Funding Key to Growing High Tech Transportation Industry in the South

ATLANTA, GA (June 29, 2005) --- The Southern Fuel Cell Coalition (SFCC), a regional initiative of the Atlanta-based Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE), is now organizing and funding transportation-related fuel cell projects originating in the southeastern United States under a recently executed contract with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). The projects and activities of the SFCC will promote interstate cooperation and regional job growth to meet the needs of a market that is expected to grow to $7.3 billion within the next 15 years.

The endorsements of Georgia Senators Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson, together with Alabama Senator Richard Shelby, were critical in securing the funding, which will support the development of a professional fuel cell network, the start-up of three southern fuel cell demonstration projects in 2005, and a national fuel cell conference in 2006. If funded in the 2006 Appropriations bill, a minimum of five additional fuel cell demonstration projects will be seeded.

SFCC membership includes southern universities, corporations, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies working in partnership to identify and act upon opportunities to bring hydrogen and fuel cell technologies to market. As a result, the SFCC anticipates increased national visibility for the south's fuel cell capacities and resources, as well as increased funding opportunities for the ongoing development of the industry. "By focusing on regional cooperation and collaboration, the Southern Fuel Cell Coalition will ensure that the South plays a leading role in the national pursuit of a hydrogen economy," said Dr. Tom Fuller, director of the Georgia Tech Center for Innovative Fuel Cell and Battery Technologies.


About CTE
CTE is a nonprofit, member-based organization that develops advanced transportation technologies and clean transportation solutions. Since 1993, CTE (www.cte.tv) has managed funding for more than $80 million in research, development, and demonstration projects in the advanced transportation industry throughout the southeastern U.S. CTE works with the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to help brings its members' innovative products and ideas to the transportation marketplace.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Bruce A. Burney
Director of Development
The Center for Transportation and the Environment
1401 Peachtree Street, Suite 440
Atlanta, Georgia 30309
678-244-4159
bruce@cte.tv