The National Hydrogen Association and South Carolina Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Alliance will host Formula Zero’s Student Edition Championship race at the 20th Anniversary NHA Conference and Hydrogen Expo in Columbia, South Carolina, March 30 – April 3, 2009. Formula Zero is an international championship race series among six university teams from Europe and the United States. Teams compete in the design, building, and racing of karts powered entirely by zero-emission hydrogen fuel cells.

“We are thrilled to host the NHA Conference and the Formula Zero race next March,” said Shannon Baxter-Clemmons, Executive Director of the South Carolina Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Alliance (SCHFCA). “The City of Columbia and our state have recognized the importance of hydrogen and fuel cells in solving energy, climate and economic issues, and we’re excited for them to play a role in how our initiatives develop.”

Based in the Netherlands, Formula Zero was founded in 2003 by designers Godert van Hardenbroek and Eelco Rietveld. “The South Carolina location promises to draw fans of racing, which is an excellent way to capture the public’s interest and imagination in regard to this vital energy technology,” said Godert van Hardenbroek, managing director of Formula Zero.

The Formula Zero race will take place on Saturday and Sunday, March 28 and 29, 2009 as a kickoff to the week-long, 20th Anniversary NHA Conference and Hydrogen Expo.  This race is scheduled to be the third of four races in Formula Zero’s inaugural Student Edition Championship Series. The first race is in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, August 22-23, 2008. Other races are scheduled for Zaragoza, Spain and London, England.

The six university teams are: Lawrence Technological University (metropolitan Detroit, Michigan); EuplaTech (Zaragoza, Spain); University of Technology Delft (Delft, The Netherlands); Imperial College (London, England); University of California Los Angeles; and Groep T Leuven Engineering School (Leuven, Belgium).

“Engaging students in technology innovation through Formula Zero is a crucial part of growing the hydrogen industry” said NHA President Jeff Serfass, “We’re proud to host this first of a kind competition in conjunction with the largest hydrogen conference in the U.S. so the student teams can showcase their designs and share hydrogen technologies with the public.”

About the South Carolina Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Alliance

The SCHFCA is a public-private collaboration for cooperative and coordinated utilization of resources in the state used to advance the commercialization of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. Founded in January 2006, the SCHFCA was created by six core organizations devoted to hydrogen and fuel cell initiatives: The Center for Hydrogen Research, Clemson University, Savannah River National Laboratory, the S.C. Department of Commerce, S.C. State University and the University of South Carolina.

About Formula Zero

Formula Zero is a first-of-its-kind hydrogen fuel cell racing series. Founded in 2003, Formula Zero launches its official racing history in August 2008 with the first of three annual Student Edition Championship Races in which university teams design, build and race hydrogen –fueled, zeroemission karts on a specially designed mobile track taken to cities around the world. The second phase of Formula Zero, the City Edition Championships, is scheduled to commence in 2011 and features scaled-up, faster, open-wheel racers from university and automotive manufacturer teams on city streets in key worldwide metropolitan markets. The final phase of Formula Zero, the fullscale Circuit Edition, is scheduled to commence in 2015, and features professional racing comparable in every way to present-day formula–style racing, with the notable difference that the vehicles are 100% hydrogen-powered and the entire race is 100% zero emissions, with all energy used supplied by renewable resources.

About the National Hydrogen Association

The National Hydrogen Association is a membership organization founded by a group of ten industry, university, research, and small business members in 1989. Today the NHA is the largest hydrogen association in the world with over 100 corporate members, including representatives from the automobile industry; the fuel cell industry; aerospace; federal, state, and local government; energy providers; and many other industry stakeholders. The NHA serves as a catalyst for information exchange and cooperative projects and provides the setting for mutual support among industry, government, and research/academic organizations.