Sustainable Energy Cycle Underway at Ft Lewis
CTE Team generates hydrogen from waste gas for use in fuel cell vehicles at Joint BaseLewis-McChordTacoma, WA- Early this year, hydrogen produced on-site at Joint Base Lewis~McChord(JBLM) was used to power fuel cell forklifts and a fuel cell hybrid shuttle bus. This sustainably produced hydrogen was generated at JBLM's water treatment plant from waste gas that was previously being flared to the atmosphere.
The hydrogen is the fuel source for 19 fuel cell forklifts and a fuel cell shuttle bus that have been provided as part of the demonstration program funded by the DefenseLogistics Agency (DLA) and managed by the Center for Transportation and the Environmnent (CTE).
The fuel cell forklifts and bus have been in operation at JBLM sinceNovember 2011, but this marks the first time they are running on the sustainable hydrogen produced on-site.DLA and CTE are collaborating with JBLM on this turnkey clean energy project to acquire data on the viability of hydrogen as a fuel for forklifts, and other material handling equipment.
CTE, based in Atlanta, Georgia, put together a world-class team to design and implement this state of the art project. The team includes Gas Technology Institute (GTI)out of Chicago, Plug Power out of New York, and Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. out ofAllentown, Pennsylvania. GTI designed, built and installed the waste gas clean-upsystem and hydrogen generation infrastructure at JBLM. Air Products supplied the hydrogen transportation, compression, storage, and dispensing infrastructure. PlugPower provided 19 GenDrive® fuel cell powered forklift trucks. The hydrogen-powered hybrid fuel cell bus was built by Proterra, Inc. Proterra just opened their manufacturing facility in Greenville, South Carolina. All team members have worked closely with CTE throughout the project and will continue to support the operation of the equipment for the remainder of the pilot period.
"We're very excited to be able to achieve this milestone that represents the holy grail of sustainable transportation," said Jason Hanlin, Project Manager at CTE. "This cycle of turning waste products into a clean form of onsite energy for efficient vehicles is a model that CTE and its partners hope to one day make more economical and continue to replicate."JBLM plans to host a ceremonial Ribbon Cutting this spring to celebrate the program's success to this point.
About CTE
The Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE) is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3)organization based in Atlanta, Georgia that develops technologies and implements solutions to achieve energy and environmental sustainability. Since its founding in 1993, CTE has managed a portfolio of more than $225 million in federal, state, and local cost-shared research, development, and demonstration projects involving more than 200 organizations in the advanced transportation technology field. CTE has facilitated and leveraged funding for its projects and initiatives from the U.S. Departments of Defense,Energy, Interior, and Transportation, as well as from the U.S. Army and NASA, among many others.
About Air Products
Air Products (NYSE:APD) provides atmospheric, process and specialty gases; performance materials; equipment; and technology. For over 70 years, the company has enabled customers to become more productive, energy efficient, and sustainable. More than 18,000 employees in over 40 countries supply innovative solutions to the energy, environment and emerging markets. These include semiconductor materials, refinery hydrogen, coal gasification, natural gas liquefaction, and advanced coatings and adhesives. In fiscal 2011, Air Products had sales of$10.1 billion. For more information, visit www.airproducts.com.
