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Lost in Time for 30 years - Alternate Energy
by Mark Hedtke, founder, Hedtke Institute
What kind of background is missing from alternate energy history concerning the technologies that have been suppressed from public knowledge? There are many people who know and I encourage you to also share your experience. Quite literally, almost an entire generation has passed while this technology has been there. How many of you remember the bright vision we were all given of the future with flying cars, home automation and domestic robotics? Already by the year, 1978 I was beginning to have my doubts we would see any progress. However, that year a bright incident crossed my path that gave me hope.
I was in Anchorage, Alaska and I was excited at the prospect of moving with my family to Kailua on Oahu, Hawaii, USA. What prompted this excitement besides moving to paradise? Well, considering the ample sunshine where we were moving, the prospect of a new line of work in Oahu with a cadillac of Solar companies, I really wanted to know my stuff. So I was in the process of doing research and gleaning as much information as I could concerning solar energy and alternate energy sources. So with a flurry of letter writing to experts in the field, reading whatever I could get my hands on about alternate energy, I happened upon a discovery. This was an epiphany, an energy solution that literally jumped off the page of the article I was reading. The reference referred to was for the Hydrogen Institute aka Hydrogen Homestead [later aka Billings tech library]. As I dug deeper I also discovered a magazine article about Billings' work, so I poured all over it, finally found an address and immediately wrote to him. Fortunately, in between then and now the internet has indexed much of what I found then, thus providing mention of this article; http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1978aes.....8.3 823B
Here is the actual reference to the article:
http://www.buckminster.info/Biblio/About/Abou t-Articles-1978-Jan-June.htm .
Using keywords I found the exact magazine reference: "Hydrogen Homestead Demonstrates Fuel of the Future Stepler Popular Science " 20/25-6 New York NY USA .
At one time a few years ago, when I was no longer able to locate the letters or the brochure I had kept, I had my doubts that I would be able to recapture the information. I suppose it was the excitement of that time and the looming fuel crisis that fortunately etched a permanent space in my memory, erasing any doubts I may have had. In my research I was in contact with a number of engineers, in Europe as well.
I am here to verify the information that was shared with me, that at the Hydrogen Homestead, a real working unit not only was built, it had been refined to the point that is was ready for commercial sales application. I was sent a brochure that included all of the following information. I was assured that the systems for the homestead were efficient and enabled 100% self sufficiency of all the homestead’s needs. I was informed that the Hydrogen units for the homestead were ready to be sent to places like Saudi and would be used to power homes there. I actually sent a letter requesting a order for a Hydrogen unit.
I also want to paint the picture as best I am able of the homestead and the even more amazing feature that it’s design included. I have provided a link here from the Billings Homestead site. First off, the hydrogen unit itself was made up of four basic components. The first unit basically was a roof mounted series of photo voltaics that linked to basically a junction box containing the second component, a power inverter (DC to AC) including a line to battery storage (alternative system). This second component linked to a switch on the third component, that held the classic high school chemistry water splitting function, connecting to the fourth component, the spherical storage tank. All of these were connected by either electric lines or the various valves and fuel lines necessary to route the fuel to such items as the homestead furnace, the hot water heater, the kitchen stove and also provide the fuel to the fuel nozzle that would connect to an outlet to refuel your hydrogen powered vehicle. That meant if you owned a home and vehicles that have been outfitted with the modifications necessary to operate with hydrogen, you were self sufficient. Although I am certain that there was the capability of directly charging a rack of storage batteries for electricity usage, I don't recall exactly the details concerning that part of what I saw. As I said, in order to obtain that self sufficiency the layout of the unit included a roof mounted photo voltaic array wired to the inverter box then to the water splitting unit. The emphasis was definitely the recovery of hydrogen into the storage tank, which seemed to be performed primarily during daylight hours. What was so exciting to me that was presented, was a refined unit that was designed to be used to fill vehicles from the outside dispenser at the homestead.
What had me sold was that not only could you be self sufficient in your own home, but you also would not be encumbered by being stuck there. That meant the whole system was flexible where you could make modifications and still use after market equipment. I also sent a letter requesting an order for the engine bolt on modification as well. Quite literally this modification enabled you to still utilize you vehicle operating in normal gasoline engine mode, however with just a flip of a switch, you would be running on hydrogen. With the vehicle engine modifications, the hope was there to free oneself from the dependence of gasoline, permitting wiser choice and greater vehicle energy applications. The engine modification was described as a relatively simple bolt on assembly and introduction of a metal hydride material inside of a metal container similar to a propane tank, mounted inside the trunk area of your vehicle. Apparently the tank was specially designed so that the heated exhaust from your engine passed through the tank containing the metal hydride. The process and engineering behind the design permitted the hot exhaust gases to conduct a heat transfer to the metal hydride in the container, releasing the hydrogen into the hydrogen fuel lines to the bolt on engine conversion attached to the carburetor. Once there was a steady release of enough hydrogen you could flip the switch over to running on just the hydrogen. The exhaust now would contain zero hazardous emissions with only water vapor being expelled. When you returned home to the homestead you attached the nozzle of the hydrogen filler hose at the side of your house to replenish the hydrogen in the vehicle’s metal hydride tanks.
Some will call this a fanciful exercise in imagination, yet I attest that this is what I read and saw. Additionally, the literature claimed that they had successfully modified with good results, the following vehicles that were currently at the time being evaluated in select areas. A medium sized farm tractor, a full size city bus, a semi truck, a Cadillac and a postal residential delivery vehicle. After a number of letters sent to them (that I never received a reply), I finally received a return to sender, with no know company. What do you think happened there? I never found out. The only proof that I can provide is my word, as the fragments of the brochure and letters have long since been misplaced, lost or possibly eaten bt voracious Hawaiian termites. While some will call this a convenient story, it doesn't end there as Dr. Billings has continued his pursuit of practical energy solutions as you can see at his website: Dr. Roger E. Billings. So from what I know of the truth of the Hydrogen homestead, and all the other vehicle solutions, I put my word as the truth, offered by Mark Hedtke, founder of the Hedtke Institute July 18, 2008.
Let me remind you that all of this occurred in 1978, thirty years ago, bringing us to the question what caused this level of technology to languish during this time? During my research, I also discovered first hand the protectionism manifested by the energy companies of that day. Just one of the many examples I became aware of is this example. I decided to invest in Tyco, one of the few publicly traded stocks on the market at that time that was directly involved in research and development on photo voltiacs. They also owned Simplex wire and Grinnel Sprinkler systems. I received some of their literature on production breakthrus and that they were also ready in 1978 to go into commercial production of photo voltiacs because of the new method of manufacturing silicon for photo voltaic cells. The new method melted the silicon then extruded it at a thickness needed for the cell rather than the slow painstaking process of growing cells and then cutting them losing almost 400% of the material in the process. This new method was cheaper and with less loss made the cost of making these cells appreciably lower. However, because 51% of the research and development portion of the company was owned by Mobile Oil, the vastly improved production method was shelved. The reason that was given, it still wasn;t economically feasible to go into production until higher fuel prices made it more lucrative of an opportunity! Let's see, the price of a barrel of oil was well below $30 compared to how much today? So, when people broach the subject as to whether or not there has been an energy conspiracy, it is stories like mine that tell me that there is evidence out there in my opinion, that there is a long term plan to use up all the resources elsewhere across the globe first, so that at some later date the untapped reserves here in continental America will be left. Eliminating the competition is a sound business practice, certainly it has always proven to be successful. Perhaps that is why NO new refineries have been built in America for almost 30 years. Is it a conspiracy though, probably not, but these tactics do come at a price for the American economy and our society.
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