In the late 1950s and early 1960s, when NASA needed a power source for its Apollo program to take men to the moon and back, the space agency turned to a Connecticut company known for its innovations — Pratt & Whitney, a division of United Technologies Corporation. When Pratt & Whitney developed reliable fuel cells, it did much more than simply make the moon landing possible. It set the stage for a Connecticut industry that quickly took root. Other companies that manufacture fuel cells or components for cells soon set up operations in Connecticut, attracted by the state’s longstanding industrial infrastructure and talented workforce.
Some 40 years later, Connecticut provides more than a third of all the nation’s fuel cell-related jobs. Fuel cells have become such an important component of the state’s economy that many industry leaders have declared Connecticut to be the nation’s “fuel cell capital.”
 |
| Technician Charles Oliveria uses
a computer program to test a fuel cell. |
The University of Connecticut has positioned itself at the epicenter of the industry, playing an important role in ensuring that the industry can engineer a robust future since the School of Engineering founded the Connecticut Global Fuel Cell Center (CGFCC) in 2001. The 16,000-square-foot facility is unique in the United States as the nation’s largest academic facility dedicated exclusively to fuel cell technology and one of just a few such facilities in the world. Led by four distinguished faculty members — including two endowed chair holders — the Center provides research space for more than 40 professors who represent a wide range of disciplines, including chemistry, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, biology, electrical engineering and computer science. In just three years, it has attracted more than $20 million in funding notably from Connecticut Innovations, private industry, and federal and state governments, affirming itself as the nation’s most respected research center in the field of fuel cells.
The mission of UConn’s CGFCC is to help develop fuel cells—energy conversion devices—that are technically and economically sustainable for future generations. Although creating fuel cell technology is relatively simple, fulfilling that overall mission is more complicated. Fuel cells have demonstrated that they can reliably generate power for long periods of time, but they present a host of challenges for those interested in producing them as commercial alternatives to more traditional forms of energy.
A key challenge is to determine what fuel will be consumed in the cells, because a primary objective of fuel cell development recently has been twofold—to generate “clean,” non-polluting energy and to also do it in a cost-effective manner. In that context, hydrogen has been widely perceived as the most ideal fuel because it is theoretically plentiful and renewable, unlike fossil fuels such as oil and coal, whose world reserves are declining. But hydrogen is only one of a wide range of fuels that can be used in the cells, and industry experts say the cost of extracting it from either water or natural gas negates its economic benefits. No one yet has developed a practical solution to this dilemma.
While that problem is being studied, a variety of other fuels are being used to power cells. Natural gas can be used, though there is a limited amount of it, like all fossil fuels. So scientists are especially interested in methane and other renewable gases, such as waste gas produced at treatment centers and in “biomasses,” such as landfills.
One of the primary roles of CGFCC is research into the design of a host of fuel cell models, much of it supported by private businesses, including many Connecticut companies. “The fuel cell industry has come to a crossroads,” says Nigel Sammes, UTC Chair Professor of Fuel Cell Technology. “Without the support of research institutions such as ours, many companies will struggle to get their fuel cell systems to the next stage of commercial realization. We are helping many companies bring their technology to fruition.”
Photo: Peter Morenus |
| Jesse Hayes ’05 (ENG) adjusts a fuel cell-powered go-cart at the Connecticut Global Fuel Cell Center. |
Through external support, the Connecticut Global Fuel Cell Center is equipped with nearly $2 million worth of equipment specifically to serve industry research and testing needs and help companies develop products. Standing in counterpoint to the prevailing idea that fuel cells are a sort of “magic bullet,” Ken Reifsnider, Pratt & Whitney Chair Professor in Design and Reliability and director of the Center, calls them a “disruptive technology,” meaning that fuel cells will account for dramatic changes in the way we think of energy but not as simply or quickly as once imagined.
“Fuel cells will certainly change the way we live our lives,” he says, “but the technologies we’ll see in the long run are not here yet. In fact, there’s no clear path directly from where fuel cells are today to where they will be in about 10 years. We’re still very early in the process.”
Photo: Peter Morenus |
| Kenneth Reifsnider, director of the Connecticut Global Fuel Cell Center, standing center, listens to engineering graduate student Hui Xu, seated, explain a fuel cell project to graduate students Stephanie Higgins and Srivatsan Narasimham. |
What is clear, however, is that engineers will play a prominent role in the future of fuel cell development. “A huge amount of fuel cell-related science has been done but comparatively little engineering,” Reifsnider says. “The role of engineers in advancing fuel cell technology has to do with how we use the science. A fairly robust science has been constructed, but we’re just beginning to discover ways to use the technology. Engineers create whole systems. For example when they design a car, the design includes the appropriate kind of engine. That’s how it should be with fuel cells. You don’t start with the power source and then construct a system to fit it.”
Toward that end, he and Sammes launched a new fuel cell-oriented professional journal for the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. The Journal of Fuel Cell Science & Technology debuted in November, and Reifsnider predicts that it will eventually be published monthly.
In the meantime, much of the engineering that will define the future of fuel cells is being done at the CGFCC. “No question the fuel cell industry is going through a transition,” says Trent Molter, a research scientist and business development officer for the Center who is one of the founders of Proton Energy Systems in Wallingford, Conn., one of the foremost fuel cell manufacturers in the world. “It’s time now for engineers to solve real technological problems that are inhibiting the advance of fuel cell technology. And the right place to do that is at a major research university such as UConn.”
Molter points to the Center’s strong mix of both academic and industrial experience as one of its greatest strengths. That mix enhances the Center’s efforts to solve problems while also creating dynamic learning opportunities. The Center now funds about 70 graduate students and a handful of undergraduates, all of whom are regularly learning about fuel cells while working on real projects for real customers. Reifsnider believes that within two to three years, UConn will be offering engineering degree programs in the field of renewable energies.
“This Center is attracting people from all over the world,” says Amir Faghri, dean of the School of Engineering, who serves as principal investigator on a major contract to develop prototype mini-fuel cells for the U.S. Army.
“There is increasing interest in fuel cells, and the Global Fuel Cell Center is ideally positioned to meet the needs of companies in this field. We’re very pleased to be taking the lead in something that is this important to the future of our nation.”
The Nation's Fuel Cell Capital
Connecticut has nearly 30 companies that manufacture fuel cells or components for fuel cells, including three of the largest fuel cell companies in the world: UTC Fuel Cells of South Windsor; FuelCell Energy, Inc., of Danbury; and Proton Energy Systems of Wallingford. No other state or province in North America accounts for more fuel cell-related jobs. To date, more than $300 million in fuel cell products have been produced in Connecticut, more than any other state or Canadian province.
Fuel cell manufacturing is on the rise and promises to be a job-producing machine well into the future. In addition to the Connecticut Global Fuel Cell Center, the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund (CCEF)—launched by the General Assembly in 2000—is charged with supporting the growth of clean energy in Connecticut. CCEF invests in enterprises and initiatives that will help to develop a vibrant clean energy market, educates consumers about the benefits and availability of clean power, and builds a base of renewable energy technologies and infrastructure.
“In Connecticut, perhaps unlike any other state, fuel cell manufacturing is on its way to becoming an important economic driver,” says Karen Mendes, fuel cell project manager at the CCEF. “The research conducted at the Connecticut Global Fuel Cell Center and the partnerships UConn is developing with the very best fuel cell technology groups in the country is helping to keep Connecticut on the fast track.” — Jim H. Smith