Image: mike binder associates
A graduate of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanical Engineering, University of Arizona, Dr. Michael Binder was employed the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Construction Engineering Laboratory (ERDC-CERL) 1985-2005. In 1991, he established the ERDC-CERL Fuel Cell Demonstration Program, and served as its manager until his retirement in 2005. He is currently the chairman of the U.S. Fuel Cell Seminar Organizing Committee as well as CEO and president of Mike Binder and Associates.
Fuel cells have been around for awhile, why is the public still in the dark about them?
This technology was first discovered in 1839 but not a lot happened with it primarily because of the expense. In the 1960s NASA was looking for an energy source for its space missions and settled on fuel cells because of their efficiency. Fuel cells continue to provide all the electric power, drinking water and heat for NASA space shuttles and earlier Apollo and Gemini missions.
How versatile are fuel cells?
There are basically 5 different types of fuel cells. It’s similar to a battery in that it’s got two electrodes, an anode, cathode with some kind of electrolyte between them. You can take that basic structure called a cell, add more together or stack them together to get higher voltages, just like you can with multiple batteries. The difference is that batteries have a fixed amount of fuel inside of it and once that is used up the battery is dead, where in a fuel cell you continually add fuel and an oxider to it so can keep running as long as you are able to add fuel to it.
What makes this such an attractive energy source?
The beauty of the fuel cell is that it’s essentially non-emission – with the exception of CO2 –obviously anytime you have a carbon in your fuel you are going to get a CO2. But because of the higher efficiency you produce more power with less fuel, which means you get a less CO2 per unit of power put out. Fuel cells are so clean you don’t need a clean air emission permit in the South Coast Air Quality District, where the L.A. basin. As more and more States are beginning to adopt the Kyoto accord – before the Federal government does – they are making their own regulations to cut greenhouse gas emissions you’ll have a certain amount of utility power that will be generated by clean, non-polluting sources. So regulations can help as well.
You worked with USA army around their development of fuel cells. Are they looking at fuel cells as a power source?
The whole department of Defense is looking at fuel cells from different aspects. I worked with the Industry of Research and Development Construction and Research Laboratory, which deals with fixed facilities. I was in the energy group that dealt with supplying energy to fixed facilities, like the bases, the buildings on the bases, that kind of stuff.
There are different groups looking at tanks, trucks and other armaments. There is a group out in Washington D.C. area dealing with the individual solider and the batteries they carry with them. Fuel cells that weigh 60 to 80 pounds a battery and we were trying to replace them with fuel cells or to come up with small efficient battery chargers to keep them charged. The Navy is looking at putting fuel cells in as the auxiliary power and eventually propulsion power on ships. The Air Force is looking at using it for auxiliary power in aircrafts.
Are you happy with how the market is developing?
I think you have to look at a number of factors. One is the application. I think for the regular residential owner having his own fuel cell car—that’s quite a ways off in the future -- just because the economic targets are very difficult to reach. But for stationary power and for certain niche markets – they are actually beginning to get into the marketplace more and more. Again for stationery power the cost is still a problem but there are advantages to fuel cell that also make them look very good.
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