Fuel cell technology firm engages with students

2:51pm Wednesday 27th December 2006

By Richard Garfield

STUDENTS at Basingstoke's Costello Technology College were given an insight into renewable energy by a cutting-edge developer of portable fuel cell systems.

International distributor sales manager Sorrel Forsey-Anderson and Dr Mike Rendall, from the Voller Energy Group, based at Kingsland Business Park, Basingstoke, showed the students a couple of fuel cell systems, which the company designs and manufactures.

The Year 11 students also had an opportunity to discuss early markets for fuel cells and how the technology can be adopted.

Mrs Anderson said: "The technology is at the stage mobile phones were 20 years ago - very new but with tremendous potential."

She added: "A fuel cell converts chemical energy into electrical energy with no carbon emissions whatsoever, and can be used to power almost anything requiring electricity, anywhere, even underground.

"Fuel cells vary in size and electrical output and there are many companies around the world concentrating on automotive and stationary applications, but only a few working on portable systems."

Mrs Anderson said Voller Energy was the first company in the world to have a commercially available portable hydrogen fuel cell system when its products were introduced in 2002.

Commenting on the positive response from the students, she said: "They are the first in their age-group, worldwide, to have a system such as this demonstrated to them.

"The system is important because it is another source of renewable energy and will run for as long as gas is being supplied to it.

"The beauty of this technology is that it can either run independently or in conjunction with other renewable energies.

"Voller Energy, based here in Basingstoke, is a British company and this system is a British invention."

Mrs Anderson added that Voller Energy believes fuel cell technology will increasingly become an integral part of daily life as the need for power is increasing while the supply of fossil fuels is decreasing.

"Carbon emissions and climate change are hot topics on a global scale and, by using this technology, fuel cells can help reduce carbon emissions and the impact these are having on our planet," she said.

She was also keen to gain feedback from the students about whether they felt the technology was important and if they thought it should be included as part of the national curriculum.

"Voller Energy hopes that, by educating our youth, awareness and understanding of this important technology will become widespread," said Mrs Anderson.

She said the company will soon be putting a lesson with teacher notes on the education page of its website, which can be found at www.voller-energy.com