The British government created an independent corporation called the UK Carbon Trust in 2001 to reduce the region’s carbon consumption. The trust has created businesses like the Partnership for Renewables and Connective Energy to meet these goals. The UK Carbon Trust unveiled its Polymer Fuel Cells Challenge two weeks ago to encourage advancements in fuel cell development. In addition to reducing the region’s carbon consumption, the Polymer Fuel Cells Challenge is intended to take advantage of the burgeoning fuel cell market.
This $12.8 million program starts with solicitations by the trust to inventors, research institutes and businesses to propose fuel cell advancements. The three finalists in the Polymer Fuel Cells Challenge will be issued up to $1.6 million to develop these proposals. If the trust finds a viable project from these three finalists, this project will be rewarded with $8 million to bring the prototype to market. Representatives of the UK Carbon Trust project that the fuel cell market will grow to $26 billion worldwide by 2020 with $180 billion in sales by 2050. The trust hopes that its Polymer Fuel Cells Challenge will allow the UK to earn as much as $1 billion in fuel cell sales by 2020.
The Polymer Fuel Cells Challenge shows UK Carbon Trust’s recent interest in fuel cells rather than solar, ethanol and other alternatives to traditional power. The UK Carbon Trust has touted the versatility of polymer fuel cells across multiple platforms including passenger vehicles, commercial machinery and residential power. Polymer fuel cells are used as components in larger systems whether it is green vehicles or a household ventilation system, which would force components manufacturers to keep up with fuel cell advancements. The UK Carbon Trust is also reflecting the efforts of research institutes, universities and businesses in pushing Great Britain toward sustainable energy.
The UK Carbon Trust’s Polymer Fuel Cells Challenge uses the right carrot to get businesses, research institutes and inventors in motion. The message of economic necessity should be used to promote fuel cells because emphasizing the bottom line is the only way to draw in skeptical investors and consumers. The Polymer Fuel Cells Challenge is structured in such a way to reward progress instead of throwing money frivolously at half-baked fuel cell projects. By starting with a handful of worthy projects, the UK Carbon Trust is creating competition that will expedite developments in hybrid propulsion and residential power.
