Energy Dept. Says Fuel Cell System Is a Breakthrough

As President Clinton prepared to reveal his strategy to curb global warming today, the Energy Department touted an emerging automobile fuel cell technology Tuesday as a way to sharply reduce emissions and gasoline consumption.

Energy Secretary Federico Pena said the new technology--a two-step system that converts gasoline to hydrogen and uses a fuel cell to generate electricity--is a major breakthrough that could revolutionize the auto industry by 2005.

Auto industry officials, however, cautioned that the fuel cell development was announced 10 months ago and that commercialization remains problematic. Chrysler Corp. said earlier this year that it would build a prototype gasoline fuel cell vehicle using similar technology by early 1999.

“It’s a validation of our approach,” company spokesman Scott Forsgard said of the Energy Department’s comments.

The timing of Pena’s remarks appeared to be linked to Clinton’s strategy to reduce so-called greenhouse gases, emissions believed to contribute to global warming. The issue has split administration advisors and could rankle environmental and industry groups.

In a news briefing to reporters in Washington, Pena repeatedly said that new technology, including the fuel cell system, could help reduce greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide without hurting the economy. The Energy Department is underwriting a portion of the fuel cell research.

“Technology is increasingly important as the nation focuses on environmental protection and climate changes,” he said.

Pena’s comments came as the auto industry, under regulatory pressure to reduce tailpipe emissions, is gearing up research into alternative-fuel technology.

The auto industry is also concerned that a pending global climate-change treaty could result in new requirements for more fuel-efficient cars. In December, 160 nations will meet in Kyoto, Japan, to hammer out a deal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Fuel cells are electrochemical devices that combine hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity and water vapor. But hydrogen is difficult to store and no infrastructure exists to distribute it.

The new technology highlighted by the Energy Department eliminates the need for distributing hydrogen because it uses gasoline instead. The system would break down gasoline into its constituent parts, including hydrogen, with a device known as a reformer.

The system was developed by Arthur D. Little Inc., a research and consulting firm based in Cambridge, Mass. The company demonstrated the system for the first time two weeks ago in a test that lasted two days.

“We’ve proved in the laboratory that this concept is technically feasible,” said Jeffrey Bentley, vice president of transportation technology for A.D. Little.

It is estimated that the fuel cell system is twice as efficient as an internal combustion engine and could provide a driving distance of 80 miles per gallon. It also reduces emissions by 90%.

Most important, the new system is refueled quickly using existing gas stations. One of the biggest drawbacks to electric vehicles that use batteries is their long recharging time and short range. Alternative-fuel vehicles are hampered by the lack of refueling stations.

Environmentalists are enthusiastic backers of fuel cells, but some object to the use of gasoline to produce hydrogen. The critics would prefer the use of cleaner fuels such as methanol or ethanol.

“We think it’s the right technology but the wrong fuel,” said Jason Mark, transportation analyst for the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Cost is another hurdle for the technology. Pena said a vehicle with such a fuel cell system would cost six times as much as a conventionally powered car does today. Also, the manufacturers must figure out how such a system can be properly packaged in a vehicle.

Pena said he hopes his remarks will spur other U.S. auto makers to explore development of a gas-based fuel cell vehicle. General Motors Corp., Exxon Corp. and Atlantic Richfield Co. are helping Chrysler with its system. GM and Ford have separate fuel cell programs as well.

Some industry experts believe the Big Three lag some of their foreign competitors in fuel cell development. Both Mercedes-Benz and Toyota are developing fuel cell vehicles with methanol processors. Mercedes has said it will produce 100,000 fuel cell vehicles by 2004.

Bentley, however, said Little’s gas reformer is superior because it is fuel flexible--it can use gas as well as ethanol, methanol and natural gas. Mercedes’ and Toyota’s systems can use only methanol.

Little recently received a $15-million grant from the Energy Department to continue developing the system.

* GLOBAL WARMING: President Clinton is expected today to announce a plan to limit so-called greenhouse gases. A1