Letter: Development of hydrogen energy is encouraging

Thursday, Sept. 1, 2005 | 9:17 a.m.

I am writing in response to your Aug. 28 story headlined, "Hydrogen fuel-cell technology has hurdles," by Cleveland writer Roger Mezger. As the project manager for the city of Las Vegas' three-year-old hydrogen energy station, I believe the assertions by Mezger are not true. He wrote that infrastructure hurdles are overwhelming and will require decades to build.

The reason I have dedicated three years of my life to building a hydrogen energy station, in partnership with the U.S. Energy Department and Air Products Inc., was to prove that perceived hurdles can be overcome. The fire marshal, building inspectors and civil engineers said that, since it hadn't been done before and that there were no building codes to work from, the task couldn't be done. They were wrong.

I'd also like to comment on costs. Hydrogen-powered fuel-cell vehicles, such as the Honda FCX that the city has deployed to two departments for demonstration purposes, cost $1.5 million. Just three years ago, however, this same vehicle cost $5 million. The cost is coming down. These vehicles will be marketable when the cost does not exceed $50,000. And the cost of hydrogen fuel is about $3 a gallon, not the roughly $5 a gallon stated in the article.

The task of developing an alternative to oil is an enormous undertaking. But, isn't it reasonable to expect that those of us in the fleet business -- particularly those of us in the public sector -- should take the lead in pioneering and demonstrating new technologies that can become mainstream? I believe that it is the fiduciary responsibility of all public sector fleet managers. I choose to look at how something can be done. That mindset has resulted in a hydrogen energy station that many were convinced could not be built!

DAN HYDE