Current News Releases
Sept. 17, 2008
Columbia gets fuel cell plant
Reprinted with permisson from The State
By ANDREW SHAIN ashain@thestate.com
Columbia’s bid to become a hydrogen hub will get a boost this month when Trulite becomes the area’s first fuel cell manufacturer.
The Houston-based company will produce fuel cell batteries used in portable generators at a business incubator on Midlands Technical College’s Northeast campus.
Trulite will employ nine in what is now a pilot program. Full-scale manufacturing could start with 30 employees in a year, the company said. Trulite also plans to work with the University of South Carolina to develop and market the generator, which eventually could be sold at home centers. A formal annoncement about the project will come Thursday.
Columbia and USC have been working for five years to attract hydrogen fuel-cell research and business to the region. The fuel cells, which can be used to power many products including cars, produce almost no emissions but the technology remains years away from regular commercial use.
Columbia has at least six other fuel cell research firms and component makers that employ a total of 14, according to data from EngenuitySC, a public-private partnership to promote the area’s knowledge-based economy.
A hydrogen fueling station, the only publicly accessible one in the Southeast outside Florida, is expected to be running at Huger and Laurel streets in March when the National Hydrogen Association annual conference comes to Columbia. A fuel-cell powered commuter bus is expected to arrive in Columbia early next year.
“We’re emerging as a leader in this field,” said Greg Hilton, project manager at EngenuitySC.
Trulite chose South Carolina over California, Connecticut, Ohio and North Carolina -- all of which also want to boost their share of hydrogen research and manufacturing, Trulite chief operating officer Ken Pearson said.
South Carolina won out because state and business officials moved quickly with a proposal when the company expressed interest after visiting a National Hydrogen Association forum in Columbia last year, Pearson said.
“They were a very well organized machine,” he said.
Trulite will receive half of the $1.5 million that will fund the manufacturing project from state and local governments, and business groups. The company is putting up the rest, Pearson said.
This spring, Trulite also won $96,000 in the Greater Columbia Fuel Cell Challenge. The money will be used to build 12 generators and 500 batteries with some going to the city of Columbia, USC and Fort Jackson by year’s end.
The Trulite generators can be used inside because they do not give off the noxious emissions of gas models.
The generators can last up to eight hours on two fuel cell batteries and have four outlets to run or charge laptops, radios and cell phones.
The generators cost $2,495, while the batteries are $24.95 each. They are not yet available commercially, but Pearson said that’s the plan in the next few years.
The company wants to raise $15 million to meet that goal. Trulite recently received $1.5 million from a Houston business development company.
So far, Trulite has supplied 24 generators to customers.
And Trulite could move its headquarters to Columbia, Pearson said. The company might go to Salt Lake City, where it has another research operation and does some manufacturing.
Those working to attract Trulite included: SCRA; SC Launch!; EngenuitySC; city of Columbia; Midlands Technical College; USC; Richland County; Central SC Alliance; and S.C. Department of Commerce.
