Ponaganset High School’s

Fuel Cell Education Initiative

Submitted to:

Bonneville Power Administration

August 2005

Submitted by

Mr. Ross McCurdyDirector, Fuel Cell Education Initiative

Ponaganset High School137 Anan Wade Road

North Scituate, RI 02857

Email: rkmccurdy@yahoo.comPhone (PHS) 401-647-3377

Executive Summary

The mission of Ponaganset High School’s Fuel Cell Education Initiative is to further the understanding of fuel cell technology and implement it into the high school science curriculum. To achieve this goal, a year-long elective course entitled Fuel Cell Systems is currently being offered at Ponaganset High School located in North Scituate, RI. Among the projects for this course was the research, design, and creation of a fully operational fuel cell-powered Quadracycle, Rhode Island’s first fuel cell vehicle. Work is currently underway on the next vehicle project, a full-size, street-legal, battery-electric/fuel cell hybrid Model T hotrod.

To further fuel cell awareness, Protium, the world’s first fuel cell-powered band, was created to demonstrate that fuel cell technology is here, now, and it works. Protium has already performed numerous fuel cell-powered shows both locally and distant, including the 2003 and 2004 Fuel Cell Seminars in Miami, Florida and San Antonio, Texas, and the 2004 National Hydrogen Association Expo in Hollywood, California.

The results of this program have been shared with various organizations, including the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, the State Energy Office, and other state offices. Curriculum and project information has been shared with other educators spanning the range from middle and high schools to colleges and universities. Video clips and photos of fuel cell demonstrations are currently available on the Bonneville Power Administration website.

Table of Contents

1.0 Introduction……………………………………………………………………..page 4

2.0 Ponaganset High School………………………………………………………..page 4

3.0 Getting Started………………………………………………………………….page 5

4.0 The Next Steps………..………………………………………………………..page 5

5.0 The Band………………………..………………………………………..…….page 7

6.0 Fuel Cell Class..………………………………………………………………...page 9

7.0 Fuel Cell Inventory……………………………………………………………..page 11

8.0 Fuel Cell Quadracycle….…………………………………………….…………page

12

9.0 Fuel Cell Model T……………………………………………….………………page

14

10.0 2005-2006 Academic Year……………………………………………………page

16

11.0 Future Plans…………………………………………………………………...page

16

12.0 Keys to Success………………………………………………………….…….page

17

13.0 Establishing Fuel Cell Education in your School……………………….……..page

18

14.0 Our Sponsors…………………………………………………………......…….page

19

15.0 Contact Information…………………………………………………..………..page

19

16.0 Appendix I………………………………………………...…………..…..……page

20

17.0 Appendix II…………………………………………….……..………..………page

22

18.0 Appendix III……………………………………………………..……..………page

24

19.0 Appendix IV…………………………….…………………….………..………page

26

20.0 Appendix V……………………..………….…………………………..………page

28

21.0 Appendix IV …………………………………...………………………………page

30

22.0 Appendix VII……………………………………………………………………page

33

Introduction:

This is a story of rock and roll, hot rods, fuel cells, education, and a shared concern for the environment and the energy needs of our society for both the present and future. Like many others, I grew up reading the National Wildlife Federation’s Ranger Rick, National Geographic, and viewing the environmental films that my schoolteachers showed. It seemed that pollution was the inevitable byproduct of industrialized societies and it was just something we had to live with unless we wanted to go back to the caves. It was decades after my first Ranger Rick magazine when I first learned about fuel cells and their amazing ability to produce electricity from hydrogen with zero pollution, their only emissions being heat and water! Finally, a potential means to break the strongly-forged chain between industrialization and environmental degradation. From that time I was hooked, hopeful, and anxious to learn more and experience these miraculous machines for myself.

A former long-haired rock and roller (a fact previously unknown by my colleagues), when our fuel cell endeavors began I was about two years into a new career as a short-haired high school science teacher. This was an ideal position from which to

spread the word and I began enthusiastically teaching my students about fuel cells and their hope for the future. Little did I know at the time that the rock and roll would resurface to further the cause.

From the earliest stages of the program we encountered enthusiastic individuals and organizations whose vision and support were instrumental in the achievements and success. Our most sincere thanks go to the sponsors and supporters of the Fuel Cell Education Initiative including the Fuel Cell Test and Evaluation Center, Relion Fuel Cells, Millennium Cell, the Rhode Island State Energy Office, the Perkins Foundation, Rhode Island Resource Recovery, Fuel Cell Energy, Praxair, Iota Engineering, and Bonneville Power Administration.

The goal of this report is to provide information, motivation, and inspiration for educators and others interested in furthering fuel cell technology. The following includes what we’ve done, how we’ve done it, and information that will hopefully be useful as you forward your own ventures. I wish you the best of luck with your fuel cell endeavors!

Sincerely,

Ross McCurdyDirector, Fuel Cell Education InitiativePonaganset High School137 Anan Wade Rd.N. Scituate, RI 02857

Ponaganset High School: www.edline.net/pages/Ponaganset_High_SchoolPonaganset High is a relatively rural school in the northwest corner of relatively

urban Rhode Island. About a thousand students attend the school, which to a large extent is the social hub of Foster and Glocester, the two communities that it serves. Ponaganset High has earned the reputation of being a good school with a tradition of excellence in many areas including music and science. Ponaganset’s most notable graduate is Colonel Sherwood “Woody” Spring, class of ’63, who went on to become an astronaut in the space shuttle program.

Getting Started:Like many other ventures, the Fuel Cell Education Initiative had very humble

origins. Recognizing the educational value of fuel cells in the curriculum, Science Department Chair Alicia Bailey ordered a single Heliocentris Solar Hydrogen Fuel Cell lab kit from a science education supply catalog for around $240. This kit included a solar panel that provided electricity to an electrolyzer which turned distilled water into hydrogen and oxygen which in turn were used to power a small fuel cell. This fuel cell is around 1/10th of a watt and could power a wheel the size of a quarter or a tiny 2mm light

bulb. While the power output was miniscule, the kit was very well designed with good lesson materials and it really gave the students the big picture of renewable energy hydrogen production, storage, and fuel cell electricity.

The original kit is still being used in the classroom and is working fine after four years. The manufacturer is: www.heliocentris.com/products/kits.html

These kits can be purchased at www.fuelcellstore.com part number 533708 with the price currently listed at $311.

The next steps:The Heliocentris Solar Hydrogen Fuel Cell lab kit was a hit in the classroom and

a lot of fun to use and teach with. With just one kit to use with class sizes of around 25 students there were limitations, and there was also the ever-present quest for more power. As school budgets are generally rather tight, the funding needed for more fuel cell equipment had to come from outside sources. We applied for a Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Grant (in our school region these funds are managed by the Cranston Career and Technical Center) and were awarded $4,000 to purchase more fuel cell equipment. This was a very exciting time; we had $4,000 that we could use to buy fuel cells! With visions of the brute fuel cell power now believed to be in reach, calls were made to the major manufacturers that we knew of at the time. As the calls were made it became sadly apparent that brute fuel cell power was not available for $4,000, and there was actually very little as far as fuel cells go that was available for $4,000. The grant funds were still put to good use and 10 more of the Heliocentris Solar Hydrogen lab kits (identical to the kit we already had) were purchased, along with a BCS 11 cell stack that puts out about 12 Watts. To clarify, BCS usually makes fuel cell stacks in increments of 4, 10, 20, 24 cells, etc. We had a bit more money than the price of a 10 cell stack so they built an 11 cell stack for us that has about 10 % more power. Reflecting on this reveals a bit of the Heavy Metal mentality from the 80’s. In the classic

rock and roll parody movie “This is Spinal Tap” one of the musicians had knobs on his guitar that instead of going up to the traditional “10”, went up to “11” with the explanation being that the 11 was there in case the volume at 10 wasn’t loud enough (as you may know, the amount of numbers on the knob don’t make it any louder, however, adding an 11th cell on the fuel cell stack does actually provide 10% more power). The additional 10 fuel cell lab kits enabled the students to work in groups of two (or so) and made a big difference in the hands on learning factor for the students.

BCS 12 Watt fuel cell

www.bcsfuelcells.com

The BCS 12 Watt fuel cell required hydrogen from an external cylinder, unlike the lab kits that created small amounts of hydrogen through electrolysis. The fuel cell grade hydrogen for our projects has been generously donated by Praxair. Fuel cell grade hydrogen is 99.995 % pure and is the called for grade with many fuel cells, although some fuel cells call for the less expensive and more common industrial grade hydrogen, which is about 99.9 % pure.

Important: Hydrogen, like all fuels (except nuclear fuels) is flammable and requires proper handling. When using hydrogen be sure to follow the proper safety procedures listed in the Material Data Safety Sheet or MSDS for use, storage, and transportation. Hydrogen cylinders should be refilled by professionals only.

With the BCS fuel cell we were able to demonstrate how a fuel cell stack works and how an electric load affects the rate of hydrogen consumption. A 12 Watt car brake light was typically used for this and there were plans at the time to use it in a fuel cell radio control model car. While we did use the fuel cell to power the motor of a radio controlled model car, we never did quite get around to actually integrating it.

All of these fuel cells were used in both chemistry, biology, and other science classes and would be willingly demonstrated to anyone who wanted to see them (and perhaps even some people who didn’t want to see them, but our enthusiasm kept us from noticing).

A big part of the grant process is putting the money to good use, meeting the objectives of the grant, and spreading the word about the program. We were fortunate to have the reporter who covered school news for our region visit our classroom and write an article that appeared in the statewide Providence Journal on the fuel cell lessons (Appendix I).

Riding on the success of the first grant, we applied for and were awarded another Perkins grant with the intention of purchasing a 50 watt fuel cell test station with

computer software. Still lurking was the idea of building a fuel cell radio control model car, and a 50 watt fuel cell would be even better than a 12 watt fuel cell. We were fairly close to ordering the 50 watt fuel cell test station when word came out that the fuel cell company Ballard now had 1 kW fuel cell available for sale. The fuel cell was named the “Airgen” and sold for about $6,000. The heart of the Airgen is a 1.2 kW Nexa fuel cell that is inverted and regulated to put out 120 volt AC power. In everyday terms, this meant that normal household things could be plugged right into the fuel cell!

Ballard Airgenwww.ballard.com

We were extremely excited about this and put an order in right away. Our Airgen arrived around January of 2003 and we could barely wait to power it up! We connected a 3 foot tall “Q” size cylinder of hydrogen, previously used with the BCS fuel cell, up to the Airgen, got the system running, and then began plugging in 150 watt shop lights. We slowly increased the number of lights until we had 6 plugged in for a total of 900 watts (1000 watts, or 1 kW is the maximum output of the Airgen). The fuel cell was running and we were making electricity from hydrogen and had the 6 shop lights to prove it. After the initial scientific enthusiasm waned we looked around and realized we spent about $6,000 to power up a bunch of shop lights and from a non-scientific viewpoint the demonstration was really quite boring. At the time a small thought emerged that said “oh oh, we just spent $6,000 on something that will be taken out of the closet once a year to power some light bulbs and bore high school kids”. Fortunately there were bigger thoughts that prevailed.

The Band:We had 1000 watts of fuel cell power, now we had to think of a way to really use

it. The solution to this dilemma emerged from the distance past, when Heavy Metal was king and the amplifiers were bigger than European family cars. Many of the students at Ponaganset High were musicians, and one student had a complete Eddie Van Halen 5150 full stack guitar amplifier. This is the kind of amp that rock stars use to play stadium venues and is so loud that environmental groups would try to ban it if they were ever used underwater. So we plugged it in, and it worked, and it was really loud, and it didn’t really use all that much electricity, only about 150 watts or so, so we plugged in more amps. We plugged in a bass amp, another guitar amp, and some speakers for the vocals, and the fuel cell kept on running and powering all the gear. The students rocked out and the fuel cell held up great.

It dawned on us that since we were among the first general users to purchase a 1 kW fuel cell of this type, we might just be the first to run a band on a fuel cell. We named the band “Protium”, the term for the most common isotope of hydrogen (the other two hydrogen isotopes are deuterium and tritium, having one and two neutrons respectively), and in the grand tradition of P.T. Barnum we billed ourselves as the World’s First Fuel Cell-Powered Band. The students in Protium began practicing some rockers, AC/DC’s “Shook me all night long” and Aerosmiths “Sweet Emotion” and put on a short live show to the entire school via the televised morning announcements complete with an introductory fuel cell lesson. The student musicians in Protium did a great job and the performance was enthusiastically received by students throughout the school. With that demonstration fuel cells immediately became “cool” and a level of excitement was created among the students for the nascent fuel cell program. A Providence Journal reporter was there for the event and an excellent fuel cell article appeared in the newspaper, helping to promote interest among parents and others in the school community as well as people throughout our region of Rhode Island. (Appendix II).

ProtiumPhase I

The news of Protium spread to the adjacent state of Connecticut just in time for the First Annual Connecticut Clean Energy Fund’s Fuel Cell Investors Summit, which was held on St. Patrick’s Day of 2003. With just a few weeks to prepare, the students in Protium expanded their set (and temporarily dropped the hard rock) with some classic rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and jazz, and performed a 35 minute set for the industry, government, and other professionals attending the summit. This event was a major turning point for Protium and Ponaganset High’s fuel cell program.

Following the well-received Protium performance at the Connecticut Fuel Cell Summit we had the opportunity to speak with some of the many people attending. One of the attendees, Dr. Michael Binder, was particularly enthusiastic about the use of a rock and roll band to demonstrate fuel cells. It turned out Mike was the fuel cell project manager for the Department of Defense CERL/ERDC and one of the key individuals in

the establishment of fuel cell projects around the world. Concisely stated, Mike is a global fuel cell guru and one of the major movers and shakers in the industry. Mike talked with us and asked if we would be interested in performing at the 2003 Fuel Cell Summit, the largest fuel cell conference in the world, in Miami, Florida and also mentioned that he may be able to help get some fuel cell companies to sponsor us with equipment donations. There was a lot of excitement about this opportunity, and good things began to happen.

This meeting led to a sizeable contract with DoD’s Fuel Cell Test and Evaluation Center (FCTec) that was able to fund the purchase of fuel cell equipment, band equipment, fuel cell education at Ponaganset High, and trip expenses for Protium to perform in Miami. This also led to the donation of equipment from two companies, Relion Fuel Cells in Spokane, Washington and Millennium Cell in New Jersey.

Relion generously donated a 1 kW Independence 1000 fuel cell which effectively doubled the available power for Protium’s fuel cell demonstrations and enabling the band to put on a much better show and easily perform in large venues and outside shows.

Relion Independence 1000 Fuel Cellwww.avistalabs.com

Millennium Cell’s generous donation was an RM1500 1.5 kW capable Hydrogen on Demandtm system. The Millennium Cell RM1500 is a chemical means of storing hydrogen and produces a stream of hydrogen as needed to power a fuel cell from a solution of Sodium Borohydride and water. The advantages of this system include very high storage density of hydrogen, in other words the solution chemically contains a lot of hydrogen, and the solution itself is not flammable, whereas hydrogen is. The Millennium Cell system could easily provide more than enough hydrogen to run the Relion fuel cell. Along with the fuel cells, the underlying principles of the Millennium Cell system provided a great lesson in applied chemistry for the science classes. The chemical equation is shown below for those of you into chemical equations (aren’t we all?).

NaBH4 + 2H2O → 4H2 + NaBO2 Sodium Borohydride + water produces Hydrogen + Sodium Metaborate

More information on Millennium Cell can be found at www.millenniumcell.com

It was the spring of 2003 and the next big fuel cell event was a school benefit show for a scholarship fund in memory of a Ponaganset student who was tragically killed in a car crash. The event was a classic “Battle of the Bands” only this time all the equipment of every band was powered by the school’s two fuel cells, the Relion and Airgen. There were ten bands in all, performing a full 2 ½ hour show. The fuel cells delivered all the necessary power and the student bands rocked the house. The community support for the event was uplifting and well over $2,000 was raised. The fuel

cells contributed to this very important and special show, and there has yet to be a fuel cell show with as many bands performing (Appendix III)

Fuel Cell Class:With the success of the fuel cell lessons and the Protium fuel cell shows, the

program was developing momentum. A request to offer a year-long Fuel Cell Systems course was made to Ponaganset High’s principal, Joe Maruszczak, who gave his enthusiastic approval to begin offering this class at the start of the 2003-2004 academic year. Over twenty students signed up for the course and a course outline was developed. The course focused on fuel cells and related projects while also covering environmental concerns and both traditional and renewable forms of energy.

Protium phase II, Miami:One of the big challenges with high school projects is that the darn kids keep

graduating. Of the five students in Protium, four were now graduating, and the 2003 Fuel Cell Seminar in Miami was not too far away. Another challenge, a 35 minute Protium show was fine for the Connecticut Fuel Cell Summit, whereas the Fuel Cell Seminars hired professional bands to put on a two hour or so show at the big reception for the week-long event. What this meant is that with the exception of the one original member, Protium needed an entirely new lineup of student musicians. We also had only about four months to make the transformation from a bunch of students with instruments to sounding and performing like a professional band. With a summer spent on band practice and the musical talents of a Spanish teacher who played a mean saxophone, Protium phase II got ready for the big Miami show.

Protium phase II in Miami

The bar of expectations was raised for the Miami show, and it was anticipated that over 2000 people would be attending the reception. Protium was now an eight piece band and the new Protium PA system capable of handling the grand ballroom of the Eden Roc Hotel was shipped by van. With the Relion and Airgen fuel cells hooked up for the first time with the Millennium Cell RM1500 the members of Protium put on a rocking two hour show with all the instruments, amps, PA system and massive “portable earthquake” subwoofers entirely fuel cell-powered.

Protium Phase III, Hollywood:

In April 2004 the National Hydrogen Association (NHA) held their annual Hydrogen Expo in Hollywood, California and about five weeks before the event Protium was invited to perform. This was a very exciting opportunity, yet challenges remained. Just about all the Protium phase II students were unable to make the show due to scheduling conflicts with the school’s Wind Ensemble and Concert Band trip to Virginia, and on top of that all but one of the students in the band were getting ready to graduate (again!). Fortunately there were more highly talented musicians in the school, and a group of four students had formed their own band called Orange Jam Conspiracy, or OJC for short. www.orangejamconspiracy.com These students were asked if they wanted to go to Hollywood and perform a fuel cell show as the latest phase of Protium. They were excited and enthusiastic about the opportunity and we began practicing and packing for the trip.

The Protium phase III students put on another great show in Hollywood and even had the opportunity to meet rock star Perry Farrell, lead singer of the band Jane’s Addiction and founder of the Lollapalooza summer concert tour. Perry and other Lollapalooza folks are very committed to furthering the cause of renewable energy and have used biodiesel to run concert equipment and promoted fuel cells by having a Schatz Energy booth on the concert grounds that used a 300 watt fuel cell to make fuel cell slushies for the fans.

Protium phase IIIwith Perry Farrellphoto courtesy of Tai Robinson

Meetings took place at the NHA conference and there were plans underway with Lollapalooza managers and key fuel cell industry people to make some big things happen on the Lollapalooza tour scheduled for the summer of 2004. The most exciting venture was the use of the Georgetown University Methanol Fuel Cell Bus to power an entire Lollapalooza soundstage in New York City. Protium was also invited to perform at the Lollapalooza shows, most likely using the Protium PA and fuel cells as a side event off the main stage. This was a super-exciting opportunity for Protium to be a part of a major national event and work with some major people in furthering fuel cells. Things were looking good, press releases were written for the event, and the level of excitement and enthusiasm were high, when quite suddenly and just prior to the release of the press articles, the promoters pulled the plug on the entire tour. A major disappointment to

everyone involved, the Lollapalooza Summer 2004 Tour was the big gig that got away. Fortunately, the attitudes remained optimistic and positive, and more opportunities would arise.

2004 Fuel Cell Seminar, San Antonio, Texas:The students in Protium phase III also rocked the Fuel Cell Seminar in San

Antonio. With the purchase of another Relion Independence 1000 fuel cell, Protium now had 3 kW of fuel cell power for their show. Since there was plenty of power available for the instruments, amps, and PA system, the extra power was put to work on some special effects lighting. Most of the special effects lights have one or more bulbs in them that use about 300 watts each. Fortunately, due to the underlying physics involved, sound gear generally uses much less power than lighting.

Protium in San Antonio

Millennium Cell RM1500Hydrogen on Demandtm

is in the left road case

2 kW Relion fuel cell systemis in the right road case

Ponaganset High’s Fuel Cell Inventory:With the addition of the second Relion fuel cell, our fuel cell inventory now includes:

1- Heliocentris Solar Hydrogen Fuel Cell lab kits2 – Heliocentris Fuel Cell Model Cars1 – BCS 11 cell fuel cell, ~12 watts1 – Ballard Airgen 1 kW2- Relion Independence 1000 1 kW fuel cells with “rocker box” enclosure2 – Powerware UPS Inverters used with the Relion fuel cells1- Millennium Cell Hydrogen on Demandtm system (1.5 kW hydrogen output rating)

Fuel Cell Class Vehicle Projects, the Fuel Cell Quadracycle:While a close second to rock and roll, vehicles are one of the most exciting

applications of fuel cell technology. Just about every red-blooded American guy, and many women as well, are totally into cars, and the students in fuel cell class are certainly no exception. Our goal was to create a functional fuel cell vehicle as a class project (Appendix III). Funding from the Fuel Cell Test and Evaluation Center along with another $4,000 Perkins grant provided the funds and we already had the Relion and Airgen fuel cells to work with. Perhaps the single biggest challenge with fuel cell vehicles is the price of fuel cells. Fuel cells cost anywhere from $3,000 to $10,000 per kilowatt, with 1 kW fuel cells generally in the $6,000 range. One kilowatt equals 1 1/3 horsepower and in doing the math things get expensive fast.

The project guidelines were that it had to safely transport two people at a speed over 10 mph and stay within a $5,000 budget plus already available equipment. The students were each assigned the task of researching and designing a fuel cell vehicle that met the criteria, and a selection would be made to create the actual project. The students came up with numerous and varied proposals, some of which where humorously nonfunctional for cost or technical reasons, and some which were very well thought out and quite viable. The selected design was proposed by a student using the Rhoades Car Quadracycle, essentially a 4-wheeled bicycle, as the vehicle platform. www.rhoadescar.comOur Rhoades Car Quadracycle was a four passenger model with a 750 watt, 24 volt electric motor and controller drive system designed to operate with two deep cycle 12 volt batteries wired in series to get the necessary 24 volts.

Our Fuel Cell Quadracycle (FCQ) is a fine example of “caveman engineering”. We removed the two back seats and bolted on a ½ inch thick plywood platform, to which we mounted the Airgen fuel cell and a Q size hydrogen cylinder. The problem of converting the 120 volt AC output power of the Airgen to 24 volts DC needed by the motor and controller was easily solved. Iota Engineering kindly donated a 24 volt battery charger/power supply; we plugged the Iota into the Airgen’s AC output and connected the 24 volt output of the Iota to the controller. Much to our delight, the system actually worked as expected. We first test drove the Fuel Cell Quadracycle in the school’s hallways using power from the Airgen only. While the system worked ok there was noticeable lag in acceleration and the power was not as smooth as with battery operation. We also ran the FCQ as a fuel cell/battery hybrid which worked very well. The two Optima deep cycle batteries serve as a power buffer between the drive system and the fuel cell, resulting in much smoother acceleration and smoother power overall. Interestingly, at full charge and prior to driving, the Optima batteries have a voltage reading of about 13.5 volts each. After running the vehicle for an hour or so in fuel cell/battery hybrid mode the voltage reading on the two Optima batteries is about 14.3 volts each. What this means is that the fuel cell is not only supplying the electricity necessary to power the FCQ, but is also putting more power into the batteries since the Iota battery charger puts in a high voltage than the smaller stock battery charger that came with the vehicle.The FCQ is able to cruise at 12+ mph with two people with an estimated range of 20 miles on fuel cell power alone and 40 miles as a fuel cell/battery hybrid. While essentially a four-wheeled bicycle with limited power and range, the FCQ was able to earn recognition as Rhode Island’s first fuel cell-powered vehicle. It is also fun to point out that Henry Ford’s first vehicle was also a modest Quadracycle that he built in 1896.

The students have a good time driving the FCQ around the school parking lot during Fuel Cell Class and a lot of rides were given during the school-wide field day event. One of the original goals for the FCQ project was a twenty mile drive from Ponaganset High to the Rhode Island State House to help generate publicity and support for fuel cells and energy education. While the FCQ is capable of the distance, the limited 12 mph speed of the vehicle might tend to be an annoyance to other motorists and obstructing traffic is probably not the best means of promoting fuel cells. Plans to upgrade the FCQ were considered, but even with upgrades it is still essentially a four-wheeled bicycle with limited performance. The FCQ served as an excellent lesson for the students and the primary goals were achieved. It was time to consider moving ahead with another, more ambitious vehicle project.

Fuel Cell Class Vehicle Projects, the Fuel Cell Model T:For our next fuel cell vehicle project our goal was the creation of a full-size, street

legal, fuel cell vehicle capable of cruising at the speed of normal traffic. The same student who came up with the idea of using the Rhoades Car platform for the FCQ, suggested using a Ford Model T “T-bucket” style vehicle for our fuel cell project. Further research revealed that a Model T style vehicle was a great platform for many reasons. The original Model T’s had only 20 horsepower and a top speed of 40 mph, specifications that are within the realm of attainment, the vehicles are simple, easy to get parts for and work on, the Model T is historically significant as the vehicle that made the automobile affordable to the masses, and best of all these cars are really cool! It was decided to implement two phases for the project, with phase I being the conversion of the vehicle to battery electric power using a dozen 12 volt deep cycle batteries for an estimated range of 25 miles, and phase II the integration of a range-extending fuel cell with the goal of achieving a range over 100 miles (Appendix IV, V).

With no place to store a full size vehicle and nowhere near the funding needed for such a project, once again we sought and gained Principal Joe Maruszczak’s support for the endeavor, and we were on our way. Initial funding for the Fuel Cell T came from the Fuel Cell Test and Evaluation Center, along with $5,000 from the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation, which manages the state landfill and recycling operations. With this initial start a presentation was made to the Rhode Island State Energy Office. The presentation included information on Ponaganset High’s Fuel Cell Education Initiative, Protium, the Fuel Cell Quadracycle, and the plans for the Fuel Cell Model T. The presentation was a success and raised a generous $40,000 ($20,000 dedicated for phase I and $20,000 dedicated for phase II) for the project! The estimated costs for the entire project range from $75,000-$100,000 depending on the type and output of the fuel cell used; we were now about halfway there with enough funds now available to complete phase I.

Once funding was available the next logical step was to research vehicles and components for the project. With an internet search we found the Total Performance company in nearby Connecticut (it was good to see that all the cool hot rod builders aren’t just in California) that specializes in Model T style and other hot rods available in both kits and complete vehicles ready to drive. The folks at Total Performance were very helpful and gave an estimate that seemed quite reasonable of about $15,000 for a completed vehicle without the engine or transmission, which we wouldn’t need for our project.

We were open to other possibilities as well, and it just so happened that along the 14 mile, mostly scenic commute to Ponaganset High was a house with a big garage filled with hot rods and guys working on them. We dropped in unannounced for a visit, to say hello, and share information on our project with the gentleman who lived there just for the heck of it since he was obviously into cool old cars. It turned out that Jim is an electrical engineer with a passion for hot rods and the expertise to work on them, and a genuine interest in our Fuel Cell Model T project. Serendipitously, he also had recently purchased a 1992 Total Performance 1923 style T-bucket that he had worked on and was looking to sell. We amicably worked out the price of $7,500 not including the engine and transmission, which were to be returned after collecting the initial data on the vehicle including emissions, overall weight, weight per axle, miles per gallon etc. With a project

of this nature it is important to collect all the initial data needed, because once removed, the gasoline engine was not going back in. Along with selling us the ideal vehicle for a great price, Jim offered to help out with the many technical aspects of the project. With his years of expertise in electrical engineering and hot rods, Jim’s help is a highly valuable and welcome asset.

Having found the platform vehicle, we also needed the electric motor, controller, charger, and all the other components that go into a conversion to electric project. One of the most experienced people in the country with electric vehicle conversions is Bob Batson, of EV America.

www.ev-america.comBob has been working with schools, colleges, and other organizations and individuals since the 80’s. We contacted Bob and received lots of great information including prices. The main electrical components including a 30 horsepower Advanced DC Motor and a 500 Amp Curtis Controller came to about $6,000 (batteries not included, as usual). Bob also put us in touch with a man who was parting out his converted to electric Chevy S-10 pickup who gave us a price of $1000 for all his used EV parts that he had purchased from Bob Batson about 7 years earlier. The person selling the parts, a man named Gary Powers (no relation to the cold war U2 pilot shot down in the USSR) kindly agreed to drive the parts from his home in Pennsylvania and meet us halfway at the New York state border. The evening before the meeting I was rereading one of the books Bob Batson sent entitled “From Gasoline to Electric, a Conversion Experience” and realized the author was none other than Gary Powers, the person who was selling the parts, and from the very vehicle that he wrote his book about. It was great meeting Gary, who autographed several copies of his book for us. Gary’s book is an easy read with loads of useful information including many of the challenges that one is bound to encounter in a conversion project. The book is assigned to the students in Fuel Cell class and is highly recommended for anyone interested in learning about converting to an electric vehicle.

We now had the platform vehicle and the major electric components. The next step was to get the vehicle registered and drive it with the gasoline motor to collect the baseline data. As simple as this sounds, this step turned out to take some time. This type of project had never been done before in our school district, so there was no established protocol or procedure in place, and with school systems the protocol and procedures generally need to be established before things happen. Sounding something like the quotes that students select for their honor society induction, we got to be the pioneers that blazed the trail. The district business manager and building supervisor were a huge help and put in a lot of work to get things going. The registration of the FCT project vehicle became an agenda item for the August 2005 school committee meeting and the school committee members unanimously and enthusiastically approved the registration of the Fuel Cell T project vehicle. While it took time to accomplish, I learned that it took Jim Dunn, the man behind Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s Fuel Cell Airplane project, about three years to register the project plane with the FAA. The FAA kept asking him how many cylinders it had (answer: none). It seems that one of the key ingredients for these innovative projects is time.

Another challenge to our FCT project is storage space for the T-bucket. Ponaganset High was designed for about 800 students maximum and now has about 1000 enrolled, so space is hard to come by. The solution was a twenty foot enclosed auto carrier trailer purchased with the grant funding for the project, and which arrived this August (2005), the same month that the registration for the T-bucket was approved. The

ground work for the project took the majority of the 2004-2005 academic year; the actual work of converting the T to electric power and integrating the fuel cell is just getting started. This is an ambitious undertaking and will take some considerable effort and perseverance to see through; of course, that is all part of the excitement and learning experience!

Among the goals of our Fuel Cell Model T project is to make demonstration road trips including the twenty mile drive from Ponaganset High to the Rhode Island State Capital (the trip originally planned for the Fuel Cell Quadracycle but we decided that blocking traffic with the 12 mph speed was not the best way to promote fuel cells). A loftier goal that will take some considerable work is a demonstration road trip from Ponaganset High to Washington, DC, approximately four hundred miles away. Aside from the excitement of driving our Fuel Cell T to the nation’s capital there is a Shell gasoline station in DC that along with regular gasoline also has pumps for both gaseous and liquid hydrogen. It is a long way to go for a fillup; fortunately plans are underway to build a “Hydrogen Highway” with convenient filling stations along the New York to DC corridor. The Shell Hydrogen Station in DC has been operating and servicing a fleet of fuel cell vehicles for months, and is the first of many that are currently in the planning stages.

www.shell.com/home/Framework?siteId=hydrogen-ennts:

2005-2006 Academic Year:The Fuel Cell Systems course is becoming well established at Ponaganset High

and is about to begin the third consecutive year. Along with the ongoing fuel cell learning, papers, presentations, and projects, the big goal for this year’s Fuel Cell class will be the completion of phase I, conversion to battery-electric power, for the Fuel Cell Model T project vehicle. If good momentum is maintained progress may also be made towards the integration of the fuel cell system. As this is a pioneering project for our school, establishing and maintaining a schedule “carved in stone” is probably not realistic. Ensuring the project makes good progress, the students are learning, and the project goals are met within a reasonable time is what we’ll strive for.

Two Protium fuel cell demonstration shows are currently scheduled: the 3rd Annual Connecticut Clean Energy Fund’s Fuel Cell Investors Summit at Mohegan Sun on October 24th 2005 www.sme.org/downloads/conf/2005/aet/event_brochure.pdf , and the 2005 Fuel Cell Seminar in Palm Springs, California around the 16th of November (the Seminar is a week-long event, from the 14th – 18th of November). Protium put on a great show despite rainy weather at this year’s Rhode Island Earth Day Festival and another Earth Day event is anticipated.

Future plans, Energy Learning Lab and Solar Hydrogen Production:The projects and equipment of Fuel Cell class continues to grow, and Ponaganset

High is currently over maximum student capacity with a critical shortage of storage space and classrooms (one of the two audio-visual classrooms has been commandeered in desperation as a history classroom). Due to the shortage of storage space, the Fuel Cell Quadracycle is currently housed on the second floor of the school in the one audio-visual room. With the Fuel Cell Quadracycle weighing in at around 250 lbs with the two batteries, fuel cell, and fuel cylinder removed, getting it outside for a drive is no easy

task. To use the FCQ outside it takes about four big (and strong) students (and a few more to hold doors) to roll it down a hall, carry it downstairs while avoiding the railing, and roll it down another hall to a set of double doors that lead outside. The Fuel Cell T is a full size vehicle and will probably never see the second floor of the school. To house the T-bucket the twenty foot enclosed auto carrier trailer will be used at this time.

Fortunately there is hope on the horizon. A new middle school and an enlarged and renovated high school project was approved by the voters presenting significant opportunity. We are currently making a major push for the high school construction project to include an Energy Learning Lab, which will be a dedicated classroom/laboratory for teaching and learning about fuel cells and other energy systems with the available space to store four full size vehicle projects as well as stationary, portable, and other power projects (Appendix). The mantra for the Energy Learning Lab has been “ground floor, garage door”, which is the minimum requirement for the Energy Learning Lab to provide the proper work and storage space for these projects. Naturally we are aiming higher, but with the dedicated ground floor, garage door classroom space we’ll have the necessary environment for our current and future fuel cell and energy endeavors.

Another project planned for the future is a large scale Solar Hydrogen Electrolysis system. This system will use a photovoltaic array of about 2.5 kW to provide electricity to an electrolysis system capable of filling standard K cylinders with fuel cell grade hydrogen at working pressures. The beauty of this system is that the hydrogen will be sustainably produced through a zero pollution process, whereas the majority hydrogen on the market is steam reformed from natural gas (a fossil fuel) with the greenhouse gas CO2 produced in the process. Work is currently under way with the founder of Enabling Technologies, a startup company that makes the system, and the president of the Rhode Island Solar Energy Association to write grants in order to fund the estimated $90,000 for this prototype system. Sustainably produced energy is the key to meeting the near and long term future needs of our society; having a large scale solar hydrogen production system and demonstrating it in real-world applications will be an enormous asset to Ponaganset High’s Fuel Cell Education Initiative.

Fuel Cell Education Initiative, Keys to Success:One of the biggest keys to the success of our program is the firm belief in the

importance of what we are doing. The writing is on the wall for anyone willing to read it, the fossil fuels currently supplying the vast quantities of energy needed for our society to function are not only causing significant environmental problems, but are also in limited supply while consumption rates are increasing. Fuel cells are extremely efficient, produce little or zero pollution, and can run on sustainably produced hydrogen. Educating our students on fuel cells and other energy areas is an essential component of furthering the technology, and can be a lot of fun as well.

Taking small, attainable steps and establishing a foundation upon which to build the next project has been instrumental in taking on more sizeable projects. Start small, think big, and keep making progress.

Communication has been one of the most important keys to our program. Talking with people, sharing ideas and goals, and spreading the word is of enormous importance. Sharing information with newspaper reporters and other media people is a great way to

further spread the word, get people interested, gain credibility (somehow things seem more important when they are in the newspaper), and develop support. Most newspapers have regional reporters specializing in educational news. We have found these reporters to be interested, friendly, and very supportive. When the news is all too often filled with crashes, car bombs, and other downers, happy students learning about fuel cells is quite welcome news. It is important to remember that the event does not have to be colossal for a news story, as long as it is of reasonable interest, such as simple fuel cell lab kits, a good story can come of it. When an article does appear in the newspaper they can often be found electronically at the newspapers website. Electronically saving the article as a word document allows it to be archived in our own files and can also be used to spread the word to others as an email attachment.

Perseverance: it often takes quite some work and quite some time for things to fall into place. When trying to get grants and raise funds sometimes seemingly likely doors just don’t seem to open, but keep on trying and other doors will, often in very unexpected places.

Meeting people and making new friends who share similar interests has been another important part of the endeavor. As you learn and teach more about fuel cells and other areas of energy it is great to meet people to share information and ideas and work together. It is amazing the amount of interesting and enthusiastic people that one meets along the way, and it works somewhat along the lines of the Arlo Guthrie song “Alice’s Restaurant”. If three people get together and start talking about fuel cells it is an organization, if fifty people get together it is a movement. Before you know it you’ll meet someone who starts talking about fuel cells and how great they are and all the benefits and as you listen to them talk you’ll realize they are saying the exact same things you do. When that happens everywhere we can say our mission is accomplished, stop teaching fuel cells, and move on to something else.

Establishing FC Education in your School:Here is some good news, you don’t need $100,000 in grant funding to have fun

teaching students about fuel cells (although it certainly can help). Fuel Cell learning can take place or begin on a low budget or no budget. One example is a cheap electrolysis demonstration, in a glass of tap water, add a pinch or two of table salt and drop in a 9 volt battery, hydrogen bubbles will form on the negative battery terminal and oxygen bubbles will form on the positive terminal. The reaction that takes place in a fuel cell is the same, only in reverse.

The internet is a great source of information with clips on how fuel cells work, types of fuel cells, applications, etc. A part of the learning that can be very rewarding is student research projects where they write a paper and/or give a presentation. It is amazing what the students find and how much the teachers actually learn from the assignment. Students naturally seem to gravitate towards areas of fuel cells that interest them; one of our hard-core 4H agricultural type students discovered a fuel cell tractor that was built in the 1950’s!

For relatively inexpensive hands-on fuel cell gear the Heliocentris Solar Hydrogen Fuel Cell kit is a great place to start. For around $300 the system will demonstrate solar energy, electrolytic hydrogen production, fuel cell power, measure amps and volts, and comes with a set of books filled with information and experiments. On the West Coast, Bonneville Power Administration offers free teacher workshops where they provide some great hands-on lesson plans and give a Heliocentris fuel cell kit to the participating teachers to take back to their schools. This is a great program that will hopefully be made available to teachers around the country.

So, now you might be thinking, the kits are nice but how can we get bigger fuel cells. If your school has a bigger budget than ours, encouraging the department head and principal to fund more sizeable purchases may be possible. If your school is like most that avenue may not be an option. Your State Energy Office may be a good source for fuel cell funding and is a good place to start. Many states include a small additional charge on everyone’s electric bill that is used to fund renewable energy and education projects such as fuel cell education. Other educational grants provide opportunity and benevolent private corporations can be another potential source of funding. A private company benefits by donating through tax deductions and perhaps more importantly, good public relations. Donating funds or equipment to teach students about cutting edge renewable energy is good news and reflects well on the companies doing it. It is essential to have clear, attainable, and worthwhile goals when seeking funds, and when funds are awarded be sure to keep the donating organization updated with positive results of the program.

Be sure to have fun with the fuel cell teaching and learning. The lessons can be as involved or as simple as you care to make them and can take a single class period, a few days, a week, or longer, depending on what you want to do and how you want to do it.

Good luck with your fuel cell endeavors!

Our Most Sincere Thanks:Without the support and help of many very generous individuals and

organizations, Ponaganset High’s Fuel Cell Education Initiative would consist of a single 1/10 watt fuel cell quietly spinning a wheel the size of a quarter. Through your help we’ve been able to demonstrate fuel cell power by rocking across the nation and educating the up and coming generation on the awesome potential of fuel cells.

The support of numerous members of the Ponaganset High School community has been vital to the success of the Fuel Cell Education Initiative. The visionary supporters include Principal Joe Maruszczak, Science Department Chair Alicia Bailey, Superintendent Mario Cirillo, Business Manager/Treasurer Steve Winsor, Building Supervisor Joe McGovern, the members of the Foster-Glocester Regional School Committee, and all the folks at the central office who have processed the mountain of paperwork that these endeavors generate. Thanks!

We also want to extend a huge Thank you! To Dr. Michael Binder, whose belief in the powerof fuel cells, rock and roll, and a better future has transformed the vision into reality.

And a very special thanks to Mira Vowles with the Bonneville Power Administrationwhose contributions to Fuel Cell Education is an inspiration to us all.

Links to our Sponsorswww.fctec.com Fuel Cell Test and Evaluation Center (FCTec)www.avistalabs.com Relion Fuel Cellswww.millenniumcell.com Millennium Cell Inc.www.riseo.state.ri.us Rhode Island State Energy Officewww.rirrc.org Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corp.www.fuelcellseminar.com Fuel Cell Seminarwww.bpa.gov Bonneville Power Administrationwww.praxair.com Praxairwww.fce.com Fuel Cell Energy Inc.www.loganenergy.com Logan Energywww.iotaengineering.com/power.htm Iota Engineeringwww.ed.gov/offices/OVAE/CTE/legis.html Information on the Carl D. Perkins

Vocational and Technical Act

Contact:

Ross McCurdyPonaganset High School

137 Anan Wade Rd.N. Scituate, RI 02857401-647-3377rkmccurdy@yahoo.com

Appendix I282 Fuel Cell Energy and Support Technology

Mr. McCurdymr_mccurdy@yahoo.comPonaganset High School

Welcome to Ponaganset High’s Fuel Cell Energy course! This is a full-year course designed to introduce students to the science, technology, politics, and social issues involving fuel cell energy and the hydrogen infrastructure and economy. The significance of fuel cells and the hydrogen that powers them is this: fuel cells produce zero pollution and hydrogen can be obtained in a sustainable manner, so we will never run out!

The course emphasizes hands on operation of actual fuel cell systems and the theory behind fuel cell technology. Projects, presentations, research, writing, reading, and computer use are all components of this course. Students are also to maintain a daily journal of what they have done and learned in class, as well as a portfolio of materials and student work. Students will also master the use of the solar hydrogen fuel cell lab kits and be prepared for the role of fuel cell education outreach leader, where students in the fuel cell energy class will teach other students about fuel cells and operation of the fuel cell lab kit.

As energy prices climb, blackouts shut down the North East US power grid, concerns over global warming and environmental deterioration escalate, and the US continues to rely on fuel imported from politically unstable regions, the implementation of fuel energy and the hydrogen economy become increasingly important.

This course will prepare the motivated student for further studies at the university level and enable students to explore potential careers in the rapidly expanding fuel cell industry, while providing the knowledge to make informed decisions as they take part in our democratic system.

The goals that students will achieve include: 1 Proper operation of fuel cell systems2 Leadership roles in fuel cell education3 Understanding and appreciating a personal relationship, involvement and

responsibility with the Earth4 Thinking logically, critically, and methodically5 Making informed personal, economic, and political decisions

Major topics in Fuel Cell Energy and Support Technology: This is not necessarily listed in the order that the course is taught.

I. Hydrogen and Lab Safety

II. Fuel Cell Theory

III. Fuel Cell Operation

IV. Types of Fuel Cells

V. Current Developments in Fuel Cell Technology

VI. Hydrogen: Production and Storage

VII. Industry Leaders

VIII. Fuel Cell Advocates and Legislation

IX. Principles of Electricity

X. Problems of Present Energy Infrastructure

XI. Energy Solutions and Steps to a Sustainable Future

Grading: A variety of assessment tools will be utilized to measure your performance including, but not limited to: portfolio evaluation, reports, tests, quizzes, oral presentations, and homework. Class participation and conduct will also be a significant component of your grade. The percentages are approximate and are recorded here as a guide. Some assignments will be weighted more than others depending on effort and degree of difficulty.

1. Portfolio Evaluation~ 30% includes sections on:a. Class notesb. Labs/activitiesc. Fuel Cell journal and reflectiond. Homework/Study Guide assignmentse. Assessment and rubricsf. Best Work Showcase

2. Tests and Quizzes ~ 20%Tests and quizzes will be given throughout the course. Each of these types will be given an individual point value.

3. Research/Reports/Oral Presentations~ 30%Research projects and reports will be assigned throughout the course. Students will be given a report format to follow and the PHS scoring rubric for report writing. These guides must be followed. Periodically, for specific projects you will be presenting research orally. This assignment will then be assessed as a significant percentage of your grade at that time.

4. Homework, other activities, and class preparation~20%Homework is given when it is appropriate so the amount of homework will NOT be same each day/week. Please be prepared

for this. One night you may get very little homework that is due the next day, while on another you may need to do much more for the next meeting.

Late Work: All assignments submitted late will be accepted and assessed with a 10% late charge. Assigned work may be submitted up to two weeks before the end of the quarter. However, at that point the highest grade you can earn is 50%. If you are absent the day an assignment is due it is due the next day you are present in class. From that day, your late charge will accrue. It is your responsibility to hand-in late work. Midway through the quarter, you may receive a progress report. At this point it may be too late to earn a passing grade on missing assignments.

Expectations: 1 All students are expected to come to class on-time and prepared. This preparation

includes homework completed, portfolio, writing utensil, and lab/activity materials for that day. 10% of your quarterly grade is assessed as a performance grade. Your preparation affects this grade.

2 All students are expected to treat each other and the instructor with respect.3 All students are expected to work in small groups, to participate as an individual,

discuss topics, or to work on investigations while in class.4 All students are expected to seek the teacher for help if they feel frustrated or they

are struggling and feel overwhelmed with their work.5 All students are expected to submit original pieces of work to be assessed

individually.6 All students are expected to follow proper and safe lab procedures.

Learning Outcomes for this course include:1.01 The student effectively communicates in standard English for a variety of purposes and audiences (oral and written format).

1.02 The student is able to communicate ideas and information of a scientific nature.

1.03 The student demonstrates an understanding of and applies the basic principles of the biological, earth, and/or physical sciences through use of a written lab report.

1.04 The student is able to communicate mathematically (orally and in writing).

2.01 The student demonstrates the ability to comprehend, process, and evaluate print, audio, and visual material.

2.02 The student will demonstrate the ability to comprehend, process, and evaluate print, audio, and visual material and utilize this information in a practical application.

5.01 The student utilizes creative thinking to be an effective problem-solver.

7.01 The student utilizes technology to locate, organize, and communicate information.

9.01 The student demonstrates initiative, responsibility, self-discipline, and perseverance in achieving success in all subjects.

Required Items:3-ring notebookcomposition book for journal entriespens, pencils, paper and a calculator

good attitude!

Appendix IIFuel Cell Systems Curriculum Outline

July 2005

The Fuel Cell Systems course will be fully aligned with the National Center for Education and the Economy (NCEE) Standards, Integrating Science, Applied Learning (see Electrohawk 1, page 112, NCEE Standards book), English, and Mathematics. Specific Standards met will include, but not be limited to S1a-f, S2d, S3a,e, S4a-d, A1-5, E1c, E2a, and M1-5. Meaningful, real-world problems will be presented to the students, with solutions requiring higher-level critical thinking skills congruent with the Standards.

Course Description:This course will focus upon the science and applied use of fuel cells and will

involve the hands-on operation of fuel cell systems from 1 watt to 2 kilowatts and beyond. The course will be project-based with an emphasis on research, writing, and presenting. Students will utilize digital technology to gather research, give presentations, and document with video/still and audio artifacts the work undertaken in class. Students will be expected to present their work to peers and external audiences in support of the program, and to take a leadership role in Ponaganset’s Fuel Cell Education Initiative. Students are required to enter a minimum of two pieces of work from Fuel Cell class into their digital portfolio.

Introduction to Fuel CellsAdvantagesZero PollutionVery High EfficiencyNo combustion

DisadvantagesCost and AvailabilityTemperature ranges of operation

Lab SafetyElectricityFuelsLab procedures and conductSafety systems: eye protection, emergency shutoff, eyewash, shower, etc.

How Fuel Cells Work: The Chemistry and Physics of Fuel CellsAtomic TheoryProperties of subatomic particlesChemical Equations

Stoichiometry of reactantsCatalysts

Fuel Cell Systems LabsLab SafetyElectrolysis of WaterPhotovoltaic Panel OperationSingle Membrane Fuel Cell OperationMulti-Membrane Fuel Cell Operation1-2 kW Fuel Cell Operation

Fuel Cell ProjectsProtium Fuel Cell-Powered BandFuel Cell Quadracycle (Rhode Island’s first fuel cell vehicle!)Fuel Cell Model TPonaganset’s Fuel Cell Education Initiative Website

Who is using Fuel CellsNASADOD/DOEBanksHospitalsGovernment: Post Offices, Police DepartmentsHomes

History of Fuel CellsSir William GroveFrancis Thomas BaconFuel Cell Development Timeline

Current Developments in Fuel Cell TechnologyMobile

CarsSUV’sBusesBoats, Trains, and Submarines

StationaryPC25 200kW system5kW residential/commercial

PortableAirgen

Relion Labs (formerly Avista Labs)Small-Scale applications: laptops and cell phones

Fuel Cells and the FutureTimeline for Implementation

Types of Fuel CellsAlkalinePEMSolid OxidePhosphoric AcidMolten CarbonateMethanol

Fueling the Fuel CellsProperties of Hydrogen

Using the Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)Sources of Hydrogen

Electrolysis of WaterSteam Reformation

Fuel Cell Hydrogen InfrastructureHydrogen Refueling Stations

Storing HydrogenPressurized gasCooled liquidMetal HydridesCarbon nanotubes

Other Fuel Cell FuelsMethanolNatural GasPropaneSodium Borohydride Millennium Cell Hydrogen on Demandtm systemSodium Hydride

Fuel Cell Legislation California Fuel Cell PartnershipNational Fuel Cell ProgramsPresident Bush’s projected $1.8 Billion and Freedom Car Projects Fuel Cell funding

Creation of RI Fuel Cell Partnership

The Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Industry: Who makes what and what it costs.

United Technologies Fuel CellsFuel Cell EnergyRelionMillennium CellBallard PowerPlug PowerHydrogenicsAnuvuNuveraStuart TechnologiesProton Energy Systems

Principles of ElectricityVoltsAmpsWattsOhm’s Law V=IRElectrical systems measurementsAC/DC systems Power step-down, step up, and inversionStoring electricity:

Batteries, Lead Acid, Nickel Metal Hydride, Lithium IonCapacitors and UltracapacitorsLab fun: make your own capacitors

Making electricity: power generation fundamentals

Electricity’s Great ScientistsBenjamin FranklinThomas Alva EdisonNikola TeslaAlessandro Volta: Inventor of the batteryMore electro-scientists http://chem.ch.huji.ac.il/

~eugeniik/history/electrochemists4.htm

Grant writing in support of Ponaganset’s

Fuel Cell Education Initiative Creating ProposalsGrant Sources

History of Energy: Problems and SolutionsNon-Sustainable vs. SustainableWoodCoalOil/gasNatural GasPropaneNuclearHydroelectricTideSolarWind, Cape Wind Project, local wind projectsGeothermal

Renewable fuelsBiodiesel: what it is and how to make itBiomassEthanol

Traditional VehiclesFundamentals of internal combustionFour stroke, gasoline, diesel

Hybrid VehiclesPrinciples of hybrid technologyAdvantages of hybrids

Electric VehiclesTypes and applicationsManufacturersDrive and energy storage systems

Local, National, and Global Energy IssuesProducers and ConsumersOPECWorld Oil Reserves and projected supplyHubbert’s PeakDrilling the Wild: Arctic National Wildlife RefugeIceland’s vision of a hydrogen economy

Legacy of Present Energy InfrastructureLand, Sea and Air Pollution

Smog: NY, LA, Mexico City, etc.Oil Spills: local and globalPascoag: gasoline contamination of water supplyGasoline: the hidden costsThree Mile Island, Chernobyl, and nuclear waste

Steps to a Sustainable FutureEconomic FeasibilityTax Incentives

Government and Grassroots advocatesImplementing the Hydrogen EconomyYour vote, your voice.

Appendix IIIName: Date: Period: Squad:

Fuel Cell Lab Kit: Save the World Funsheet

Meets Standards: S1a,b,c,d,f S2d S3a S4d,e S5b S6d

1. Describe the purpose of the 150-Watt incandescent lamp. Would this be needed outside on a sunny day? Explain.

2. Describe the function of the solar panel.

3. Explain the purpose of the electrolyzer. Write the balanced equation for the chemical reaction that it performs.

4. Explain the purpose of the fuel cell. Write the balanced equation for the chemical reaction that it performs.

5. According the electrical load and measurement box, how many amps did the fuel cell produce during operation? ____________amps

6. According the electrical load and measurement box, how many volts did the fuel cell produce during operation? ____________volts

7. Would you expect the wheel on the load measurement box to spin if no light was provided to the solar panel but the electrolyzer and fuel cell were connected? Explain your answer.

8. Describe in detail what you observed during the observation of the fuel cell lab kit.

9. Why is it critical that the electrolyzer be filled only with distilled water?

10. What two gases were produced by the electrolyzer?

11. In what ratio would you expect the two gases to be produced?

12. What was produced by the fuel cell?

13. How could the global use of fuel cell technology benefit society?

14. How could the use of fuel cell technology benefit you?

Fuel cell lab kit question sheet

Appendix IVName: Date: Period:

Squad:

Quiz: Hydrogen Safety and Properties of Hydrogen

1. What is the atomic number of hydrogen? _________________

2. and 3. Write the names of the subatomic particles that comprise the simplest isotope of Hydrogen. _______________________________

____________________________

4. List the name for the hydrogen isotope that has no neutrons _____________________

5. List the name for the hydrogen isotope that has one neutron _____________________

6. List the name for the hydrogen isotope that has two neutrons _____________________

7. Hydrogen atoms chemically bond with each other to form H2 molecules. This type of molecule is called a __________________molecule.

8. The molecular weight of the hydrogen molecule is ________________________

9. The autoignition temperature of hydrogen is _______________________ degrees Celsius.

10. The flammability limits of hydrogen in air (by volume) are _________ to ___________ %

11. When hydrogen burns the color of the flame is __________________________

The NFPA Hazard Codes for hydrogen are:

12. Health __________

13. Flammability ___________

14. Reactivity ___________

What are the two primary ways that hydrogen can be considered hazardous:

15. ______________________________ 16. ________________________________

17. True or false Hydrogen is non-toxic.

18. True or false Hydrogen does not cause cancer.

19. True or false Hydrogen is not harmful to the environment.

20. True or false Hydrogen can be a renewable fuel.

Appendix VFuel Cell Systems Course 282

Project: PHS FCV Fuel Cell Vehicle

Standards covered: A1a A4a A5a S1a,b,c S2d S3e S4c,d,e

This is a real project. We really have $4000 to do this and we are really going to construct the first Fuel Cell Vehicle in Rhode Island and ride in it. You need to research and plan how to do this for real! You are encouraged to work with others and share information and ideas with me and your peers. Your research is important; the success and outcome of our FCV depends on you!

Objective: research, plan, and design the construction of a functional fuel cell vehicle.

Project budget: $4000 (unless otherwise specified)You can also use in your design the Coleman Airgen, Avista Labs Independence 1000, Millennium Cell Hydrogen on Demand system, and any other fuel cell equipment we have.

Project criteria: The fuel cell vehicle must meet these criteria:Safe and reliableCapacity for at least one person weighing 200 lbsCruising speed of 10 mph or greater20 mile range

Your design paper must include:

Title page

Materials and itemized cost including: Be sure to list companies, model numbers, and specifications where neededVehicle platform (also called a rolling chassis)Electric motorBatteries (if required)

Fuel storage

Total cost of all materials required

Printouts from Internet of all major components

Procedure: List how all the components are to be integrated into one functional FCVDetailed pencil diagram including all components and their integration

Reference page: list all websites, books, etc. used for your project

Written component: #12 font, double space, 2 page minimumThis component of your project should include reasons why fuel cell vehicles are a good idea (zero pollution and environmentally friendly, sustainable, more efficient, mega-cool etc.)

Your written section should also include several paragraphs on fuel cell vehicles that have already been developed and your estimation on when full size fuel cell vehicles will be available for the general public to purchase (for a reasonable price) and drive.Future Projects: As you work on this endeavor you will probably come across other interesting ideas for later projects. List those interesting ideas and include a proposed budget and list of major components (fuel cell, motor, etc). Have some fun with this.

Specifications Data Sheet

Electric motor: Ensure that the specs are compatible with the fuel cell.

AC Alternating current or DC direct current (circle one)

Horsepower ____________________________

Kilowatts ____________________________

Volts ____________________________

Amps ____________________________

Watts ____________________________

Fuel Cell Specifications: Ensure that the specs are compatible with the motor.

AC Alternating current or DC direct current (circle one)

Power output watts ____________________________

Power output volts ____________________________

Power output amps ____________________________

Batteries (if used) Again, the batteries must be compatible with the rest of the system.

Number of batteries ____________________________

Battery voltage____________________________

Batter amp/hours ____________________________

Weight of major components in both pounds and kilograms.

Vehicle platform (Rolling chassis) ____________________________

Fuel cell ____________________________

Electric motor ____________________________

Batteries (if required) ____________________________

Fuel storage system ____________________________

Estimated weight of entire vehicle ____________________________

Appendix VIPerkins 2003 Mini Grant Application

Name: Ross McCurdy School: Ponaganset High School

School Address: 137 Anan Wade Road

City: North Scituate State: RI Zip: 02857

Phone: (401)-647-3377 Department: Science

Fax No: (401)-647-5743 E-mail: rkmccurdy@yahoo.com

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Application Procedure and Guidelines

1. Proposals must be typed or printed.2. Proposals must address 1 of the 8 mandates as addressed in the Perkins

Guidelines. (Review pages 34-37 of the Cranston Region’s Plan.)3. Local principals must sign each application to indicate awareness of the

application.4. Applications must be received at the Cranston Area Career & Technical

Center at least two days prior to the following dates to be given consideration: October 20, December 20, January 20 or February 20.

5. A sub committee of the Carl D. Perkins Planning Team will review and notify applicants of their awards within ten school days of the above noted dates.

6. Grant recipient is responsible to submit valid source documents for all expenditures related the grant award. The Cranston Public Schools can only reimburse valid expenditures as they relate to the award.

7. Necessary reports must be completed no later than May 1. 8. Grant funding requests can range from $300 to $4,000.9. Only secondary schools in the Cranston Region are eligible to apply.

Please direct all inquires to Jean M. Campbell, Principal/Director, Cranston Area Career & Technical Center, 100 Metropolitan Avenue, Cranston, RI 02920.

14 October 2002 ______________________________ Date Applicant’s Signature

_______________ ______________________________ Date Applicant’s Signature

PERKINS 2003 GRANT PROPOSAL

1. Brief Description of Proposed Project: The proposed project is a continuation of the 2002 Hydrogen Fuel Cell Project. These fuel cells produce electricity using hydrogen in a chemical reaction with zero pollution output. They have no moving parts and operate at twice the efficiency as internal combustion engines. All major auto manufacturers are currently working with this cutting edge technology and have operating prototypes. Honda and Toyota plan to lease fuel cell vehicles by the end of 2002 to customers in both the U.S. and Japan. Educating our students about fuel cell technology now will provide them with a competitive edge in this emerging global market.

During the first year of the project students worked extensively with 1 Watt Solar Hydrogen Fuel Cell Science Kits. With these kits students were introduced to the principles of fuel cells and the chemistry and physics associated with fuel cell operation. (An example of a fuel cell activity project used during the 2001-2002 academic year is attached.) The proposed project extends the work done during the previous academic year through the use of a computer compatible 50 Watt, fuel cell-powered off grid power supply. With this system, 50 Watts of electricity can be produced from hydrogen while the parameters of temperature, pressure, and airflow can be computer monitored and varied to maximize the output of the system and perform various experiments and demonstrations. Such a system will facilitate student driven experimental design. This will allow students to test cause and effect relationships and other student formulated hypotheses.

This advanced fuel cell system can be used across the curriculum in classes including physics, chemistry, life science, tech ed, and automotive. The electricity produced by the system can be used to power numerous classroom/lab devices and projects. The modularity of the system will also allow future research, design, experiments, and projects including the powering of a remote-control model vehicle.

2. This proposal will address the teaching and learning needs of the following student populations: (circle all that apply)

Grades

A. General 9 10 11 12

B. Special 9 10 11 12

* C. ESL 9 10 11 12

D. Other 9 10 11 12

*There are no English as a second language students at Ponaganset High School.

Explain Other: The off-grid fuel cell power supply will be able to serve a wide range of students in both academic and vocational classes including science, auto tech, power and energy, electronics, and robotics.

3. Indicate if this is a new ____ or if a continued project X 2nd ______ 3rd year. (Place a checkmark where appropriate to your proposal.)

4. Indicate the Perkins’ mandates this proposal will address, identify the project’s outcomes and provide a list of standards that will the proposal will address.

Mandates:

Mandate 1: Strengthen the academic and vocational and technical skills of students participating in vocational and technical education programs by strengthening the academic, and vocational and technical components of such programs through the integration of academics with vocational and technical education programs through a coherent sequence of courses to ensure learning in the core academic and vocational and technical subjects.

This project integrates into technical education, physics and chemistry concepts and uses those concepts to produce usable electricity. This project emphasizes the practical and useful applications of scientific principles. This project is a technical education project because implementation of fuel cell technology requires technical expertise and will create career competencies for an emerging marketplace. Reading and writing of technical materials will be an integral and necessary part of the course. These activities will reinforce academic learning in English, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies, which in turn will help students to achieve the literacy necessary to be successful in standards based state testing.

Mandate 3: Develop, improve, or expand the use of technology in vocational and technical education.

This project is developing the use of fuel cell technology in both the technical and science classroom. This approach reinforces to the student the relationship of science to both technology and a technology based career pathway.

Mandate 6: Initiate, improve, expand, and modernize quality vocational and technical education programs.

Fuel cell technology is a cutting edge technology. As far as we have determined the use

of fuel cell technology is not currently utilized in any other technical problem statewide. As a result this project has the potential of being a statewide model for the use of fuel cell technology in technical education. This proposal will build and improve upon the previous fuel cell grant by incorporating computer technology with fuel cell systems and creating electricity at the usable level.

Mandate 7: Provide services and activities that are of sufficient size, scope and quality to be effective.

This project focuses upon providing learning opportunities in a wide scope of technological areas to provide for significant learning for every student in the classroom to develop expertise in their use. Students will work in collaborative learning pairs to assemble, test, generate electricity, and measure the output using computer technology. This project will provide top-notch science education at the next level, being the next logical step from the fuel cell kits already in use. Outcomes:

Upon completion of these comprehensive fuel cell activities:1 Students will be able to produce electricity from the chemical recombination of

hydrogen and oxygen.2 Students will be able to use a variety of technical tools and apparatus to measure

voltage and amperage of the electricity produced by the fuel cell.3 Students will be able to utilize fuel cell electricity to power motors, incandescent

and fluorescent bulbs, and other electrical devices.4 Students will be able to diagram the atomic and subatomic pathways involved in

the fuel cell system from the hydrogen input to the electrical output.5 Students will have become aware of career pathways associated with this

technology.6 Students will become aware of the applications, both present and future, of fuel

cell power systems.

Standards: The following standards from the National Center on Education and the Economy

will be applied:1 Problem solving2 Communications Tools and Techniques3 Information Tools and Techniques4 Learning and Self Management Tools and Techniques5 Tools and Techniques for working with others.

5. Describe the activities you plan to use to accomplish your outcomes: The activities will be as follows:1 Identify the components of a fuel cell system.2 Setup and testing of the fuel cell system.3 Chemical recombination of hydrogen and oxygen gases.4 Production of electrical current with the fuel cell.5 Cost implementation of large-scale fuel cell power systems.6 Integration of computer technology with instrument systems.7 Computer measurement of power output and efficiency.8 Computer graphing of voltage/amperage curves9 Production of electricity using a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell

and hydrogen, 10 Use of computer-sensor interfaces, electronic flow meters, and magnet valves11 Measurement of fuel cell stack characteristic curves 12 Factors affecting the characteristic power curves, 13 Determination of maximum power versus optimum efficiency,

internal resistance, voltage efficiency and temperature, load changes, load profiles, and overall efficiency.

6. Describe what assessments you will use to evaluate the project’s success: (Attach copies of assessments where applicable.)

1 Students will be assessed by a system using rubrics that have been developed with their input. These rubrics will focus upon technological competence in using fuel cells and understanding the underlying scientific principles involved.

2 Students will be able to efficiently set up and test a complete fuel cell system.3 Components of student project reports will be scored using the state writing

assessment tool.4 Students will be able to write balanced chemical reactions for the fuel cell

recombination process.5 Students will be able to diagram the electrical path of the entire fuel cell system at

the atomic level.6 Students will be able to computer graph voltage and amperage output curves.7 Students’ final assessment will be a capstone project or culminating event where

students will research a particular area of fuel cell development and present the information using technological media. During this assessment the students must demonstrate the following standards:

Research skillsCommunication tools and techniquesInformation tools and techniquesLearning and self-management tools and techniquesTools and techniques necessary to work with others

7. What impact will this proposal have on the students/school?

Using a system that more closely approximates actual production size fuel cells, students will gain a first-hand working knowledge and greater understanding of hydrogen fuel cells, their operation parameters, and the integration of computer technology with electricity production and scientific measurements using various instruments. Integral to the project is student awareness of how fuel cell technology stands to benefit both themselves and society. At our current level of technology, clean, non-polluting energy is not only possible but is taking place now. Students will be exposed to cutting edge fuel cell technology that is just emerging, but has the potential to change society as profoundly as have computers. Education in this exciting area will help better prepare a wide range of students, from those considering careers in engineering, physics, and chemistry to those students considering vocational careers along paths such as electrical/electronics and automotive. Moreover, the link between career education and high quality academic preparation is strengthened.

This proposal will allow a large number of students to become trained in the use of fuel cell technology, an area of technology that will be widespread in the very near future. Critical to the implementation of fuel cell technology is an understanding of the technological principles involved. This understanding of the emerging technology should be undertaken in high school. Knowledge of fuel cell systems will be beneficial to all students whether they go on to college, technical school, entry level trades, or seek other professions. An understanding of fuel cell technology holds the potential to actually incorporate a commercial fuel cell power system into the school power system to provide a very cost effective and low emission alternative to traditional electrical sources. These working fuel cell systems are already generating clean power at Wakefield Hospital in South County, the Community College of Cape Cod, and a high school in Syracuse, NY.

The implementation of fuel cell technology has incredible potential to reduce fossil fuel consumption and reduce harmful emissions, while producing reliable energy. Educating our students in fuel cell technology will prove to benefit our students, our community, and our country.

8. Budget Summary / How will the money be spent?

Materials/Resources: (Attach a list with costs) $5,959.00

Support Staff: __________________

Substitute Costs: ($____ per day X ____ # of days) __________________

Stipends/Methods of Compensation, if required: __________________

Other: (Describe) __________________

Indirect Costs (1.422% of the grant) $84.62

TOTAL GRANT REQUEST $6043.62

9. Federal guidelines require that specific reports be submitted to the Cranston Area Career & Technical Center prior to May 1, 2003.

Timelines: Proposal Starting Date: 15 Jan 2003 Completion Date: 20 April 2003 Projects must be completed by June 10, 2003.

10. Do you agree to complete this report and submit it to the Cranston AreaCareer & Technical Center? Yes X No _____

Person responsible for the report, (print): Mr. Ross McCurdy

Appendix

Final Program Narrative ReportSpring 2003

More Drips, Rays, and ZapsRoss McCurdy

rkmccurdy@yahoo.com

Ponaganset High School137 Anan Wade RoadN. Scituate, RI 02857

Introduction:This grant was originally proposed for the purchase of a 50 watt DC output fuel

cell and support materials. Rapid advances in fuel cell technology made available a fuel cell twenty times the power of the original proposal, a 1000 watt fuel cell with 120 volt AC output, the same as that from a wall plug. This fuel cell, a Coleman/Ballard Airgen has been put to very effective use as a learning tool in the classroom, throughout the school, and beyond. This Perkins Grant has been an amazing catalyst for Ponaganset High Schools Fuel Cell Education Initiative. The high points so far have been the creation of Protium, the World’s First Fuel Cell-Powered Band, and the fuel cell-powered Battle of the Bands fundraiser that achieved another first, powering ten bands for two and a half hours of music. These events have earned Ponaganset local and national recognition, and an enthusiastic response from members of the fuel cell community.

Still in operation are the solar hydrogen fuel cell kits and fuel cell model cars from our first Perkins grant. These are often used concurrently with the Airgen fuel cell during the lessons. The Perkins grants you have awarded Ponaganset have enabled us to teach our students about fuel cell technology, demonstrate that fuel cells work in exciting real-world applications, and place Ponaganset on the leading edge of fuel cell education. We sincerely thank you for making this possible.

1. List each of the program’s measurable objectives.

7 Students will be able to produce electricity from the chemical recombination of hydrogen and oxygen.

8 Students will be able to use a variety of technical tools and apparatus to measure voltage and amperage and watts of the electricity produced by the fuel cell.

9 Students will be able to utilize fuel cell electricity to power motors, incandescent and fluorescent bulbs, and other electrical devices.

10 Students will be able to diagram the atomic and subatomic pathways involved in the fuel cell system from the hydrogen input to the electrical output.

11 Students will have become aware of career pathways associated with this technology.

12 Students will become aware of the applications, both present and future, of fuel cell power systems.

2. Identify the most significant activities used to meet the objectives.

1 Powering the schools audio-visual broadcast equipment and the Protium band’s equipment for a live fuel cell lesson and demonstration broadcast to the entire school. During shows students directly involved needed to work with watts, volts, amps, and fuel consumption data to ensure the system worked correctly.

2 Protium performance at the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund’s Fuel Investors Summit at Mohegan Sun. The band operated the fuel cell and powered their 35-minute performance entirely with fuel cell power. Interesting to note: although there were numerous major fuel cell manufacturers present at the conference, Ponaganset High was the only group to actually use a fuel cell during the conference.

3 Setup and testing of the fuel cell system.4 Identification of the major components in a fuel cell system.5 Production of electricity through solar energy.6 Disassociation of water into its constituent elements, hydrogen and oxygen.7 Chemical recombination of hydrogen and oxygen gases.8 Production of electrical current with the fuel cell.9 Multimeter measurement of electrical output in amps and volts from fuel cell.10 Stoichiometric determination of element ratios in compounds.11 Determination of hydrogen consumption during fuel cell operation.

3. Describe the student/client outcomes attained.1 Students have used fuel cell electricity to power motors, lights, audio-visual

broadcast equipment, and Protium the World’s First Fuel Cell-Powered Rock Band

2 Students have produced electricity from the chemical recombination of hydrogen and oxygen.

2 Students have produced hydrogen and oxygen through the process of water electrolysis.

3 Students have performed water electrolysis process through the use of a solar panel or through traditional sources of power.

4 Students have used a multimeter to measure voltage and amperage of the electricity produced by the fuel cell.

5 Students have traced the path of the electric current from a solar panel, through the electrolyzer and fuel cell, to the driven devices.

6 Students have become aware of career pathways associated with this technology.

4. Identify the evaluative measures utilized to document student/client outcomes.1 Student set up, testing, and running of the fuel cell system was assessed by the

actual production of electricity from the fuel cell used to power lights, motors, and Protium.

2 Students created detailed, labeled diagrams of the entire fuel cell system.3 Students completed lab sheets and written assessment requiring thorough

knowledge of the individual components of the fuel cell system and the chain of energy flow at the atomic and subatomic level.

4 Students wrote and balanced the chemical reactions for the electrolysis of water and the fuel cell recombination process.

5. Describe in detail how the program included members of special populations (disabled, disadvantaged, and limited English proficient) and responded to their needs.

1 As part of the school’s inclusion model classrooms students with 504’s and IEP’s are contributing members of regular classes. The hands on, minds on nature and clear measurement of success for the students (lights, motors, wheels, motion) of the fuel cell science kits used in the classroom are highly engaging for all students. Operation of the fuel cell systems is easily differentiated for different styles of learners in the lab groups of 2-3 students. All of the students involved in the use of the fuel cell systems successfully met the objectives for setup, operation, generation of electricity, and the powering of devices.

2 While Ponaganset High’s inclusion model is highly effective, a self-contained classroom special education classroom is still in place for students requiring this environment. One of the year’s most rewarding teaching experiences for me took place in this self-contained classroom. Working with special education teacher Mr. Mike Calenda, an entire fuel cell lesson was given to the students of this self-contained classroom for a full double-block period of 90 minutes. Basic atomic theory was taught along with the chemical equations and operation/set up principles of fuel cells. The students formulated answers, kept careful notes, understood the science, and balanced the equations. The students then set up the fuel cell lab kits and had them working perfectly, then worked with me to set up the 1 kilowatt Airgen fuel cell used to power a stereo. During this time students completed a detailed lab sheet explaining what they did and learned. The students were enthusiastic, perfectly behaved, and really learned the science underlying fuel cell technology. During this lesson the principle and assistant principal visited the classroom and shared in the learning experience. This was certainly a rewarding lesson!

6. Describe the program’s overall impact. Identify the affects the program had on students/clients that contributed to its quality and success. The description may include but is not limited to: student/client performance data, achievement of program objectives, monitoring commendations, other relevant data.

3 This grant program has had a tremendous impact on student learning at Ponganset High School. Virtually every student in the school knows what a fuel cell is, their

practical applications, and their benefits to society. Many students throughout the school also know how fuel cells work at the atomic and subatomic level. There is currently a high level of enthusiasm throughout the school in regards to fuel cells, with many students eager to do more and learn more with fuel cell technology. There is also the sense of excitement of being on the cutting edge of a technological frontier; while there is a lot of fuel cell research taking place at the level of universities and industry, Ponaganset High achieved a first with our creative and exciting fuel cell applications. Even more rewarding is how our fuel cell work is enthusiastically received throughout the fuel cell community. One of our primary goals for the fuel cell education at Ponaganset High is to demonstrate that fuel cell technology is here, now, and it works. This Perkins grant has enabled us to do exactly that.

4 A big part of the learning for this fuel cell project involved doing. The fuel cell science kits that were purchased with our first Perkins grant enabled the students to meet the specified objectives by setting up the system components, each one performing an important role in the process, and actually using the electricity that was produced by working fuel cells. The students enjoyed working with the fuel cells and the real-life use of scientific principles helped to reinforce prior learning. This grant has built upon that through the fuel cell production of usable “wall plug power” capable of powering any device within the sizeable power range.

5 This fuel cell grant program enabled students to use fuel cell technology firsthand and to demonstrate their understanding of this exciting cutting edge area of research. Fuel Cells are currently undergoing development by major corporations around the world and are appearing in the news with increased frequency. The students now have a solid familiarity and understanding of fuel cells and their benefits: higher efficiency and zero pollution. Greater understanding of fuel cell technology will have a positive affect on its implementation in society.

6 The More Drips, Rays, and Zaps Fuel Cell grant has been an outstanding benefit in educating our students about real-world science. The materials purchased with the grant will continue to be used to teach our students about fuel cell technology. Not only were the objectives met, this project has created significant interest and excitement in related projects for the future, including a Quadracycle Fuel Cell Vehicle and the conversion of an actual full size vehicle to electrical and/or fuel cell operation.

Appendix I

Fueling the FutureBYLINE: KATHERINE BOAS DATE: 11-27-2002PUBLICATION: Providence Journal CompanyEDITION: Northwest SECTION: NEWS PAGE: C-01

GLOCESTER - Mike Higgins isn't old enough to have a license, but he had no problem driving yesterday what his biology teacher said could become the car of the future.

The fuel-cell car zipped along at full speed, stopping or turning around at Higgins's whim. But Higgins, 15, had to make sure the palm- sized plastic vehicle didn't hit the lab bench at the front of the classroom.

Fuel cells produce energy with no pollution, when hydrogen and oxygen yield water and energy, said Ross McCurdy, who teaches lessons on the environmentally clean chemical process to his biology and chemistry students at Ponaganset High School.

As the global supply of fossil fuels diminishes, McCurdy said, the world must look to alternative sources of electricity. Fuel cells, he said, are efficient, clean and sustainable.

They're already being used to power buses in Chicago, and the first fuel-cell passenger cars will be shipped to California this year. Fuel-cell cars will become widespread in this country within about 10 years, McCurdy said.

This has been one of my pet projects because the idea of having energy for cars, power plants and pretty much anything you need it for with zero pollution this is pretty good news, McCurdy said.

In January McCurdy used a $4,000 Perkins grant to buy about a dozen small kits and a 12-watt fuel cell to teach interactive lessons to his students. This month McCurdy won another $4,000 Perkins grant, which he plans to use toward a $6,000 computerized 50- watt fuel cell system. McCurdy said he'd like to eventually buy bigger fuel cells to power larger, more complicated things such as robots.

For now, McCurdy limits his fuel-cell lessons to the kits and a handful of small cars, including the one at Higgins' lab bench yesterday.

The students pour water into small fuel cells, using solar energy to break it into hydrogen and oxygen molecules, and the hydrogen and oxygen produce an electrical current and clean exhaust: water.

When the water is gone, it's running off the gas it's producing, Higgins said. When the gas is used up, it's time to refill it with water.

Hilary Benz, 15, had two words to describe the process: It's complicated.

It's pretty interesting, though, that we can make electricity out of water, chimed her lab partner, Caitlin Bilodeau, 15.

McCurdy's 10th-grade biology students had used the kits before, but many had not set up the fuel cells themselves. Some fiddled with the tubes and wires to attach them exactly right to make the red and black wheels on their ammeters turn.

We got it! You guys, we got it! one group yelled. Their wheel was spinning fast faster than even a fuel cell could turn it. The wheel was being powered directly by the solar cell, but the excitement made their classmates work fastidiously to make their fuel cells work, too. Across the room, the handful of students with fuel-cell cars watched them cruise along the tile floor.

At the end of the class McCurdy showed off his 12-watt fuel cell, motoring a larger car that rested atop

by hydrogen, produce no pollution and are twice as efficient as internal combustion engines. Fuel cells are powered by hydrogen and oxygen, which when mixed together produce electricity and water.

McCurdy told Ponaganset students over the loudspeaker that fuel cells would probably be used up within their lifetime, but that fuel cells are "an inexhaustible source of heat and light" that could one day power the world.

He said the predictions of Jules Verne, who wrote in The Mysterious Island (1874) that hydrogen would one day be used as fuel, were finally coming true.

Fuel cells are already being used to power buses in Chicago, McCurdy said. The country's first fuel-cell cars, made by Honda and Toyota, were shipped to California last year. President Bush said in his State of the Union address in January that hydrogen-powered cars could be commercially practical by 2020. Just this week, General Motors and Shell announced they would build the country's first hydrogen pump at a filling station in Washington and that hydrogen-powered cars could be mass-manufactured by the end of the decade.

But the price tag on clean energy is still high. A new hydrogen-powered General Motors minivan costs more than $1 million apiece. Ponaganset used grant money to buy its $6,000 apparatus.

"This is what grant money can do," said Gail M. Lawson, the business manager and grant director for the Foster-Glocester Regional School District. "There's no way a school would buy this for science instruction."

And though a small car is next on McCurdy's list of fuel-cell projects, "rock-and-roll music is the most powerful demonstration" of what the school's new energy source can do.

With that McCurdy introduced Protium, which he said is the world's first fuel cell-powered rock band.

Ryan Huckaby, 17, sang "Sweet Emotion," by Aerosmith, with backup from the band that has practiced together for about five years. Faiola and Brett Robinson, 18, played guitar; Joe Cordone, 18, played bass; and Adam Muccino, 18, was on the drums.

Some students filed into the audio/visual room to see the band in person while the others watched on the closed-circuit televisions in their classrooms.

The band followed up with "Back in Black," by ACDC.

This is just the beginning for Protium: on Tuesday the five are scheduled to play at the school talent show, and this week they were invited to perform at the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund's March 17-18 Fuel Cell Investment Summit at Mohegan Sun.

Their fuel cell, though, is reserved for the band's equipment. The casino will run off standard electric current.

Online at: http://www.projo.com/northwest/content/projo_20030307_gfuel7.15ac2.html

Appendix III

Fuel-cell-powered Battle of the Bands to raise money for memorial scholarship 05/22/2003

By KATHERINE BOASJournal Staff Writer

GLOCESTER -- The music blared after school yesterday as 10 bands set up and tested their equipment. Guitars strummed and speakers boomed as the organizer snaked his way through the electrical cords to reach the power source.

Backstage, Ross McCurdy, a science teacher, pointed to a beige plastic box roughly the size of a picnic cooler. It's 1,000-watt fuel cell -- the largest one available commercially and the only one in the state, McCurdy said -- and come tomorrow night it will power all the equipment at Ponaganset High School's Battle of the Bands.

"That's wicked cool," said Kyle Hardendorf, 16, a sophomore who was working on his band's lyrics during the rehearsal. "It's like going into the 21st century."

The Battle of the Bands has been an annual event for the last few years, but this year is

the first that the competition will be powered completely by fuel cells. Fuel cells are powered by hydrogen, produce no pollution and are twice as efficient as internal combustion engines. This is also the first Battle of the Bands that will raise money for the Eric J. Leja Scholarship Fund.

Leja died at 16 in a car accident last summer. He would have graduated this spring.

Leja had a lot of potential, and never had a bad thing to say, his friends said. He had a way about him that made his presence known at Ponaganset -- and that has punctuated his absence this year.

"A night like this he definitely would have loved," said Adam Cesario, 17, a junior.

He loved new things, chemistry and especially music, so to raise money in his name through a fuel-cell-powered Battle of the Bands seems especially fitting, Cesario said.

Cesario said he hoped the event would raise money in Leja's memory every year. Daryl Dorgan, 17, a senior, said he hoped future Ponaganset students would remember Leja and all the good he stood for.

Dorgan said he plans to move to Las Vegas after he graduates from Ponaganset next month. Before he packs his guitar, though, he has one more gig to play.

"This is an opportunity to say, 'Here's my friend, I'm doing it for him, give him a round of applause,"' Dorgan said. "Because he deserves it."

The event begins at 7 p.m. in the Nedo R. Pandolfi Auditorium at Ponaganset High School. Tickets are $5, and McCurdy said he expects the event to sell out.

If all goes as planned, two fuel cells will power nine student bands and a teacher band for about two and a half hours, McCurdy said. Money for the fuel cells came from grants totaling some $15,000.

The school already has a fuel-cell-powered band, Protium, that performed at the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund's Fuel Cell Investment Summit. McCurdy plans to take Protium on the road again to the world's largest fuel cell conference in Miami this fall and possibly to the Republican National Convention next summer.

Online at: http://www.projo.com/northwest/content/projo_20030522_fgband22.44acb.html

AppendixPerkins 2003 Mini Grant Application

Name: Ross McCurdy School: Ponaganset High School

School Address: 137 Anan Wade Road

City: North Scituate State: RI Zip: 02857

Phone: (401)-647-3377 Department: Science

Fax No: (401)-647-5743 E-mail: rkmccurdy@yahoo.com

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Application Procedure and Guidelines

10. Proposals must be typed or printed.11. Proposals must address 1 of the 8 mandates as addressed in the Perkins

Guidelines. (Review pages 34-37 of the Cranston Region’s Plan.)12. Local principals must sign each application to indicate awareness of the

application.13. Applications must be received at the Cranston Area Career & Technical

Center. 14. A sub committee of the Carl D. Perkins Planning Team will review and notify

applicants of their awards within ten school days of the above noted dates.15. Grant recipient is responsible to submit valid source documents for all

expenditures related the grant award. The Cranston Public Schools can only reimburse valid expenditures as they relate to the award.

16. Necessary reports must be completed no later than May 1. 17. Grant funding requests can range from $300 to $4,000.18. Only secondary schools in the Cranston Region are eligible to apply.

Please direct all inquires to Jean M. Campbell, Principal/Director, Cranston Area Career & Technical Center, 100 Metropolitan Avenue, Cranston, RI 02920.

7 April 2003 ______________________________ Date Applicant’s Signature

_______________ ______________________________ Date Applicant’s Signature

PERKINS 2003 GRANT PROPOSAL

1. Brief Description of Proposed Project: The proposed project is a continuation of the 2002 and 2003 Hydrogen Fuel Cell Education Initiatives. These fuel cells produce electricity using hydrogen in a chemical reaction with zero pollution output. They have no moving parts and operate at twice the efficiency as internal combustion engines. All major auto manufacturers are currently working with this cutting edge technology and have operating prototypes. Honda and Toyota plan to lease fuel cell vehicles by the end of 2002 to customers in both the U.S. and Japan. Educating our students about fuel cell technology now will provide them with a competitive edge in this emerging global market.

During the first year of the project students worked extensively with 1-Watt Solar Hydrogen Fuel Cell Science Kits. With these kits students were introduced to the principles of fuel cells and the chemistry and physics associated with fuel cell operation.

Our second phase originally planned on the purchase of a 50-Watt fuel cell-powered off grid power supply. As fuel cell technology is rapidly growing, we were able to purchase a far more powerful and functional fuel cell device. With our second Perkins grant we purchased one of the first Coleman Airgen fuel cell generators available. The heart of this device is a 1000-Watt Ballard Nexa PEM fuel cell. The Airgen is able to produce 110-volt household electricity with up to 8.3 amps of current! With this fuel cell our capacity for electrical generation was increased by approximately a factor of one hundred! Once the Airgen arrived we began to brainstorm various means to demonstrate the potential of this fuel cell. With this in mind we created Protium, the World’s First PEM Hydrogen Fuel Cell-Powered Rock Band! We have since demonstrated fuel cell technology to every student and employee at Ponaganset High, receiving positive press in the Providence Journal, the Observer, and the Rhode Island College Alumni paper.

The Protium Fuel Cell Band also performed at the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund’s Fuel Cell Investors Summit held at Mohegan Sun. Both the band and the fuel cell performed in an outstanding manner, and the band received noteworthy praise and applause from the audience, whose members included private investors and representatives from both industry and government. From this performance the band has made received national and international publicity, an invitation to perform at a fuel cell conference in Miami, and sponsorship offers from fuel cell manufacturers.

The Perkins Grant made all of this possible, with the education taking place not only at Ponaganset, but beyond the school as well. Protium has truly demonstrated that fuel cell technology is here, now, and it works.

Now that Ponaganset High has created the World’s First PEM Fuel Cell-Powered Band it is time to move to the next frontier of fuel cell technology. For Phase III of the fuel cell education initiative the goal is nothing less than the creation of the first fuel cell powered vehicle in Rhode Island, a vehicle designed for the practical short-range transportation of a full-size adult. To achieve this goal we intend to mount a high-efficiency AC motor onto a four-wheeled bicycle-like quadracycle. The electricity for the motor will be provided by the Airgen fuel cell that will be mounted on the back of the quadracycle. For this project we intend to store the hydrogen using cutting-edge metal hydride storage canisters that will safely store the hydrogen at high volume but with low pressures. The creation of such a vehicle will require a significant amount of work that will require the expertise of both the science and technical education departments. The

technical challenges to be solved will include selection of the proper motor unit, determining the optimum gearing for a variable terrain, welding, electrical wiring and calculations, and determination of fuel needs and performance requirements and capabilities. This project will essentially mirror, on a smaller but still operational scale, the research and design of the major automotive manufacturers for their fuel cell powered vehicles. Inherent in this project is real-world problem solving, experimental design, and research and development. When complete, this project will demonstrate at the next level that fuel cell technology is here, now, and it works.

.

2. This proposal will address the teaching and learning needs of the following student populations: (circle all that apply)

Grades

A. General 9 10 11 12

B. Special 9 10 11 12

* C. ESL 9 10 11 12

D. Other 9 10 11 12

*There are no English as a second language students at Ponaganset High School.

Explain Other: The fuel cell vehicle project will be able to serve a wide range of students in both academic and vocational classes including science, auto tech, power and energy, electronics, and robotics.

4. Indicate if this is a new ____ or if a continued project X 2nd ______ 3rd year. (Place a checkmark where appropriate to your proposal.)

4. Indicate the Perkins’ mandates this proposal will address, identify the project’s outcomes and provide a list of standards that will the proposal will address.

Mandates:

Mandate 1: Strengthen the academic and vocational and technical skills of students participating in vocational and technical education programs by strengthening the academic, and vocational and technical components of such programs through the

integration of academics with vocational and technical education programs through a coherent sequence of courses to ensure learning in the core academic and vocational and technical subjects.

This project integrates into technical education, physics and chemistry concepts and uses those concepts to harness the power of fuel cell electricity in an exciting and practical manner, the creation of a working fuel cell vehicle. This project emphasizes the practical and useful applications of scientific principles. This project is a technical education project because implementation of fuel cell technology requires technical expertise and will create career competencies for an emerging marketplace. Reading and writing of technical materials will be an integral and necessary part of the course. These activities will reinforce academic learning in English, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies, which in turn will help students to achieve the literacy necessary to be successful in standards based state testing.

Mandate 3: Develop, improve, or expand the use of technology in vocational and technical education.

This project is developing the use of fuel cell technology in both the technical and science classroom. This approach reinforces to the student the relationship of science to both technology and a technology based career pathway.

Mandate 6: Initiate, improve, expand, and modernize quality vocational and technical education programs.

This proposal will build and improve upon the previous fuel cell grants by using prior knowledge and materials to demonstrate practical aspects of fuel cell technology at the next level. Fuel cell technology is a cutting edge technology; as far as we have determined the use of fuel cell technology is not currently utilized in any other technical problem statewide. As a result this project has the potential of being a statewide model for the use of fuel cell technology in technical education. It is our belief that success with this project will not only benefit technical and vocational education at Ponaganset, but will help to build support from both business and government for further educational projects, as well as encouraging further research, development, and implementation of fuel cell technology in society

Mandate 7: Provide services and activities that are of sufficient size, scope and quality to be effective.

This project focuses upon providing learning opportunities in a wide scope of technological areas to provide for significant learning for every student in the classroom to develop expertise in their use. Students will work in collaborative learning pairs to research, design, build, operate, and test the fuel cell vehicle. This project will provide top-notch science and technical education in a very exciting and practical

manner, reinforcing and building upon the learning that has already taken place with the fuel cell education initiative. Outcomes:

Upon completion of these comprehensive fuel cell activities:

13 Students will be able to produce electricity from the chemical recombination of hydrogen and oxygen.

14 Students will have created the first fuel cell-powered vehicle in Rhode Island.15 Students will be able to use a variety of technical tools and apparatus to measure

voltage and amperage of the electricity produced by the fuel cell.16 Students will be able to utilize fuel cell electricity to power motors for the

purpose of practical energy delivery.17 Students will be able to diagram the atomic and subatomic pathways involved in

the fuel cell system from the hydrogen input to the electrical output.18 Students will have become aware of career pathways associated with this

technology.19 Students will become aware of the applications, both present and future, of fuel

cell power systems.

Standards: The following standards from the National Center on Education and the Economy

will be applied:6 Problem solving7 Communications Tools and Techniques8 Information Tools and Techniques9 Learning and Self Management Tools and Techniques10 Tools and Techniques for working with others.

5. Describe the activities you plan to use to accomplish your outcomes:

The activities will be as follows:14 Identify the components of a fuel cell system.15 Setup and testing of the fuel cell system.16 Chemical recombination of hydrogen and oxygen gases.17 Production of electrical current with the fuel cell.18 Cost implementation of large-scale fuel cell power systems.19 Integration of computer technology with instrument systems.20 Instrumental measurement of power output and efficiency.21 Production of electricity using a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell

and hydrogen, 22 Determination of effective Gear ratios. 23 Determination of fuel and energy requirements under various operating

conditions.

6. Describe what assessments you will use to evaluate the project’s success: (Attach

copies of assessments where applicable.)

8 Students will be assessed by a system using rubrics that have been developed with their input. These rubrics will focus upon technological competence in using fuel cells and understanding the underlying scientific principles involved.

9 Students will be able to efficiently set up and test a complete fuel cell system.10 Components of student project reports will be scored using the state writing

assessment tool.11 Students will be able to write balanced chemical reactions for the fuel cell

recombination process.12 Students will be able to diagram the electrical path of the entire fuel cell system at

the atomic level.13 Students will be able to measure voltage and amperage output.14 Students’ final assessment will be a capstone project or culminating event where

students will research a particular area of fuel cell development and present the information using technological media. During this assessment the students must demonstrate the following standards:

Research skillsCommunication tools and techniquesInformation tools and techniquesLearning and self-management tools and techniquesTools and techniques necessary to work with others

7. What impact will this proposal have on the students/school?

The creation of Protium, the World’s First PEM Fuel Cell-Powered Rock Band, was an outstanding learning experience. Students had to operate the Airgen fuel cell, monitor voltage and amp outputs, and solve numerous technical problems and challenges in real-world settings to make it happen. Along with the learning came an enormous sense of accomplishment and pride for all the students involved, as well as all the students and faculty of the school who experienced the final product: a clear and exciting demonstration of fuel cell energy.

The next phase in Ponaganset High’s Fuel Cell Education Initiative holds the potential for further learning opportunities while facing and overcoming numerous technical challenges. Students will be doing exactly what has been done, and continues to be done, in research and development labs around the world. This will be real-life learning to achieve a very tangible and real-world goal: the creation of the first fuel cell vehicle in Rhode Island. Also very exciting are the opportunities and possibilities for further fuel cell projects that may present themselves as this project is achieved. What is being done at Ponaganset is far ahead of the curve, while few except multi-billion dollar corporations can demonstrate any fuel cell devices that don’t resemble toys, at Ponaganset High we can demonstrate fuel cell technology for real. It is some pride that I mention the students in Protium were the only group who demonstrated an operational

fuel cell at the Fuel Cell Investor’s Summit. That fact encompasses the entire philosophy of Ponaganset High’s Fuel Cell Education Initiative, fuel cell technology is here, now, and it works, let us show you right here, right now.

Integral to the project is student awareness of how fuel cell technology stands to benefit both themselves and society. At our current level of technology, clean, non-polluting energy is not only possible but is taking place now. Students will be exposed to cutting edge fuel cell technology that is just emerging, but has the potential to change society as profoundly as have computers. Education in this exciting area will help better prepare a wide range of students, from those considering careers in engineering, physics, and chemistry to those students considering vocational careers along paths such as electrical/electronics and automotive. Moreover, the link between career education and high quality academic preparation is strengthened.

This proposal will allow a large number of students to become knowledgeable in the use of fuel cell technology, an area of technology that will be widespread in the very near future. Critical to the implementation of fuel cell technology is an understanding of the technological principles involved. This understanding of the emerging technology should be undertaken in high school. Knowledge of fuel cell systems will be beneficial to all students whether they go on to college, technical school, entry level trades, or seek other professions.

The implementation of fuel cell technology has incredible potential to reduce fossil fuel consumption and reduce harmful emissions, while producing reliable energy. Educating our students in fuel cell technology will prove to benefit our students, our community, and our country.

We have high expectations for our fuel cell vehicle project. We expect to use this to provide a first-rate learning experience for our students and our school, and then we want to provide further learning experiences across the entire state. While many talk about how new energy technologies are impractical, unavailable, and nonviable, we want to demonstrate to as many people as possible that fuel cells technology can and does work, and is a highly viable technology that should be supported to the fullest. We want the people of Rhode Island and our politicians to see our work with fuel cell technology, so that others can share the vision

11. Budget Summary / How will the money be spent?

Materials/Resources: (Attach a list with costs) $4,000.00

Support Staff: __________________

Substitute Costs: ($____ per day X ____ # of days) __________________

Stipends/Methods of Compensation, if required: __________________

Other: (Describe) __________________

Indirect Costs (1.422% of the grant) $56.88

TOTAL GRANT REQUEST $4056.88

12. Federal guidelines require that specific reports be submitted to the Cranston Area Career & Technical Center prior to May 1, 2003.

Timelines: Proposal Starting Date: 15 May 2003 Completion Date: 10 June 2003 Projects must be completed by June 10, 2003.

13. Do you agree to complete this report and submit it to the Cranston AreaCareer & Technical Center? Yes X No _____

Person responsible for the report, (print): Mr. Ross McCurdy

Final Program Narrative Report17 April 2004

More Drips, Rays, and Zaps: Fuel Cell QuadracycleRoss McCurdy

rkmccurdy@yahoo.com

Ponaganset High School137 Anan Wade RoadN. Scituate, RI 02857

Introduction:The Perkins Grants have been amazing catalysts for Ponaganset High School’s

Fuel Cell Education Initiative. The high points so far have been the creation of Protium, the World’s First Fuel Cell-Powered Band, the fuel cell-powered Battle of the Bands fundraiser, a Protium fundraiser concert for a Ponaganset senior battling cancer, and a Protium performance at the Fuel Cell Seminar conference in Miami, Florida last November. These events have earned Ponaganset local and national recognition, and an enthusiastic response from members of the fuel cell community. This exciting endeavor continues to build momentum; the next Protium show will be held in Hollywood, California at the National Hydrogen Association conference on the 27th of April 2004.

Our current Perkins project, the Fuel Cell Quadracycle, is a continuation of the 2002 and 2003 Fuel Cell Education Initiatives. For this project, students conducted research and created design plans for a functional fuel cell vehicle capable of carrying two adults for a minimum distance of twenty miles. Students presented their designs before an audience of their peers, with the best design chosen through a collaborative process. A student design was selected and work began to make the design come to life. The Quadracycle is now well beyond the design stage, and is now a functioning vehicle currently in the second phase of road testing.

Phase I road testing involved using pedal power only, with two students using human power to test the vehicle and ensure all components were working properly. Phase II road testing utilized the 750-watt electric motor, controller, and two 12-volt deep cycle batteries to power the Quadracycle and ensure all components and systems were working properly under electric power. Phase I and II road tests have been completed.

The next road test, Phase III, will incorporate the Airgen 1 kW fuel cell integrated with the 24-volt deep cycle battery system as a fuel cell range-extending hybrid system. Research into the required integration components is complete and work is currently being done to begin Phase III road testing.

Further research and improvements on the Quadracycle will be ongoing. Plans are being made for Phase IV road testing, which will involve the removal of the deep cycle batteries and the powering of the Quadracycle solely on fuel cell electricity.

Still in operation are the solar hydrogen fuel cell kits and fuel cell model cars from our first Perkins grant. These are often used concurrently with the Airgen fuel cell during the lessons. The Perkins grants you have awarded Ponaganset have enabled us to teach our students about fuel cell technology, demonstrate that fuel cells work in exciting

real-world applications, and place Ponaganset on the leading edge of fuel cell education. We sincerely thank you for making this possible.

1. List each of the program’s measurable objectives.

20 Students will be able to design a functioning fuel cell vehicle.21 Students will be able to present their research and design and explain the system

workings.22 Students will be able to integrate various electrical components into a working

system.23 Students will be able to use a variety of technical tools to measure voltage,

amperage, and watts of the electricity produced by the fuel cell.24 Students will be able to produce electricity from the chemical recombination of

hydrogen and oxygen.25 Students will be able to diagram the atomic and subatomic pathways involved in

the fuel cell system from the hydrogen input to the electrical output.26 Students will write a report on the environmental and economic benefits of fuel

cells.27 Students will have become aware of career pathways associated with this

technology.28 Students will become aware of the applications, both present and future, of fuel

cell power systems.

2. Identify the most significant activities used to meet the objectives.

12 Researching and designing viable plans for a working fuel cell vehicle.13 Integrating and operating various electrical components of the vehicle.14 Systems testing of the vehicle in both stationary mode and actual road tests.15 Setup and testing of the fuel cell itself.16 Identification of the major components in a fuel cell system.17 Identification of the major components in an electrical/fuel cell vehicle.18 Production of electricity through solar energy.19 Disassociation of water into its constituent elements, hydrogen and oxygen.20 Chemical recombination of hydrogen and oxygen gases.21 Production of electrical current with the fuel cell.22 Multimeter measurement of electrical output in amps and volts from fuel cell.23 Stoichiometric determination of element ratios in compounds.24 Determination of hydrogen consumption during fuel cell operation.

3. Describe the student/client outcomes attained.7 Students have designed and integrated electrical components into the

Quadracycle.

2 Students have road tested the Quadracycle under human power and electrical power.

3 Students have produced electricity from the chemical recombination of hydrogen and oxygen.

8 Students have produced hydrogen and oxygen through the process of water electrolysis.

9 Students have performed the water electrolysis process through the use of a solar panel or through traditional sources of power.

10 Students have used a multimeter to measure voltage and amperage of the electricity produced by the fuel cell.

11 Students have become aware of career pathways associated with this technology.12 Students have actually operated a fuel cell vehicle at the Connecticut Clean

Energy Fund’s Fuel Cell Investors Summit. Interestingly, this fuel cell vehicle, a GEM electric car, was the platform of choice in the design plans made by one of our students.

4. Identify the evaluative measures utilized to document student/client outcomes.5 Students wrote research and design papers for a fuel cell vehicle of their

choosing. These papers were graded using a rubric and revised if needed to achieve the standard.

6 Students created PowerPoint presentations showing the key component areas of their selected fuel cell vehicle design. Each student’s design was discussed, collaborated upon, and considered for the actual vehicle implementation.

7 Student set up, testing, and operation of the Quadracycle electrical systems was assessed by the actual road testing and operation of the vehicle.

8 Students created detailed, labeled diagrams of the entire fuel cell Quadracycle system.

9 Students completed lab sheets and written assessment requiring thorough knowledge of the individual components of the fuel cell system and the chain of energy flow at the atomic and subatomic level.

10 Students wrote and balanced the chemical reactions for the electrolysis of water and the fuel cell recombination process.

5. Describe in detail how the program included members of special populations (disabled, disadvantaged, and limited English proficient) and responded to their needs.

7 As part of the school’s inclusion model classrooms students with 504’s and IEP’s are contributing members of regular classes. The hands on, minds on nature and clear measurement of success for the students (lights, motors, wheels, motion) of the fuel cell and Quadracycle operation are highly engaging for all students. Operation of the fuel cell systems is easily differentiated for different styles of learners in the lab groups of 2-3 students. All of the students involved in the use of the fuel cell systems successfully met the objectives for setup, operation, generation of electricity, and the powering of devices.

6. Describe the program’s overall impact. Identify the affects the program had on students/clients that contributed to its quality and success. The description may include but is not limited to: student/client performance data, achievement of program objectives, monitoring commendations, other relevant data.

8 This grant program has had a tremendous impact on student learning at Ponganset High School. Virtually every student in the school knows what a fuel cell is, their practical applications, and their benefits to society. Many students throughout the school also know how fuel cells work at the atomic and subatomic level. There is currently a high level of enthusiasm throughout the school in regards to fuel cells, with many students eager to do more with and learn more about fuel cell technology. There is also the sense of excitement of being on the cutting edge of a technological frontier; while there is a lot of fuel cell research taking place at the university and industry level, Ponaganset High has achieved some firsts through creative and exciting fuel cell applications. The interest and enthusiasm towards fuel cells generated by the Perkins grants has led to an actual “Fuel Cell Systems” course now being taught at Ponaganset High School.

9 The Quadracycle itself is an instant attention-getter. Road tests conducted on asphalt areas around Ponaganset High have attracted significant attention and excitement around the school. Although further work is needed to integrate the fuel cell system with the Quadracycle, the performance characteristics are expected to remain the same as with electrical operation with the exception of range. The effective range of the Quadracycle with the fuel cell system is expected to approximately double that of battery operation alone. While work could have proceeded at a faster pace, it is important that this be a truly student-centered project, requiring time for student research, planning, and design input.

10 A big part of the learning for this fuel cell project involved doing. The research, papers, and presentations were just the beginning steps involved in making this idea take form and come to life. Students were certainly enthused to experience the Quadracycle cruising steadily along using deep cycle battery power. Even more rewarding will be the full integration of the fuel cell itself.

11 This fuel cell grant program enabled students to use fuel cell technology firsthand and to demonstrate their understanding of this exciting cutting edge area of research. Fuel Cells are currently undergoing development by major corporations around the world and are appearing in the news with increased frequency. The students now have a solid familiarity and understanding of fuel cells and their benefits: higher efficiency and zero pollution. Greater understanding of fuel cell technology will have a positive affect on its implementation in society.

12 News of Ponaganset High’s Fuel Cell Quadracycle project has already appeared in the Providence Journal. Communication with the Providence Journal is ongoing and a full article is anticipated upon fuel cell integration with the Quadracycle.

13 Ponaganset High has been awarded the Earth Day Environmental Award for work done in educating, demonstrating, and promoting fuel cells and other sustainable/renewable energy technologies. It is the Perkins Grants that have made our work in this area and this prestigious award to our school possible.

14 Ponaganset High’s SALT visit: Student work from the Fuel Cell Quadracycle was shared and discussed in depth with members of the SALT team. SALT fellows appeared enthusiastic as they reviewed student research and design plans and observed the Quadracycle and the progress made on this project.

15 The More Drips, Rays, and Zaps Fuel Cell Quadracycle grant has been an outstanding benefit in educating our students about real-world science. As with our previous Perkins Grants, the materials purchased with the grant will continue to be used to teach our students about fuel cell technology as further research and development improves upon the original design.

16 Future Projects: One of the components of the students’ Fuel Cell Quadracycle design paper was the inclusion of future projects. While only one student design could be chosen for actual implementation at this time, many of their ideas were fascinating and outstanding. These ideas are already taking form in the planning stage for exciting future projects as we look ahead and continue to build upon this foundation of achievement. Your Perkins Grants have enabled Ponaganset High’s Fuel Cell Education Initiative to become a highly successful reality. We sincerely thank you for your support.

Appendix IV

Easy riders: [Northwest Edition]KATIE WARCHUT Journal Staff Writer. Providence Journal. Providence, R.I.: Jun 2, 2004. pg. C.01

Full Text (624 words)Copyright Providence Journal/Evening Bulletin Jun 2, 2004

* Ponaganset science students build another alternative energy creation -- a fuel-cell powered quadracycle

* * *

GLOCESTER - Ponaganset High School's latest lesson in alternative energy is one students can actually ride.

A blue fuel-cell powered quadracycle -- thought to be Rhode Island's first -- was designed and built by students in teacher Ross McCurdy's fuel-cell and science classes. It uses hydrogen to produce electricity.

"If someone has another one they sure are keeping it a secret," McCurdy said. If he hears about another one, he warned, "we will challenge them to a race."

But at a top speed of 12 mph, students are already tiring of driving it in circles around the parking lot. They want to hit the road.

McCurdy is envisioning a trip to the State House to bring fuel- cell awareness to the attention of lawmakers. It may seem far, but he shrugs.

"At 11 mph, heck, we could be there in two hours," McCurdy said.

They've scrawled "honk for fuel cells" on the front. The vehicle even has lights and a musical horn.

The students crowd around the quadracycle like surgeons around an operating table, turning knobs and adjusting dials. They list off readings of volts, hertz and watts, searching for the source of a beeping.

"The pressure's good," McCurdy says. "Let it warm up nicely."

A hydrogen tank strapped to the back of the vehicle connects to the fuel cell. A converter changes AC power to DC power, which is then connected to the motor.

The vehicle can run off the fuel cell power alone, but batteries help extend the vehicle's range and improve the smoothness of the ride.

Nearby, a lawnmower is running over the school grounds, a stark comparison to the environmentally safe and quiet fuel cell.

"I can smell the pollution of that combustion engine from here," McCurdy says. "'And the noise is deafening."

"One day you'll be mowing the lawn with a fuel cell," he promises the operator.

Students started their work in February, researching how to make the vehicle work. A student, Michael Higgins, selected the blue Rhoades car platform and helped work out technical kinks.

"It's like driving a model-T," said Andrew Bobola, a sophomore and a trusted driver of the expensive vehicle.

The whole car is worth about $4,800, McCurdy estimated, mostly from the Cranston Career and Technical Center's Perkins Grants. McCurdy and others have been pursuing the fuel cell initiative through grants, from small fuel cell kits to projects like Protium, the world's first fuel-cell powered rock band.

per gallon of gasoline, the vehicle's weight and the weight per axle.

Then, they'll remove the engine and automatic transmission, which are not energy efficient. They will replace it with a 30-horsepower electric motor and a dozen rechargeable batteries.

The vehicle will be able to travel about 30 miles, depending on variables such as weather, temperature, hills and speed.

While the quadracycle had a top speed of 12 mph, the model-T's predicted top speed is 70 mph. The original model-Ts had a top speed of 40 miles per hour.

The advantage to the T-bucket is that it's small, lightweight, and simple, with no power brakes or power steering, McCurdy said.

The second phase will incorporate a fuel cell system that can produce five to 10 kilowatts of energy. It would double or triple the range of the vehicle.

"And the only output will be pure water," McCurdy said.

Ponaganset only has fuel cells that produce three kilowatts of energy now. McCurdy's students are researching new systems for the car that are small, powerful, lightweight and rugged enough to handle transportation.

Such systems are expensive, and McCurdy is seeking assistance from any sources that can help, including local businesses.

Rhode Island Resource Recovery has already contributed a $5,000 grant. The state energy office has given $20,000 for the first phase and another $20,000 for the second phase.

The prototypes for automobile companies now cost about $1 million, McCurdy said.

"We're trying to do that for far, far less," he said.

This year, Ponaganset has converted a pilot program into two year-long classes dedicated to fuel cell education under the leadership of Principal Joseph Maruszczak and department chairwoman Alicia Bailey, McCurdy said.

Tonight at 7 p.m. at the Ponaganset High School auditorium, the band Orange Jam Conspiracy will perform as their alter ego, Protium, the name they take on when their sound stage is powered by fuel cells, with hydrogen provided by Praxair. The four-piece band includes seniors Lee Wyman and Geoffrey Wilkes and juniors Philip Adams and Domenic Ruggeri.

The show will benefit New School Foster-Glocester community awareness. A plan to build a new middle school and renovate the high school will be on the ballot next month. The money will pay for fliers and other materials to spread support for the project. Tickets are $5.

The band will head to San Antonio next month to perform at the annual fuel cell

conference.

Online at: http://www.projo.com/northwest/content/projo_20041008_fgband8.2126d3.html

Appendix VI

JUNE 9, 2005 ...

Hydrogen, Hot Rods, and Rock and Roll

Ponaganset High takes fuel cells to the open road

By Ron Scopelliti

A group of Ponaganset High School students and teachers is looking to make the world a cleaner, more energy-efficient place, and they're doing it their way - through rocking music and fancy cars.

The high school's "fuel cell initiative" has been making news for several years. Fuel cell technology is a way to produce clean electric energy from hydrogen, the most abundant element in the universe. The school now offers two full-year classes on fuel cell technology.

Much of the program's public exposure has come through the student rock group Protium. Over the past few years, the group has traveled across the country playing large venues like Mohegan Sun with a sound system powered entirely by fuel cells. The cells have had more than enough energy to drive the band's system, which includes a rumbling set of sub-woofers known as "portable earthquakes."

"We've never been asked to play louder," says science teacher Ross McCurdy.

This year, however, the program is adding a new element that shares Protium’s

rock and roll attitude - a fuel cell powered hot rod.

Mr. McCurdy explains that the students have already built one vehicle - a lightweight quadracycle that was the first fuel cell vehicle in Rhode Island. Though it proved to be a worthy technology test bed, Mr. McCurdy felt they needed a new vehicle to take their technology onto public roads, and into public view.

"It's not very fast," he says of the quadracycle, "and we'd probably impede traffic more than anything else."

"We needed to take it to the next level," he says.

Mr. McCurdy credits student Mike Higgins with suggesting a T-bucket hotrod design.

The T-bucket, so-called because it is based on the bucket-shaped body of a Ford Model T, has been a mainstay of hotrodders for decades. The attributes that make it a good hotrod also make it a good candidate for fuel-cell power. Among these are light weight, simple design, and easy access to the car's mechanical systems.

Mr. McCurdy found an available T-bucket right in Glocester, in the hands of electrical engineer Jim Sullivan.

"Mr. Sullivan gave us a great price on this," he says of their T-bucket, a fiberglass-bodied car, built in 1992. In addition to giving them a great price, Mr. Sullivan has volunteered to lend his technical expertise to the project.

Mr. McCurdy says the first step in the project will be testing the car as-is, to get baseline specifications on emissions, mileage, and performance. The car is currently powered by a 350 cubic inch Chevrolet V-8, providing an estimated 275-300 horsepower.

The electric conversion, ironically, will put it more in the horsepower range of the original Model T. The original T had a 20 horsepower engine, and a top speed of about 40 mph.

"We're hoping to exceed the specifications of the original Model T," says Mr. McCurdy.

They will do so in two phases. First Mr. McCurdy and his students will swap the rumbling V-8 for a whisper-quiet, 30-horsepower direct current electric motor, hooked to a Chevrolet S-10 five-speed manual transmission. The motor's torque and acceleration characteristics allow the manual transmission to work without a clutch, using mostly first and second gear.

For the first phase, the motor will be powered exclusively by 12 deep-cycle batteries.

After all the bugs are sorted out in this conversion, the project will move to the second phase. A 10-kilowatt fuel cell will be added to the vehicle to recharge the batteries as they drain.

This, he says will extend the vehicle's range from 25 miles to 100 miles, with a

top speed of 65 mph, and a cruising speed of 40 mph.

Apart from its technical attributes, the T-bucket offers Mr. McCurdy's students some other, less tangible benefits.

"It's also historically significant," says Mr. McCurdy. The Model T is generally recognized as the vehicle that turned the automobile from a rich man's toy to a mode of transportation for the masses.

Just as automobiles were at the beginning of the twentieth century, Mr. McCurdy says fuel cell vehicles are now "incredibly expensive and about as rare as bigfoot."

"We're hoping to help change that," he says.

In addition, he hopes the vehicle will capture the public's attention, and imagination. Current fuel cell vehicles, he notes, "cost about a million dollars each, and look about as cool as your average minivan."

He characterizes the T-bucket as a "head-turner," and plans to put it out before the public, driving it to the State House and other nearby destinations during phase one of the project.

For phase two, Mr. McCurdy has a longer road trip in mind.

"With the fuel cell, we're hoping to drive it all the way to Washington D.C. to the Shell Hydrogen Refueling Station," he says. "It's a lofty goal, but I'm confident we can get there."

He hopes continuing public recognition of the project will keep funding coming in, because, while fuel cells may be highly energy efficient, the technology is expensive.

Public exposure has served the fuel cell initiative well, thus far. Mr. McCurdy notes that a Protium performance at a Connecticut Clean Energy Fund event caught the attention of Dr. Michael Binder, a "global fuel cell guru." Dr. Binder led them to some major sources of funding.

The school's Fuel Cell Education Initiative has garnered close to $150,000 in grants, $60,000 of which is earmarked for the Model T project.

Funding has come from the Fuel Cell Test and Evaluation Center, Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation, and the State Energy Office. Praxair, an industrial gas company, has also helped out by donating hydrogen to use as fuel. Sponsorships have also come in from fuel cell manufacturers ReliOn and Millennium Cell.

Mr. McCurdy credits Science Department head Alicia Bailey and principal Joseph Maruszczak for their support of the project.

"This type of project really brings together a lot of disciplines in the school," he notes, pointing out that it has components related to science, technical education, business, math, English, and other subjects.

"This sort of hands-on, minds-on project, where students actually generate a product is wholly aligned with the educational standards and current educational

reform such as the Institute for Learning," he notes.

Others are taking notice of the program. It was recently written up in the Christian Science Monitor, and in April, Mr. McCurdy led a team that received the best paper award from the American Society for Engineering Educators New England Chapter.

"Among 60 presenters, we were the only group from a high school," he notes. The honor not only gives them the chance to present at an upcoming conference in Chicago, but also establishes valuable connections with colleges and universities working on fuel cell technology.

Mr. McCurdy plans to make some progress on the T-bucket over the summer "with the help of some dedicated students," and complete the project over the next academic year. He does not seem surprised by the students' readiness to donate their time over summer vacation.

"They're really enthusiastic about clean, sustainable energy," he says.

And by channeling this social-consciousness into a vehicle that carries on their rock and roll attitude, the Ponaganset students have found a project that suits them to a T.

Appendix VII

Science-project car could soon have road rights

Science teacher Ross McCurdy has been given permission to register a hot rod he expects students to transform into an energy-efficient electric vehicle.

01:00 AM EDT on Thursday, August 18, 2005

By KATIE WARCHUTJournal Staff Writer

GLOCESTER -- Ponaganset High School's T-bucket hot rod could soon be sporting license plates, which, if science teacher Ross McCurdy gets his wish, will say "FUEL CL."

McCurdy teaches classes that revolve around the still-evolving quest for alternative, sustainable energy sources. He's graduated from showing students how a fuel cell works -- by using hydrogen, which, when combined with oxygen, produces water and electricity.

This school year, students will work to turn the gasoline guzzling two-seat car into an electricity-powered, and then a fuel-cell-operated vehicle.

McCurdy obtained the car last year, but needs to be able to take it on the road before any work can begin. The School Committee, earlier this month, unanimously gave him the green light to register the car after clearing up questions about insurance.

McCurdy said that faculty and students who are supervised will be able to drive the car, which has a 350 Chevy V8 engine and is modeled after the 1923 model-T.

"It's a project vehicle," he said, adding that students have to experience the differences before and after the car is converted.

The T-bucket is ideal, because it's small, lightweight, and simple, with no power brakes or power steering.

Students need to obtain baseline data on how the car runs before they can make changes, McCurdy said. He plans to take a trip to Rhode Island Resource Recovery, where students can use the scales to weigh the car.

When it's converted to electricity, he said, students will have to ensure that the weight distribution is the same on both axles. McCurdy also wants to know how many miles it gets per gallon and test it for emissions, to compare to electric power, which has no emissions.

"We have to make sure everything's working well," McCurdy said. "Once the engine comes out, it won't be going back in."

Students even want to make a tape recording of the loud engine. They want to play it while they're riding, then turn it off, to see the difference.

The car can travel the highways now, but when it's converted to electricity, high speeds will quickly shorten its range. It will work best on secondary roads, and will have a range of about 20 to 25 miles, McCurdy said.

Eventually he hopes to drive it to the State House to show it off. An even loftier goal is a trip to Washington, D.C.

"Our job is to spread the word," McCurdy said.

He hopes to have the car registered around the beginning next year. He's already checked, and his coveted vanity plate is still available.

"It doesn't seem to be a popular one," he said. "But maybe down the road."

Online at: http://www.projo.com/northwest/content/projo_20050818_fgfuel.182c89a0.html