Advancing the Hydrogen Economy — Action Summit II
A Global Leadership Role for the Red River Valley Research Corridor
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Action Summit Panel: Hydrogen
from Fossil Fuels
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The Advancing the
Hydrogen Economy — Action Summit II was held on September 4, 2008, in Grand
Forks, North Dakota, at the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC).
Topics discussed included the production of hydrogen from fossil
fuels, producing hydrogen from renewable sources, and the utilization of hydrogen
in vehicles and other end uses. Attendees of the second Action Summit explored
how hydrogen technologies are advancing to provide energy solutions and create
new economic opportunities.
Demographics
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U.S. Senator
Byron Dorgan
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EERC Director
Gerald Groenewold
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About the Summit
The second Hydrogen Action Summit was sponsored and organized by U.S. Senator
Byron Dorgan, the EERC, and the Red River Valley Research Corridor Coordinating Center.
The Action Summit addressed key technological barriers facing the hydrogen economy.
“Through the hydrogen programs at the EERC, we are breaking down
the barriers, bringing down costs, and shortening the timetable to the point
where hydrogen will be a major component of our national energy future,” said
EERC Director Gerald Groenewold.
Dorgan, who gave a keynote address during the Summit, has supported
billions in federal funding to invest in national hydrogen technology programs
around the country through his work on the Senate Appropriations Committee. This
funding has included $10.85 million to create and fund research at the National
Center for Hydrogen Technology (NCHT) at the EERC. Dorgan also pushed for
federal targets and timetables for hydrogen research and development.
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Carl Bauer, U.S. Department of Energy National Energy
Technology Laboratory
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Groenewold said, “Senator Dorgan has awarded more than $10 million
in federal funds over the past four fiscal years in recognition of the EERC’s
expertise in hydrogen production and utilization technologies, which we have
leveraged into $40 million, soon to be over $60 million, in contracts.”
Carl Bauer, Director of the U.S. Department of Energy National
Energy Technology Laboratory, which administers the federal funding to the
EERC’s hydrogen program, believes that hydrogen utilization expansion will
occur in stages.
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Keith Cole, GM Corporation
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“We have a huge opportunity with hydrogen, but we just can’t step
up to the plate fast enough,” Bauer said.
Bauer said near-term production will be from natural gas and
electrolysis. The midterm, which we are entering, will involve reforming
and/or gasification of coal or biomass and solar and wind to hydrogen. In
the long term, large amounts of hydrogen will be produced from thermochemical
conversion from nuclear power.
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U.S. Representative
Earl Pomeroy
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The Hydrogen Action Summit also featured U.S. Representative Earl
Pomeroy and keynote speaker Keith Cole, Director of Advanced Technology
Vehicle Strategies and Legislative Affairs at General Motors (GM) Corporation.
The GM Corporation provided hydrogen fuel cell vehicles for the public to ride
and drive as part of GM’s Project Driveway, which is providing over 100 consumers
a chance to experience the newest additions to GM’s fleet.
GM Fuel Cell Vehicles
Four Chevy Equinox Fuel Cell Vehicles were on display and available to
ride and drive during the Summit.
“These vehicles are tangible proof that hydrogen fuel cells are
fast becoming one of the ways America will fuel its future,” Dorgan said. “Not
only is this technology better for the environment than internal combustion
engines, it’s a way to help reduce America’s dependence on foreign energy. That’s
why I’ve used my positions on the Senate’s Appropriations and Energy and
Natural Resources Committees to significantly advance hydrogen programs in
this country. It’s also why I’ve helped increase hydrogen research and development
right here in the Red River Valley Research Corridor.”
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