WOODLAND HILLS : New Organization to Study Hydrogen Fuel

A question for the ‘90s: what to do with all that brain power that had been previously deployed in nuclear energy fields?

With the Cold War over and the resulting winding-down of the nuclear arms race, 150 scientists with the Energy Technology Engineering Center, located in a canyon near Chatsworth, face unemployment. In addition, the U.S. government is looking at a $500-million investment in energy research going to waste.

Seeking a solution, ETEC created the Community Reuse Organization, a nonprofit group to draw on private and public industries for joint projects. The organization opened its doors Wednesday in Woodland Hills with a $260,000 matching grant from the federal government.

The money will be used for a project with Hydrogen Burner Technology, Inc. of Costa Mesa for a three-month study of a low-cost hydrogen fuel.

“Our mission is to bring public and private industry to ETEC to use the intellectual resources and lab equipment that’s up there,” said organization chairwoman Bonny Matheson. “In doing so, we maintain those jobs and equipment and create more jobs and high-quality products so we can compete globally.”

ETEC will test the “under-oxidixed burner,” an inexpensive machine that creates hydrogen gas by burning natural gas and air, according to a release.

“It’s just as safe as natural gas,” said Clark Gibbs, ETEC general manager. “It’s used in the main engines of the space shuttle.”