Fort Collins, Colorado.

   "The United States is buzzing with the anticipation of a hydrogen economy," says John O'M Bockris, world-renowned early advocate of a solar hydrogen economy and founder of the International Society for Hydrogen Energy. 

   Bockris, who envisioned a floating platform filled with photovoltaic (PV) cells in 1961,  imagined the radiation of electrochemical cells in contact with sea water as a method for converting solar light to hydrogen.  Pipelines from the platform to the shore would distribute the hydrogen produced to be used as fuel. 

   Now 78 and emeritus distinguished professor at Texas A & M University, Bockris will address the World Congress for a Hydrogen Economy on, "The Hydrogen Economy and the Future."   He will look 50 years ahead to share his vision of a purely renewable solar society with hydrogen as the transfer medium and zero dependence on fossil and nuclear fuels. 

   He offers a possible example:  "A gas station in Texas, where there is plenty of sun, will feature a 1000 foot high mast containing enough solar collectors to produce the energy needed to manufacture the station's product--hydrogen--on-site.  Electrolysis will take place in underground tanks once used for gasoline.  The hydrogen gas will then be compressed and cars will line up for refueling. 

   "We can still call it a gas station because it will be dispensing hydrogen gas.  In places like Minnesota where there is less sun, hydrogen gas may need to be produced off-site and brought to gas stations," Bockris explains. 

   In 1971 Bockris published the first article on hydrogen in a referred journal, Environment, and the following year he and a colleague co-authored, A Hydrogen Economy-An Ultimate Economy?, mapping the development of hydrogen as a fuel and using the term "hydrogen economy" for the first time. 

   The Solar Hydrogen Alternative published by Bockris in 1975, offered the first large scale alternative to a nuclear future and became a foundation document for much that was to follow.  In Energy Options, 1978, Bockris incorporated the work of colleague R.M. Zweig who made hydrogen economically feasible by incorporating pollution costs when comparing hydrogen and fossil fuels.  Bockris refers to this concept as "real economics." 

   In the 1980s, Bockris was instrumental in establishing a National Science Foundation Hydrogen Center at Texas A & M where the focus was research on water splitting using solar and other types of radiation. 

   In 1998 at the International Hydrogen Energy conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Bockris described the feasibility of collecting sufficient solar light in any town where it was feasible to construct tall masts to support solar cells oriented toward the sun. He suggested a process to produce methanol, a fuel that can be used as a carrier for 
hydrogen in electric cars. 

   Bockris is one among leading scientists, engineers, economists, and political figures who will present papers, work toward forming partnerships, and develop plans for making a transition to hydrogen as a viable alternative to fossil fuels at the World Congress for a hydrogen Economy in Denver, Colorado, November 1-4, 2001.  To be held at the Denver International Airport Holiday Inn Convention Center, the World Congress will also feature demonstrations and exhibits open to the public.