A retired Phoenix man wants to revolutionize the way America uses energy and now that American interest in alternative energy sources is at its highest, he believes the time has come for the “fuel of the future.”
Russell Voorhees’ interest in hydrogen goes back about 30 years when he was a patent attorney in lead technologies at Honeywell International Inc. Through his position he was privy to a number of inventions and innovations. When he was introduced to hydrogen power for automobiles, he was truly inspired.
“Hydrogen is the ultimate clean fuel,” Voorhees says. “It’s one of the most available sources of energy on the planet and just about every combustion engine on the road today can be converted over to it.”
Voorhees was so motivated that he began to do extensive research and what he found got him thinking.
“Fueling our nation with hydrogen can be safer than fueling with fossil fuels.  Hydrogen actually cleans the air while being burned,” Voorhees says. “Hydrogen, when produced in high volume, can be less expensive than gasoline… (and) is pollution free.”
So Voorhees began to connect with some of most knowledgeable professionals in the field to put together a plan to power America with hydrogen.
Voorhees spoke with contacts he had made through the years at Honeywell as well as new acquaintances who shared an interest in exploring hydrogen. The result led to the formation of Global Hydrogen Ltd in 2003. 
Voorhees says he created Global Hydrogen in recognition of the fact there were no other companies exploring alternative fuel for automobiles which operated separately from the oil business. In his mind, companies like General Motors and Ford Motors had no incentive to stray from fossil fuel and “business as usual” if their profits were still there.
“Businesses like these have a vested interest in maintaining the status-quo,” Voorhees says. “We wanted to create something disconnected from big oil.”    
So Global Hydrogen has begun to lay out its game plan.
One of the company’s main ideas is the five-state “hydrogen corridor,” which includes four hydrogen refueling stations in each state along connecting highways in Denver, New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada on through to Los Angeles.
Energy office: Too soon to tell if hydrogen is the answer
Voorhees says he wants Gov. Janet Napolitano “to take the lead on the five-state corridor and I’d like to have her pull together a dozen of the civic leaders so I can make the case to them instead of talking until I’m blue in the face to others, saying ‘Get behind this thing.’”
But the Department of Commerce Energy Office says it wants to take its time before Arizona jumps into making a decision about alternative energy sources.
“We recognize there are several other competitive ideas as far as alternative fuel vehicles are concerned. So is hydrogen the answer? It’s too soon to tell,” spokesman David Drennon says. “Hydrogen is one of several options that are not only being looked at by the state, but also the federal government.”  
Drennon says that Arizona recognizes the importance of alternative energy and will determine what is right when all the information is in. For now, he thinks “it’s exciting that we’re recognizing the need for alternative energy.”
But Voorhees wants to see action now.
He has stressed to the Governor’s Office that Arizona should be guiding the way in “hydrogen corridor” and urged them to look hard at sponsoring a dozen hydrogen fueling stations in the state. 
Each station costs $250,000, but Voorhees feels that the creation of more fueling stations will encourage consumers to buy hydrogen automobiles — Voorhees owns 12. Currently, there is one hydrogen fueling station in the Valley, located in downtown Phoenix.
“If Napolitano would take the lead instead of trying to throw a monkey wrench in the gears of the system, we would be ahead in this thing,” he says.
But Voorhees knows he has an uphill battle. Therefore he has familiarized himself with the political system.
“You know the lobbyists’ money can go a long way, especially here in Arizona,” Voorhees says. “I mean it isn’t easy. We’re taking on billions and billions of dollars worth of oil company money. But we’re going to do it and see this thing go through.
“I work day and night at it and scraped up a lot of money myself just because I hate to see this kind of a crooked system put a burden on our grandkids,” Voorhees says.
GOP chair is an ally
He has made some traction in the political realm and found an ally in Lyle Tuttle, chairman of the Maricopa County Republican Committee.
“I believe there is a future for (Voorhees’) ideas in Arizona,” Tuttle says. “I just returned from the Midwest where I paid $3.30 for gasoline that we import. It’s ludicrous.
“Why isn’t the use of hydrogen used to fuel automobiles? We keep polluting our skies and relying on foreign oil. America has the answers but chooses not to use them.”
Voorhees plans to release a book sometime in August. The preface was written by his wife Ruth, a retired school teacher who is equally concerned about alternative energy.
“What is our legacy going to be?” she says. “Something has to be done to leave the world a better place and we have to start this now.” 
In addition to Global Hydrogen, they are setting up the International Hydrogen Association, a 501-c3 nonprofit corporation.
They urge people who are interested to visit their Web sites at www.hydrogenarmy.org and www.globalhydrogen.org.
“I hope we will get more donations,” Voorhees says. “Because once the snowball starts running it will be awfully hard to stop.”