Comments (0) | |

Friday, Jan. 29, 2010

Robins Air Force Base opens hydrogen station

ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE — The building isn’t completed yet, but the hydrogen station that will fuel forklifts in the new facility is now operational.

The Hydrogen Fuel Cell Project, one of four projects across the country intended to help the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy develop and test alternative fuel sources, held a ribbon-cutting Thursday.

Robert King, director of the Defense Distribution Depot in Warner Robins, Georgia (DDWG), said the new 180,000 square foot facility will bring in 200 to 300 jobs during the next few years. The economic impact of the new facility will be about $40 million.

The DDWG is part of the Defense Distribution Command, which oversees 25 distribution centers around the world and employs 8,000 people.

Brig. Gen. Peter Talleri, U.S. Marine Corps, head of the DDC, said, “this is a huge opportunity for the state, team Robins and the (Defense Logistics Agency).”

Scott Kenner, principal project engineer for CTC, the company that built the station, said that each of the four facilities will use different technology, allowing the government to determine which method to use in coming missions.

“It’s each one producing the same outcome but doing it differently,” Kenner said.

The hydrogen produced at Robins will be used to power 20 forklifts at the new warehouse. The center can power up to 100 forklifts and generates 100 kilograms of hydrogen a day. A forklift uses about 1 kilogram of hydrogen per day.

To contact Angela Woolen, call 923-5650.