The Wait for the Hydrogen Age Ends!

Wait no Longer for Fuel Cells Because an Immediate Solution Has Been Found

ALGONA, IA, Aug 30, 2004: The Hydrogen Engine Center (HEC) has introduced the world's first production-ready hydrogen fueled engine, the HEC-F-C649. The engine is a highly modified Ford 4.9L engine that produces 74 HP using commercially available hydrogen.

The expected applications of such an engine are powering: generator sets, luggage tugs for airports, pumping stations, man-lift systems that must operate inside closed buildings, forklifts, and subterranean mining equipment.

The hydrogen fueled engine can bridge the gap between today's program needs and the promise of tomorrow. Founder and President of HEC and former Director of Engineering at Ford, Ted Hollinger stated, "We wanted to build a system that was cost-effective in today's market, and could be maintained by the same people who maintain gasoline fueled engines. If it took specialists to maintain the engine, then it would be the wrong design. HEC figured out how to modify these engines, and then searched for production techniques that kept costs reasonable."

This introduction ends speculation that the idea of a hydrogen fueled engine would wither in research and development labs. It also ends the program delays resulting from stagnation in fuel cell development. Until fuel cell development reaches the point where it can offer cost effective solutions, all other dependent programs have been stalled. This signals the true start of the hydrogen age.

HEC uses fuel injection rather than fumigation (similar to carburetion) to more precisely control the combustion process. Hollinger stated that fuel injection increases the engine's efficiency and output power while lowering emissions. "Fumigated hydrogen engines can be built, but fuel injection takes a hydrogen engine from a scientific curiosity to a production-ready design." He noted that the engine uses commercially available hydrogen rather than the ultra pure hydrogen needed for fuel cell power. HEC is also working on higher power versions of the same engine.

If this engine is coupled with a generator, it could produce as much as 30 kW of electrical power. Programs waiting for economic fuel cells can start immediately by using these engines connected to generators. When asked the engine production rate, Hollinger replied, "Demand really determines how many will be built. We have the capability to build 10 per week now and expect to reach 20 per week by the end of the year. We can ramp to whatever volume is required, because we have selected our suppliers and our systems to support higher volume production."

Hydrogen Engine Center was founded after a leading fuel cell manufacturer cancelled a program that used a hydrogen fueled engine to generate electrical power. This had been a joint program with a noted automotive engine manufacturer. HEC's founders left this fuel cell manufacturer to continue their work, this time with a smaller engine and a burning desire to simplify the design, eliminating unnecessary cost.