Speaker: Theo Walthie, Business Group President, Hydrocarbons and Energy, and Ethylene, Oxide/Ethylene Glycol
Event: Brazosport College Talk
Location: Brazosport, TX
Date: 02/10/2004

A good afternoon to everyone, and a special welcome to Beth Lowery, General Motors Vice President of Environment and Energy and Chief Environmental Officer, who is joining us this afternoon.  I would also like to welcome the representatives of the Texas Energy Center, which if your not aware, is a cluster of research organizations, energy companies and leading universities working together to produce vital energy solutions for the United States and the world. — Again, welcome. 

Just this morning, I participated in an exciting event. We officially powered-up our joint fuel cells project with General Motors at Dow's Oyster Creek operations. I watched as Spencer Abraham, the U.S. Secretary of Energy, pulled the lever to begin converting hydrogen into electricity using a GM fuel cell.

I also had the opportunity to reflect on what it all meant - to our company, the communities in which we operate and our world. I'd like to share some of those thoughts with you here.
Our fuel cell project is the first opportunity to evaluate the broad industrial use of fuel cell technology. It is also testimony to the synergy that can be achieved when people from different industries and disciplines team up to achieve mutually beneficial objectives.

When the switch made contact this morning, we jump-started efforts to further reduce our dependence on fossil fuels... to mainstream the use of alternative energy sources... and to develop tangible options to the Climate Change challenge. We stepped forward on our journey toward sustainable development, with a project that will deliver economic, environmental and social benefits.

At Dow, hydrogen is a normal by-product of several of our manufacturing processes.  As of this morning, we are flowing some of that hydrogen through a fuel cell to generate electricity. With the size of this project, Dow could eventually use up to 35 megawatts of electricity from 400 fuel cells-that's equal to the electricity use of 25,000 homes!

This innovation could potentially pave the way for using hydrogen fuel cells in large industrial power systems - benefiting industry while reducing fossil fuel usage and decreasing emissions of nitrogen oxide. With key learnings from this project, GM seeks to reduce the cost and improve the durability of fuel cells, so it can put them in cars by the end of the decade.  Also, the distributed power generation option would become economical at a small scale.

Will the world and our reliance on fossil fuels change overnight? — Of course not.  But we have taken important first steps in major energy intensity reductions, and we have seen firsthand how investing in the future - together - can generate positive results.

Over the past several years, Dow has seen good outcomes from teaming up with others in creative ways:

• Aligning our internal research more closely with government and academic efforts
• Providing leadership in industry trade associations
• And participating in cross-industry ventures such as that with GM

It is also crucial that we work together with our employees, communities and officials at the local level. The Brazosport area is pivotal for Dow.

Employees and community members here understand the impact of the high and volatile natural gas prices we have been dealing with in North America and what a relief fuel-cell innovation could bring in the medium to long term.

This fuel cell project is evidence that Dow is not standing idly-by.  We are working overtime to diversify our energy supply and become an ever-smaller consumer of natural gas.  The change won't come overnight, but we are serious about our investment in alternative sources of energy.  The newly announced LNG terminal here is another example of how we are actively dealing with our energy challenges.

But my parting message to you is that we can't do it alone. We are in this together — companies, employees and communities.  And there are things that you can do as individuals to help.

For instance:

• Help us urge Congress to take action to resolve our nation's natural gas crisis.  This country needs a long-term, plentiful and diverse supply of reasonably priced energy.
• Reduce your energy use. Conserve and be more efficient energy consumers - at home, at work, everywhere!
• Encourage efforts to reduce the growth in natural gas demand in the electric power sector, increase energy efficiency and conservation, and open up new sources of domestic supply.
• Support efforts here with the fuel cell project and the construction of the LNG terminal.

Please, take the time to take one or two of these steps. If each of us does something, we can generate positive results for the U.S. chemical industry, Dow, this area and its people.  As the saying goes, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

This morning, I saw the start of a powerful project. This afternoon, I see a group of people that can spark powerful, positive change.  We can have a sustainable future… I look forward to collaboration with our industrial colleagues and with you - to make our shared future the best it can be!

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