About Us
Background
Hydrogen Discoveries, Inc. is a hydrogen pipeline start-up company that is based in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The company, which was incorporated in April 2005, acquired the exclusive rights to the jointly developed polymer/metal hydrogen pipeline technology in a licensing agreement with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory that was signed in October 2006.
Mission
The mission of Hydrogen Discoveries is to utilize the polymer/metal hydrogen pipeline technology with other complementary technologies, such as fuel cells, wind and solar power, etc., to power the vehicles of the world with hydrogen from clean sources of energy.
Organization
Greg Blencoe
Chief Executive Officer
Greg Blencoe graduated with high honors from the Indiana University (Bloomington) School of Business with a major in finance. In his senior year, he participated in an overseas study program in Singapore that included an internship at Dun & Bradstreet. After college, he held various administrative positions while living in Denver, Chicago, and Los Angeles. During that time, he wrote and self-published four editions of a book that explains to managers how to maximize employee morale, motivation, and productivity. The last edition, titled The Ten Commandments for Managers, received a book cover endorsement from Daniel DiMicco, the CEO of Nucor, one of the eleven Fortune 500 companies featured in Jim Collins’ best-selling book, Good to Great. As the Chief Executive Officer, he oversees the entire organization and handles all of the business activities for the company.
Dr. James G. Blencoe
Chief Scientist
Dr. James G. Blencoe was a research thermochemist at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) prior to his retirement on February 1, 2007. Dr. Blencoe received a Ph.D. degree in geology from Stanford University in 1974, and was an Assistant Professor of Geochemistry at The Pennsylvania State University before coming to ORNL in 1983. At ORNL, Dr. Blencoe was the lead principal investigator on several Department of Energy (DOE)-funded projects involving researchers from the federal government, universities, and private companies. His group of employees, including Drs. Michael T. Naney and Simon L. Marshall (see below), worked together successfully for many years. During his career, Dr. Blencoe designed, operated, and maintained unique experimental devices/facilities similar to those that will be used by Hydrogen Discoveries. Thus, he has hands-on experience dealing with many specialized devices for determining the thermophysical properties and phase relations of pure and mixed solids, liquids, and gases. This line of scientific inquiry requires extensive practical knowledge of laboratory techniques required to control and measure temperature, pressure, and chemical composition with ultra-high accuracy and precision. At Hydrogen Discoveries, he is the Chief Scientist who oversees all company R&D activities.
Dr. Michael T. Naney
Senior Research Scientist
Dr. Michael T. Naney is a research thermochemist who has worked as an employee or consultant for ORNL since 1977. He has decades of experience in the design and use of specialized equipment for conducting experiments with high-pressure hydrogen. In the 1980s, he was the lead scientist in the successful effort to design and build a unique, hydrogen-service, internally heated pressure vessel at ORNL. The vessel was used heavily by Dr. Blencoe in a multidisciplinary project to measure the rates of hydrogen diffusion through steels and polymers currently under consideration as potential materials of construction for pipelines that would transmit and distribute hydrogen gas over long distances. Dr. Naney received his Ph.D. from Stanford University. At Hydrogen Discoveries, he is a Senior Research Scientist who will build specialized equipment for conducting experiments, and who will manage all of the company’s laboratory activities.
Dr. Simon L. Marshall
Senior Research Scientist
Dr. Simon L. Marshall was a consultant at ORNL for over ten years. He is a physical chemist and applied mathematician with extensive experience in both basic and applied research. His initial research training was in experimental electrochemistry, but most of his subsequent work has involved development of mathematical models for a variety of practically-important systems and phenomena. R&D activities to which he has contributed since 1996 include an Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)-funded project on the thermodynamic modeling of high-temperature aqueous electrolytes, establishment of experimental facilities for study of gas hydrates under simulated seafloor conditions, and a DOE/BES-funded project concerned with the thermodynamics and phase relations of mixed-volatile fluids at elevated temperatures and pressures. Dr. Marshall received his Ph.D. in Theoretical Chemistry from the University of Ottawa. At Hydrogen Discoveries, he is a Senior Research Scientist who specializes in theoretical scientific research and mathematical modeling.
Mary Ellen Blencoe
Executive Vice President
Mary Ellen Blencoe has 40 years of administrative experience in all levels of education, from pre-school through post-graduate, at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, Stanford University, Penn State University, and two public school systems. She graduated from Indiana University. As Executive Vice President for Hydrogen Discoveries, she is in charge of all administrative functions of the company and works with the CEO and Chief Scientist on various projects.
The company is also very proud to have Paul Katz of Baker Botts as our patent attorney and Troy Foster of Wilson Sonsini as our corporate attorney.