New York Congresswoman Louise Slaughter Announces $2.75 Million in Funding for Delphi, Rochester Institute of Technology

Federal commitment will enhance advancement of fuel cell technology production

Release date: January 8, 2008, AUBURN HILLS, MICH. -- U.S. Rep. Louise M. Slaughter, D-N.Y., chairwoman of the House Rules Committee, yesterday joined Bill Destler, president of Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT); Steven Shaffer, chief engineer for fuel cells at Delphi; and Nabil Nasr, director of RIT's Center for Integrated Manufacturing Studies (CIMS) to announce $2.75 million in federal funds for fuel cell development.

The funding was secured in the 2008 Department of Defense Appropriations Bill by Slaughter and New York's U.S. Senate delegation, and goes toward a joint project between Delphi and RIT to accelerate manufacturability and application of solid oxide fuel cells in the armed forces.

"My top priority in Congress is to bolster our region's economic advantage and keep us on the cutting edge of emerging industries," said Slaughter. "The fuel cell industry is just one of the new high-tech sectors that hold tremendous promise for the Rochester community. Because Delphi, and companies like them, made the choice to locate their best researchers in our backyard, we have the potential to be a leading player in fuel cell development. These funds represent one of the first tangible successes in our efforts to accelerate fuel cell development by linking private sector partners and local academic institutions,"

The project seeks to accelerate the application of solid oxide fuel cells into stationary and mobile systems within the U.S. Department of Defense. This type of fuel cell is a highly efficient electrochemical generator that produces environmentally friendly electricity directly from currently available fuels. This work builds upon Delphi's fuel cell development efforts and will utilize the CIMS' state-of-the-art sensors-monitoring technology to evaluate the quality of fuel cell powered systems.

"This is a tremendous example of government-university-industry collaboration that leverages the expertise at CIMS and the new Golisano Institute for Sustainability, as well - more - as our partners at Delphi," said Destler. "We appreciate the efforts of Congresswoman Slaughter and Senators Schumer and Clinton to successfully include this funding in the defense appropriations bill."

"We are extremely grateful to Congresswoman Slaughter and our Senate representatives for their help in securing federal assistance for our joint research efforts with Delphi," Nasr said. "It is my hope that this research will amplify our ability to accelerate the implementation of new fuel cell technologies that will support numerous military applications. This will also enhance the development of sustainable energy systems for future commercial applications."

"Situational awareness, future weapons and next-generation protection systems will require more electric power generated quietly and at higher efficiency," said Russ Bosch, Delphi's director of fuel cell development. "The fuel cell is a preferable technology for meeting these needs because the cell's higher efficiency decreases the amount of fuel that needs to be transported and the solid oxide fuel cell's quiet operation improves stealth capabilities."

ABOUT DELPHI POWERTRAIN
Delphi's powertrain technologies provide robust solutions to complex challenges, helping its customers develop vehicles that offer outstanding performance, refinement and emissions. They include multi point injection and direct injection gasoline systems, common rail and rotary pump diesel systems in a range of capacities and, for heavy duty diesel applications, Electronic Unit Injectors and Electronic Unit Pumps. All are compatible with widely used biofuels and are complemented by innovative fuel handling, evaporative emissions, transmission control, valve train, and aftertreatment solutions. More information is available at www.delphi.com.

Source: Delphi

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