FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 12, 2006
For more information contact:

Eugene (Gene) Watson, Program Manager
Wyoming SBIR/STTR Initiative
Phone: 307-742-7162, 307-760-0456 cell

Ladd Energy
Principal: Ted Ladd
Wilson, Wyoming 83014
Phone: 307.413.3333
Web site: www.laddenergy.com

Ladd Energy wins SBIR Phase I award for work with renewable energy

CHEYENNE – Ladd Energy of Wilson, Wyoming has been awarded a Phase I grant through the National Science Foundation and the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.

The company will use the $100,000 grant to explore the feasibility of producing high-quality hydrogen using power generated from wind turbines and excess, unwanted water from coal-bed methane (CBM) wells.

A hydrogen generator inputs water and produces hydrogen and oxygen. Ladd Energy’s process would initially bottle the hydrogen to sell it to local companies, especially in the electricity generation industry. This method bypasses traditional problems with wind power: unpredictable intermittency and unavailable transmission. Eventually, the hydrogen would be stored in an adjacent fuel cell to insert electricity into the lines when the wind is not blowing in order to supply clean, consistent power. Ladd Energy is exploring additional sites near Wyoming’s interstate highways so that its facilities might also eventually offer hydrogen to fuel-cell vehicles.

The research will focus on using the water that accompanies CBM gas as it comes out of the well. CBM operators, land owners, and environmental regulators are concerned over how to dispose of this excess water. Ted Ladd, the company's founder and managing partner, said, “For once in our history, we have too much water. This process would put it to good use.”

Ladd concluded, “Wyoming needs to create knowledge-based businesses, to use the momentum of the current boom to find the next generation of energy production, and to conserve our environmental legacy. We hope that this process will do all of this at the same time.”

Ladd Energy received a SBIR Phase 0 Grant awarded through the Wyoming SBIR/STIR Initiative (WSSI) in September to prepare his Phase I proposal. The SBIR Phase 0 Program helps Wyoming companies develop competitive Phase 1 proposals. WSSI is funded by the Wyoming Business Council and gives out $120,000 in Phase 0 grants each year.

The mission of the Wyoming Business Council is to facilitate the economic growth of Wyoming. For more information, please visit the Web site at www.wyomingbusiness.org.

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