CORNING, N.Y., Oct. 7 -- Corning Inc. and ENrG Inc., a Buffalo maker of ceramic components for solid oxide fuel cell systems, announced today they have received a National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Advanced Technology Program award to develop solid oxide fuel cell technology. The $8 million award is part of a three-year, $16 million cooperative agreement funded by NIST, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, Corning and ENrG. The funds will be used by Corning and ENrG to develop scalable, robust, planar solid oxide fuel cell technology. Solid oxide fuel cells generate power not by burning fuel for heat, but by drawing oxygen ions through a solid membrane to react with hydrogen from a fuel. Electricity and heat are produced by this flow of ions and the chemical reactions involved, and the only waste products are water and, unless pure hydrogen is used as the fuel, carbon dioxide. Corning said its solid oxide fuel cell technology is based on innovations in thin solid electrolyte technology and is suited for power generation in the 200-plus kilowatt range in stationary primary power and cogeneration applications. "Soaring energy prices, air pollution concerns and advances in materials technology have spurred renewed interest in solid oxide fuel cells," said Paul Marx, director of Corning's Fuel Cell Business Development program. "The benefits of this technology have not been realized yet, primarily due to lack of robust scalability to high power levels. We believe solid oxide fuel cell technology can drive a new industry in electricity-generating appliances, which combine the efficiency of large-scale generating plants with the smaller-scale size requirements needed for on-site generation applications." For more information, visit: www.corning.com