Sprint, a fuel cell company?

April 17, 2009 – 7:07 pm – No Comment

Sprint Nextel Corp. received a $7.3 million grant from the Economic Recovery Act to fund fuel cell technology.

Yes, this is Sprint the cellular carrier.

Sprint plans to use the grant to expand the number of its cell sites that use hydrogen fuel cells for backup power when local electric service is disrupted. Sprint will work with hydrogen fuel cell manufacturers, tank providers and hydrogen suppliers to extend the run time before refueling from 15 hours to 72 hours, which is important for emergencies and natural disasters, the release said. Hydrogen fuel cells are a cleaner alternative to diesel-powered back-up generators that have been used in the past.

Bob Azzi, Sprint’s senior vice president of network said that Sprint has been a leader in the development in fuel cell technolgy since 2005 and has deployed more than 250 hydrogen fuel cells in the Sprint network.

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