NHA Membership News   

The NHA is proud to welcome three new members who joined the association during the second and third quarters of 2001.

International Hydrogen
Derek M. Saunders formed International Hydrogen (IHI) in November 2000. The company is developing an infrastructure to support hydrogen powered vehicles. The company is committed to transforming hydrogen from an emerging technology to a viable alternative to petroleum based fuels. Hydrogen’s greatest obstacle is its lack of presence. By jump-starting the HYDROGEN ECONOMY, IHI is confident that it can overcome the Catch-22 which has stalled the hydrogen industry. Energy firms have been leery of investing in an infrastructure with no cars to fuel, and the auto manufacturers are leery to produce cars without an infrastructure to support them. IHI is committed to breaking this cycle. The company has a multi-stage plan. It involves developing cross-industry and government support to build the physical network of fueling stations. This will require millions of dollars to start and billions to complete. As the President and CEO, Derek M. Saunders has extensive background in finance and business development. While attending New York University, he worked at L.F. Rothschild, Inc. It was there he discovered his talent for working with emerging and developing countries. Through the years he has worked with numerous middle market companies, helping them to expand. Most recently he has also worked with commercial debt consolidation, helping companies who have expanded and extended themselves too far. Mr. Saunders saw the opportunity for hydrogen in the mid 1990s and saw with the coming of the new millennium that this was no more science fiction than the space shuttle was. Hydrogen was simply a slow moving technology, with incredible opportunities and an endless renewable supply. International Hydrogen was born.

Methanex Corporation
Methanex is the global leader in methanol production and marketing. We have been actively involved in the emerging fuel cell industry for many years. While we are not developing fuel cell technology itself, we are working with some of the world’s leading companies to advance the commercialization of this environmentally friendly technology. Fuel cell technology is developing very rapidly and we believe there is tremendous potential for methanol in this emerging market. For example, we envisage that methanol could potentially provide the hydrogen requirement of PEM fuel cell applications in two distinct ways - i) as a feedstock for the production of hydrogen off-board the application and ii) as a fuel reformed to hydrogen or used directly in the application. To further develop these options Methanex has allied with some of the world’s leading companies to ensure the widespread and safe introduction of methanol as a cost competitive and environmentally friendly fuel.

U.S. Department of the Navy

21st Century Energy Security for the Department of the Navy
As we progress through the 21st century, the Department of the Navy’s reliance on traditional fossil fuels will become increasingly problematic. Declining fossil fuel reserves and environmental restrictions will ultimately drive the world economy towards alternative, cleaner fuel choices. While the commercial sector explores various alternatives, the specialized nature of military operations imposes additional performance, handling, and safety requirements that often exceed those acceptable in commercial applications. Therefore, alternative fuels such as hydrogen and associated technologies that meet stringent Naval fuels requirements will become important components for long-term Naval energy security.

In addition to changes in the fuel economy, fuel conversion technologies for the 21st century must become cleaner and more efficient than current combustion engines. In this regard, fuel cells appear to be leading candidates as future power sources because they offer numerous benefits over conventional heat engines such as higher efficiency, lower emissions, lower maintenance costs, and quieter operation. To take advantage of the worldwide development of fuel cells, the Department of the Navy has undertaken programs to evaluate fuel cell technologies. Among these efforts is the evaluation of a PEM fuel cell for land-based facilities power generation at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division in Crane, Indiana.

While a long-term Naval energy vision must consider hydrogen and other alternative fuels for fuel cells, the near-term introduction of fuel cells necessitates operation on conventional diesel fuels. Therefore there is a need for technologies to convert diesel fuel to a hydrogen stream of adequate purity for efficient fuel cell operation. To address this significant challenge, the Office of Naval Research (ONR) is sponsoring fuel-processing programs, including a molten carbonate fuel cell capable of operating on marine diesel fuel and an integrated fuel processor to power a PEM fuel cell on marine diesel. ONR also recognizes the importance of ensuring Naval energy security into the future and has established a Grand Challenge in Electric Power Sources for the Navy and Marine Corps with the stated goal:
“to develop new, safe, efficient, environmentally friendly, and non-petroleum based sources of power and power generation concepts that would support portable long-lived power sources for all future Marine-carried equipment and electric power sources required for all-electric ships and other Naval warfighting platforms.”

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