Some Special Events held by AGA

The issue of energy seems to be one of the biggest problems in the world today. If we look at international media, this topic is the most frequently discussed. Why so? Because of course it deals with many fields. Ranging from economics, politics, to the environment related to global warming. The energy used today is dominated by the use of fuel oil, then fuel gas and coal. Oil-producing countries such as the Middle East today are indeed in their heyday. But nobody ever knows when the fuel will run out. Therefore, the technology developed is currently trying to find a substitute for fuel for vehicles, one of which is a fuel cell with hydrogen energy. Fuel Cell Fuel for Vehicles For those of you who don’t know, fuel cells are fuels that use hydrogen as a base for producing electrons, protons, heat, and water. The fuel cell works based on the chemical reaction between the fuel and the oxidant that is triggered in the electrolyte. At the anode, the catalyst oxidizes the normally hydrogen fuel and converts the fuel into positive ions and negative electrons. Ions are passed through electrolytes to the cathode and rejoin with electrons and simultaneously react with oxygen which then produces water or carbon dioxide. Currently fuel cell research has also been developed for various types of transportation equipment. The ability of a transportation device using this fuel cell is quite amazing. A conventional car that uses this fuel cell energy can be fully charged within 3-5 minutes, and also does not produce emissions at all. With a tank full of hydrogen energy and refilling in a short time, vehicles that use fuel cell energy will certainly be very promising. The use of transportation for members that uses fuel cells is more efficient than conventional cars. In addition, the use of the fuel cell on the vehicle also does not cause noisy engine noise. Fuel cells can be used for various types of transportation equipment such as cars, buses, and boats. There are now many well-known companies that are releasing cars with hydrogen fuel. For example, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Ford, Honda, and so on. Until now, the use of hydrogen energy is still in the research stage. Most countries that develop hydrogen energy are developed countries such as the United States that have been carrying out research on fuel cell energy for many years. Despite many obstacles, but fuel cell technology is still developing. One problem is about how to produce hydrogen energy which is bound by an oxide compound. That is the explanation of the use of fuel cells in modern transportation today.

Bio fuel is a liquid derived from bio mass, especially vegetable material. The most popular forms of bio fuel are biodiesel and bioethanol. Many people consider biofuels as the perfect substitute for fossil fuels. This is because bio-fuel is more environmentally friendly when compared to fossil fuels. Recently, the popularity of bio fuel has increased.

There are three generations of bio fuel, first generation bio fuel (made from sugar, flour, oil, or animal fat), second generation (made from non-food crops), and third generation (made from algae). Looking at the huge energy needs at the moment, bio fuel is an alternative fuel that can be used later to replace fossil fuels that will soon run out.

Various Advantages of Bio Fuel

The main advantage of bio fuel compared to fossil fuels is that bio fuel is a renewable energy source that is more environmentally friendly. Bio fuel significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions compared to fossil fuels. Some even say that bio fuel has carbon neutral properties. But this is not always true, because it takes a lot of energy to grow plants and turn them into fuel. Even so, bio-fuel remains far more environmentally friendly for than conventional fossil fuels.

The second generation of bio fuel is significantly more environmentally friendly when compared to the first. Some studies show that first generation bio fuel can reduce up to 60% of carbon emissions compared to fossil fuels. As for the second generation, it can reduce carbon emissions by 80%.

Another advantage of bio fuel is the security of its supply. Demand for petroleum is increasing every time. There are certain problems related to this in terms of geopolitics. The use of bio fuel can be ascertained by the supply because the raw material can be grown and produced domestically. In addition, bio-fuel production can also be very beneficial in many countries that depend on refined oil products.

Bio-fuel energy sources can be a potential to solve energy problems in developing countries. Because most of these countries turn to coal to spur their economic growth. Coal is the cheapest source of energy but is also the dirtiest source of energy.

By producing bio-fuel in developing countries, the level of pollution caused by coal-fired power plants can be reduced. Even so there is still a shortage of bio fuel energy. Because it uses natural ingredients, it is feared that bio-fuel production can create biodiversity problems. Besides that, bio-fuel can also cause more severe deforestation problems in developing countries because of the forests that are being opened.

The project led by many Fuel Association is mostly related to renewable energy. One of the pilot project is alternative fuel. Instead of gasoline, there are three options to choose. One of them is bio diesel. It has been used widely especially in the Las Vegas, Greenville and Austin. Is it just like any other regular fuel?

For Costumers
Before considering to switch the fuel, the vehicle owners should look at the specification first. Biodiesel only works on diesel engine. There is no need to change any of the spare parts. It would be a different story if the costumers only own standard car. The machine should be customized before the bio diesel fuel could be used.

One more thing from to remember: check for the trusted sources that sells bio diesel. Say no for the risk of purchasing raw fuel. If possible, ask for the blended product. It ensures the high selection and supervision from the company. Don’t forget to stick to the maintenance schedule. Otherwise, the filter will be too dirty.

For Managers
The alternative energy is not only beneficial for the car and environment. It is also a promising business in the future. Moreover, the gas station setting is similar to the regular one. Even if there is some kind of adjustment, it won’t be the total makeover.

The managers who are interested to sell biodiesel could contact the organization for further information. Contacting is different from the obligation to register. Questions and sharing are the only goal of the contact. Should they have interest on the business, there will be another arrangement. If needed, the organization could give important testimonies.

For Distributors
Is it only manager that could make the offer to distribute bio diesel? Of course no! The small or medium distributors could propose the organization to be part of the team. Don’t worry about the training! There will be complete guidance on the training and handling. It is all presented in videos, so the distributors could repeat it as much as they want.

There will be more information about the tax and helpful resources. The email is available, just in case the distributors have more questions to ask.
It is good to have alternative fuel. When people start to switch to the biodiesel, there are several points that should be highlighted. These apply for the costumer, manager and distributors. Disobeying the warning from America’s Advanced Fuel Association might be harmful.

There are many Fuel Association in US, but the NH3 Association is probably the most creative one. While the other groups are frantically researching on how the government should limit the petroleum consumption. NH3, on the other hands, propose the type of fuel that could be produced within the country.

The Background
Many attempts have been done by different institutions to reduce the amount of annual fuel consumption. One option is the alternative fuel to replace the imported product. In the other words, the life of thousand US people depends on the import. Once the price of the oil increases, the whole US will suffer.
The concern also covers the fact that weather plays important role in petroleum distribution among countries. The ship will sink to the ocean because of strong rain or big hurricane. In addition, the political situation between two countries also affects the share. In short, there are many aspects that might cut the petroleum distribution from the outside country.

The Proposal
Considering the previous condition, the NH3 Group propose a new alternative for the government. It includes the use of NH3 as the fuel. It could be found everywhere. Several big cities even transport it through pipes underground, then goes to the industrial building. NH3 is proposed for its less to none carbon emission. There are lots of safe production methods that could be applied.

Then what about the user safety? Is it okay to switch NH3 for public transportation? The first use of NH3 dated back in 1940. It was during World War II, when the oil supply was low but the transportation must operate. Emerich Korch develop the liquid form of NH3. In the trial, the bus was able to run up to ten thousand miles. Then in 1960, there was X-15 rocket plane that set up the record of altitude and speed using NH3 fuel.

Referring to these two projects, the researchers build a vehicle that takes gasoline and ammonia as the fuel. The vehicle goes from Detroit to San Francisco. It is not impossible to have a vehicle that takes pure ammonia (NH3) to start the engine. The real question is whether the government ready to support the project.

Every year, the country lost at least 10 billion to the cost of importing petroleum. As it is currently the commonly used fuel for almost all public and private vehicles, it is quite difficult to stop the product. For this reason, NH3 Fuel Association propose the new alternative.

People might know advanced bio Fuel Association as the leading researchers. It tries lots of experiments, matching each one of them with the machine and also the resource materials. The job is tough, but the technology development helps them in the process. What are they and how they works?

– Catalysis
This process is not possible without the presence of catalyst. The catalyst itself is a unique compound. It could both lower the amount of energy needed for a reaction to take place and also speed up the reaction. In the other words, catalyst could increase the reaction product but cut the production time at the same time.

Why catalyst is used on the mass production? There are some researches that give real evidence that catalyst could improve efficiency. There is no reduction on the process. The only difference is the time needed to finish the process. In addition, it could be applied to lots of products.

– Cellulosic
There is only one way to have mass production from lignocellulose: applying more process to create sugar. The microorganism then will feed on sugar, triggering the fermentation reaction. Nowadays, the researchers prefer to use gasification and cellulosic processes. The gasification will turn the raw material to gases. They are carbon monoxide and hydrogen.

The cellulosic process is a little bit longer. It breaks down the sugar chain into smaller pieces. Then, the sugar is fermented to extract the alcohol. This process could speed up by the using acid or enzyme. The acid method is slowly forgotten, as the modern technology found more effective way by using enzymatic hydrolysis.

– Fermentation
This term has been mentioned several times in the previous discussion. Why? It is the heart of the process. Any raw materials must pass this step before they could be used as the fuel. Whatever the raw material used, it takes one preparation step before the sugar is ready to be fermented.

There is also another option to recover the alcohol from the finished product. Many companies give up the chance to recover the alcohol. Why? It takes more effort and cost as well. Even if the process is not impossible, it includes lots of distillation process.

When people discuss about the, technology cannot be exempted from the discussion. It is the mere reason for the alternative energy. Some of the most important steps applied by Bio Fuel Association are Catalysis, Cellulosis and Fermentation. There might be even more options in the future.

How many Energy Association out there? Hundreds maybe? If the locals and small non-profit organizations are included in the list. Now how many of them care about sustainable natural resources? This topic has been discussed in numerous occasion. The implementation, however, depends on the association.

– The Goal
By the time the organization was established, the founder has set vivid goal; giving meaningful and resourceful contribution to the policies that will affect energy building measures. The capitalization that happened every year should have been expected by the companies, considering the facts that each company hires top economic analysts to do so.

Sustainable Energy Association (SEA) is that one organization that provides the latest update on the policy. It is not merely an explanation, but also some insights of how the policy will affect the whole energy industry. Should the stakeholders holds strong proofs that the policy could somehow be harmful, then they could give constructive support to the government.

– The Recent Campaign
Back in 2016, the organization announces the campaign to provide Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) Band C to all poor houses in UK. The program lasts for fourteen years, considering the complication of the process. First of all, the SEA is pleased to see government’s positive response towards the campaign. SEA believes that upon the completion, the number of waste emission in UK will be reduced significantly.

Ironically, the source of the energy emission is simple things like leaking water, gas and heater leaking. Even though it doesn’t happen everyday, but the calculation from each house on the whole country make a huge number. Since the leaking is the result of poor house building, UK government starts the project by rebuilding the homes. As the result, the SEA couldn’t expect instant result.

The campaign doesn’t stop for the poor’s only. The SEA and the government also work together to provide as many housing as possible with the EPC Band C by 2030. The UK minister also pushes the new and innovative technologies for the house owners. The earliest campaign is by encouraging the infestation on energy efficient, low carbon and sustainable solutions.

The advantage of having sustainable resources is clear. Any country should not be worried about the energy for literally, the rest of their life. There will be no more expedition to find new land to exploit. The Sustainable Energy Association will ensure that each country could have their own resources.

In addition to the official government bodies, now there are many independent Energy Agency Associations. The aim of these organizations is more or less similar to the governments’: ensuring the energy distribution while keeping an eye on the latest policies. Is there anything more than that?

– The Mission
The International Energy Agency has 30 member countries in total. These countries are united to make sure that all members could get reliable and affordable energy. It is not just any energy, but it has to be clean energy. To help the organization, the focus is divided into four big pillars. The first one is energy security. This division basically digs how safe an energy, both alternative and main source.

The second focus is economic development. Sometimes it affects the production cost and many other things related to the resources. The third focus is environmental awareness. As big as the organization’s hope to maintain healthy resources, the local people are also expected to take care of their natural resources. Last but not least, the organization wants to spread the engagement worldwide.

– The Structure
The main board of this organization consists of different groups from different business and different countries. The leader of the organization is Dr. Fatih Birol, the Executive Director, and also Mr. Paul Simons, the Deputy Executive Director. All the decisions must pass the quality control from the board directors before being announced to the public.

– The Programs
When the organization was established for the first time, there was only one single aim. It is to collect the complaints and suggestions from many countries who directly affected by the oil supply disruptions. As the time passes, the board sees that the initial goal is somehow connected to several different topics. Ignoring one will stop the progress. For this reason, several programs are created to support the main board.

Instead of a messenger, IEA now puts itself within the practical frame as well. There are lots of workshops, video projects, webinars and more. Each of these information are shared within the members and selected topic would be published to the world. Who works behind the scene? More than 240 professionals.

If a country relies too much on their own governmental bodies in providing and distributing the energy resources, there will be many dark spots to hide the flaws. Thus, all the policies might not help to establish the balance within the bodies. For this reason, independent Energy Agency exists!

Have you ever heard about USFCC or The US Fuel Cell Council? This is an association that is broad based and is dedicated to the fuel cells commercialization in all of markets. What kind of association is it? What is the association’s advocacy result? Here is the summary for you:

– USFCC in Brief
This association was founded in 1998. Since then, this association has quickly grown from an association with fourteen original members to a big group with over one hundred members. The association members and committee should be proud of themselves as they are a member-led association and as they always strive to be a trade association that provides full service.

USFCC can also be called as the industry of fuel cell. This association brings the fuel cells message to any potential customers, to scientific and technical organizations, to suppliers, to government at every level, to opinion leaders, to media, and also to international communities. This association has both informal and formal standing in the technical venues to work its relationships with the world’s similar associations that share the same missions.

USFCC tries to always be visible in the arenas of police in the US and also in elsewhere. USFCC has three kinds of venues. They are technical venues, communication and commercial venues, and also international venues. In each venue, USFCC carries with different roles and contribution to many parties.

– The Advocacy Results of USFCC
With such advocacies above, this association has achieved at least five results. The first result is a comprehensive fuel cell research that is worth $2 billion along with deployment and development program in the United States. The second result includes annual United States’ appropriations for Demonstration, Development, and Research.

Next, the result also covers tax credits that are substantial for fuel cells installation as well as the purchase of infrastructure and vehicles of fuel cells. Then, the advocacy of this association also results in the interest of federal agency in the purchases of fuel cells for various needs and also state level policies that are shaped to support the fuel cells along with their fuels.

US Fuel Cell Council is such an association that other association in the similar fields should look up to. This association has superb mission and vision and had made great impact from their advocacies. We surely cannot wait for the next movement of this association in the nearer future.

Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association of FCHEA is one of the organizations in the US that has contributed a lot to the technologies of energy. Through its activities, this association tries to put their vison and mission to reality for the good sake of society. What is this association anyway? Here is the summary:

– FCHEA in Brief
FCHEA is an organization that represents leading organizations and companies that are elevating safe, innovative, reliable, and clean energy technologies. FCHEA always gives a supporting drive as well as provides an industry voice that is consistent to policymakers and regulators. In addition to that, this organization also has educational efforts. Those efforts cover economic and environmental benefits of hydrogen and fuel cell energy technologies.

– FCHEA’s Primary Activities
While striving to be a safe, innovative, reliable, and clean energy technologies provider, FCHEA also focuses on achieving its mission through 3 primary activities. They are:
– Educating society, policy leaders, and key opinion on the environmental and economic benefits of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies.
– Providing a voice to the industry in shaping codes, regulations, as well as standards to reach commercial growth and at the same time ensuring the satisfaction and safety of consumers are at the highest level.
– Leading advocacy in national scale to encourage government at all levels to support hydrogen and fuel cell technology development, research, and also deployment.

– FCHEA’s Movements
Carrying out those activities, FCHEA operates some working committees and groups to make collaboration with their members on specific technologies and initiatives to provide a help to the industry that is thriving.

FCHEA was firstly founded in November 2010. This organization was formed as the merger of 2 former associations that represent various sectors in the industry. Those two former associations are the National Hydrogen Association and US Fuel Cell Council.

Since it was formed in 2010, the organization has established into a financially secure and also stable association that is able to bring real value to the association’s members. Besides, the association has also organized so many activities and movements to cater the needs of its members, the industry, and the energy technology improvement in the world.

Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association of FCHEA has lots of missions that deserve appreciation and support. Its effort to advance the technology of hydrogen and fuel cell energy has been so awesome. Hopefully this association could enact even better movements in the years to come.

You may have heard many times about fuel cell and hydrogen energy association in the US. You may also have heard about the association’s mission, vision, advocacy, and movements in the US. But, how about in Canada? Is there any similar association?

– Introducing CHFCA
The answer to the question of whether there is such association in Canada is yes! Canada also has fuel cell and hydrogen energy association that carries similar missions with the ones in the US. The name of the association is Canadian Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association or CHFCA.

It is a national and non-profit organization that provides a support to Canadian governments, corporations, and also educational institutions that demonstrate, develop, and deploy hydrogen and fuel cell services and products in Canada.

The association’s mission is championing the sector of Canadian hydrogen and fell cell as well as strengthening the leadership and also accelerating the commercialization of the services and products owned by its members in both Canada and abroad.

The members of this association work on fuel cell and hydrogen technologies, system supply, components, integration, fueling systems, financial and engineering services, and fuel storage.

This association was established in January 2009. This association was formed when CHA or Canadian Hydrogen Association and H2FCC or Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Cana were merged together. That merger then united all members of those former groups to make an influential and vibrant association. This association is headquartered in British Columbia. CHFCA is now the representation of stakeholders’ majority in Canada’s fuel cell and hydrogen sector.

– CHFCA’s Events
While realizing those missions and values, CHFCA also keeps on organizing various events for its members. There have been lots of influential events held since years ago. Here they are: 6th International Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Conference in December 2017, 2017 Fuel Cell Seminar and Energy Exposition in November 2017, Hydrogen + Fuel Cells NORTH AMERICA at SOLARPOWER International in September 2017, China International Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Conference and Exhibition in August 2017, CHBC Spring Summit, Member Day and Workshops at ACT Expot in May 2016, and many more events.

Canada has its own fuel cell and hydrogen energy association whose missions, activities, and movements are just as great and influential as other similar associations from other countries. There must have been lots of parties benefiting from the presence of this association. Similarly, fuel cell and hydrogen energy technology industries must have got lots of advantages from this association.

The American Gas Association or which is usually abbreviated into AGA was founded in 1918. This is a trade organization which represents over than 200 natural gas companies. Approximately 92% of the 70 million natural gas customers in America will get the demand for the gas from the AGA members. The explanation about the history and the organization’s membership of the American Gas Association which will be explained above may give the answer for the question of ‘what is the American Gas Association?’’.

– The History of the AGA
What is the American Gas Association? AGA or the American Gas Association was formed in June 1918. This association was the consolidation of the American Gas Institute and the National Commercial Gas Association. Both organizations aimed to serve the interests of many companies which are pertained to manufactured gas.

In January 1919, the American Gas Association released a particular publication pertaining to the natural gas industries. This publication gives much information about the activities, trends, and strategies on how to develop gas companies.

Then, in 1925, the American Gas Association decided to form some laboratories in Cleveland. Many years later, it expanded the laboratories to Los Angeles. Those laboratories aimed to develop technologies to make the gas equipment and appliances more energy efficient and consumer-friendly as well.
However, such laboratory activities were ended in 1997 since the new CSA group which is formerly the Canadian Standards Association took over them. Currently, this group has been operating the U.S. certification-type program from the laboratories. In the year of 2016, the American Gas Association pointed a new chairman of the organization namely Pierce Norton.

– The Organization’s Membership
According to the American Gas Association’s vice president of corporate affairs namely Jay Copan, the members of this organization send natural gases to for about 52 million businesses, homes, and industrial facilities. Pertaining to the membership of the American Gas Association, there is an amazing fact behind it.

Joy Copan stated that the AGA’s researches found out that there are many individuals, instead of institutions, who have more than 50 percent of utility shares. Further, the owners of the utility shares are mostly at the age of 65 or more.

Those are a brief explanation regarding the history and the organization’s membership of the American Gas Association. The explanation may give answers over the question of ‘what is the American Gas Association?’’.