Staff Report
Published Feb. 3, 2012

Midlands Technical College announced Thursday that it will join the USC-City of Columbia Fuel Cell Collaborative, a collaboration of SCRA, EngenuitySC, the University of South Carolina and the City of Columbia.

Midlands Tech President Sonny White will join the collaborative’s executive committee, and Tom Ledbetter, executive director for the two-year college’s Enterprise Campus, will join the collaborative’s management team to advise operations.

MTC has participated with the collaborative’s efforts in building Columbia’s fuel cell economy since its inception in 2006.

In August 2008, Midlands Tech hosted the Hydrogen Road Tour, a public event that featured 10 hydrogen vehicles as part of a cross-country trek of clean, efficient hydrogen vehicles. And in 2009, Midlands Tech worked with the collaborative as a partner of the National Hydrogen Association’s Hydrogen Conference and Expo held in Columbia and showcased some of its fuel cell programs.

Midlands Tech houses two fuel cell solutions firms at its state-of-the-art business accelerator located at the MTC Enterprise Campus in northeast Columbia. Logan Energy, a fuel cell solutions firm, opened its newest mobile power systems facility, Logan Energy Carolina, in June 2011.

Trulite Inc. relocated to Columbia in 2009 and is currently the only fuel cell company to offer both fuel cell and fuel source in one fully integrated system. Midlands Tech uses Trulite products to power its irrigation system on campus.

In addition to the businesses at Midland Tech’s business accelerator, the college also has two full-scale labs devoted to the design and fabrication of fuel cell technology and has also pioneered two new training programs, including: the Principles of Alternate Energy Certificate program, addressing the fundamentals of fuel cells and other alternative energy sources; and the Mechanical Engineering Technology Associate Degree. Graduates of both programs will be qualified to enter the workforce as medium-level operators, laboratory technicians or senior manufacturing technicians.

“The addition of Midlands Tech to the USC-City of Columbia Fuel Cell Collaborative strengthens our group and furthers our reputation as the leading force behind Columbia’s fuel cell economy,” said Bill Mahoney, CEO of SCRA, one of the collaborative’s original charter members. “Midlands Tech’s training expertise will help the collaborative represent all facets of the fuel cell industry — from research to development to deployment in the field.”

MTC joins the collaborative as it prepares to launch the next Greater Columbia Fuel Cell Challenge, an award-winning business-plan competition designed to support the commercialization of innovative fuel cell technologies. The 2010 winner, Weylchem Sustainable Materials, is working on a pilot project producing ammonia borane, a multi-purpose compound that can be used to efficiently power fuel cell devices among other commercial uses, at its facility in Elgin. The collaborative will release final contest details for the 2012 challenge by the end of March.