ISU researchers said they have found a new source of alternative fuel — and it can be found in south central Iowa.

Robert Brown, professor of mechanical engineering and director of the Center for Sustainable Environmental Technologies, said he and his team are working to improve the process of turning Iowa prairie grass into a useable fuel in the form of hydrogen gas.

Brown and his team were awarded a $1 million grant three years ago to help them with their research.

“We did grass because there has been a lot of interest in switch grass,” he said. “Our goal is to get a pure stream of hydrogen from biomass.”

This process works because of “gasification,” in which a solid material — in this case switch grass — is turned into hydrogen.

Through this process, grass is converted from a solid material into a combustible gas, and contaminants are removed to increase the amount of hydrogen, said Jerod Smeenk, project manager and associate scientist at the Center for Sustainable Environmental Technologies.

Oil and car companies have also become interested in the team’s research.

“It’s fuel cell technology that makes hydrogen interesting for transportation, because of its high efficiency,” said John Reardon, chief technology officer of Frontline Bioenergy.

He said in general, companies interested in hydrogen research include British Petroleum, Chevron-Texaco, Air Product and Chemicals Inc. and Rolls-Royce.

The estimated cost for a kilogram of hydrogen — which is equal to a gallon of gas — is expected to be $2.90 in 2010, dropping to $2.60 in 2020, Brown said.

With such a hefty price tag, it could be hard to compete with gasoline, despite its rising costs, Brown said.

One reason for the fuel’s expensive price tag is gasoline is easier to obtain than hydrogen gas.

“It almost comes out of the ground ready to put in your automobile,” Brown said.

Yet the use of hydrogen from grass would benefit Iowa farmers, as switch grass is an alternative crop farmers in the state would easily produce.

H2Gen is a company developing a modular fuel processor, which could convert grass into hydrogen fuel at a gas station. People will be able to fill up their tanks with gas made on-site, Reardon said.

In order for vehicles to run on hydrogen fuel, he said vehicles need to operate with a fuel cell engine or a modified version of an internal combustion engine — which most vehicles have today.

Cars with fuel cells get better gas mileage. Reardon said they can go about 66 miles per gallon — twice that of a internal combustion engine.

Aside from the economic benefits, fuel cell cars are also more friendly to the environment.

Hydrogen-powered vehicles do not produce smog and only emit water into the air, Reardon said.

Switch grass is drought-resistant and reduces soil erosion with no plowing required. It also is fairly high yielding and uses a smaller amount of pesticides and herbicides than corn, Brown said.

The technology could be an “insurance policy” for the United States. If hydrogen-based gas replaced even 15 percent of the nation’s gas sales, it would reduce U.S. dependence on other countries, Brown said.

“It’s good national policy to have some independence,” said Kevin Timmer, graduate assistant in mechanical engineering. “It puts us in a better position to do the right thing internationally.”