February 3rd, 2012
What will the OnStar Open API mean for Hydrogen Convergence?
This year, we at the ebTDesign Forum have spent a lot of time talking with you about the economic benefits of hydrogen fuel cell trucking versus other forms of trucking. Opening up the OnStar API to vehicle-to-grid (V2G) vendors will provide home owners with an alternative power supply during power outages. In fact, purchasing hydrogen fuel cell vehicle will be like buying a 85-100kW backup power supply.
Most smart grid applications are fatally flawed because they don’t provide a reliable alternative power supply. Those that do provide alt-path power use batteries which are extremely sensitive to ambient temperatures. Simply put, batteries operate best in a very narrow range. If the temperature in room in which they are stored changes very much then the power output becomes unstable. So they may not work when you need them.
The OnStar Open API natively monitors the health and welfare of all the automotive systems. Combining OnStar with the generating capacity of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles should allow for the maximization of onboard resources. For example, hooking OnStar enabled V2G applications to the homeowner’s smart meter (i.e. energy management system) would provide automated mechanism for controlling the fuel cell output.
Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles equipped with OnStar enabled V2G apps would also reduce the risk of stranded costs. Stranded costs are those costs that can’t be recouped because of changes in regulation. Conveniently, many so-called energy gurus and electric vehicle (EV) enthusiast forget that the energy sector is highly regulated. This makes increasing generating capacity time consuming and risky.
Every family will be able to purchase a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle without the “red tape” required to add new generating capacity and/or transmission lines. A set of fuel cell vehicles could use OnStar Open API enabled V2G apps to coordinate massively distributed power generation (MDPG). OnStar could use hydrogen convergence to provide power restoration services using their wireless assets for communities that can segment their corner of the smart grid on the fly.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: MDPG, OnStar, smart grid, smart meter, V2GFebruary 2nd, 2012
Impact of Hydrogen Convergence on Economic Development Process
A lot of very serious people (i.e. followers of neoliberalism) are advocates of basing the United States’ economic policy on a corporate model. Many of these same so-called gurus are quick to rail against the short-sightedness of business leaders and lack of investment in America. The problem with using the corporate model as the basis for public economic policy is that it’s based on quarterly milestones.
On the other hand, hydrogen convergence is based on Olympics-inspired timeframes (i.e. multi-year) or economic development process. Economic developers know that major infrastructure projects like an economic course correction always take longer than 3 months. In fact, you can make the case that the Olympic Movement is the most consistent source of high-profile economic development.
A number of cities around the world either propose or embark on the development of sports venues every year. But, these projects never reach the scale required to host the Olympic Games. By definition, mega-events like the Olympics can affect the economy of an entire country. Embracing hydrogen convergence and ending the Fossil Fuel Era reaches the same scale and timeframe.
Electric vehicle (EV) enthusiasts fall into the corporate model trap when they ask, “Where are the hydrogen fuel cell vehicles?” They don’t seem to comprehend the concept that viable options can take years deploy. The Obama Administration appeared to use the same corporate model or sensitivity when they chose to increase funding for battery technology and to starve American hydrogen innovation.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: corporate model, EV, Fossil Fuel Era, neoliberalism, OlympicsJanuary 31st, 2012
US Hybrid to build Hydrogen Fuel Cell Dump Trucks
As part of a project for the High Technology Development Corporation’s Hawaii Center for Advanced Transportation Technologies, US Hybrid will build a hydrogen fuel cell dump truck, a step van and some buses. The hydrogen fuel cell buses sound great for urban markets. However, as far as economic developers are concerned, the fuel cell dump trucks are a lot more interesting.
Fuel cell dump trucks represent the latest example of why hydrogen convergence is taking hold in heavy-duty commercial vehicle markets before the new car market. Fuel cell dump trucks are capital assets and represent an opportunity to create a competitive cost advantage because hydrogen fuel costs less then diesel. The reason for acting now is because heavy-duty trucks and other earth moving equipment will be needed to rebuild America’s crumbling infrastructure.
According to the Daily Journal of Commerce, fuel costs represent the highest business expense behind labor. So, running earth moving and/or construction vehicles on hydrogen will reduce the overall costs of infrastructure projects. This also means that more construction workers can be hired. You can’t technically call these new positions “green jobs” but you can call them a hydrogen convergence spillover benefit.
Historically, the systematic growth of jobs is always associated with techno economic change and the hydrogen convergence movement will be no different. New industry clusters will grow up to support hydrogen convergence in the construction industry. The lessons learned in the construction industry about hydrogen convergence will spill over into adjacent industries which will almost certainly lead to the growth of domestic green jobs.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: construction industry, green jobs, HTDC, industry-clustersJanuary 31st, 2012
Why Economic Developers need to Concentrate on Small Fleets
A lot of very serious people like to say that entrepreneurship is the best way to rebuild the United States Economy. Unfortunately, the same people forget about the benefits of entrepreneurship when it comes to operating small fleets. For example, when President Barack Obama announced his natural gas trucking initiative it was based on a public-private partnership with UPS (United Parcel Service).
At the ebTDesign Forum, we are all for public-private partnerships and see them as the foundation for rapidly commercializing hydrogen convergence. However, we suggest that not all transportation initiatives need to be designed to benefit owners of large fleets. There are real opportunities for economic developers to create competitive advantages for their communities by investing early in hydrogen infrastructure.
Just like the practice of entrepreneurship in other sectors of the economy, small fleet owners generate the majority of new jobs. Just like in other sectors, small fleet owners are challenged by capital availability. Just like other small companies, the price of fuel can have a major impact on hiring. So, if economic developers can increase the number of filling stations in their region that carry lower-cost hydrogen fuel then they can positively impact job growth.
Fleet owners are going to be increasingly faced with a choice of purchasing hydrogen fuel cell trucks or some other fossil fuel powered truck (i.e., diesel, hybrid). Currently, only large fleet owners are going to be able to take advantage of the cost savings and potential for increased hiring unless economic developers nurture development of hydrogen infrastructure in their region. Bottom Line: Positions at small fleet owners will most likely be eliminated without fuel cell trucking.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: entrepreneurship, fleet owners, fuel cell trucking, Obama, UPSJanuary 30th, 2012
Introducing Ultra-Capacitors to the Fuel Cell Trucking Mix
Last week, President Barack Obama introduced a new natural gas initiative for the fleet owners in the trucking industry. We at the ebTDesign Forum suggest that fleet owners should consider ultra-capacitors (i.e. ultracaps) and fuel cell trucking in their business models. Generally, the value of truck purchases is based on the weight of the truck minus the cargo capacity. So, lighter trucks and more torque (i.e. fuel cell truck) create the best value.
Ultracaps are like fast charging/discharging batteries. They are also lightweight versus batteries and have a higher energy density. Fuel cells powered trucks outperform diesel and battery electric trucks because they weigh less. Ultracaps reduce the weight of hydrogen fuel cell trucks even further and improve handling (i.e. increase responsiveness) which should improve energy efficiency under comparable loads.
The numbers for natural gas don’t add up when it comes to the trucking industry. Natural gas only raises energy efficiency by about 5%. Hydrogen doubles the energy efficiency when measured by the kilogram and significantly reduces energy costs when hydrogen is measured by the pound. Natural gas is a great feedstock for hydrogen fuel production but it does not create green jobs.
The one good thing that came out of the Presidents natural gas initiative was the fact that it introduced the concept of retrofitting filling stations. This means that hydrogen convergence advocates can legitimately talk about benefits of retrofitting filling stations versus the economic and political costs of deploying new transmission lines. Given the choice most home owners will chose the current network of filling stations.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: fuel cell trucking, green jobs, natural gas, Obama, ultracapsJanuary 26th, 2012
Nurturing an Export Culture vs. Responsible Drilling
President Obama announced today that his administration will be opening up more public land for responsible drilling. However, we at the ebTDesign Forum question whether allowing additional drilling on public lands is in truth responsible. Many very serious people have not acknowledged that peak oil occurred in 2005 which means that they have not come to grips with the fact the Fossil Fuel Era is coming to an end.
The Obama administration appears to understand the techno economic changes that are occurring and the need to promote green jobs. But, politically it is extremely difficult for the President to tell the truth to people who live their lives based on the precepts of neoliberalism. One of which is that all jobs are created equal and that obsolete jobs need to be protected against environmental concerns.
Increasing the impact of green jobs and domestic manufacturing will require nurturing a new export culture. As we have published recently, the export culture of the Bush Administration supported outsourcing jobs as a desirable form of international business transaction. This new export culture is needed to shift the focus from oil drilling to hydrogen convergence because there are emerging export markets for these products.
Political concerns aside, the truly responsible drilling practices would include rehabilitating non-producing oil wells. According to the book When Oil Peaked by Kenneth S. Deffeyes, “Mature oil source rocks will yield gas.” This means that it is only responsible to drill beneath any leftover oil reserves to reach natural gas reservoirs because the environmental hit has been taken.
In some political circles, it may not be politically palatable to advocate that the United States should concentrate on hydrogen infrastructure and discourage opening up new oil fields. Access to new oil reserves are pretty difficult for oil companies and dangerous for the American people. In fact, big oil companies have actually reduced the money that they have allocated for oil exploration because they have already done their due diligence.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: Fossil Fuel Era, green jobs, Kenneth Deffeyes, neoliberalism, ObamaJanuary 26th, 2012
The Impact of Small Hydrogen Compressors on Private Filling Stations
The twitterverse is all abuzz about the potential for home hydrogen refueling based on RE Hydrogen technologies. Some very serious people see home hydrogen refueling as an opportunity to counter the home charging facility that battery electric vehicle enthusiasts like to talk about. Economic developers on the other hand should think about the impact of small hydrogen compressors on private hydrogen filling stations.
At the ebTDesign Forum, we propose a scenario in which hydrogen convergence will first take hold in the trucking industry. The reason is that fleet owners constantly buy new trucks because of the maintenance costs associated with aging trucks. Also original equipment manufacturers (OEM) are changing their system designs so that fleet owners will pay a little more upfront but save on maintenance and operating costs over time.
Economic developers should think of hydrogen convergence as a foundation for creating green jobs in their communities. Hydrogen Convergence was designed from the ground up to be used by corporations as a framework for economic sustainability. So, there is an opportunity for economic developers to use hydrogen convergence as the basis for nurturing new public-private partnerships.
This pricing strategy is very beneficial to the adoption of hydrogen fuel cell trucking because fuel cell trucks cost a little more. But they make up for it by costing half as much to operate and fraction to maintain. This could become more important as the trucking industry moves to “zero weight” oil blends as a means of reducing greenhouse gases. Especially, if the new oil blends increase maintenance costs.
The real challenge for fleet owners is finding hydrogen filling stations. We suggest that eventually filling stations will be retrofitted to dispense hydrogen fuel. Until that happens, fleet owners that compete in the drayage (i.e. short haul trucking) market will be able to create competitive advantages by investing in private filling stations. Entrepreneurs like those at RE Hydrogen will definitely help change the status quo.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: fuel cell trucking, OEM, RE Hydrogen, sustainabilityJanuary 25th, 2012
Hydrogen Convergence Takeaways from the State of the Union
President Barack Obama reminded Americans once again that there are no free lunches in his State of the Union. The President said basically, if Americans want to compete in the post-Globalization marketplace, there is a need for more investment in domestic manufacturing and infrastructure programs by the federal government. To be clear, the subtext of these comments was the creation of green jobs.
Even though President Obama didn’t talk about hydrogen convergence, all of the proposals he made will actually contribute to the advancement of hydrogen convergence. When the President talks about green jobs, economic developers should think hydrogen convergence. When he says improve competitiveness think hydrogen infrastructure and industry cluster empowerment.
The President was forceful in his use of military examples while talking about the benefits of shared achievements and the need to do nation building here at home. The reason is because this is a time of massive techno economic change. So, the followers of neoliberalism need an opportunity to mourn before they can transition to a post-Globalization mindset.
Here at the ebTDesign Forum, we talk about shared achievement as something akin to the Olympic Spirit and a need to replace military action as its only legitimate source. Another takeaway is that there is also a need to expand the frameworks used to talk about teamwork. Pre-Globalization, teamwork models were based on team sports like football and basketball (i.e., hierarchical, and contained an implied leader).
Post-Globalization, teamwork models need to be expanded to include individual sports like swimming and gymnastics. Dora Torres said it best, in her book called Age is just a Number, when she wrote, “Swimmers train as a team and race as individuals.” The reason is because it is the only way to understand leaderless organizations like the Occupy Movement and/or work together to nurture an export culture.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: Dora Torres, green jobs, Occupy, Olympic Spirit, shared achievementJanuary 24th, 2012
Why Nurture a Hydrogen Convergence Export Culture
During the Bush Administration, America’s export strategy became one of essentially offshoring jobs. In fact, the day after President Bush was reelected there was a meeting in which a representative from Bulgaria said the reelection proved that it’s okay to export jobs. And, the Bulgarians didn’t want to work their way up the food chain like the Japanese or the Koreans. They wanted American executives to export the best jobs.
Very serious people acknowledge that the growth markets for green technologies like the ones that support the Hydrogen Convergence Movement are overseas. So to support the creation of green jobs, America’s export strategy must change. This means that President Obama will have to nurture a new culture of export if he wants to compete with semi-formal organizations like the North Sea Alliance.
American companies have not had to play by the same rules as companies from other countries because the United States Economy has been built on domestic consumption. Also, the fact that oil prices are dominated in US dollars has meant that other countries have had to do business in US dollars. Ending the Fossil Fuel Era by transitioning to hydrogen convergence will remove many of the privileges currently enjoyed.
An export culture means playing by the rules and getting along with our trading partners. It means promoting and protecting the American brand. Once again this flies in the face of neoliberalism (i.e. supply-side economics) which fears socialism and encourages a siege mentality. All shared achievements (i.e. public-private partnerships) are viewed as examples of socialism.
Nurturing a hydrogen convergence export culture is a lot like the spark that grows into the Olympic Flame. Kindling (i.e. public-private partnerships) must be gathered and arranged in a circle around middle class workers. A spark (i.e. American hydrogen innovation) is introduced into the post-Globalization market place and green jobs are created in the United States.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: export culture, neoliberalism, North Sea Alliance, Olympic FlameJanuary 23rd, 2012
Enabling the Obama Administration’s Green Jobs Agenda
President Obama is justifying his decision on the Keystone Pipeline by promoting his Green Jobs Agenda. We at ebTDesign Forum applaud his efforts. However when people talk about green jobs, economic developers should think hydrogen convergence. Developing green jobs is very aspirational but ending the fossil fuel debt spiral (i.e. real impediment to job growth) is impossible to achieve without hydrogen convergence.
Business people need industrial strength applications that can deliver sustainable economic value to the bottom line. Fixating on green jobs is not a strategy business professionals can use to build economic value. It is a tactic that can be employed to shift the conversation away from something else. On the other hand, hydrogen convergence is a strategy for scaling the benefits of green and carbon neutral technologies.
Confounders will seize on the last statement to question the motives of the Obama Administration. Very serious people are already saying that the President’s decision is just another example of politics as usual. However, a case could be made that the Obama Administration is warming to hydrogen convergence based on the positive comments made by Secretary Chu after visiting a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle facility.
We suggest that the Obama Administration can turbocharge the creation of green jobs by spinning off hydrogen convergence programs from the Department of Energy (DOE). The DOE is too busy dealing with the aftermath of peak oil. Managing diminishing oil reserves is a full time job because any geopolitical can cause an economic slowdown. This is the danger of the fossil fuel debt spiral poses.
Highlighting the efforts of the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Inter-agency Working Group (IWG) would ensure Americans benefit from the American hydrogen innovation. The IWG could focus on coordinating development of green job initiatives in all of the federal agencies. This would lead to early investment in hydrogen infrastructure, speed adoption of hydrogen convergence business practices and guarantee success.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: DOE, green jobs, hydrogen infrastructure, IWG, ObamaJanuary 20th, 2012
Why UKH2Mobility should reach out to the Royal Auto Club
Hydrogen fuel cell technology is not the impediment delaying adoption of hydrogen convergence. It’s not even the deployment of hydrogen infrastructure that commentators in the mainstream media would have you believe. The very real challenge is providing the general public with up to date information. This is why engineering an Olympic-Inspired Tipping Point is so import.
The Royal Auto Club (RAC) could help UKH2Mobility on the “cool” front. Cool by definition is aspirational and causes information to flow. The current list of UKH2Mobility’s hydrogen convergence partners is impressive and highly functional if you are concerned about meeting the technology challenges of deploying hydrogen infrastructure. But they may not drive demand because they all have a vested financial interest.
RAC could help UKH2Mobility engineer an Olympic-Inspired Tipping Point by giving UKH2Mobility access to its members and its history of service. The Royal Auto Club has an established tradition of doing cool things for the people of Great Britain. If UKH2Mobility chose to co-host an Olympic-Inspired Hydrogen Road show, RAC could help UKH2Mobility break through the noise of a crowded Olympic Festival.
On the other hand, UKH2Mobility can give the Royal Auto Club access to a younger audience via twitter and other social media networks. Most well-established member oriented organizations are having problems connecting with younger members. Generally speaking these organizations have a “boomer” problem which means that they are dominated by baby boomer topics and baby boomer management.
UKH2Mobility is also important to the RAC because of the fact that “mobility” is more associated with cell phones or Wi-Fi rather than automobiles with younger generations. Hydrogen Convergence is based on shared achievement which is something akin to the Olympic Spirit. The Olympic Spirit seeks to build a better world through sport and active community involvement. This is a powerful message for every one it touches.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: Olympics, RAC, shared achievement, UKH2MobilityJanuary 18th, 2012
Will UKH2Mobility take a NASA approach to Hydrogen Convergence?
For months, we at the ebTDesign Forum have said that the Department of Energy is too busy to properly support hydrogen convergence in the government. The model that we suggest would be a lot like the model NASA used to place a man on the moon. The DOE has chosen to try to kill hydrogen convergence efforts rather initiate a spinoff. Fortunately for our peers in the UK, their government appears to be listening.
UKH2Mobility (i.e. the UK hydrogen convergence program) will pull together resources from three Government Departments and industry partners. It is however unclear if UKH2Mobility will replace RABH2 which was supposed to focus on developing renewable hydrogen sources. Given the number of partners that UKH2Mobility and RABH2 have in common it’s probably safe to assume UKH2Mobility is the last one left standing.
Furthermore in the spirit of shared achievement, the UKH2Mobility could be a good thing for engineering an Olympic-Inspired Tipping Point. Now standing up a new Government Department might sound a little heavy handed from a small changes can make a big difference viewpoint. But, if it results in an Olympics-Inspired Hydrogen Road Show and Expo then we at the ebTDesign Forum are all for it.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: DOE, NASA, Olympics, Road Show, UK, UKH2MobilityJanuary 18th, 2012
What would $5 Diesel mean for Fuel Cell Trucking?
As usual the mainstream media is looking in the wrong area for threats to sustainable job growth. It is all abuzz about the potential for gasoline prices reaching $5 a gallon and some very serious people are already blaming President Obama. However, we at the ebTDesign Forum suggest that you and your peers concentrate on the consequences of $5 a gallon of diesel on the adoption of hydrogen fuel cell trucking.
Fuel cell trucks are already cost competitive to diesel trucks when it comes to operating and maintenance costs. Any geopolitical event that causes diesel prices to rise should spur hydrogen fuel cell truck purchases and the deployment of private hydrogen infrastructure. Economic developers will most likely push for funding of hydrogen fuel retrofits of gas stations to ensure that their communities are not disadvantaged by high diesel prices.
The number of truck stops that carry hydrogen fuel will increase along the interstate highways. At that point, hydrogen convergence will reach full commercial viability and car companies will increase their quota of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Farmers will follow suit because they are huge consumers of diesel. Farmers could actually produce hydrogen from agriculture waste that they are currently paying to have hauled away.
Now all this assumes that diesel prices hover around $5 a gallon for an extended period of time. On the other hand, the United States Military is still in Afghanistan ten years after the initial deployments. So, it is conceivable diesel would go up and stay up if the US were to go to war with Iran or engage in an extended police action to protect the Straits of Hormuz from any attempts to close it down.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: diesel prices, fuel cell trucking, hydrogen infrastructure, ObamaJanuary 18th, 2012
Confirmation: 2012 Olympic Pins are on the way
The countdown to full Olympics fan mode has begun. Confirmation was received yesterday that the London Taxi with the Union Jack 2012 Olympics Logo pins have shipped. This means that the passing of the Olympic Flame is about to occur here at the ebTDesign Forum when the 2012 Olympic Pins will take over from the 1996 Olympic pins as a source of inspiration and an example of shared achievement.
For most people, the 2012 Olympics won’t start for another 192 days. However, you and your peers are encouraged to start planning your hydrogen convergence contributions to 2012 Olympic legacy. Everyone needs to step up their game if the United States Economy is be decoupled from the Fossil Fuel Debt Spiral before more real damage is done to the American people.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: Atlanta, London, Olympics, shared achievementJanuary 17th, 2012
Hydrogen Convergence vs. Neoliberalism
Yesterday, we talked about the fact that neoliberalism (i.e. supply-side economics) is on trial. Today, we at the ebTDesign Forum would like to devote this segment to comparing hydrogen convergence as an economic framework for accelerating job growth to neoliberalism. The battle between these belief systems will define whether or not the United States can maintain its current position or continue to decline economically.
Proponents of neoliberalism can be identified by their frequent calls for austerity measures and sacrifice. They are compelled into action by their siege mentality and fear of socialism. They don’t want to make any changes to how economic development is practiced. It doesn’t matter that the US Economy has been underperforming for at least the past ten years because they must be vigilant against the advancement of socialism.
Hydrogen Convergence is a solution to the problem of how best to create sustainable job growth. It does this by answering the question of how do we collectively to stop the fossil fuel debt spiral. Hydrogen Convergence is based on something akin to the Olympic Spirit (i.e. shared achievement). Advocates seek to put America on a more entrepreneurial footing and promote the establishment of more advanced public-private partnerships.
Neoliberalism was born in the post-World War II period when the American way of life was under siege by the Soviet Union in many parts of the world. So a lot of very serious people felt that private enterprise needed to be protected. For the most part, neoliberalism worked for the latter half of the 20th Century. It started to show cracks in the 1970s with the rise of the Japanese auto makers and never truly recovered.
Hydrogen Convergence is the first techno economic movement of the 21st Century. It is modeled after the digital convergence movement that supported the development of the commercial Internet. Like the Internet Revolution, hydrogen convergence was born of post-Globalization processes. Unlike the Internet Revolution, hydrogen convergence is fully designed for economic sustainability.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: economic framework, neoliberalism, shared achievement, sustainabilityJanuary 16th, 2012
Mitt Romney is not under attack, Neoliberalism is!!!
If you listen to mainstream commentators defend Mitt Romney, you would think that there is only one way for Free-Market economies to work. Most in the Republican Party call it supply-side economics. However more technically, it’s called neoliberalism. The debate that’s occurring in South Carolina portends much larger debate about how America is going to compete in the post-Globalization marketplace.
The outcome of this debate is enormously important to economic developers because it will define the role of public-private partnerships. One of the tenants of neoliberalism is that the only positive role government plays is in national defense. It is this belief system that has caused shared achievement to be relegated to military action. Under this frame of reference any attempt at public-private partnerships is a form of socialism.
In fact, a strict adherence to neoliberalism sets up a classic example of what Clayton Christensen calls the “Innovator’s Dilemma.” The United States Economy has been underperforming for at least the last ten years. Lesser developed economies are rapidly catching up. And no matter how well the United States practices neoliberalism, it is going to continue to fall behind just like the Innovator’s Dilemma would suggest.
There are better ways for communities in post-Globalization economies to operate. For example, the World Economic Forum and Accenture released a report called, “More with Less: Scaling Sustainable Consumption and Resource Efficiency.” This report will be seen as best practice for economic developers in other countries who council both established companies and startups.
However, economic developers in the United States will be under pressure to ignore these finding because they suggest making business decisions based on needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations. Neoliberalism suggests that business decisions should be made without regard to social implications because it disadvantages shareholders.
It doesn’t matter that that this kind of hardline stance could be detrimental to the organization’s image or brands. The reason is because it’s more important for followers of neoliberalism to take a stand against socialism than protect future earnings. Abandoning neoliberalism will lead to more early investment in hydrogen convergence and a return to sustainable economic growth. This is a great debate to have for those people who don’t want see their communities fall behind.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: Clayton-Christensen, neoliberalism, shared achievement, sustainabilityJanuary 13th, 2012
What does the UQM/UPS Deal mean for Fuel Cell Trucking?
For years, very serious people have talked about the future benefits of sustainable transport in moralistic terms. These discussions have led to debates about the virtues of using lithium-ion batteries versus hydrogen fuel cells. Unfortunately, economic developers don’t have the leisure to talk about sustainable transport in abstract terms. You have to deal with it as amenity (i.e. local service) in the context of constrained budgets.
UQM Technologies manufactures propulsion systems for commercial electric vehicles. UPS has contracted with Electric Vehicles International (EVI) to install UQM propulsion systems in delivery vans. So, the UQM/UPS deal sends a clear signal that UPS has made at least a tactical decision in California to expand its sustainable transport capabilities. Given the national ad campaign this may be more strategic.
Economic developers know that amenities are like feature sets for businesses that are looking to expand. They may not guarantee a positive outcome if they are present. But, they can cause a community to be disqualified if they are not. At this point, a lot of people will say that all communities in the United States can support battery electric vehicles. However, this assumes highly industrialized communities (HIC).
By definition, lesser industrialized communities (LIC) are areas of low energy intensity which means that they don’t use much energy because of lower population density. Furthermore battery-electric delivery vans will have a limited range and/or payload capacity. This not only means that expansion into most LICs is out of the question but HICs with a large number of potential stops will also be challenging.
Fuel cell trucking makes sense for the same reasons that companies are shifting to hydrogen fuel cell powered forklifts. Hydrogen fuel cell trucks enable longer duty cycles (i.e. more stops between fill ups) than battery-electric trucks and are cheaper to operate than diesel trucks. There’s also the dirty little secret about battery powered forklifts. Companies buy more forklifts to account for the downtime due to the charging time.
The UQM/UPS deal creates an opportunity for forward leaning communities willing to make an early investment in hydrogen convergence. It’s just a matter of time before UPS and other fleet operators realize the limitations of battery electric delivery vans. Those communities with fully deployed hydrogen infrastructure will have a competitive advantage with industries that need ship goods to warehouses or a large number of local retailers. So, the UQM/UPS deal is really a heads up for hydrogen convergence.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: fuel cell trucking, HIC, hydrogen infrastructure, LIC, UPS, UQMJanuary 12th, 2012
Fuel Cell Buses from 2010 Olympics log One Million Miles
There are a lot of very serious people who complain that hydrogen fuel cells don’t have the durability needed for industrial applications like buses or transportation in general. To those people we at the ebTDesign Forum suggest that they look at the shared achievement of hydrogen fuel cell bus fleet from the 2010 Olympics. These buses have logged more than one million miles of continuous service and are still going strong.
Hydrogen Convergence is one of the legacies of the 2010 Olympics and why engineering an Olympic Inspired Tipping Point in London at the 2012 Olympics is so important. Peak Oil occurred in 2005 and the impact of declining oil reserves on post-Globalization economies has been devastating. The most rapid path to environmental and economic sustainability runs through the 2012 Olympics in London. So, let your voice be heard.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: fuel cell buses, Olympics, peak oil, shared achievementJanuary 12th, 2012
Could Pilgrim Pride Corp provide a Business Case for Hydrogen Convergence?
As economic developers, you know that early investment in hydrogen convergence isn’t likely to come from the federal government. The reason is pretty obvious to anyone that watches cable news for only a few minutes. The Global Economy is locked into a fossil fuel debt spiral and government revenues are declining. However, it is this reality that allows companies like Pilgrim Pride Corporation to benefit from fuel management services.
Pilgrim Pride Corp (i.e. formally Pilgrim Pride) is a major player in the international poultry production industry. According to FleetOwner.com, Pilgrim Pride Corp has found it difficult to make budget plans because of the volatility of global energy markets in recent years. This stems from the fact that Pilgrim Pride Corp is so susceptible to oil price spikes because of its dependence on fossil fuel products like chicken feed and transportation.
Traditionally, fuel management services (FMS) have resembled enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and have been concerned with reducing fuel costs by managing bulk-fuel purchases. Early investment in hydrogen convergence would extend ERP capabilities to the management of hydrogen as a byproduct of food production. This hydrogen could be used in the 30 fleet-fuel centers in the United States or sold.
Fleet operating costs could be cut by 50% assuming investment in hydrogen fuel cell trucks like Vision Motor Corp’s Tyrano. This would eliminate the cost of diesel truck emissions testing and the need for any subsequent maintenance. From an export standpoint, investing in hydrogen convergence would also the reduce Pilgrim Pride Corp’s carbon footprint and future proof their profits from carbon tax liabilities.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: ERP, FleetOwner, FMS, Pilgrim Corp, Vision Motor CorpJanuary 11th, 2012
What will Diesel and Gasoline price surges over Holidays mean?
The last thing that the United States Economy needs is another spike in the price of oil-based products (i.e., diesel, gasoline, and food). However, economic developers may want to make contingency plans for another slowdown due to the volatility in the Middle East. Based on recent history, an oil price surge means an economic slowdown within six months. This appears to be the brutal reality of extending the Fossil Fuel Era.
Now, some very serious people will argue that the American people would benefit from increased domestic oil and natural gas production. They will cite the number of potential jobs that could be created. This line of reasoning doesn’t take into account the jobs that are lost as a result of environmental damages. It also forgets that oil and natural gas prices are set by global energy markets.
The only short-term solution is to stress shared achievement. If you and your peers can infuse the Olympic Spirit into the energy sector then you’ll see less tribal warfare throughout the domestic economy. This is why engineering an Olympic Inspired Tipping Point is so important. The support of even a small number of true thought leaders will make it cool to wait for the benefits of hydrogen convergence.
The vast majority of major automakers are prepared to join Mercedes-Benz in the light-duty hydrogen fuel cell vehicle market by starting production lines in the near future. Hyundai has already announced plans to start this process later this year. The rest, with only a few exceptions, will follow sometime before 2015. It’s been almost 200 years since a change of this scope and size resulted in the industrial revolution so hang on.
The end of the Fossil Fuel Era also means the end of low hanging fruit and massive techno economic changes. No longer will communities be able to rely on prior infrastructure investments to pay the same dividends. Some will see this as simply evolution while others will call it creative destruction. We at the ebTDesign Forum suggest that you never forget that evolution and creative destruction take no prisoners.
Zachary Alexander
Concepts: Fossil Fuel Era, industrial-revolution, shared achievement