FUEL CELL MAKER LANDS PILOT PROJECT PACT.

Byline: Patricia Farrell Aidem Staff Writer

VALENCIA - A Valencia company that manufactures hydrogen fuel cells as an alternative form of energy has won a contract to provide power to housing units at a Texas Air Force base.

DCH Technology Inc.'s $500,000 contract involves providing energy to three houses at Brooks U.S. Air Force Base in San Antonio as part of a yearlong research project that will involve that city's utility and college students who will help monitor its success.

``This particular technology has a huge future potential of offsetting an awful lot of standard utility loads,'' said Joe Redfield, a group leader for fuel cell systems for the Southwest Research Institute.

The beauty of the DCH system is that not only do the hydrogen fuel cells supply energy, they generate waste heat that can be used to heat water or to heat homes, Redfield said.

``This takes overall energy efficiencies to some pretty exciting numbers,'' Redfield said.

The institute will monitor the program, created by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Construction Engineering Research Laboratory to demonstrate hydrogen-generated electric power for military use.

DCH will deliver the three hydrogen fuel cells - each the size of a standard home air conditioner - by October 2002.

These cells will be fueled by natural gas and with the standard electric utility, not instead of it.

DCH, hoping to win approval for commercial use of its power cell, sees a variety of applications for the clean burning fuel, including use by the military.

``This award will help us further demonstrate the performance of our fuel cell technology to the U.S. Army,'' said John Donohue, the company's president and chief executive officer.

The primary objective of the project is to install, operate, maintain, monitor and report data on the fuel cells to the Corps, said Alan Montemayor, project manager for the research institute.

``But there are many important secondary objectives, including familiarizing Brooks personnel and other military installations in the San Antonio area with fuel cell technology,'' he said.

The City Public Service of San Antonio is a partner in the demonstration and will install the system and help ensure it complies with safety codes. The city's utility is using the pilot program to determine how fuel cells might benefit its power customers.

St. Philip's College in San Antonio is also participating in the project and plans to have students and faculty participate in the maintenance, operator training and data gathering activities during the one-year demonstration.