogden and Bob Williams, who have been researching hydrogen production and infrastructure issues for quite some time, were actually wrapping up a hydrogen related meeting involving BP and Ford when I saw them.  Joan and I talked for a bit about her research and Princeton’s graduate program, then gave me a few of her research papers.  She was very friendly, and very helpful; I was glad to finally meet her after reading so much about her. 

Washington D.C.:

I then made the drive from Princeton to D.C., where UC-Davis and the Transportation Research Board were hosting a Fuel Cell Workshop.  This was the big event I had been looking forward to, and it was way better than I expected.  Thursday morning, the conference hall started filling up with people from all different industries, and from all over the country.  There were representatives from Ford, Toyota, the United States Fuel Cell Council, Department of Defense, US Navy, International Association of Hydrogen Energy, Argonne National Lab, Union of Concerned Scientists, the EPA, the DOE, US Army Corps of Engineers, lobbyists from D.C. representing the petroleum and methanol fuel industry, and the director of a major California mass-transit company.  Parts of the conference were even recorded by National Public Radio. 

The director of UC-Davis’ Institute of Transportation Studies, along with researcher scientists and graduate students from the University, gave several presentations addressing concerns such as how fuel cells work, which fuel will be most appropriate for running them (hydrogen, methanol, or reformed gasoline), what their potential markets are and how will they be targeted, and what different applications exist for fuel cells besides motive power for vehicles. 

Industry representatives from Ford and Toyota presented on the status of their fuel cell programs, and gave their outlook for the future.  A representative from the Union of Concerned Scientists also addressed the policy issues behind alternative fuel vehicles, and discussed the mechanics of policies: how they work, and how they don’t work.

All in all, it was a great workshop.  I got to know many of the attendees, as well as the presenters.  It was interesting to hear the perspectives of people who had been involved professionally with this technology for years, even decades.  These people understood the benefits this technology can offer, but more importantly, they knew what difficulties must still be overcome to make it commercially viable. 

It was here that I realized how difficult it’s going to be to drive a fuel cell car around the world.  I actually saw and touched my first fuel cell vehicle, brought by Ford, which gave me quite an appreciation for the cost (~$5 million), complexity (hydrogen storage is a major issue), and rarity (there are less than 100 fuel cell cars in the entire world today).  
I’ve got a long road ahead of me.


Virginia:

After a weekend in Charlottesville at the U VA campus, I visited Doug Nelson of Virginia Tech, in Blacksburg, VA.  He runs the Center for Automotive Fuel Cell Systems, and is in charge of the Future Truck team, which is in the process of constructing a hybrid fuel cell vehicle out of a Ford Explorer.  He teaches a class on fuel cell systems, and has been actively involved in the alternative vehicle world for many years.  Doug showed me around the garage where they are building the vehicle, and the lab, which is dedicated to testing mostly PEM type fuel cell systems. 

Tennesee:

In Knoxville, TN, I met with David Greene of the National Transportation Research Center, a division of the Oak Ridge National Lab.  David was generous enough to have lunch with me, and share with me his perspective on the industry, mainly on the policy side of things.  He is one of the major policy consultants in the transportation industry, one who creates and evaluates the different transportation policies (examples of these types of policies are the mandate for a certain percentage of zero-emission vehicles to be sold, or forcing automotive companies to increase their average fuel economy of the cars they sell.) 

It’s interesting to see how policy plays a role in technology development and commercialization.  Certain groups will lobby the government to create laws that will, for example, help hydrogen production technology thrive.  Other groups will lobby for eeping the petroleum industry on top.  This influences which policies are considered, and which ones are thrown in the trash. 

People like David Greene carefully examine policies to determine what effect, both good and bad, they will have on the consumer.  If you pay a marginal amount more for a car that’s environmentally friendly, are you really going to derive that marginal amount of value in clean air, a healthier living environment, and general well being?  This is the complex question that people on Capitol Hill have been arguing for years, and this is what I want to understand fully.  Technology and Policy go hand in hand, and I want to study this relationship in Graduate school.


Special Thanks:
 
I addition to thanking all the people who were kind enough to meet with me, I’d also like to thank all the people who have put me up for the night, and treated me with warm hospitality. 

Thank you to the Monacelli’s, who graciously opened up their house to me in Rochester, NY.  Thanks Zach Bower for a place to crash in Boston, though I wish I could have stayed longer and visited more.  Thanks Brendan for the dinner in Connecticut. Thanks Matias for taking me out in New York City on a Monday night, even though you had to work the next day, and for your fierce dog almost tearing me to bits.  Thank you Harry for letting me stay at your “interesting” apartment in downtown DC for three nights.  I’m glad we got to catch up again.  Thank you Martin for having me at your place in Charlottesville all weekend, and for you, Ferris, and Komer taking me out to that awesome restaurant and the Buddhist Biker Bar.  Thanks to those ATOs at Virginia Tech, who, without ever seeing my face before, treated me with such Southern hospitality by taking me out to play pool, and putting me up for the night.  Thanks to Terry and Sandy Cole, who had me at their house in Casper, Wyoming for three days.  They entertained me, fed me, introduced me to their family, and plum wore me out running and cross-country skiing.  And finally, thank you Baumer for skiing with me on the slopes of Steamboat Springs, for opening up your house to me, and for excellent computer support. I couldn’t have done this without any of you.  You’ve kept my body rested, my stomach full, and my spirits high.

I’d also like to express my deep appreciation for all of you back home or in Chicago, who have supported me so much in the past six months leading up to this expedition.  Thank you Mom, Dad, Julia, Gabe, Liz, Brandon, Andrew, Jason, Dan, Neum, Brian, Mike C., Greg, Lindsay, Pritchard, Collier, Carrier, Baumer, Summer, my pledge class and fraternity brothers, the girls of 1010 East U, Jim G., Brandon Z., the Hampton posse (Mary, Ken, Marty, and Gary), Nancy and Wendel, and my other friends, family, and teachers for listening to me, giving me advice, and for your faith, hope, and love.  I miss you all, and love you all. 

This week, I begin my interviews and meetings West of the Continental Divide.  Wish me luck

Take care, and best of luck to all of you,
Love,
Jonathan
www.fuelcelltrek.com