Cornell’s Paul F. Mutolo to speak on ‘The Real Cost of Gas’ in Feb. 28 seminar

Cornell’s Paul F. Mutolo to speak on ‘The Real Cost of Gas’ in Feb. 28 seminarFebruary 15, 2008Martin Wallsmwalls@syracusecoe.org

Paul F. Mutolo, associate director of the Cornell Fuel Cell Institute (CFCI), will speak on “The Real Cost of Gas (about $18/gallon) and How Fuel Cells Can Help” on Thursday, Feb. 28, from 5:30-8 p.m. at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, N.Y. The talk is the first in the Central New York Sustainable Speaker Series, produced jointly by the Syracuse Center of Excellence Office for Industry Collaboration and the U.S. Green Building Council New York Upstate Chapter.

At CFCI, Mutolo coordinates both internal research across eight research groups and external technology transfer projects, building strategic partnerships with fuel cell developers. Before Cornell, Mutolo spent four years in the industry. At MTI MicroFuel Cells in Albany, he helped develop several levels of the MobionTM direct methanol micro fuel cell technology. Mutolo’s foundation in fuel cells was established as a postdoctoral research associate at the University of California, Berkeley, studying chemical species on catalyst surfaces.

“The internal combustion engine is a good example of the poor state of our energy infrastructure in the U.S.,” says Mutolo. “After a century of development and engineering, it delivers only 20-25 percent of the energy in your gas tank to actually turn your wheels. More than 60 percent of energy resources in this country are wasted due to inefficient processes like this. Changing this inefficiency will take many solutions.”

One of these solutions may be fuel cells, explains Mutolo, a technology in which electricity is directly extracted from a chemical reaction. “The fuel cell has energy conversion efficiencies of 50-60 percent with existing technology. Using better materials, like those under development at the CFCI, fuel cells operating at 90 percent efficiency are a very real possibility.”

The cost of the talk is $15 for USGBC New York Upstate Chapter members and $20 for non-members (cost includes dinner). Registration and payment can be made online at www.greenupstateny.org. For more information, contact Sandy Downey, Syracuse CoE Office for Industry Collaboration, at 315-443-8211 or sdowney@syracusecoe.org, or Tracie Hall, USGBC New York Upstate Chapter, at 315-729-9067 or tracie@greenupstateny.org.

The Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems (http://syracusecoe.org) is a federation of more than 170 businesses and institutions that collaborate on sustainable innovations to improve built and urban environments. Members of the Syracuse CoE federation work on research, development and educational projects relating to clean and renewable energy, indoor environmental quality and water resources.