This tour's a breath of fresh hydrogen
BYLINE: C. Grant Jackson, The State, Columbia, S.C.
Apr. 29--The public can get a glimpse of what a hydrogen-powered future might look like when The Hydrogen Education Tour comes to Columbia this week.
The exhibit will be part of FuelCellSouth's 4th Annual Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Technology Conference and Expo Wednesday through Friday at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center.
The traveling exhibit gives people the opportunity to learn about and experience the future of hydrogen through interactive pavilions and displays. It offers information on hydrogen production, storage and infrastructure, safety and fuel cell applications.
Admission to the exhibit hall will be free on Wednesday, which has been dubbed Hydrogen Day at the conference.
Teachers are encouraged to bring their students to see the exhibit. Group reservations or additional information can be obtained by contacting Keely Saye at (803) 777-2572 or e-mailing sayek@sc.edu [mailto:sayek@sc.edu].
The Hydrogen Education Tour was organized by Hydrogen Works, a media company devoted to education and public awareness of hydrogen, fuel cells and clean energy.
This year's FuelCellSouth conference, which is expected to draw attendees from 11 Southeastern states, has the theme "Collaboration, Consensus and Commitment -- the Catalysts for Realizing the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Economy."
To register or for other information, go to fuelcellsouth.com.
"Collaboration demands character and heart," said Tom Militello, executive director of FuelCellSouth. "Over the last several years, FuelCellSouth has worked with industry, researchers, entrepreneurs and government officials to facilitate the emergence of a hydrogen and fuel cell economy in the Southeastern United States.
"This year the focus is on what is here and now."
Wednesday sessions, sponsored by The Center for Hydrogen Research and the S.C. Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Alliance, will feature:
--Speakers on hydrogen production, infrastructure and distribution, portable fuel cells, power generation and transportation.
--A luncheon keynote address by David Ramm, chief executive officer of Millennium Cell, a hydrogen battery company that is part of the National Science Foundation Center for Fuel Cells at USC.
--Portable power demonstrations by Millennium and JadooPower Systems, which have already teamed on two demonstration projects in Columbia.
Thursday, the conference will be held in conjunction with the 2nd Annual Korea-USA Joint Symposium on Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Technologies. The symposium is a scientific and engineering forum sponsored by the Korea Institute of Energy Research and USC.
Thursday evening will see the presentation of The Crystal Flame Innovation Awards, which recognize innovation and excellence in entrepreneurship, research and industry in the Southeast.
Three of this year's finalists are from South Carolina:
--Earl Wagener of Tetramer Technologies in Pendleton, in the entrepreneurship category.
--Bernard Spielvogel, who recently moved his company, BoroScience International, into the USC Columbia Technology Incubator, in the entrepreneurship category.
--Robert Mammarella of FUJIFILM Manufacturing U.S.A. in Greenwood, in the industry category.
On Thursday and Friday, FuelCellSouth will present its Spring Partners Forum, a series of case studies and panel presentations on the use of fuel cells for the business, government and public sectors. This year, tracks have been added for municipalities and counties interested in exploring the latest fuel cell technologies.
Friday's sessions will include a fuel cell industry CEO panel and a transportation industry panel and legislative panel.
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