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New Wyoming company explores next generation of energy while assisting existing energy methods.

Harnesses wind power to create hydrogen from excess CBM water.

July 27, 2006

Ladd Energy based in Wilson, Wyoming is exploring the feasibility of producing high-quality hydrogen using power generated from wind turbines and using excess, unwanted water from coal-bed methane (CBM) wells. Ted Ladd, the company's founder and managing partner, said "we are combining several already-proven technologies into a process that will put Wyoming in the driver's seat of the Hydrogen Economy." The company has won a grant from the National Science Foundation through its Phase 1 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, as well as a grant from Wyoming s Phase 0 SBIR program, to determine if and when this process will be commercially viable. 

The process would simultaneously solve several problems with wind energy: unpredictable intermittency, unfavorable pricing from utilities, and lack of transmission capacity. The hydrogen generators would only operate when the wind blows; they do not rely on transmission lines at all. When transmission is eventually built through Wyoming, for instance via the Frontier Line, these same sites will employ a hydrogen fuel cell to insert stable, clean, renewable energy into the national grid at full-market price. Ladd is exploring additional sites near Wyoming s interstate highways so that its facilities can eventually offer hydrogen to fuelcell vehicles. 

Regulators in Wyoming and neighboring states are concerned about the environmental impacts of water that is generated through coal-bed methane (CBM) operations. "Most CBM operators are desperate to get rid of their water. We are more than happy to take it and put it to good use, not only improving environmental quality but also making a profit at the same time" Ladd said. Through the process of electrolysis, this water is literally eliminated. The only emission is oxygen. Some of the salts in CBM water may even be beneficial to the electrolytic process. 

To secure Wyoming s future, we must create small knowledge-based businesses, use the momentum of the current boom to find the next generation of energy, and conserve our environmental legacy. We hope that this process will do all of this at the same time. 

For more information, see www.LaddEnergy.com

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Source:  Ladd Energy, Inc.

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