By the end of this summer, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory will have the $6 million in funding it needs to build the first hydrogen energy research facility of its kind in the country.

An alliance forged by the U.S. Department of Energy, Iowa State and the city of Ames will allow for two 1.5 megawatt wind turbines to be installed on ISU property. The turbines will have the dual function of providing electricity for Ames during peak electricity demand and producing large amounts of hydrogen for research by the U.S. Department of Energy Ames Laboratory.

“Wind power is about the cleanest energy you can get, but the wind does not always blow when you want it to,” said Tom Barton, director of the Ames Lab.

The hydrogen system is a battery for the proposed system. Excess electricity will be used to convert water into its component parts, hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen will be compressed and stored for later use. When more electricity is needed, hydrogen will be recombined with oxygen in a fuel cell. The drawback to this system is that only half of the energy originally generated is recovered. The Ames Lab wants to research this issue and improve efficiency.

“Without the hydrogen research, I would have no interest in this,” Barton said.

The facility will also be home for research by several graduate students, and there are plans to offer tours to the public. Research will be in the areas of refining the process of splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen, alternate hydrogen storage methods and determining which fuel cell membrane technology is best, Barton said.

The facility will test fuel cells by having “a bank of one type next to a bank of another type, comparing which is better,” Barton said.

The extra power during peak times is important to the city.

“Three megawatts of power from the wind generators could be significant; right now with the ‘prime time power’ program, we save about three and a half megawatts during peak times,” said Steve Wilson, energy services coordinator at the Ames electric power plant. “It’s a great idea; I see somewhere in the future everyone having their own turbine and fuel cell to power their homes … to have everyone off the grid.”

Barton gave an explosive demonstration of the energy potential of hydrogen to the Ames City Council on June 22 and was surprised with a 6-0 vote in favor of his proposal.

“I brought in a balloon filled with hydrogen and oxygen, and had an assistant touch a flame to it. I couldn’t hear too well for about a week,” Barton said.

“Before the meeting they told us we could present, but not to expect a vote that night. I guess they were excited by the demonstration.”

“This is a one-of-a-kind project,” Mayor Ted Tedesco said. “We have encouraged our staff to continue working with Tom Barton.”

All that is required of the city is fill out the paperwork, obtain the proper permits and tie the facility to the grid. All funding for the estimated $6 million construction cost and all maintenance costs is to come from grants from the Department of Energy as part of President Bush’s initiative for the hydrogen economy.

Barton said the facility will likely be on one of the ISU research farms, possibly in west Ames because the lab wants the generators to be in an area that does not disturb neighbors or interfere with the airport.

The combination of Ames, ISU and research by Ames Lab to help meet the energy needs of the future only has benefits, Barton said.