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Energy Minister Visits Loughborough
Posted on 18/09/2008
Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks was in Loughborough on Monday to see world class fuel cell company Intelligent Energy with local MP Andy Reed.
Malcolm Hunt Wicks (born 1 July 1947, Hatfield, Hertfordshire) is Labour member of Parliament for Croydon North and Minister of State for Energy at the newly created Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.
A fuel cell is an electrochemical conversion device. It produces electricity from fuel (on the anode side) and an oxidant (on the cathode side), which react in the presence of an electrolyte. The reactants flow into the cell, and the reaction products flow out of it, while the electrolyte remains within it. Fuel cells can operate virtually continuously as long as the necessary flows are maintained.
Fuel cells are different from electrochemical cell batteries in that they consume reactant, which must be replenished, whereas batteries store electrical energy chemically in a closed system. Additionally, while the electrodes within a battery react and change as a battery is charged or discharged, a fuel cells electrodes are catalytic and relatively stable
Whilst at Loughborough University he visited the Energy Technology Institute and the PV lab as well and seeing in action the fuel cell.
The Loughborough MP said:
"Loughborough is at the centre of an energy cluster developing in the area. As recent international pressures on energy security and price have shown getting our energy products right for the 21st century are vital. Along with global climate change these are major policy areas where Loughborough is making a massive contribution.”
"We have world leading companies like Intelligent Energy on our doorstep - years ahead of others in hydrogen fuel cells. As we saw at the £1bn Energy Institute we will be pushing the boundaries of research and development to bring these technologies to market."
"The Geo-politics of what happened in Georgia recently along with OPEC dictating oil prices means we have to redouble our efforts to replace our reliance on our UK based oil and gas. The mix will come from renewables and new technologies like fuel cells. We should all be proud that here in Loughborough we have a University leading the way and hosting such companies and the prestigious Energy Technology Institute"