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Fort Jackson, SC Wins 2009 Palmetto Pillar Award - SCRA's ATI Leads the Project Team

Submitted by: Jill Hirsekorn on Oct 13, 2009 at 5:25 pm Tagged with: ATI, Ft. Jackson, SC, SCRA Source: SCRA

News Release
For more information contact:

Jill Hirsekorn
SCRA
843-760-3329
jhirsekorn@scra.org

Fort Jackson, SC Wins 2009 Palmetto Pillar Award
for Use of Hydrogen Fuel Cells

Charleston, South Carolina -- October 13, 2009 – Fort Jackson was honored recently with a 2009 Palmetto Pillar Award in the Green Technology category for its implementation of ten hydrogen fuel cell generators for emergency backup power in mission-critical applications. The Palmetto Pillar Award annually recognizes Midlands-area green technology-based projects and is presented by the Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce Information Technology Council.
The Advanced Technology Institute (ATI), an SCRA affiliate, leads the project team for the Fuel Cell Backup Power Demonstration Project. The demonstration phase of the project was formally launched on September 18 at an acceptance meeting co-hosted by ATI and Fort Jackson. The project is being delivered under a cooperative agreement between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ R&D Center and ATI.
For this project, the U.S. Department of Energy is providing funding for the fuel cell equipment under the Department’s Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Market Transformation program. This demonstration project helped bring a significant player, LOGANEnergy, into the alternative energy marketplace in South Carolina. LOGANEnergy, headquartered in Sandy Springs, Georgia, is providing the fuel cells. SCRA is supporting the installation and integration of the fuel cells under its mandates in the 2006 Industry Partners Act of 2006 to support a target center of excellence for hydrogen and fuel cell technology. ATI’s execution of this initiative is establishing a leadership role in managing interagency projects in this technology field.
“We are very pleased to be part of this exciting project” said LOGANEnergy Senior VP, Keith Spitznagel. “South Carolina continues to be a leader in the field of hydrogen fuel cells and we look forward to future opportunities here.”
This fuel cell demonstration project assesses the performance, durability and life cycle costs of commercially-available fuel cell technology operating in a backup power application. After an 18-month performance monitoring period, Fort Jackson is expected to utilize the fuel cell systems for the remaining duration of the fuel cells’ performance lives, which could be five years or longer. Early experience with the fuel cells installed at Ft. Jackson has been positive, as all ten units performed flawlessly during several planned and unplanned power outages since the spring of 2009.
The project accelerates the DOE Market Transformation Program which commercializes and deploys back-up power fuel cells, creating jobs in manufacturing, installation, maintenance and support services. These stationary backup power fuel cells cut carbon emissions and broaden our nation’s clean energy technology portfolio.
“Fort Jackson’s award is a testament to the collaborative capability in Columbia. The region’s proven record in fostering federal, state and local collaborations in hydrogen and fuel cell technology was a key factor in securing the competitive award for this project,” said Bill Mahoney, SCRA CEO. “SCRA was pleased to catalyze not only this award and project, but also the formation of a South Carolina company, LOGANEnergy, as an alternative energy leader and landing party into SC.”

About ATI
The Advanced Technology Institute builds international consortia to develop and implement innovative solutions for manufacturing, aerospace, automotive, maritime, metals, and healthcare industries. ATI-led collaborations attract world-class talent from premier companies, universities, and government agencies, to define technology roadmaps and research portfolios matched to business demands that provide the requisite resources to solve shared challenges. ATI’s partners report improved market transition and return on investment with reduced risk. These practical business benefits enable the downstream economic and social benefits of the new technologies – such as safety, affordability, manufacturing competitiveness, environmental protection, and energy conservation. A private, non-profit research corporation with principal operations in Charleston, SC, ATI is an affiliate of SCRA.

About SCRA
SCRA is a global leader in applied research and commercialization services with offices in South Carolina, Ohio and in the Washington, D.C. area. SCRA collaborates to advance technology, providing technology-based solutions with assured outcomes to industry, government, and research universities in SC, the US and globally.
About LOGANEnergy Corporation
LOGANEnergy Corporation (LOGAN) is a private Fuel Cell Services company founded in 1994. Over the past decade, LOGAN has analyzed hundreds of fuel cell applications. The company has acquired technical skills and expertise by designing, installing and operating over 120 commercial and small-scale fuel cell projects totaling over 10 megawatts of power. These services have been provided to the US Government, fuel cell manufacturers, utilities, and other commercial customers.