Murphy in Wallingford: US must match China on hydrogen tech

U.S. Sen.Chris Murphy talks with John Zagaja III, senior vice president of operations at Wallingford-based Proton OnSite, and Kathy Ayers, the company’s vice president of research and development, outside the company’s headquarters at one of Proton OnSite’s refueling stations for hydrogen-powered vehicles. less U.S. Sen.Chris Murphy talks with John Zagaja III, senior vice president of operations at Wallingford-based Proton OnSite, and Kathy Ayers, the company’s vice president of research and development, outside the ... more Photo: Luther Turmelle / Hearst Connecticut Media Photo: Luther Turmelle / Hearst Connecticut Media Image 1 of / 6 Caption Close Murphy in Wallingford: US must match China on hydrogen tech 1 / 6 Back to Gallery

WALLINGFORD — U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said Thursday the nation is in a race with the China in the energy sector it can not afford to lose.

Murphy said the Chinese are working with energy technology companies in a variety of areas, including developing new ways to make hydrogen that will be used in such things as power storage and vehicles that run on the fuel.

“The real danger here is that China gets into this business and essentially creates so much scale that it puts American companies out of business,” he said Thursday after touring Proton OnSite, which makes equipment that produces hydrogen. “We have to understand what the Chinese are doing. The Chinese are doing direct government-to-business partnerships on this kind of new technology and if we don’t do the same, the Chinese are going to own all of these new technologies.”

Murphy last visited the company’s Technology Drive headquarters before Proton OnSite was acquired by Nel, a Norwegian company, for $70 million in February 2017.

To be fair, Proton OnSite’s Technology isn’t really new. But the company is fighting to get a stronger foothold in the United States; about 60 percent of its business is with overseas clients, according to Blake Carter, direcetor of quality and HSE for Nel.

The company’s technology uses electrolyzers to create hydrogen gas. The process takes water and splits it into oxygen and hydrogen.

One of the key differences between Proton’s technology and the traditional way of making hydrogen is the electrolyzer process makes no pollution. Once the hydrogen is extracted from the water, Carter said the oxygen is released into the air.

The traditional method of hydrogen production results in carbon dioxide being released into the air.

Kathy Ayers, Proton OnSite’s vice president of research and development, said that by creating an alternative to the traditional method of making hydrogen and using the fuel to make gains in the motor vehicle market, “we’re trying to displace fossil fuels.”

luther.turmelle@hearstmediact.com