Midwest Optoelectronics LLC, a technology firm in Toledo, yesterday joined the ranks of research and development companies determined to make hydrogen powered cars a reality, thanks to a $2.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.
The grant is part of the Hydrogen Fuel Initiative, a research program that promises to strengthen the nation's energy security and reduce greenhouse emissions. The initiative was proposed by President Bush in last year's State of the Union address when he pledged to invest $1.2 billion in research for alternative energy.
Midwest Optoelectronics, founded by University of Toledo professors to commercialize technologies developed there, was one of 36 companies in the nation to receive a grant, said Majida Mourad, a senior adviser to U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham. There were 350 applicants.
Xunming Deng, a physics and astronomy professor, said the grant will help fund critical research for cost-effective methods of producing hydrogen from water and sunlight.
He co-founded the company with his wife, Liwei Xu. In a physics labratory at UT, Mr. Deng explained how he and a team of professors and students devised their system of producing hydrogen.
"A solar cell is immersed in water and is exposed to sunlight," he said. "The sun will generate voltage on both sides of the cell, splitting the water to generate hydrogen. Cost is the only downside, but we're all working to make hydrogen-powered cars common by 2015."Aaron Korostyshevsky, 21, a second-year graduate student in physics under Professor Deng's tutelage, said the grant is "a step in the right direction, changing our dependence on fossil fuels."
Contact Karamagi Rujumba at:
krujumba@theblade.com
or 419-724-6064.
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