Toyota/Hydrogen research/SRNL
Posted on Thu, Sep. 15, 2005
EXCLUSIVE
Toyota invests $1 million at SRS
Automaker, lab will develop fuel storage system for hydrogen-powered vehicles
By JAMES T. HAMMOND
Staff Writer
AIKEN — In a boost to South Carolina’s growing automotive industrial cluster, Toyota Motor Corp. has partnered with Savannah River National Laboratory to develop a lighter-weight and cost-effective hydrogen fuel storage system for future hydrogen-powered automobiles.
Todd Wright, Savannah River National Laboratory’s director, said the Toyota investment of about $1 million is a valuable endorsement of hydrogen storage expertise developed over a generation of weapons research at the Savannah River Site.
SRS is the sole processing site for tritium, the radioactive form of hydrogen used in nuclear weapons.
While the University of South Carolina is not involved in this particular research, Toyota’s entry on the state’s research scene should strengthen the state’s overall commitment to and investment in hydrogen fuel research, said Harris Pastides, USC’s vice president for research.
Wright said much of the knowledge gained from the automotive research will have dual benefit, applying as well to defense-related work at Savannah River National Laboratory.
Wright said Toyota will spend an additional $1 million on its own research in cooperation with about 60 Savannah River National Laboratory scientists who will work in half of the 60,000-square-foot Center for Hydrogen Research just outside the SRS fence.
Fred Humes, director of the Economic Development Partnership for Aiken and Edgefield counties, said Toyota’s investment validates Aiken County Council’s decision to build the $9.7 million laboratory in its research park adjacent to SRS. The county-built hydrogen laboratory is scheduled to open for business in late October.
“This facility and Toyota’s participation will promote economic development and transfer technology into the private commercial sector, and that will benefit us all,” Humes said.
Toyota Technical Center spokesman Bruce Brownlee said Toyota does not plan to have its own laboratory in Aiken. He said no other Toyota venture duplicates the research Savannah River National Laboratory will conduct in cooperation with Toyota.
“It’s significant that we are engaging in a project with the Department of Energy. We are very optimistic or hopeful we will have some good results,” Brownlee said.
South Carolina has staked hundreds of millions of dollars on its hydrogen expertise.
A coalition of South Carolina institutions — USC, Clemson University’s International Center for Automotive Research in Greenville, South Carolina State University’s Transportation Center, and the Savannah River National Laboratory — are in the process of melding their hydrogen expertise into an effort they hope will produce huge economic development and job creation gains for the state.
The S.C. General Assembly has provided $90 million for university endowed chairs, some of which will go to hydrogen fuel research. And legislators authorized $220 million to build laboratories at the research campuses, some of which also will benefit hydrogen research.
But two recent studies showed the state government had not yet made hydrogen fuel technology the central focus of its economic development or created the incentives necessary to foster startup companies to capitalize on the research being developed.
Pastides said the Toyota investment shows the state’s research institutions are on the right track.
“It is validation that the stakes are high enough that groups who can’t afford to lose want to get on board,” Pastides said.
Pastides said the spikes in gasoline prices caused by war and Hurricane Katrina have consumers thinking about alternatives to gasoline they would not have considered a short time ago.
“Hybrids five years ago were just a crazy scheme. Today, my family is looking at them,” Pastides said. He added that acceptance of electric-gasoline hybrids will make future consumer acceptance of hydrogen-fueled cars easier.
In some cases, local governments have taken matters into their own hands:
The Aiken County Center for Hydrogen Research is one example that hydrogen research has pushed into the commercial sector.
Columbia has launched an ambitious Next Energy initiative in cooperation with USC and other partners to make the Midlands and South Carolina a world center for hydrogen technology commercialization.
But the two recent studies warned that without the necessary incentives and promotion to commercialize the research, job development from new discoveries could take place in other states or other countries.
If Toyota’s investment at SRS grows, research leaders in South Carolina could realize their dreams. Toyota already has had a huge impact on the U.S. economy. A recent study by the Ann Arbor, Michigan-based Center for Automotive research found Toyota’s $13.4 billion investment in its U.S. operations contributed 385,000 jobs and $14.4 billion in wages in 2003.
Reach Hammond at (803) 771-8474 or jhammond@thestate.com
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