| Source: | DOE |
|---|---|
| Date: | 11/1/96 Record No.: 10411 |
| Contact: | Annmarie Pittman, 202-639-4994 |
1996 Fuel Cell Seminar & Russian-American Consortium
The 1996 Fuel Cell Seminar was held Nov 17-20, 1996 in Florida.
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Fuel Cells--The Dawn of Commercialization
DATE: November 17-20, 1996
Kissimmee, Florida
A volume of abstracts from the seminar is available for $40. Contact:
Ms. Annmarie Pittman
655 15th Street, NW
Suite #300
Washington, D.C. 20005
Phone: (202) 639-4994
Fax: (202) 347-6109
email: 96FCSEM@mcimail.com
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On Tuesday Nov 19, there was a special briefing about the RUSSIAN AMERICAN FUEL CELL CONSORTIUM (RAFCO). See earlier press release below.
*** UFTO members received copies of the proceedings of the US Russian workshop held in Sept. 1995.(SAND96-0945).Our contact at Sandia, Al Sylvester, is directly involved in RAFCO, and tells me he'd welcome utility involvement. ***
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DOE PRESS RELEASE. September 17, 1996
United States and Russia To Co-Develop Clean, Efficient Fuel Cell Technologies
The United States and Russia today announced they will pool their resources on the research and development of fuel cells, a move that is expected to help speed this highly efficient, clean energy source to commercial markets. The Russian-American Fuel Cell Consortium (RAFCO) will draw on the scientific and engineering expertise of both nations to advance the development of commercially viable fuel cell technologies and promote defense conversion goals. American industry is expected to play a pivotal role in the consortium's projects.
U.S. Secretary of Energy Hazel R. O'Leary and Russian Minister of Atomic Energy Viktor Mikhailov signed the agreement while attending meetings of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, Austria. "This is another milestone in Russian-American cooperation and a concrete step in the Clinton administration's commitment to diversify the world's energy supply with clean, efficient alternative technologies," Secretary O'Leary said.
Fuel cells are a highly energy-efficient, environmentally friendly and cost-effective power source. Originally developed by both countries for their space programs, they convert the energy released by oxidation of a fuel directly into electricity. By producing energy without combustion, they release much less carbon dioxide than conventional technologies.
Fuel cell technology is a national priority in Russia as a source of remote power for the rapidly developing oil and gas industry. In the United States, the Department of Energy supports research and development in fuel cells for power and transportation applications, including the enhanced use of natural gas, utility and other power grid applications, retail and industrial dispersed power applications, mass transportation and advanced automobile technologies. Pooling the resources of the two governments and American industry is expected to result in significant cost savings.
There is already a small, emerging U.S. and international market for fuel cell applications. International Fuel Cells, a leader in the field, is currently producing the 100th 200-kilowatt power plant using phosphoric acid fuel cell technology, which was developed largely with DOE support.
DOE's Sandia National Laboratories first proposed a consortium in 1994 as an efficient way of combining the expertise and resources of Russian nuclear institutes, DOE national laboratories and U.S. industry. RAFCO will combine Russian and American scientists and engineers on specific projects and serve as an information clearing house. The consortium will further nonproliferation goals by helping to redirect the expertise in Russian and U.S. nuclear labs to peaceful applications.
The initial collaborations will include work on all four types of fuel cell technologies: solid oxide, molten carbonate, phosphoric acid, and polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells.
-DOE- R-96-137
| Topics: | Fuel Cells, International |
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