Innovations at University of South Carolina
The University of South Carolina is a recognized global leader in research and application of new energy sources, in public health, in international business, and in establishing public-private partnerships-such as Innovista-within a leading urban university.
From a fuel cell-powered scoreboard at the University's new baseball stadium to an environmentally friendly biomass plant that provides up to 70 percent of the 200-acre campus' steam requirements, Carolina is devoted to finding energy solutions in today's complex environment.
In 2009, a hybrid-electric fuel cell transit bus began plying the streets in Columbia, including a route on the Columbia campus. The 37-passenger bus, part of the Federal Transit Administration's Fuel Cell Bus Program, is built of fiber composites and is five tons lighter than a regular transit bus. Powered by two 16kv fuel cells, the bus was fitted with sensors to measure the performance of its fuel cell technology. Chemical engineering professor Tom Davis and other university researchers have consulted with the S.C. Research Authority, which has completed a $2.4 million hydrogen fueling station in Columbia for the demonstration bus.
Sustainable technology powers baseball stadium scoreboard
It's up to the Gamecock baseball team to rack up the numbers that appear on the scoreboard at the new Carolina Stadium, but cutting-edge technology-driven by the University of South Carolina's commitment to developing alternative-energy sources-help make the scoreboard work.
Working through a grant from the S.C. Research Authority, faculty members from the university's College of Engineering and Computing have devised a method by which the scoreboard is partly powered by a hydrogen fuel cell. A cornerstone of the university's long-term research focus, fuel-cell technology offers tremendous potential for providing low-cost, low-emission power for a wide range of applications, from toys to automobiles.
Carolina is home of the nation's only University/Industry Center for Fuel Cell Research, co-sponsored by the National Science Foundation.
Carolina Segways into New Technology
Hydrogen Hybrid Mobility LLC, a company formed in 2006 by John Weidner and Chuck Holland in the Department of Chemical Engineering, has converted battery-powered Segway transporters to use hydrogen fuel cells.
The Segway is used throughout the world by individuals, businesses, and police and is powered by rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. The hydrogen fuel cell used in Hydrogen Hybrid Mobility's Segways is about the size of a soft-drink can and is expected to increase the amount of time that a Segway can be used by 20 to 90 percent,
One Segway has been given to the City of Columbia's police department; a second Segway will be used by engineers and scientists at the university's Horizon Center, which is part of the Innovista research district.
Learn more: http://www.sc.edu/impact
