Question:
In your position as Technical Director of two different organizations, what are the most common questions or inquiries that you get from outside companies and people who contact you?

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Figure2	How dose a fuel cell work?

There're a lot of questions regarding fuel cells. People used to say, "Well, I understand that these things run on hydrogen, but where are you going to get the hydrogen?" I then tell them that it primarily comes from natural gas, but other hydrogen reforming technologies are being developed. Beyond that, people will become interested in the technology and they will ask, "Where can I get a product?" Some say, "Oh, I want one for my house." And all of a sudden they become very interested and want to pursue the technology, but they don't know exactly how to do that because nobody will sell them one right now. So there are lots of application questions such as what size would it be, what would it run on, or how much water do these things produce?Those kinds of detailed questions are from people trying to understand the technology and now peopleare basically waiting for commercialized product to enter the market place. I used to say that the one thing that the fuel cell industry needed more than anything else was a product, something people could actually buy. Coleman's Powermate product is either out or nearly out, IdaTech has a portable product that's either out or nearly out, PlugPower is getting closer to a commercial product for residential, and UTC Fuel Cells has announced a timeline for their product being out in the market place. All those are good signs; a product being available is something very important.