GREENE – The Raymond Corporation is taking a hands-on role in an effort to launch an energy technology that could change the world. In 2007, the company applied a grant from NYSERDA to put a fueling station for hydrogen fuel cells on the ground floor of its main building in Greene, after which they began producing fuel cell capable forklifts. Since then, Raymond has been contracted by over a dozen companies to produce fuel cell capable machines.

Experimentation with hydrogen fuel cells dates back to the early half of the 19th Century, but only recently has the movement to produce fuel cell capable cars begun to gather real steam. Hydrogen fuel cells are batteries that utilize hydrogen and water to produce heat. Hydrogen and water interact within the fuel cell to produce a chemical reaction that emits heat energy and clean drinkable water, making it a safe and green energy source. At the moment due to the difficulties producing and transporting the light weight molecule h2, the price of fuel cell produced energy is higher than energy produced by burning fossil fuels. With inevitable rise in the price of fossil fuel and technological advancements, the disparity in the cost effectiveness between the two energy sources will not last for much longer.