Hi Insiders - in case you haven’t seen them, there have been a few great mentions for fuel cells in the news recently.

First off, a White House press release about the Pittsburgh summit last week had the following to say.  There is a 5kW solid oxide fuel cell in the Phipps Conservatory garden, where the event was held.

The 5 kW solid oxide fuel cell generates 26,000 kWh of electricity per year from natural gas with remarkable efficiency and minimal emissions. A fuel cell is an electrochemical device similar to a battery, although it does not rundown or require charging. Fuel cells are highly efficient because they directly convert chemical energy into electrical energy without combustion. A fuel cell is twice as efficient as a traditional combustion engine and produces significantly less CO2. Fuel cells are incredibly clean power sources, creating byproducts of only heat, water, and less carbon dioxide than combustion. Phipps uses the waste heat to heat the Conservatory’s tepid water system which is used for irrigation. Phipps offsets the CO2 emissions from the fuel cell with the purchase of carbon credits. Phipps offsets all of the other electricity used on the entire campus with renewable energy credits from wind power.

Secondly, Daimler Chief Executive Officer Dieter Zetsche declared on September 15 at the Frankfurt Auto Show that

hydrogen fuel cells, not batteries, are the ultimate way to move beyond oil. “The chances further down the road seem to me better on the fuel-cell side than on the battery-electric side,” Zetsche told reporters at the show. Hydrogen, he said, beats electric batteries at moving cars long distances without refueling. Hydrogen can also power big, roomy sedans much more readily than batteries.

What else have you all seen in the news recently? Let us know!