UOIT physics professor spearheads pioneering alternative energy research as member of Ontario Fuel Cell Research and Innovation Network
April 2, 2007
Network receives $16 million to explore full benefits of fuel cell power
Dr. Peter Berg, a physics professor with the Faculty of Science at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) is sharing his leading-edge fuel cell expertise with faculty from seven other universities as part of a provincial network that has been challenged to realize the economic and environmental benefits of fuel cells, a highly efficient, clean energy technology that produces electrical power with very low greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
The Ontario Fuel Cell Research and Innovation Network (OFCRIN) will be addressing issues related to the storage and supply of hydrogen (the dominant fuel), cell reliability and durability, and how to reduce the costs involved in manufacturing and implementing these electrochemical power devices. The researchers, together with eight industrial partners, will be working on numerous fuel cell projects under the OFCRIN umbrella.
Dr. Berg will be joined by 17 faculty members from Queen's University; McMaster University; the universities of Ottawa, Toronto, Waterloo and Western Ontario; and the Royal Military College of Canada as the network begins its five-year research project. Led by Dr. Brant Peppley, research director of the Queen's University-Royal Military College of Canada Fuel Cell Research Centre, the network also includes industry partners such as DaimlerChrysler, Dana Corporation, E.I du Pont, Enbridge Inc., EnPross, Hydrogenics, Inco Ltd., Kingston Process Metallurgy Inc. and QuestAir Industries Inc.
A tremendous opportunity for current and future UOIT students, two graduate students - one enrolled in Modelling and Computational Science with the Faculty of Science and one taking Mechanical Engineering with the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science - will work with Dr. Berg on the project and plans are already underway to transfer the findings directly into UOIT's curriculum through both Masters and undergraduate fuel cell courses.
"UOIT's participation in the OFCRIN offers both students and faculty invaluable research collaboration possibilities and confirms our reputation for providing students with an immersive and leading-edge learning environment," said Dr. William Smith, dean of UOIT's Faculty of Science. "Our students work alongside their professors, gaining hands-on experience that allows them to make an immediate impact when they graduate. This experience, supported by a world-class curriculum developed around relevant and current research, prepares our students to be the outstanding professionals and leaders of tomorrow."
The OFCRIN received $5 million in funding from the Ontario Research Fund's (ORF) Research Excellence program, which is administered by the Ministry of Research and Innovation (MRI), a provincial government organization that provides research institutions with funding to undertake major research projects. The network has been given $16 million in total funding through additional contributions from major industry and other partners.
"I am delighted that this funding has been made available for the purpose of bringing world-class researchers together to explore fuel cells as a commercially viable energy alternative," saidDr. Berg. "UOIT has developed an excellent reputation for its pioneering and value-added approach to research and I am confident that, together with my colleagues, we will turn our innovative ideas into real-world solutions that drive future fuel cell application development."
Industry partner Enbridge owns and operates Canada's largest natural gas distribution company, Enbridge Gas Distribution, which provides gas to industrial, commercial and residential customers in Ontario, Quebec and New York State. Dr. Berg will be working with Enbridge to explore how the unique properties of Molten Carbonate Fuel Cells (MCFCs), efficient, high-temperature fuel cells, can reduce the financial and environmental costs of natural gas distribution.
Currently natural gas is transported to market through a series of pipes that are very large at the source, but grow gradually narrower as gas makes its way to distributors and eventually consumers. The temperature of the gas drops due to decreasing pressure in the ever-narrowing pipes, and it is necessary to reheat it at several transition points to avoid a potential negative impact on the distribution system. Some of the natural gas in the main pipeline is diverted and combusted to generate the heat necessary for maintaining a constant gas temperature within the system.
"There is both an economic and environmental price to pay for today's natural gas distribution methods," said Dr. Berg. "Valuable gas that should have been made available for consumers is being redirected for heat generation resulting in increased CO2 emissions within the natural gas infrastructure."
His research will involve reducing emissions and costs by using the excess heat generated by MCFCs instead of common combustion technology to warm the gas at transition points along the pipeline. The electricity produced by the MCFCs at each transition point can supply emission-free power to local homes and businesses and reheat the natural gas in the downstream pipelines, leaving a much smaller footprint on the environment.
"This innovative project demonstrates UOIT's commitment to market-driven research that can directly benefit our local, provincial and global community," said Dr. John Perz, acting associate provost of Research at UOIT. "This research will lead to a more cost-effective and environmentally sensitive way to supply natural gas to consumers and businesses here in Ontario and around the world with the added benefit of producing electrical power. This is aligned with our vision to spearhead research projects that are local in scope but international in scale."
Dr. Peter Berg, a physics professor with the Faculty of Science at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) is sharing his leading-edge fuel cell expertise with faculty from seven other universities as part of a provincial network that has been challenged to realize the economic and environmental benefits of fuel cells, a highly efficient, clean energy technology that produces electrical power with very low greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
The Ontario Fuel Cell Research and Innovation Network (OFCRIN) will be addressing issues related to the storage and supply of hydrogen (the dominant fuel), cell reliability and durability, and how to reduce the costs involved in manufacturing and implementing these electrochemical power devices. The researchers, together with eight industrial partners, will be working on numerous fuel cell projects under the OFCRIN umbrella.
Dr. Berg will be joined by 17 faculty members from Queen's University; McMaster University; the universities of Ottawa, Toronto, Waterloo and Western Ontario; and the Royal Military College of Canada as the network begins its five-year research project. Led by Dr. Brant Peppley, research director of the Queen's University-Royal Military College of Canada Fuel Cell Research Centre, the network also includes industry partners such as DaimlerChrysler, Dana Corporation, E.I du Pont, Enbridge Inc., EnPross, Hydrogenics, Inco Ltd., Kingston Process Metallurgy Inc. and QuestAir Industries Inc.
A tremendous opportunity for current and future UOIT students, two graduate students - one enrolled in Modelling and Computational Science with the Faculty of Science and one taking Mechanical Engineering with the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science - will work with Dr. Berg on the project and plans are already underway to transfer the findings directly into UOIT's curriculum through both Masters and undergraduate fuel cell courses.
"UOIT's participation in the OFCRIN offers both students and faculty invaluable research collaboration possibilities and confirms our reputation for providing students with an immersive and leading-edge learning environment," said Dr. William Smith, dean of UOIT's Faculty of Science. "Our students work alongside their professors, gaining hands-on experience that allows them to make an immediate impact when they graduate. This experience, supported by a world-class curriculum developed around relevant and current research, prepares our students to be the outstanding professionals and leaders of tomorrow."
The OFCRIN received $5 million in funding from the Ontario Research Fund's (ORF) Research Excellence program, which is administered by the Ministry of Research and Innovation (MRI), a provincial government organization that provides research institutions with funding to undertake major research projects. The network has been given $16 million in total funding through additional contributions from major industry and other partners.
"I am delighted that this funding has been made available for the purpose of bringing world-class researchers together to explore fuel cells as a commercially viable energy alternative," saidDr. Berg. "UOIT has developed an excellent reputation for its pioneering and value-added approach to research and I am confident that, together with my colleagues, we will turn our innovative ideas into real-world solutions that drive future fuel cell application development."
Industry partner Enbridge owns and operates Canada's largest natural gas distribution company, Enbridge Gas Distribution, which provides gas to industrial, commercial and residential customers in Ontario, Quebec and New York State. Dr. Berg will be working with Enbridge to explore how the unique properties of Molten Carbonate Fuel Cells (MCFCs), efficient, high-temperature fuel cells, can reduce the financial and environmental costs of natural gas distribution.
Currently natural gas is transported to market through a series of pipes that are very large at the source, but grow gradually narrower as gas makes its way to distributors and eventually consumers. The temperature of the gas drops due to decreasing pressure in the ever-narrowing pipes, and it is necessary to reheat it at several transition points to avoid a potential negative impact on the distribution system. Some of the natural gas in the main pipeline is diverted and combusted to generate the heat necessary for maintaining a constant gas temperature within the system.
"There is both an economic and environmental price to pay for today's natural gas distribution methods," said Dr. Berg. "Valuable gas that should have been made available for consumers is being redirected for heat generation resulting in increased CO2 emissions within the natural gas infrastructure."
His research will involve reducing emissions and costs by using the excess heat generated by MCFCs instead of common combustion technology to warm the gas at transition points along the pipeline. The electricity produced by the MCFCs at each transition point can supply emission-free power to local homes and businesses and reheat the natural gas in the downstream pipelines, leaving a much smaller footprint on the environment.
"This innovative project demonstrates UOIT's commitment to market-driven research that can directly benefit our local, provincial and global community," said Dr. John Perz, acting associate provost of Research at UOIT. "This research will lead to a more cost-effective and environmentally sensitive way to supply natural gas to consumers and businesses here in Ontario and around the world with the added benefit of producing electrical power. This is aligned with our vision to spearhead research projects that are local in scope but international in scale."
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