E2 complex aims at green solutions

A new Missouri University of Science & Technology development is planned west of the main campus, across Interstate 44, and it will complement its propsed Tech Park.

Called E2 (E-Squared) for energy and environment, Missouri University of Science & Technology Chancellor John F. Carney, III, recently unveiled plans to create a showcase for the university’s commitment to sustainable energy development.

E2 would promote Missouri S&T’s commitment to addressing some of the nation’s most pressing energy and environmental issues, Carney said.

Plans for the area include a wind turbine at the adjacent Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop I Headquarters and the Hydrogen Fueling Station.

These two projects are serving as anchors for what the university is saying will be the hands-on technical area to complement offices planned at the University Tech Park on 10th Street where the S&T golf course now sits.

Dr. John W. Sheffield, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and subject editor for the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, called the hydrogen refueling project “the next step” for the university as it continues to be “on the forefront of alternative fuel sources.”

Sheffield presented a map of other hydrogen fueling stations, mostly on the nation’s coastal areas.

“Our campus is getting recognized as a team leader,” Sheffield said, recalling the university’s grand-prize winning status in a demonstration of hydrogen technology.

Currently, a hydrogen fueling station is located at Hy Point Industrial Park on Rolla’s eastern edge, but that station will be moved to the E2 site. 

The hydrogen fueling station is part of collaborative research by Missouri S&T and several federal and state agencies to demonstrate the feasibility of hydrogen-powered transportation in rural Missouri.

In addition to the hydrogen fueling station, Sheffield hinted of another hydrogen project coming to the university soon.

“We’ll have more on to release on that May 21,” Sheffield said.

Sheffield, with the aid of Angela B. Rolufs, director of the Missouri Transportation Institute, presented a chronology of planning and implementation for the hydrogen project:
• By July, a permanent hydrogen fueling station, with support from the Gas Technology Institute;
• By August, full operation of rural hydrogen transit test bed — with commuter service to Fort Leonard Wood;
• By August, installation of 5kW hydrogen fuel cell;
• And by November, the installation of a solar-powered electrolysis 5kg per day hydrogen production unit.

Currently, the university is leasing two Ford Hydrogen E-450 shuttle buses. The V-10 vehicles run on both hydrogen and internal combustion technology with 235 horsepower and a range of 150 to 200 miles.

“The test bed we have here in Missouri is significant because unlike other test markets, the buses here travel town, and they get out on the interstate,” Sheffield said. “That is significant.”

The university also has led firefighter and first-responders training about the hydrogen vehicles so they can adequately respond to vehicular emergencies.

More than anything, Sheffield said, E2 will allow the university to further its cutting-edge partnerships with students and corporations to solve energy problems while partnering with corporations.

“E2 will be right there next to the interstate. It will be a high-visibility area while complementing the research (tech) park while allow our students to have hands-on technology,” Sheffield said.

The university’s E2 teams have been a leader — and past champion — in the solar-car competition and just last summer won an international competition in the human-powered vehicle competition, just narrowly missing a setting a new speed record.

And, the 10-acre E2 site will be the future home for S&T’s Solar Village, the site for construction of the university’s solar home competition efforts. 

“It’s time we take our excellent energy and environmental research work out of the laboratories and put them on display,” Carney said.

“Located near Interstate 44, the E-Squared initiative will be a highly visible showcase of our sustainability research, as well as a test bed for future projects, including partnerships with private industry, governmental agencies and other forward-thinking universities,” Carney said.

The E-Squared development also will include a waste-to-energy and water-recycling demonstration project, an education center in collaboration with the St. Louis Science Center, and a “green” hotel and conference center.

Continuing a theme he introduced in his Fall 2007 State of the University Address, Carney noted that Missouri S&T is uniquely positioned to address many environmental and energy issues.

Missouri S&T is the only university in the country that offers 16 different engineering bachelor’s degree programs and the only one with a combination of energy-friendly programs that includes geology and geophysics and environmental, geological, mining, nuclear and petroleum engineering fields.