It may take a few more years before fuel-cell-powered lift trucks are standard equipment in distribution centers, but one young visionary sees a possible shortcut.

There’s a new book out called The Dumbest Generation. Author Mark Bauerlein argues that today’s school-age kids may be technologically savvy about using gadgetry, but the software that counts—their brains—is getting mushy by participating in online social websites rather than exercising in a more book-centered, debate-fostering environment.

Oh, to whom can we look to save corporate America from the advance of these young zombies?

How about Ian Fuller? I met this young Wright State University sophomore at the 2008 Ohio Fuel Cell Coalition Symposium held in May in Akron, Ohio. In the midst of this two-day program of presentations by energy companies, politicians, and technology providers, all of whom painted an optimistic view of the future for the application of fuel cell technology in consumer and industrial applications, there was a display of science project posters created by kids belonging to the same generation Mr. Bauerline decries.

Ian Fuller’s poster won first prize. Its title? “A Novel Method of Hydrogen Production and Storage for Fuel Cell Applications.”

Knowing what a challenge the hydrogen infrastructure posed to the widespread application of fuel cells in industrial applications—namely lift trucks—I had to talk to this kid. And I did. In fact he caught me studying his poster and started the conversation. He asked if he could answer any questions. A zombie wouldn’t do that, so I knew I was safe.

Yeah, what does your poster mean? Basically, it’s a way to use sodium borahydride combined with a solid acid as a replacement for liquid hydrogen in fuel cell applications. Simple.

Ian says by using sodium borohydride in a solution of NaOH and water, you can produce a good supply of hydrogen. The pipelines required for large scale transportation of compressed hydrogen would take years to build and require a funding source—namely, you and me. Along with this, the safety issues of storing large volumes of compressed hydrogen gas on site can not be ignored. By using the sodium borohydride, Ian argues, you negate both of these problems associated with compressed hydrogen gas.

He also says sodium borohydride is fairly cheap—$28 per kilogram. If 1 kilogram (kg) gets you 40-50 work hours, it might be comparable to compressed gas, he says. This format is also easier and more efficient to store, Ian says. How much do you need? He says it’s scalable. A 10 kg fuel rod could last tens of hours on a typical fuel cell stack. For smaller applications you could have a 1 kg fuel rod.

Ian filed his first patent on this process and is already talking to people about commercialization. I told him I might introduce him to you, dear readers, and so I am. If you’d like to chat with him about his developing vision his e-mail address is fuller.33@wright.edu. Let me know what you learn.