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Energy Center to co-host hydrail conference in Spain |
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Thursday, 24 April 2008 |
by JILLIAN SWORDS
News Reporter
Appalachian State University Energy Center will co-host the Fourth International Hydrail Conference in Valencia, Spain June 9.
Jason W. Hoyle, research analyst with the center, will present his research.
“I’ll be talking about market opportunities [for hydrail technology], identifying the likely places for factors for adoption of the technology,” Hoyle said.
Hydrail technology uses fuel cells and hydrogen to power rail transportation.
“Compared to our existing technology, [hydrail] operates at a much
higher efficiency,” Hoyle said. “An automobile gets maybe 30 to 40
percent efficiency, and a fuel cell gets 80 to 90 percent. They also
have next to no emissions—water and heat are their main emissions.”
The conference will also be hosted by NTDA Energía, an international
hydrogen and fuel cell technology development company, and the Hydrogen
Economy Advancement Team (HEAT) from Mooresville.
The conference will examine research from participating representatives
from countries across the globe, including Canada, Korea, Spain, the
United Kingdom, Austria, France and Denmark, Hoyle said.
They will also discuss ways to integrate these technologies into existing transport systems.
Appalachian State’s Energy Center has participated in this conference every year since its conception, Hoyle said.
The first year it was hosted in Charlotte, a city that has developed
its own system of U.S. Light Rail Transit in the last several years.
Hydrail technology “could be adopted in the U.S., but there aren’t a
lot of rail-based infrastructures here,” Hoyle said. “North Carolina
has worked toward having a rail system on and off for decades. The
Light Rail is the first real success we’ve had in the state, [and] the
future of Light Rail could be powered by fuel cells.”
The ultimate goal for most countries’ governments is to eventually use
only hydrail technology for all rail transport systems, Hoyle said.
However, there are a number of different factors that must be taken
into consideration, including storage, market adoption dynamics, and
the prices of comparable technologies and fuels.
“The biggest reason people are going in this direction long-term is
that we have shortages of certain fuels,” Hoyle said. “Right now, fuels
aren’t interchangeable; you can’t power your car with coal…[America] is
definitely behind in employment of the technology. Our model doesn’t
easily allow for models to be [integrated], especially if we continue
to subsidize mature existing technologies.”
Project manager with the Energy Center Laurel M. Elam said the
multidisciplinary center conducts applied research on an array of
topics, including efficiency and green building techniques.
“It’s also a lot of outreach and education,” Elam said.
Although no students will attend the conference in Spain this summer, a
number of Appalachian State University graduate students have
assistantships with the center.
Second year building science graduate student Jacob M. Clark is one of these students.
The center receives funding from allotments of state funding and private grants, Clark said.
Many of the projects he assists are assigned and funded by the state.
Right now, for example, Clark evaluates house plans to see if they pass
certain energy standards and are available for tax credits.
The center recently released the Affordable Passive Solar Plan Book.
It and the center’s other research findings are available at Appalachian State’s Energy Center Web site, energy.appstate.edu.
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