NHA Exhibits at Automotive Engineers' 2004 World Congress
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by Debbi Smith, National Hydrogen Association

A Look Back

The California Fuel Cell Partnership, the U.S. Fuel Cell Council and the National Hydrogen Association combined exhibit booths to form a hydrogen and fuel cell pavilion at the Society of Automotive Engineers’ (SAE) 2004 World Congress this month in Detroit. Showing their products in the pavilion were members in common, Ford Motor Company with the hydrogen fuel cell Focus; General Motors and their concept hydrogen fuel cell car, AUTOnomy; Ballard Power Systems with a fuel cell engine; Proton, Inc. with a HOGEN unit to show electrolysis and Air Products and Chemicals demonstrated a photo display on hydrogen production to round out the hydrogen story. Also on display were fuel cells from USFCC members Delphi and Nuverra. At the NHA  end of the pavilion, Hydrogen 2000’s videos ran non-stop and the topic of discussion on most booth visitors’ minds was safety.

The pavilion was rarely at a lull. The AUTOnomy was the clear attention grabber, but once interest was piqued, visitors often wanted to see everything. There was a lot of “discovery.” About one-third of the visitors to the NHA booth were from OEM tier I and II suppliers. They were seeking information and wanted one place to find it.  It was the perfect opportunity to invite them to the 15^th Annual U.S. Hydrogen Conference in Hollywood. The remaining two-thirds of the visitors could be roughly divided between college students and instructors, including vocational/technical instructors, OEM engineers, and the “just curious” from all professions.