New process for producing hydrogen fuel wins top competition award
Business owner hopes to build facility in Carroll County

Business owner Kurt Koehler took first place in a local business plan competition for a process that will make it easier to produce, store and transport hydrogen gas as an alternative fuel - an invention that could have a significant impact, given the skyrocketing cost of gasoline.

Koehler presented the process for producing hydrogen gas by adding water to an aluminum alloy to a panel of judges Feb. 8 at the Brandywine Complex, in Monticello. Koehler, whose company Al- GalCo plans to market the product, said the invention has several applications, including in-home power generators, replacing lithium batteries, and even providing an alternative to gasoline and diesel fuel.

"North-central Indiana is the perfect place to implement this idea, because the process requires that the aluminum be recharged when the process is complete. Because the area has several wind generators, we would like to have a recharging center in Carroll County to utilize this resource," said Koehler, who is working with the Rural Electric Membership Corporation (REMC) on the idea.

Koehler competed against several other inventors from White, Carroll and Cass counties, and in taking the top prize won $1,000 and a shot at $25,000 in a 14-county regional competition May 2.

"I think we won because we spent two-and-a-half years making this a very simple process," Koehler said. "And with gas prices over $3 per gallon, the timing is just perfect."

Robbie Coffing of Monticello won the $500 secondplace prize with an idea for rolled steel plant-support systems, and Delphi resident Thomas George took third place and $250 with an idea for a card that tracks customer habits. Both will also have a shot in the final competition.

The competition was designed as an "elevator pitch," meaning contestants had two minutes to convince the judges their idea is viable.

Winners from this group will compete against winners from five other competitions held last month throughout northcentral Indiana. They have until March 17 to draft an executive summary of their prospective businesses, which will help judges narrow the field to the top 10 inventors. Those contestants will present their ideas at a final summit May 2 at the Brandywine Complex, where the public will be invited to attend and see what types of businesses may soon be popping up in their hometowns.

The competitions are part of Incubicity, a regional initiative to boost economic development in north central Indiana. Incubicity is a project of the Indiana Venture Center funded by a WIRED (Workforce Innovations in Regional Economic Development) grant.

The competition was open to anyone 18 or older who lives or owns a business in Benton, Carroll, Cass, Clinton, Fountain, Fulton, Howard, Miami, Montgomery, Tippecanoe, Tipton, Wabash, Warren and White counties. For more information on Incubicity, go to www.incubicity.com.