DTE Energy took the wraps off its Hydrogen Technology Park today, the culmination of two years of planning and construction, but just the beginning of its venture to determine the commercial viability of hydrogen as a replacement fuel for homes, businesses and automobiles. "We don't know when, or to what extent, hydrogen will become integrated into the country's energy system," Anthony F. Earley, Jr., DTE Energy chairman and CEO, said at the Hydrogen Technology Park dedication event. "It's likely to take years, if not decades, to fully develop hydrogen technologies. But we are certain about one thing: We know more about hydrogen today than we did two years ago."
DTE Energy has partnered with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the state of Michigan and the city of Southfield to develop, build and operate the pilot project that will create hydrogen gas from tap water and use that gas in fuel cell generators and to refuel fuel cell-powered vehicles. The hydrogen will be produced using electricity from a combination of grid power and on- site solar photovoltaic cells. The facility is capable of delivering 100,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, enough to power a small office complex and several fuel cell vehicles per day.
The $3 million project — the cost equally shared by DTE Energy and the DOE — is part of President George W. Bush's Hydrogen Fuel Initiative that will invest $1.7 billion over five years on the research and development needed to make the nation's energy system cleaner and more efficient.
In late April, the project expanded to run through 2008 under another DOE program which will emphasize the co-development of a hydrogen infrastructure with hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicles. DTE Energy's partnership with DaimlerChrysler and BP, called "Hydrogen to the Highways," will test DaimlerChrysler fuel cell vehicles and develop a corresponding hydrogen re- fueling infrastructure.
DTE Energy (NYSE: DTE – News) is a Detroit-based diversified energy company involved in the development and management of energy-related businesses and services nationwide. Its largest operating units are Detroit Edison, an electric utility serving 2.1 million customers in Southeastern Michigan, and MichCon, a natural gas utility serving 1.2 million customers in Michigan. The DTE Energy portfolio of businesses also includes non-regulated subsidiaries supplying a broad range of project and energy management services, primarily to large industrial and commercial customers. In 2003, DTE Energy posted revenues of approximately $7 billion.
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