Innovative Firms Bring New Fuels to New Castle
Published Apr 16, 2006
Mike Houser displays a membrane developed by the Fuel Cell Technologies Group of Newark-based W.L. Gore & Associates.
Alternative sources of energy are a serious business in New Castle County.
With climbing gas prices, increasing environmental concerns and the instability of major oil-producing nations, more emphasis is being placed on renewable energy.
“The recent run-up in oil and gasoline – and energy as we consume it in all forms – has caused folks to look at alternatives for the way that we consume energy,” says Stephen Grot, founder of Ion Power Inc., a manufacturer of membrane electrode assemblies, or MEAs, that are used in hydrogen fuel cells. “We’re looking for more efficient and more sustainable ways,” Grot says.
Ion Power, founded in 1999, is one of several companies in the New Castle County area doing their part to make energy consumption more efficient and sustainable.
GE Energy manufactures solar panels at its factory in Glasgow.
DuPont Co. has more than 30 years’ experience in fuel-cell development, including the patent on a polymer known as Nafion that Ion Power uses in its products.
And for more than 10 years, Newark-based W.L. Gore & Associates – perhaps best known for its Gore-Tex outerwear – has operated its Fuel Cell Technologies Group in nearby Elkton, Md. The unit makes and sells MEAs worldwide.
In January 2006, the eyes of alternative energy were focused on Ion Power’s New Castle headquarters where the company unveiled Delaware’s first commercial fuel-cell installation in a standard building-heating system. The system allows for the waste heat from the fuel cell to be recovered for the heating demand of the building.
“One of the significant things this unveiling did was draw attention from the fuel-cell industry to the great resources that we have here in Delaware, not only good local government support but also a great resource in cost-effective hydrogen,” says Grot, who is joined by his wife, Wendy, in operating Ion Power.
The company also has been awarded a five-year, $3.3 million project on recycling of fuel-cell components by the U.S. Department of Energy.
Gore Fuel Cell Technologies Group is more involved with the auto industry’s push toward the commercialization of fuel-cell vehicles.
“As we continue to make advancements in the durability and performance provided by Gore’s unique materials set, our automotive customers are making the technological and economic advancements necessary to replace the internal combustion engine,” says Mike Houser, Gore’s leader of sales and marketing and strategic alliances.
“As commercialization of fuel-cell vehicles appears closer, the importance of the role of Gore MEAs – a critical part of the fuel cell and one that influences performance and price – is increasing rapidly.”
Grot and Houser both say fuel cells represent energy’s future.
“It’s not a question of if there are going to be fuel-cell vehicles, but when,” Houser says.
Story by John McBryde
Photo by Antony Boshier
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