Howard University Professor finding way to conserve energy, oil with fuel cells

By: Lendora Washington/Contributing Writer

Posted: 3/11/07

In a small, dank laboratory in the basement of Howard University's engineering building, a control block emits a beep. A small cell under layers of protective covering supplies a watt of energy to a tiny lamp on a control block. This energy originates from a power source that could change the future of energy use in the U.S.

After hearing the beep, Professor Jason Ganley, assistant professor in the Department of Engineering, jumps out of his seat. He checks the settings and hurriedly scribbles down his observations on a notepad and rushes to put the calculations in his computer journal. Ganley is experimenting with what he believes to be the future of renewable energy.

"The energy crisis is a painfully simple thing - our fossil-fuel based economy, in addition to those around the world, is demanding more and more of the Earth's limited resources, and fuel supplies are limited," said Ganley. "New energy sources need to be utilized, and we need to reduce our current energy use through conservation and increasing energy efficiency."

Ganley began his fuel cell research in fall 2004 with funding from a New Faculty Start-Up Grant. "It's about $38,000 a year which is a relatively small amount compared to what other schools get for this type of research," said Ganley.

"A good research project focusing on fuel cell development would probably run about $60,000 per year to cover personnel, supplies, and equipment," said Ganley. Federal funding for this type of research is not up to Ganley's satisfaction; however he believes Howard University has done its fair share in funding. "It was easy to be spoiled by the funding levels enjoyed by the research projects at Illinois," Ganley recalled.

Ganley hopes that the research he is conducting with a post-doctoral associate and three undergraduate chemical engineering students, will assist in efforts to convert the United States from a fossil-fuel based economy to one based on a renewable energy.

"The United States' problem is not its dependence on foreign oil; it's really the dependence on oil in general," said Ganley. "The recognition is higher in other countries that oil is not the answer. There is absolutely no good reason that the U.S. cannot follow these examples."

As oil becomes less and less of a reliable resource, due to unrest in the Middle East and rising oil prices, alternative energy concepts are gaining popularity and attracting more attention. "Eventually oil will become just as expensive and the fuel cell will be a better alternative", said Ganley.

According to Ganley, current fuel cell stacks - built out polymer electrode cells - cost about $75 per kilowatt of electrical power delivered. For consumers, this means it would cost $4,125 to power a 55kW motor to run a Toyota Camry. Fuel cell stacks built to power a car (100 kW power) have been made to be about the size of a mini fridge.

"That's a little too expensive, but Department of Energy goals for 2010 are about $30/kw - reducing the cost to less that $2, 000," said Ganley.

"I'm usually in the lab once a week to perform a particular experiment on my own or to aid Dr. Ganley as he performs one," said Jason Pyke, an undergraduate researcher. "It is especially important that alternative fuel sources be renewable and environmentally friendly, and fuel cells happen to meet all of these requirements."

Ganley explained that a fuel cell is a battery fueled by a renewable source of energy, such as wind-power, hydro-electric solar energy, solar electric energy, geo-thermal energy, and tidal power. Demonstrating its power by lighting a small lamp located on the control block, Ganley boasts that the small cell under layers of protective covering supplied one watt of energy.

"One watt is a pretty small unit of power, good enough to run a cell phone," said Ganley. "A cell phone will phone will use up to one watt of power from a battery as it operates in standby mode, meaning that the phone can go for around 100 hours in standby mode."

The hope is to one day power a 60 watt light bulb or a laptop computer that uses about 30 watts for a couple hours. "Making these things priorities will help us all right now, and will allow for the best research to be done so that the problems we face today are solved," said Ganley.