Fuel cell conference keynote speakers announced

Benedict Bahner
ASME NEWS

Fuel cell professionals from companies, agencies and universities around the world — including Rolls-Royce, GE Global Research, Beijing University of Technology and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory — will talk about their experiences developing and marketing fuel cells this June at the Second International Conference on Fuel Cell Science, Engineering and Technology.

The event, which is being organized by ASME's Nanotechnology Institute and the Rochester Institute of Technology, is slated to take place from June 14-16 in Rochester, N.Y.

The meeting will focus on the development of fuel cells from the lab to the marketplace. The conference is intended to be a forum to discuss advances in the field of fuel cell system components for stationary, mobile and portable power generation applications.

This year, the fuel cell conference is expected to feature 19 keynote speeches by experts from all corners of the fuel cell industry. Among these presentations will be "Reducing Fuel Cell Cost Without Lowering Operating Temperature," by Gerry Agnew of Rolls-Royce Fuel Cell Systems Ltd.; "Towards a Near-Series Sulzer Hexis Combined Heat and Power Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC)," by Emad Batawi of Sulzer Hexis Ltd., Switzerland; "A Fuel Cell for the Mass Market," by Juan Becerra of MTI MicroFuel Cells Inc. in New York; "USA Future Fuel Cell Research & Development Initiatives," by Andrew Bosco of GM Global R&D in New York; "Materials and Stack Development of Direct Methanol Fuel Cells for Mobile Application," by Hyuk Chang, Samsung Co. of Korea; and "Direct Carbon Fuel Cells," by John F. Cooper of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California.

Other keynote sessions during the conference will include "Development of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells and the Component Materials," by Koichi Eguchi, Kyoto University in Japan; "Organic/Inorganic Nanocomposites Membranes for Fuel Cells," by Ailton de Souza Gomes of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; "PEM Fuel Cell Design Boundaries and Their Relationship to Technology Trendlines," by Pat Hearn of Ballard Power Systems in Canada; "Lightweight SOFCs for Automotive Auxiliary Power Units," by Rudolf Hans Henne of the German Aerospace Centre; "MTU's Hot Module Generator Commercialization: Targets, the Product, Experience and Status," by Gerhard Huppmann of MTU CFC Solutions GmbH, Germany; "Korea's R&D Plan for Commercializing Molten Carbonate Fuel Cells," by Tae-Hoon Lim of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology; and "Fuel Cell Power Conditioning," by Jih-Sheng (Jason) Lai, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Additional keynote addresses being given during the fuel cell conference will include "Advances in the Research and Development of Fuel Cells in China," by C.F. Ma of Beijing University of Technology; "Status of High Temperature Fuel Cells Development at FuelCell Energy," by Pinakin Patel of FuelCell Energy in Connecticut; "A UTC Perspective on Fuel Cell Product Development," by Frank Preli of UTC Fuel Cells in Connecticut; "SOFC in Hybrid Plants," by Louis Schick of GE Global Research in New York; "Development of Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell at IHI," by Shogo Sonoda of Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. in Japan; and "Advanced Ceramic Fuel Cell R&D," by Bin Zhu of the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden.

David Garman, assistant secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy, has also been invited to speak at the conference.

Registration before April 30 is $495; it is $545 after that date. The charge for students is $250, and it is $150 for spouses, who will be admitted to receptions and the banquet.

Also note that the Second International Conference on Microchannels and Minichannels will follow the fuel cell conference — from June 17 to 19 — at the same venue.

For complete information on both the Second International Conference on Fuel Cell Science, Engineering and Technology and the Second International Conference on Microchannels and Minichannels, or to register for either meeting, visit www.nanotechnologyinstitute.org.

To find out more about the meetings, you may also contact Raj Manchanda, director, Advanced Technology Programs, (212) 591-7789, or e-mail manchandar@asme.org.

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