Shell Announces $1 Million in Support for Ohio State Energy Research
Shell has awarded $1 million to Ohio State’s College of Engineering for research related to hydrogen as an alternative fuel source.
John Hofmeister, president of Shell Oil Company, announced the grant this morning at a press conference on campus. The money, granted over two years, will fund the work of W.S. Winston Ho, a professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.
Ho’s research involves developing new polymer membranes that can withstand high temperatures and separate hydrogen from other gases, such as methane and hydrogen sulfide which are created when coal is converted to a type of synthetic natural gas. The hydrogen then could be used in fuel cells to power vehicles or in other portable devices, explained Stuart Cooper, chair of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.
The benefits of Ho’s work could lower the cost of hydrogen production while providing an alternative carbon dioxide and acid gas removal technology for Shell refineries and chemical plants, Hofmeister said. He estimated that while hydrogen has emerged as a key part of the solution for the world’s energy challenge, perfecting hydrogen as a commercially available, alternative fuel source could be a 20- to 50-year process.
“Shell believes that by funding the efforts of Ohio State’s professor Winston Ho’s team, we can potentially realize a new and viable technology in the hydrogen field, which could accelerate the arrival of hydrogen-based power and transportation solutions,” said Duncan Macleod, vice president of Shell Hydrogen.
This current project is preceded by two years of preliminary studies conducted by Ohio State University for Shell. Ohio State has one of the nation’s top Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering departments with extensive expertise in coal/hydrocarbon processing as well as in fuel cells and hydrogen.
In addition to earlier support of Ho’s work, Shell has provided scholarships, promoted diversity efforts, developed student project teams and provided student services in the College of Engineering, Fisher College of Business and the College of Math and Physical Sciences.
University President Karen Holbrook acknowledged the significance of Shell’s support of Ho’s research, noting that the university itself has recently increased investments in faculty research in the energy field.
“We do take our role in energy for the world, the nation and Ohio State very seriously,” she said.
Contact: Joan Slattery Wall, Ohio State College of Engineering, wall.106@osu.edu or (614) 292-4064August 24, 2006
