The Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership and Lambton College announced today that they are moving ahead with a two-year, $1.5 million demonstration of market-ready fuel cell devices, thanks to $500,000 in funding from the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation, through their new Ontario Fuel Cell Innovation Program. The project will give local residents the opportunity to be among the very first to use fuel cells in everyday activities.
“By putting commercially available fuel cell powered ‘appliances’ into the hands of the general public, rather than a demonstration of prototype technologies available only to scientists and engineers, we will demonstrate that the devices are both safe and user-friendly. We expect this project will significantly speed market acceptance of fuel cells throughout Canada and North America,” explains project manager Jeff Kinsella.
“Lambton County is an ideal area to host this project because of its leadership position in the energy and petrochemical industries,” according to Ry Smith, Manager of Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Canada’s Hydrogen Village project. “A large number of people in Sarnia-Lambton already work with hydrogen on a daily basis. In fact, over 100 million standard cubic feet of hydrogen is produced in the area every day and it is home to one of the largest hydrogen pipeline networks in North America.”
The project will also benefit Lambton College’s leading edge Alternative Energy Engineering Technology Program. Staff and students from the program will be involved in every aspect of the demonstration. “This is an excellent opportunity for our students to be among the first in the world to gain experience working with fuel cells as they are operated in the field, as well as in laboratory and classroom settings,” said Maike Luiken, Dean of Lambton College’s School of Technology, Applied Science and Apprenticeship.
The St Clair Parkway Golf Course in Mooretown will have its first fuel cell golf cart available for customer use next spring, complete with a solar powered electrolyser to make emissions-free hydrogen on site. Shell Canada Products in Corunna will host a fuel cell to provide backup power in their offices. Several other companies have expressed interest in hosting appliances and, with more new devices becoming available all the time, the project is set to attract international attention as a showcase for a wide variety of made-in-Canada fuel cell products.
Technical partners on the project include Sustainable Energy Associates, a Toronto-based consulting firm focused on sustainable energy technologies, Astris Energi Inc., a world leader in Alkaline fuel cell technology based in Mississauga, and Electric Hydrogen Inc., a Burlington-based supplier of distributed hydrogen production systems.
For further information contact:
Jeff Kinsella
Tel: 519-332-1820 or 1-800-972-7642
Email: kinsella@www.sarnialambton.on.ca