Part III: Le Crépuscule (May 2002)

"I keep thinking of what they told us in school about the sun losing energy, growing colder each year. I remember wondering, then, what it would be like in the last days of the world..."
"I never believed that story.  I thought by the time the sun was exhausted, men would find a substitute."
"You did?  Funny, I thought that too."     
                                                                    from Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged
Table of Contents
The California Fuel Cell Partnership
UC-Davis
On Cars
Yoda and Hydrogen: A Poultry Dilemma
David Bowie said it best
Good/Bad News
Fuel Cell Trek Adventures
On Sustainability and Religion
Thanks
Quotes
Le Crepuscule

Dear Friends and Family,
The hope of this letter is to teach you a few things I've learned since this all began, and let you know what I’ve been involved in over these past two and a half months.  It has undoubtedly been the most interesting part of the trip so far.  

The California Fuel Cell Partnership
The day after I arrived, I started my internship with Ford at the California Fuel Cell Partnership.  In a nutshell, the CaFCP is:
"a unique collaborative of auto manufacturers, energy companies, fuel cell technology companies, and government agencies...advancing fuel cell vehicle technology to hopefully move the world toward practical and affordable environmental solutions. For the first time ever, automobile companies and fuel suppliers have joined together to demonstrate fuel cell vehicles under real day-to-day driving conditions. The California Fuel Cell Partnership expects to place up to 60 fuel cell passenger cars and fuel cell buses on the road between 2000 and 2003. In addition to testing the fuel cell vehicles, the partnership is examining fuel infrastructure issues and beginning to prepare the California market for this new technology.
Specifically, the partnership aims to achieve four main goals:
    •    Demonstrate vehicle technology by operating and testing the vehicles under real-world conditions in California;
    •    Demonstrate the viability of alternative fuel infrastructure technology, including hydrogen and methanol stations;
    •    Explore the path to commercialization, from identifying potential problems to developing solutions; and
    •    Increase public awareness and enhance opinion about fuel cell electric vehicles, preparing the market for commercialization. "
To explain to you how it works here, the CaFCP is one huge building which is sectioned off into 9 parts.  One part is the main office where everyone gets together and the CaFCP staff reside.  The other 8 parts are identical section in which each auto partner (like Honda, DC, Toyota, GM) has an office area, and a garage bay to work on their FCVs.  Behind these bays sits one of the few hydrogen vehicle fueling stations in the world and one of the only methanol stations.  Surprisingly, all the auto partners here get along, and there is really a spirit of cooperation, despite the traditionally fierce competition between them.  Just this week, we ran into a bind and Nissan was there to help us out and lend us equipment.  The energy companies (like BP, Shell, ExonMobil) and government partners (like the DOE, CARB) are off site, yet they visit regularly for scheduled meetings and events.
So far, it has been exactly what I'd been hoping for.  Right away, I attended some very interesting meetings and met some of the key players in the energy, automotive, and government sector of the FC&H2 industry.  Since I started, I've assisted in diagnosing, disassembling, and reassembling parts of a fuel cell vehicle (FCV).  I've performed fueling and defueling tests on advanced prototype hydrogen storage tanks. I also organized and led FCV Education & Outreach activities in three major West Coast cities.  The people here are great, and my boss and I go rock-climbing, mountain biking, and snowboarding together.
Each day here, I am living and breathing the things I could only read about back home in Michigan: fuel cell vehicles, the hydrogen economy, hydrogen tanks, fueling infrastructure, education and outreach strategies, codes and standards issues.  There are definitely many hurdles to overcome yet before a hydrogen economy can become a reality.  I’ve come to learn that the obstacles facing fuel cells and the path to a hydrogen economy are monumental.  With that in mind, I still believe that this will be the way and am committed to making it happen sooner.

University of California-Davis: Go the Aggies!
 
I recently began taking classes at UC-Davis.  My favorite class is "Transportation in Developing Countries", in which we're learning about the complexity and problems of transportation systems in the developing world.  These regions will experience tremendous growth over this next century, so it's critical that they implement both an  economically and environmentally sustainable transportation system.  Our class is made up of about 10 students from China, India, Korea, and the US.  The global perspective each student brings adds so much to the class.  I'm going to do my research paper on exploring the path to --or the appropriateness of-- a hydrogen-based economy in Shang-hai, China. 

This campus rocks the house!  Bikes and bike paths are everywhere, and a small, enchanting downtown area is nestled adjacently east of campus.  I live out on the outskirts of town, right next to a golf course and farmland as far as the eye can see.  One night I tried to sleep out on the golfcourse, but was roused in the middle of the night by a pack of hungry coyotes circling my camp.  Needless to say, I didn’t sleep out there anymore.

The air is so pure here; on a good day, you can see mountain ranges off to the East and West, since Davis is centered in the great N.California valley.  This valley is one of the most fertile plains in the world, so the fruits and vegetables are “hella fresh” (as you might hear a local Nor Calian describe it).

On Cars
I’ve learned that one of the most critical problems affecting our on-going pursuit of happiness is motorization.  Motorization is defined as the increased use of motor vehicles for personal transport.  We (the developed world) all got ‘em, they (the developing world) all want ‘em.  What do we do with ‘em?
 The Problem:  if we let things continue as is, motorization will increasingly reduce petroleum resources, intensifying the monopoly on the world’s petroleum reserves, thereby creating increased levels of economic and political instability throughout the world.  Burning fossil fuels will increase CO2 emissions, increasing the effects of global warming, which could also render harsh economic consequences.  Like dynamite and nukes, the very invention that has transformed our world for the better, could end up hurting us in far greater ways.
 The Solution: As I see it, there are two solutions. 
                1) Reduce motorization    
                                AND/OR
                2) Eliminate the negative effects of motorization. 

For example, one can encourage more public transportation, which will take cars off the road, reducing motorization.  Alternately, one can develop cars which use fuels other than petroleum and which emit no CO2.  Since people love the freedom cars offer, and since it is very difficult to change public behavior, I believe the latter solution is most feasible.  This is why I’m so fascinated with the study of fuel cells and of hydrogen production and distribution.
 
Yoda and Hydrogen: A Poultry Dilemma
Another interesting thing I read outside of class was about the challenge for the movie industry to switch to digital film.  It’s superior to regular film, but very few producers film digitally because it’s expensive, and few movie theatres have the proper digital projectors.  Hardly any theatres have these projectors because they’re expensive, and because few producers film their movies digitally.  Sounds like the classic chicken-and-the egg dilemma.  What comes first?

This very same poultry dilemma faces the Fuel Cell/Hydrogen Industry.   Auto companies will not commit to producing FCVs until there are fueling stations for customers to fuel them.  Energy companies will not install these stations until there are FCVs to fuel-up there.  What comes first?

(Realistically though, the Hydrogen infrastructure issue is not nearly this simple; it's not just about getting the fueling stations out there.  The infrastructure issues of compressed hydrogen gas storage are considerable, partly due to safety concerns.  For example, fire codes will not permit you to park a hydrogen gas powered vehicle in your garage becuase if it leaked overnight, the ceiling mounted garage-door opener could ignite the gas-air mixture when activated.  There are ways around this, but not for free.  This is just one example that illustrates how complicated the hydrogen infrastructure issue is.  Mechanics need to be trained, and service facilities and underground parking garages need to be modified to be able to accept FCVs, to name just a few challenges.)
What both industries need much more than rhetoric and conferences, is a superior product that the people want more than anything, a product that they can not do without, that will leave them saying, “How did we ever manage without this?” 

Fortunately for the digital film industry, George Lucas is shooting his next Star Wars movie digitally, and many theatres are putting up the dollars to convert because it's such a hot product.  This could be just the solution to the digital film industry’s dilemma.
What the world needs now to solve the motorization problem is a petroleum-free personal transportation product that is so good, so useful, so simple, people will wait in line up and down the street (dressed in Ewok costumes, hopefully) to get the first one.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes!
Consequently, considering this last thought, and the previously mentioned ideas in mind, I am considering changing the focus of Fuel Cell Trek.  While education and outreach (a.k.a. Marketing) are vital and necessary, it is ineffective without a great product.  A product that is truly superior will sell by itself (do you remember anyone ever teaching you about cell phones).  As of yet, there is no great product on the market, though the auto giants are trying (and small companies, like Hypercar, are trying too).  The FCV products I’ve seen are still too expensive, and too impractical (insufficient driving ranges, bulky gas storage, few added features).
I am considering changing the goal of the FCTrek Team (not yet formed) to develop an FCV that is a product people will actually want with added features that will justify it’s higher cost. Once created, perhaps then we will take it around the world to prove just how damn good it is.   Though it's too early to disclose the complete idea, riddle me this, Batman:   
When is a car, not a car?       (and no, the answer is not, "when it's ajar")

When it's a portable power plant!  The concept of this product is not new, but I don’t think it is given quite enough emphasis.  A fuel cell engine enables one to produce high-voltage, high-quality electricity wherever you drive.  This electricity could be used by contractors building a house; a family with a cottage in the boonies who could plug it (yes, the cabin) into their car for the weekend; worn out rock-stars like Sammy Hagar that want to put on a bootylicious concert at a park or on the beach.  Just as cars gave us freedom from the pre-determined routes of railroad tracks, fuel cell cars may provide freedom from the pre-determined routes of electric utility lines.  

Good News, Bad News
    •    I was recently accepted into MIT’s Technology and Policy graduate program.  I’m trying out the UC-Davis program this quarter, and I must make a decision by June 15.  Right now, I'm trying to weigh all the factors, but mostly I'm trying to conclude which program would provide the best education for what I want to study. Namely:
    - Hydrogen infrastructure development
    - Fuel cell systems for transportation and distributed generation
The bad news is that this has made it so difficult to make a decision and I've been wrestling with it in my mind non-stop for the past month.  I'm pretty close to a decision, but if you know about these schools' involvement or research in my preferred areas, or have any words of advice, I would value your feedback.
    •    I found some long-lost cousins that live outside of Davis in the foothills of some mountains.  They have me over for great dinners, I ride their tractor, and they teach me how to throw knives (pretty standard, really).  We should be moving up to axes and martial arts (Hapkido) in the next month. It's nice to have a home away from home when all alone and on your own.
    •    Fuel Cell Trek has turned 500.  That is, I've reached the 500 milestone on my hit counter (though at least 50 of those are from from me alone).  Thank you all for your interest. 
    •    I went snowboarding in about twenty inches of fresh Sierra powder up near Lake Tahoe.  I’ve never felt such flow, freedom, and exhilaration.  I fell on my head no less than thirty times, and never had a better time.
 
Fuel Cell Trek Adventures:  Outreach  
The original intent of Fuel Cell Trek has begun sooner than I would have thought.  So far, I’ve traveled to four major West coast cities to teach the general public about fuel cell and hydrogen technology, demonstrate this technology with an actual drivable car, and talk to local television and radio media.

In mid-April, I did this for four days in Portland, Oregon at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.  I had Ford’s P2000 fuel cell car, a fuel cell/electrolyzer demonstration, and a FC video to help explain the technology from the molecular level, all the way to application level.  Watching people’s looks of disbelief when I turned the car on for them, seeing kids’ eyes light up when I tell them that pure water comes out of the tailpipe, and letting four year olds sit in the driver’s seat and clutch the wheel make this job fun.  Two local TV news networks and two radio stations showed up to cover the event and interview me about fuel cell technology.

I also worked an event in San Diego that let me talk to hundreds of science teachers about fuel cells & hydrogen, show them Ford’s fuel cell car, and actually giving them fast rides in the car.  This happened at the National Science Teacher’s Association Convention at the end of March.  It was incredible how much the teachers glowed with enthusiasm and curiosity about the technology.  They couldn’t wait to get back home and teach their students about it, show them proof that fuel cell cars actually exist, and that they sat or drove in one.

In San Francisco, I displayed Ford’s fuel cell car at the San Francisco Academy of Science.  They held the middle school Science Fair competition here, and we gave the winners rides in the car.  Parents, kids, and visitors of Golden Gate Park crowded around the car to learn more about the new paradigm in automotive technology.  A local cable station, Tech TV, filmed this event and aired it the following Monday.

My very first event was in Sacramento, where Ford, Honda, Toyota, and the California Fuel Cell Partnership displayed and explained FC vehicles to legislative staffers and the public.  Governor Gray Davis’ Senior Energy Policy advisor, Woody Clark, was in attendance.

On Sustainability and Religion
What does "Sustainable" mean?  I needed to ask that question myself, because this term is thrown around so much.  One of the most commonly agreed upon definitions is (paraphrased):
"A sutainable condition for this planet is one in which there is a stability for both social and physical systems, achieved through meeting the needs of the present without compomising the ability of future generation to meet their own needs."                                                                                                                           - United Nations World Comission 
Future Generations. To me, this gives a whole new spin on the teaching of living one's life based on the hope/certainty of life after death.  I guess I really do believe in life after death; other people’s life after my death.

Thanks
I'd like to thank Anthony, my boss, for trusting me to be a good little intern for the summer and hiring me.  It's been a fantastic job so far.   Thank you to the Partnership people for welcoming me to this special place and being so kind and neighborly to me.  Thank you the Delphi people for teaching me all the stuff that I'm just now realizing I've learned; about how to trouble-shoot, test, work, communicate.  It was a valuable experience.  Thanks to everyone whose given me advice on where to go to grad school.  You've each pointed me to some important considerations.  Thanks to Dan and the other UC-Davis people (Aggies) for welcoming me to the program and for putting up with my indecision. Thanks to friends and family who have emailed or called since I've been gone.  I miss you, and love hearing from you.
 
Quotes
One interesting quote I gathered from my class reading, though more related to life than transportation, is:
    "It is hardly possible to overrate the value…of placing human beings in contact with persons dissimilar to themselves, and        with modes of thought and action unlike those with which they are familiar…Such communication has always been, and is        peculiarly in the present, one of the primary sources of progress.” - J.S. Mill, Priciples of Political Economy
            

    "Men themselves have wondered
             What they see in me
             They try so much
             But they can't touch
             My inner mystery.
             When I try to show them
             They say they still can't see...
             I'm a woman...phenomenally."  - Maya Angelou, Phenomenal Woman
                                                            (for Liz, Mom, Julia, Grandma, and all the rest)

"I think my car's just fine.  I like burning dinosaurs." - some guy at one of my fuel cells outreach events

"They say the darkest hour, is right before the dawn." - Paul Kelly

crépuscule n. m.
1. Lumière diffuse qui précède le lever du soleil ou qui suit son coucher. (Diffuse light which preceeds the sun's rise or which follows it's setting.)
                                                      Which is it for you?

Well, I hope this hasn't been a complete waste of your time and that you might have learned something new.  If you get the chance, check out my new re-vamped webpage (with an exciting new cover page: )). And if you're going to the 2002 World Hydrogen Energy Conference in June, I look forward to seeing you in Montreal.

Jonathan

P.S. Check out Jack Johnson, a new up-and-coming surfer turned musician from out this way: "Bubble Toes", and "Flake" are the kindest songs.  This guy's awesome!