Inventor ready to put hydrogen fuel system in vehicles

MONMOUTH - The unassuming look of the metal building in Monmouth is

much like the founder of the company housed within. To look at the

exterior of the research and development home of Akvo Energy America,

one would not dream of its potential to turn the world upside down.

Nine months ago, James Hunt, 37, was a student at Carl Sandburg

College and founder and president of the school's Inventors Club.

Now, as Hunt's hydrogen fuel generation system, intended to power

internal combustion engines, power plants and desalinization

facilities, nears reality, he is on the verge of joining an elite

club of people, such as Bill Gates, who can change the lives of

millions.

The interior of the research and development center for Akvo -

Esperanto for water - looks like a warehouse, although offices and a

test room have been built since the company moved here in October.

Hunt, wearing blue jeans, a work shirt, jacket, tennis shoes and a

baseball cap, is almost giddy at the events he set in motion such a

short time ago.

"We went from concept to company in nine months," he said.

After separating operations from CSC, the company donated $25,000 to

endow a scholarship for future members of the Inventors Club.

Hunt believes his invention, first reported in The Register-Mail in

April, has the potential to solve the nation's dependence on fossil

fuels, specifically foreign oil. That's good news for anyone who

watched as local gasoline prices soared 22 cents a gallon overnight

earlier this week.

The process involves hydrogen extraction from water via plasmatic

induction, a form of electrolysis. In a video shot in the infant

company's test room, a small amount of electricity is combined with

ordinary drinking water to release the hydrogen. Water from a

reservoir tank is hit with electricity. A bright flash of light

occurs each time the electricity strikes. Within seconds, the

hydrogen released causes the water in the reaction tube to bubble c a

few small bubbles at first, then a steady bubbling throughout the tube.

Once the system is installed into the 1995 Civic, a 1980 fire truck,

a pickup, a 1976 Corvette Stingray, a Hummer, or any of the other

vehicles in Akvo's R&D facility, the hydrogen gas will be ported

into engines, providing fuel. The system also uses reserve batteries

and solar cells. Non-radioactive carbon rods are part of the system

that Hunt said will power a vehicle for 1 years on one fill up.

Emissions from the vehicles are water vapor.

"Zero (pollutant) emissions for every transportation vehicle within

the country," Hunt said.

The young company has a lobbyist in Washington, D.C., and what Hunt

calls "a couple of pending contracts." He said two major

universities are testing his process, although he said he can not

reveal the names of the schools.

"One that's close and one on the (West) Coast," he said with the

hint of a smile and an apology for not being able to say more.

How did the company come this far, this fast?

"We got sponsored by an individual angel investor, who gave us

enough money to do all this," Hunt said. "Then we started to get

contract work. ... We've already talked to GM. They're ready to

license us right now. We're just doing additional research."

Two shifts of employees - six on day, six on nights - work around the

clock at the Monmouth facility. Akvo has a total of 15 employees.

"I've been working so hard, I haven't left this building but for

eight hours for the past week," Hunt said.

The firm, which includes all four original members of the CSC

Inventors Club, has the look of the early Apple and Microsoft

operations. A large area in the middle of the building is surrounded

by a blue tarp, forming a temporary break room. There are two couches

and a number of chairs inside, as well as computer monitors and five

PlayStations networked together, so employees can relax whenever they

feel like it.

"They all make the same amount of money," Hunt said. "We have

full insurance."

For now, even once the vehicles are converted, they can't be driven

on streets and highways. First, the process must be certified by the

Environmental Protection Agency.

"You have to use third-party labs," Hunt said. "We use two

public institutions to verify that (the process works and is safe)

and back it up."

An employee backs the sparkling '95 Civic into the area under the

blue tarp.

"This is running off of gasoline," Hunt said. "It won't be in

a week or two."

As to the future ...

"We eventually want to move back to Galesburg and try to convince

(GREDA) to give us the Maytag building. It's a big enough building.

If we get a manufacturing plant in Galesburg, we'd have more than

1,000 (employees) for production," he said. "We'd have more than

one plant, plus distribution."

Building in Logistics Park-Galesburg is another possibility.

He said that could happen in as little as 18 months, although Hunt

said it could take longer.

SIDEBAR

Alternative energy source answers old problems

Hydrogen conversion system non-polluting, designer says

MONMOUTH - James Hunt, who was a jet mechanic in the Navy for eight

years, was just taking classes at Carl Sandburg College to transfer

to Western Illinois University when he came up with a practical way

to extract hydrogen from water. Events at Akvo Energy America have

moved at light speed since.

Hunt, the company's president/owner, is an example of dreaming no

small dreams. A 1980 fire truck, which he has dedicated to his

wife's grandfather, Bud Wilkins, is his pride and joy.

"This truck is special," he said, not just because of its

namesake, a former Galesburg Fire Department deputy chief, who

retired in ... 1980. "We're going to turn it into a mobile power

plant, a desalination unit."

Hunt said the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina is a good example of how

his non-polluting, inexhaustible power source could help, in addition

to reducing the world's reliance on fossil fuels and cutting down

greenhouse gas emissions.

"They needed power, they needed fresh water," Hunt said of New

Orleans residents. He said his hydrogen fuel generation system could

have addressed those needs.

"Using our process on a larger basis, you could terraform the

Earth," he said, "turn the desert into a prairie. Think about the

Third World countries we can get power to," providing fresh water to

villages and farms. "There's so many applications this has started

up."

When The Register-Mail first reported Hunt's invention in April,

there were some naysayers. Hunt knows there are still people who will

not believe his process can work.

He listened intently as one e-mail sent to the newspaper in April,

following publication of the article, was read to him. The writer

wrote, in part, "The 'create' hydrogen at the 'point of use'

is, from an energy-efficiency standpoint, nonsense."

Hunt said the science cited by the writer is sound.

"You can't generate hydrogen. We use a small amount of electricity

to release hydrogen from water," he said. "We don't generate, we

convert. ... The newest system I'm working on, it will triple that

output."

Another e-mail called Hunt's invention "old news." The writer

compared it to a hydrogen/carbon monoxide blend known as "bingo

fuel," popular in Europe during World War II.

"This method of fuel gas production is not carbon neutral, as the

carbon monoxide portion of the gas is toxic, and when burned it

produces carbon dioxide," according to the writer of the e-mail.

"This causes greenhouse gases, just like any other hydrocarbon

fuel."

Hunt again said the science cited was sound but not valid in this case.

"We already took that into consideration a long time ago," Hunt

said. "He hasn't seen my system. He thinks we let that gas go, but

there's an entire additional process that doesn't allow the carbon

dioxide to be released.

"There's a lot of hydrogen systems out there. They all produce

chemical wastes in the end or release gases," Hunt said, also

pointing out that hydrogen fuel cell systems are incredibly dangerous.

Hunt did not want to discuss how oil companies may feel about his

process but said, "Oil does a lot for this world. I'm not trying

to stop oil production. We need it for plastics."

But there's no doubt he totally believes in his hydrogen generation

system. Pointing to a small generator, he said, "That will power my

house. I won't pay any heating bills this year."

The generator will use the hydrogen conversion process.

Hunt said it would take more than 32 years to convert all vehicles

now in existence to the new fuel system, but "any new vehicle could

have our system. They're spending billions every year at GM and we

did this at the college for less than $22,000."

Dave Kniss, one of Akvo's employees, as well as Hunt's father-in-

law, said being part of the new company is "very exciting. I just

look for new surprises every day. It's really come to fruition,

hasn't it?"

For those who don't think Hunt's process will ever be feasible for

everyday use, he looks at it philosophically.

"The world will decide if they want to use something that's

feasible and works," Hunt said. "It has the merit to at least be

considered. The truth of it is, we want to get it out there."