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Hydrogen Briefing

Senate Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Caucus Briefing

On April 16, 2008, the NHA, in conjunction with the American Chemical Society and the Senate Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Caucus, conducted a briefing: ZERO Carbon Solutions – Hydrogen and Fuel Cells.

The briefing was held in the Dirksen Senate Office Building and was attended by over 90 industry experts, government and congressional staff, journalists and interested citizens. Attendees heard presentations from some of the key leaders of the hydrogen economy, including remarks from Senators Byron Dorgan of North Dakota and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, co-chairs of the Senate Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Caucus. A lively question-and-answer session moderated by Jerome Hinkle of the NHA followed the presentations.

Catherine Dunwoody of the California Fuel Cell Partnership opened the briefing with a presentation on the development of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and California’s goals for a low carbon transport system. Claude Roulet of Schlumberger Carbon Services followed with a presentation on sustainable hydrogen from coal using carbon capture and storage, and Keith Cole of General Motors spoke about the potential of fuel cell vehicles for greatly reducing emissions and improving efficiency. Dan Arvizu, Director of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, discussed the huge potential for hydrogen from renewable energy resources, and Mike Holmes of the University of North Dakota’s Energy and Environmental Research Center spoke about the diversity of production methods for hydrogen and its environmental benefits. Their presentations can be viewed at the links below.

Both Senator Dorgan and Senator Graham highlighted the urgency of pursuing hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. Sen. Graham spoke about the need for government to create more certainty in the regulatory process in order to speed market adoption of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and hydrogen supply. Sen. Dorgan warned against business as usual and called for a commitment to clean, renewable and efficient energy technologies on the scale of existing tax incentives for oil exploration.

Presentations