Iowa Co. Hopes to Make Gasoline Obsolete

[Guest guest]

I am all for the entrepreneurial spirit taking hold and fixing our

petrol dependency problems!

 

*Smile*

Chris (list mom)

 

<http://www.alittleolfactory.com> http://www.alittleolfactory.com

 

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Iowa Co. Hopes to Make Gasoline Obsolete

 

By DAVID PITT (AP Business Writer)

From Associated Press

May 19, 2006 8:58 PM EDT

 

ALGONA, Iowa - While much of the world fumes over escalating fuel

prices, a small company in north central Iowa is quietly hoping to make

gasoline obsolete as an engine fuel.

 

Research at the Hydrogen Engine Center Inc. is done in an early 1900s

red brick armory at the Kossuth County fairgrounds.

 

There, a clean six-cylinder engine that looks like it could have been

pulled from a Ford pickup has been running for 110 hours, not quite half

the 300 hours it must continuously run for certification. The company,

led by a retired Ford Motor Co. engineer, hopes to meet Environmental

Protection Agency automotive 2007 emission standards.

 

All 81 parts are original Oxx Power, the brand name the company has

given all its engines.

 

The engine can run on a number of fuels including hydrogen, ethanol,

natural gas, propane or digester gas from landfills.

 

The company, started by Ted Hollinger, 65, is initially focusing on

making more efficient, environmentally friendlier engines to replace

those used in generators and in forklift trucks, airline ground

equipment, irrigation pumps, tractors and buses.

 

Ford, General Motors and Chrysler have dropped industrial engine

production as they've cut costs, leaving what Hollinger said is a

ready-made market for his fledgling company.

 

" Our engine has to bolt in where the old engine went and can't be a

thread off, " he said. " If you do that and you make improvements in it so

that it gets rid of emissions and it's more efficient, then I think

people are going to like it. "

 

The company incorporated in Iowa in 2003 and two years later in Canada.

It merged with Green Mt. Labs in August 2005 and became a publicly

traded company under the name Hydrogen Engine Center Inc.

 

Hollinger said he insisted that his company have a product to sell from

day one instead of starting up as a research and development firm.

 

The company's products include a six-cylinder engine and a

three-cylinder version for small engine applications.

 

The company has found immediate interest in its hydrogen-powered

generators that use five engines.

 

Brad Van Horn, an engine distributor with Northern Power Productions of

Minneapolis, said some orders are already placed for the generators as

they approach the production phase.

 

" The level of excitement is huge, " he said.

 

Van Horn, who sells in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and

Nebraska, said he gets calls daily from companies running irrigation

equipment in Nebraska. Airports needing to replace the Ford engines in

their baggage handling and other ground service equipment will also be a

large market.

 

The company said American Airlines alone has 9,500 vehicles likely to be

converted to alternative fuels over the next decade.

 

While the engines drive a revenue stream for the company, engineers are

working to improve the technology of engines that run on hydrogen and

other clean fuels.

 

Bob Mendlesky, another retired Ford engineer, light ups when he

describes the potential for the engines his shop is developing.

 

He said there are obstacles to making cars powered with hydrogen-fueled

internal combustion engines. To carry enough hydrogen, the fuel tank

would have to be under extremely high pressure, he said. In addition,

tanks made to that specification cost as much as the engine to power the

car.

 

Hydrogen technology is better suited for generator applications and for

industrial uses at its current stage of development, he said.

 

A better solution may be engines that run on ammonia, Hollinger said.

 

Development of ammonia as a fuel must include ways to improve its

combustibility. Ammonia does not readily spark like other fuels, but

Hollinger is determined to overcome some of the obstacles.

 

" I tell people that I'm no dumber now than when I was at Ford Motor Co.

If I can invent at Ford, I can invent here, " Hollinger said. " I don't

think that there's any reason we can't. Will we? I don't know. "

 

Hollinger said he doesn't expect his small company to make major

breakthroughs in the automotive propulsion, but he's willing to work

with Ford or any other company working on clean fuel technology.

 

" I hope in the future the automotive people will look at our stuff and

incorporate some of our ideas, " he said. " Somebody needs to do something

now. "

 

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On the Net: Hydrogen Engine Center: http://www.hydrogenenginecenter.com

 

Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

I am all for the entrepreneurial spirit taking hold and fixing our

petrol dependency problems!

 

[Dave:] I’m tired of waiting. I’ve decided to hire illegal aliens to push

my car everywhere from now on. Sorta kill two birds with one stone.

 

 

 

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