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Continued from previous page
Short and Long Term Solutions
Like greener buildings, biodiesel is
a technology that is
available now—it's already a fuel additive for gasoline,
and almost any engine that uses diesel can be converted to
biodiesel.
In 2005, Tian Long, WG'00, saw the potential, and left
investment banking to found one of Asia's first biodiesel
businesses: Vance Biodiesel. With corporate headquarters in
Singapore and its production based in Malaysia, Long's company
is using local palm oil to produce a high-quality biodiesel
that is helping supply Asia's growing power needs while
reducing carbon emissions.
Because the outlays of capital for biodiesel production facilities
are massive, established companies are leading the way
in the U.S. For example, DuPont is currently partnering with
BP to commercialize biobutanol, an alternative to ethanol
developed under the leadership of John Ranieri, AMP'02.
While biobutanol is a superior product, producing it economically
is the challenge.
"If you come in with an offering that is more expensive than
petroleum and say, hey it's green, consumers aren't ready to pay
for it," said Ranieri at a Wharton Impact Conference in October
2006. "You have to find the places you go first ? the projects
to do first. We have to find both quality and sustainability." As
a consequence, DuPont is introducing a range of sustainable
products ? some, like seed corn that produces a higher output
of ethanol, are available now, while others, like biobutanol,
have longer-range commercialization cycles. (For more on how
Ranieri manages innovative projects for DuPont, see p. 16)
In the Philippines, Vincent S. Perez, WG'83, similarly took
a multi-pronged approach while serving four years as Energy
Secretary until 2005, moving his country toward conservation
and oil exploration, while pursuing greater reliance on clean, indigenous
and sustainable energy sources including biodiesel and
geothermal power. Solving the energy crisis requires immediate
changes and long-term transformation.
Scott Schecter, WG'86, CFO of HydroGen Corp., is taking
the long-term view to clean energy: the fuel cell. While
commercialization is still in the future, success could be
earth-changing.
Here's how fuel cells work: a simple chemical reaction turns
hydrogen and oxygen into water and electricity. Unlike a normal
generator that emits pollutants, the only byproduct of a
fuel cell is the pure water vapor. And unlike a battery, a fuel cell
will continuously produce electricity as long as hydrogen and
oxygen are supplied to it.
Schecter's firm focuses on a type of fuel cell that uses liquid
phosphoric acid as the electrolyte to conduct the electricity.
His challenges include expensive materials and limits to efficiency.
His goal is cheap, reliable power.
"When we prove that we can do what we think we can do,
this can truly be a game changer," he said, "because we can
produce power on a competitive basis with traditional fossil
fuel powered generators, and at the same time have environmental
benefits and a byproduct of pure water."
HydroGen Corp.'s technology was developed by
Westinghouse Corp. and the U.S. Department of Energy in
a $150 million partnership in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
In 2001 a group of investors got together and took over the
project, launching HydroGen Corp.
HydroGen Corp. acquired all of the intellectual property
and hard assets developed in that program through a series of
transactions. Now the company plans to install and operate its
first major demonstration project, a 400 kilowatt fuel cell power
plant, at ASHTA Chemicals Inc. chlor-alkali manufacturing
plant in Ashtabula, OH. Installation is scheduled for 2007.
The project is supported by a $1.25 million award from Ohio.
Schecter said that in their first five years, HydroGen has
raised $40 million, and gone from an eight-person startup to
a fast growing company with 60 employees.
Schecter came to HydroGen Corp. from another environmentally
friendly fuel industry firm, where his focus was on
air pollution control and fuel treatment technology.
"For the better part of 15 years I've been around green
companies, trying to do something positive for the environment,"
he said. Schecter said fuel cells are a source of power
not reliant in any way on foreign governments. In addition,
they produce pure water, an asset in arid climates.
The early high costs of the technology stalled its development.
But these days rising power prices as well as increased
environmental regulations are prompting renewed interest in
alternative energies, he said.
"But no matter how green we are, or how wonderful we are,
no one is going to buy our power if they have to spend more
money," he said. "Our business plan shows we can get the cost
down to a level that will be attractive to industrial companies,
particularly those that produce hydrogen as a waste gas."
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