Appalachian State Energy Center Co-hosts Third International Hydrail Conference

Newswise — The Appalachian State University Energy Center will co-host the Third International Hydrail Conference June 25-26 in Bergamo, Italy.

The conference, also hosted by Nuvera Fuel Cells, will feature a tour of Nuvera's ForzaTM 125kW fuel cell power system, the same technology that powered the world's first hydrogen train last September.

Conference registration is $200 and is due June 18. The registration fee covers two lunches, coffee breaks, and transportation to the Nuvera Fuel Cell's facility in Italy.

The Energy Center hosted the First Hydrail International Conference in Charlotte in 2005. It focused on using hydrogen to power locomotives. The second international conference was held in Denmark.

The term "hydrail" was coined by a Charlotte-area native to describe the use of fuel cells and hydrogen to power locomotives. It also is shorthand for hydrogen train.

This year's conference will feature speakers from across the globe, including Japan, Canada, United States, Korea, Spain, India, England and other locales. For more information about attending the conference, or to learn more about hydrogen trains, visit http://www.hydrail.org.

Fuel cells are considered one of the most promising energy technologies of the future because of their high efficiency and low emissions. Although automobiles are commonly touted as the fuel cell-powered vehicle of the future, hydrogen and fuel cell-powered trains are likely to be adopted as one of the earliest transportation solutions in the hydrogen economy.

Hydrogen trains, or hydrail, are not subject to many of the barriers preventing the mass adoption of fuel cell transportation, and their deployment could provide a transportation infrastructure around which additional hydrogen and fuel cell applications may be built. The first hydrogen-powered train models are currently being demonstrated in Japan and Europe.