Fuel Cell Nation

Volkswagen Consent Decree Fallout: EPA Treats EVs better than FCEVs!

In the news release from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Headquarters announcing a major step towards resolving last year's VW diesel engine emissions scandal, emphasis is placed on the fairness of the $14.7 Billion partial settlement between Volkswagen, the EPA and California Air Resources Board (CARB). Yes, up to $10.03 billion is set aside to compensate consumers under the program, $2.7 billion will fund projects across the country that will reduce emissions of NOx, and VW will "invest" $2 billion toward improving infrastructure, access and education to support and advance zero emission vehicles (ZEVs). Unfortunately, it appears that in the EPA's eyes, the class of ZEVs that include plug-in electric vehicles (EVs) will receive more assistance than fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs). In my eyes, this unequal footing of EVs and FCEVs is not fair.

The text of the partial consent decree details how the $2 billion "investment" by VW will be "invested" over the prescribed 10-year period. Appendix C details the allowable financial assistance for EV charging stations and FCEV hydrogen refueling stations:

• 60-100% of the cost for EV charging stations, depending on the level of public access, but only
• 25-35% of the cost for FCEV hydrogen refueling stations, depending on the size of the station (expressed in kg/day.)

Obviously, it appears that the EPA (and CARB) have decided to not use a level playing field, but instead have chosen to provide over twice the financial incentive percentage to electric vehicles, relative to hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

This is quite disappointing, especially due to the nascent state of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Anyone familiar with technoeconomic analysis knows that new technologies (e.g. FCEVs) are generally more expensive than more established technologies (e.g. EVs). This is due to the fact that costs always come down as technologies mature, coupled with the fact that the increasing adoption of new technologies leads to economies of replication (hello assembly lines!). On this basis alone, I would recommend that the EPA (and CARB) revise their plans, and allow financial incentives of 60-100% for FCEV refueling stations, matching the incentive rates for battery electric vehicles.

 To summarize, it is good that the first VW emissions scandal settlement includes financial incentives to speed the adoption of EVs and FCEVs. Unfortunately, it is bad that the VW settlement provides significantly larger rates of financial incentives for FCEV hydrogen refueling stations.

Jim McElroy and NASA's Gemini Fuel Cell

With thanks to Robert Melusky, who posted this nice photo on Fuel Cell Nation's Facebook page.

Here is a nice photograph of the late Jim McElroy posing with a Gemini fuel cell module (container only) made from spare parts after the program ended. All the flight hardware burned up in re-entry. The documents on the table are the original GE manuals that were being discarded along with the parts.

Additional details about Jim's passing are in this post: Jim McElroy, Fuel Cell Pioneer.

https://www.facebook.com/robert.melusky

Jim McElroy, Fuel Cell Pioneer

Robert Melusky just posted this on Fuel Cell Nation's Facebook page:

It is with a heavy heart that I am posting this. Jim McElroy died Thursday (1/3/2012) after suffering a massive stroke. Jim was one of the true fuel cell pioneers beginning as a young engineer at General Electric and ending active at Bloom Energy and Infinity Fuel Cell and Hydrogen. He was not all that welcoming to his supervisor's suggestion to get into the fuel cell group as he did not want to spend his career designing fuel tanks in aircraft wings! Jim was a key person on the team that placed the first PEM fuels cells for a practical application in the Gemini Space Program and over the years he amassed more than 55 patents in this industry. His fertile mind was active right up until his death, guiding a team of young engineers to implement his truly innovative ideas. He was a remarkable man.

I knew Jim from my time at Giner, where I demonstrated an anode tail-gas hydrogen recovery system (utilizing partial-pressure swing adsorption) for Bloom Energy. Jim was a great guy; I am glad I was able to hear some good GE stories from conversations with him and Giner's Tony LaConti (another old-timer from the GE Gemini program who has now passed away.) We will all miss him greatly.

Robert MeluskyRobert Melusky

Presidential Campaign Energy Debate: Video & Transcript

As mentioned in my last blog post, Friday, October 5, 2012 saw representatives of the two presidential candidates square off in a debate on energy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). A recording and transcript of the debate has now been put on-line by E&E TV.

Video of the debate can be accessed here.

The debate transcript is here.

Enjoy!

Presidential Campaign Energy Debate at MIT

Friday, October 5, 2012 saw representatives of the two presidential candidates square off in a debate on energy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The debate, sponsored by the MIT Energy Initiative and the MIT Energy Club, was moderated by Jason Pontin, Editor of Technology Review magazine.

Representing President Barack Obama was Joseph Aldy, Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research and Professor of Public Policy at Harvard University. Governor Mitt Romney was represented by Oren Cass, Domestic Policy Director, Romney for President. The professional questioners included Steve Hargreaves, CNN Money; Bill Loveless, Senior Editor of Platts; and Monica Trauzzi, Managing Editor and Host, E&E TV. Three student questioners were also on stage.

The debate will be broadcast by E&E TV in the near future. Real-time comments could be followed under the Twitter hashtag #mitei.

The best way to report on this debate is to start with a few articles by others that summarize the debate:

• Science Magazine: "At MIT, Romney and Obama Campaigns Debate Energy Policy".
• Nature: "Reps for Obama, Romney, debate energy and climate".
• BostInno: "MIT Hosts the Best Possible Debate Between Romney & Obama Campaigns on Energy".

I'd like to finish with a few of my favorite gems:

• Romney's Cass: "Energy efficiency is a solution in search of a problem". (This statement got the most tweets and re-tweets.)
• When asked if reducing emissions is a legitimate aim of the US government, Romney's Cass said "No."
• Romney's Cass: The Governor believes that some emissions from coal-burning power plants involve particulate matter that is so small that "it is imaginary." This is why they do not need to be regulated.
• Romney's Cass: "Climate change is real but we're not quite sure how real." This comment got the loudest giggles from the crowd.

It was a night well spent, even if I didn't learn much new.

Looking for New Consulting or Employment Opportunities

Thanks for your help!

Hello Everyone!

Thanks to all of you for following my blog. Rather than writing about some hot clean energy topic, this message is more personal. The time has come where I am looking for new opportunities and challenges in my professional life.

Since graduating from MIT with BS and MS degrees in Chemical Engineering Practice, my experience in the clean energy/green energy/alternative energy industry has been broad and deep. My energy work spans much of the hydrocarbon and electricity value chains, with biomass and nuclear work included. A sampling of my projects includes laboratory- and commercial-scale fluidized bed gasification of biomass, designing an economical cogeneration/district heating/district cooling system for a university hospital complex, computer modeling to automatically determine the minimum system weight of a hydrogen fuel cell-powered unmanned air vehicle (UAV) flying a two-week mission at a 70,000 foot altitude, and developing a water electrolyzer that will be capable of directly filling a fuel cell vehicle’s tank with 5,000 psig hydrogen. That's just the beginning. Ask for my resume for a complete overview.

I have also done a fair amount of pharmaceutical and biotech device development work. My pharmaceutical work involved aseptic fill and finish operations of a controlled-release human growth hormone formulation, while my device development work has included developing the cooling subsystem for a new portable human organ persufflation/transportation device, as well as a portable methanol-fueled infusion fluid warmer. It seems that even my bio-related work involves energy!

My commitment to and interest in the energy field is evident. My recent participation in MIT Sloan’s “Clean Energy Ventures: Creating Innovative New Businesses Through Entrepreneurial Management,” as part of their Executive Certificate program, is testament to that ongoing dedication to the field.

Please contact me by posting a comment below if you have (or know of) consulting or employment opportunities that jibe with my experience, would like to network, or to request a copy of my resume. A good overview of my experience and interests can also be found in my LinkedIn profile HERE. Or feel free to contact me through LinkedIn; be sure to request a connection so we can stay in touch.

This is an exciting and upbeat time for me as I seek out new opportunities for work challenges. Thanks for your help and consideration.

 

Hello Everyone!

 

Thanks to all of you for following my blog. Rather than writing about some hot clean energy topic, this message is more personal. The time has come where I am looking for new opportunities and challenges in my employment life.

My experience in the alternative energy/green energy/clean energy industry is broad and deep. My energy work spans much of the hydrocarbon and electricity value chains, with biomass and nuclear work included. A sampling of my projects includes laboratory- and commercial-scale fluidized bed gasification of biomass, designing economical cogeneration/district heating/district cooling systems for a university hospital complex, computer modeling to automatically determine the minimum system weight of a hydrogen fuel cell-powered unmanned air vehicle (UAV) flying a two-week mission at a 70,000 foot altitude, and developing a water electrolyzer that will be capable of directly filling a fuel cell vehicle’s tank with 5,000 psig hydrogen. That's just the beginning. Ask for my resume for a complete overview.

I have also done a fair amount of pharmaceutical and biotech device development work. My pharmaceutical work involved aseptic fill and finish operations of a controlled-release human growth hormone formulation, while my device development work has included developing the cooling subsystem for a new portable human organ persufflation/transportation device, as well as a portable methanol-fueled infusion fluid warmer. It seems that even my bio-related work involves energy!

My commitment to and interest in the energy field is evident. My recent participation in MIT Sloan’s “Clean Energy Ventures: Creating Innovative New Businesses Through Entrepreneurial Management,” as part of their Executive Certificate program, is testament to that ongoing dedication to the field.

 

http://sloanm.it/I568RU

Please contact me by posting a link on this post if you have (or know of) employment opportunities that jibe with my experience, would like to network, or to request a copy of my resume. A good overview of my experience and interests can also be found my LinkedIn profile HERE. Or feel free to contact me through LinkedIn; be sure to request a connection so we can stay in touch.

 

http://www.linkedin.com/in/keithdpatch

This is an exciting and upbeat time for me as new opportunities for work challenges open. Thanks for your help and consideration.

Forbes Fuel Cell Article Errors

It looks like Forbes needs more technical fact checkers who are familiar with green energy technologies. In the interim, I provided that service in a comment to an article. Forbes "called out" my comment, meaning they thought it worthwhile.

In Forbes' recent article "Fuel Cells Inching into Power Generation Markets," Ken Silverstein gives a good overview of power generation in the stationary market. He starts the story by discussing how fuel cells are a better fit to today's stationary power market, compared to the automotive fuel cell market. Then the remainder of the article discusses FuelCell Energy, United Technologies, and Bloom Energy's power solutions. Unfortunately, Ken does not discuss the approximately 1,500 fuel cell-powered fork lift trucks that have been installed in the last 3 years.

However, the article's biggest shortcomings involved technical matters. For example, Ken says “Fuel cells work by separating hydrogen from oxygen.” My correction points out that this should read “Fuel cells work by combining hydrogen and oxygen.” Quite a bit of a difference there.

My comment there goes on to point out four additional factual corrections. Feel free to go to Forbes and take issue with my corrections, or add your own comments. For instance, I didn't take issue with his quoted thermal and electrical efficiencies, but some of them do seem a bit off.

MIT Clean Energy Prize Audience Choice

As a part of the MIT Sloan Clean Energy Venture program I'm attending, I am just back from attending the final awards ceremony for the 2012 MIT Clean Energy Prize.

Here's Spindrift Energy, winners of the Audience Choice Award, hamming it up after the along ceremony, along with their check for $10,000. Spindrift Energy is an MIT startup helping to solve the world’s energy problems by way of their patent-pending wave energy device.

Earlier in the evening, Bill Joy, co-founder of Sun Microsystems, and currently at the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, participated in a "fireside chat" that was streamed live on the Internet.

More later, as I have to get up early to get back to MIT Sloan early tomorrow for another day of the Clean Energy Ventures program.

TED 2012 and Batteries for the Smart Grid

As part of the pre-program reading material for my upcoming MIT Sloan Clean Energy Ventures class, we had a variety of required reading and video posts to review. One of the most interesting videos was the 2012 TED Talk of MIT's Professor Donald Sadoway, "The Missing Link to Renewable Energy". In the talk, he discusses reinventing the battery.

Without dumbing-down the subject matter too badly, he is able to describe the advanced work that he undertook at MIT making an economical liquid metal battery. He doesn't mention it, but Bill Gates is a financial backer of his startup that came out of his research, Liquid Metal Battery Corporation. In brief, he is attempting to make a battery that is technically advanced enough for the Smart Grid, but cheap enough to be used without government subsidies.

The most interesting thing I took away from this was his quote, where he states that it is important to have "passion for science in the service of society, not science in service of career building."

Attending Next Week's MIT Sloan Clean Energy Ventures Program

I'm excited about taking the MIT/Sloan Clean Energy Ventures: Creating Innovative New Businesses Through Entrepreneurial Management program next week as part of their executive education offerings. So far there are 21 people taking part, including many international executives (Mexico, Denmark, Singapore, ...)

The instructors include Bill Aulet (Managing Director of the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship and also a Professor of the Practice at the MIT Sloan School of Management), Daniel Nocera (currently at Harvard University, and the ex-Henry Dreyfus Professor of Energy and ex-Professor of Chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology [MIT]. Prof. Nocera was also Director of MIT’s Solar Revolutions Project and the ENI Solar Frontiers Center), Ernest Moniz (currently MIT's Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physics Emeritus and Special Advisor to the MIT President, previously the thirteenth United States Secretary of Energy from 2013 to January 2017), and others.

In addition to the classroom learning, we will be evaluating clean energy business opportunities at the 2012 MIT Clean Energy Prize. Following the evaluations, there is a VIP reception with the teams and judges. Looking forward to meeting the scientists and management leaders setting the standards in the clean energy field.

I intend to Tweet as time permits during these sessions, so feel free to follow @KeithDPatch. Blog recaps to follow in the coming weeks.