You are here: Archives > July 2008 > Emergency Power Hydrogen and Fuel Cells—Giving Emergency Responders an Edge in the Face of Disasters Debbi Smith, National Hydrogen Association 2005 was the most active Atlantic hurricane season in U.S. history. When hurricane Katrina hit the U.S. Gulf Coast, there were seven hurricanes or tropical storms in the Atlantic and Caribbean. One of those storms became hurricane Rita and hit the Gulf Coast 28 days after Katrina made landfall. None of the other 6 storms developed the intensity that Katrina and Rita did though a few made landfall on the U.S. or Canadian Eastern Seaboard. Scientists have stated for years that one of the impacts of global climate change will be an increase in severity and frequency of storms of all kinds. Weather induced storms aren’t the only disasters facing cities. Since 9/11, cities and towns now have emergency preparedness plans for terrorist attacks. In the western U.S., state emergency preparedness plans include terrorist and storm disaster plans plus preparedness plans for wildfires and earthquakes. Along the Pacific Rim, add volcanoes to the list. In all cases of disaster, grid-independent electrical power becomes an immediate and critical need. Emergency Responders, City Managers and Municipal Leaders need to stay abreast of every beneficial technology in order to protect the life and property of their citizens and themselves. The emergency preparedness market is a readily developing market for portable and stationary fuel cells and potentially, on-site hydrogen generation. During the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, it was evident that grid-independent electrical power was in critical short supply. Hydrogen-powered and direct methanol-powered fuel cells were among the electric-power generation equipment deployed to Louisiana and Mississippi by fuel cell manufacturers to aid in disaster recovery, but the need was far greater than the ability to supply demand. In the midst of a disaster and in the immediate aftermath, the situation is chaotic and actions are, by necessity, reactions—which is not the best environment to try to convince decision-makers on site to use new and unfamiliar technology. Education is key to enabling deployment of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies as is sensitivity on the part of equipment manufacturers to the situation faced by emergency responders at disaster and evacuation sites. For example, command central needs to deal with one point of contact for all HFC or DMFC equipment deployment and needs to know that point of contact is aware of their needs from the start. To accommodate emergency responders, the NHA and its affiliates have developed a strategy of focusing on known evacuation destination cities ahead of any disaster as part of emergency preparedness management. This approach is being taken in San Antonio, Texas, a Gulf Coast evacuation destination city and Columbia, South Carolina, an Atlantic evacuation city for South and North Carolina coastal zone cities. Model cities like these can be used for hydrogen and fuel cell emergency use and then replicated in other evacuation destination cities across the U.S. and Canada. The Case for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Among the top three needs in any city disaster plan are: Communication Emergency Medical Potable Water In their current state of development and deployment hydrogen and fuel cells meet the needs for the above applications in which they provide an advantage over traditional power generation by diesel and gasoline generators. Advantages provided by hydrogen and fuel cell technology for emergency preparedness and disaster recovery are: Doesn’t need electrical grid for recharge No harmful emissions Silent Manufacturing Scalability Additional information on the hydrogen/fuel cell advantage over generators and portable battery packs are demonstrated below. Communication backup power: Katrina exposed flaws in the telecommunications infrastructure that led to a complete communications breakdown in and around New Orleans. The result was a mandate, issued in early 2007, directing telecommunications providers to ensure their sites maintain a minimum of 24 hours emergency backup power for assets inside central offices/switch sites and eight hours for Outside Plant (OSP) facilities such as cell sites, remote switches and digital loop carrier system remote terminals. “The FCC mandate is forcing us to be creative in finding ways to meet the new requirements—changing industry thinking on everything from alternative power sources like fuel cells to the cabinets and enclosures we use to house those power sources,” says Dusty Baker, vice president of engineering, Emerson Network Power’s energy systems business.1 Emergency medical back-up and portable power: During hurricanes Katrina and Rita, San Antonio, Texas received approximately 100,000 evacuees from along the Gulf Coast, several thousand of them had special medical needs.2-5 Medical emergencies require electronic patient monitoring equipment which either needs to be recharged regularly or plugged into an electric power supply. Locating patients near an electrical supply is problematic in an emergency the size of Katrina. With portable fuel cells, the electrical supply can stay with the patient on the gurney providing flexibility in re-location as the situation warrants. Portable fuel cells outperform batteries in longevity and offer the flexibility of indoor power usage because of their silence and zero emissions. With larger fuel cells, power can also be located closer to the “need” which makes for safer operating conditions in medical shelters that have lost power or in makeshift, emergency medical shelters that would otherwise use gasoline or diesel generators. Search and Rescue Power: Stationary fuel cells can serve a critical role in rescue operations too. In disasters such as earthquakes, mine or building collapse, rescue operations often continue into the night. With electrical power needs such as large light bar stanchions powered by hydrogen fuel cells instead of gasoline or diesel generators, the silent operations of the fuel cells allow rescue workers to hear the victims’ cries for help. As demonstrated by fuel-cell powered UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) in DOD applications6-7, hydrogen-powered fuel cells outperform battery-power in the same application allowing more time in the air for surveillance. For search and rescue operations which use similar UAVs, hydrogen-powered fuel cells provide the ability for rescue teams to cover more ground and transmit more data to save lives. Emergency Responders Program through Homeland Security The Science and Technology, Technology Solutions Program within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is a resource for emergency responders to use fuel cell equipment for emergency needs. Grants are open to emergency responders only through this program and need has to be demonstrated on how fuel cell technology can help job performance and fill a capability gap. The Tech Solutions program will also help with faster deployment if need is critical. For further information, please visit the DHS Science and Technology website at: http://www.dhs.gov/xfrstresp/training/gc_1174057429200.shtm References Press Release, April 24, 2008, Emerson Network Power. www.compactpci-systems.com Appleseed Hurricane Katrina Project, San Antonio City Report, June 30,2006; Faegre & Benson LLP, Hospitals in Hurricane Katrina: Challenges Facing Custodial Institutions in a Disaster, Gray, Bradford, Ph.D., Herbert, Kathy, M.D., MMM., M.P.H., Published by the Urban Institute, July 2006. Press Release, American Forces Press Service, Washington, DC Sept 24, 2005, Air Force Evacuates Thousands; Crews, Aircraft, Standing By Press Release, Associated Press, September 25, 2005, Houston, TX, Gridlock in Houston as Texans Flee Working Group presentations at NHA 2007 Topical Forum, Military Uses of Hydrogen, Columbia, SC Press Release, www.air-attack.com, Southborough, MA, Protonex to Unveil Procore UAV fuel cell power system. http://www.air-attack/com/news/news_article/2016