Inel Takes Lead In Alternative Fuels

The Idaho National Engineering Laboratory has quietly become a leader in pioneering and testing alternative-fuel and electric vehicles.

The facility was established for nuclear research but in the 1980s started applying its engineering talents to battery research. The result is a long list of transportation ideas, some of which may be on the market within two years.

Christine Ervin, assistant U.S. energy secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy, looked over Idaho’s program this week. She said she was impressed by INEL’s work testing the electric vehicles that California must have on the road by 1998.

She said the site’s effort to find alternative fuels from farm products could provide new markets for farmers facing cuts in subsidies.

The INEL already administers the Energy Department’s electric vehicle program with an annual budget of $2 million. Dana O’Hara, program manager in Washington, D.C., said that includes field tests, and analysis of numerous battery types.

The INEL also leads the way in a liquefied natural gas program, now being tested on some of the site’s bus fleet. Idaho won the $500,000 project because of the long commute required to get from eastern Idaho communities such as Idaho Falls and Pocatello to INEL, said David Rodgers, alternativefuels team leader in Washington.

Department of Energy spokesman Brad Bugger said the alternatives to nuclear technology and waste processing will be more important to the INEL’s long-term survival than most people realize.

“We are more than (nuclear) waste,” he said. “It’s important that people understand the other good work we’re doing.”