The Naval Surface Warfare Center in southern Indiana is a test facility for advanced power technologies. Competition in the electric business will come not just from other companies, but also from technology that may change the way we do business,'' said James E. Rogers, vice chairman, president and chief executive officer of Cinergy. Fuel cells were once only thought of as space-age technology, but their commercial possibilities are becoming more real as demand grows for cleaner, flexible and more efficient alternatives for producing electricity,'' said John Mutz, Cinergy vice president and president of PSI Energy.
Fuel cells generate electricity without combustion using such fuels as natural gas or hydrogen.
The cells, long used by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to power spacecraft, are seen as a possible way to commercially generate electricity close to the user. If they prove practical, fuel cells would be customized power plants to generate power at industrial facilities, hospitals, hotels, and subdivisions, eliminating the need to transmit it through high-voltage power lines. The Navy is evaluating fuel cells as a possible source of shipboard power. The fuel cell will be built by Ballard Generation Systems, Vancouver, and will be evaluated by Cinergy and the Navy in the coming two years. Indiana University will conduct environmental and financial analysis.