Don’t feel bad if the name Intelligent Energy doesn’t ring a bell. In fact, company vice president Hazen Burford says IE’s low profile stems from the belief that timing is everything. Once the technology Burford and his employees are developing becomes commercially viable, the 49-year-old hopes the world will know all about what his company does.

Intelligent Energy describes itself as “an energy solutions company, with proprietary PEM fuel cell and pure hydrogen generation technology at its core.” For those without engineering degrees, that means IE is working toward finding new ways to create diverse primary energy options.

“We’re looking at ways of not being solely dependent on oil, not solely dependent on solar or nuclear power or other energy sources,” says Burford, who feels that one of the biggest mistakes America made was to not diversify its energy supply much sooner. “We’re trying to develop infrastructure that, no matter how you get your energy, you put it into your device or appliance and off you go.”

Science rhetoric can sound like a foreign language, but Burford explains in simple terms how one of IE’s goals would have a direct impact on Long Beach. “We’re looking into de-sulfurizing fuels and cleaning up fuels,” he says, “specifically marine fuels used in tankers that come into Long Beach and Los Angeles harbors. These ships concentrate in a very small area, so we’ve been looking at how to clean up the fuels so that, as these tankers come in, they can switch over to a much cleaner fuel and have less of an environmental impact.”

The strongest example of what IE produces can be found in a motorcycle called the ENV. The pre-production bike operates using a power system called the CORE, a package that produces electricity using a fuel cell. These devices use hydrogen as a fuel and generate electricity with a minimal amount of pure water as a by-product. With a top speed of 50 miles per hour, the ENV’s two greatest assets are its low environmental impact and the transportability of the CORE. The motorcycle creates no noise and features recyclable parts, while the CORE is a removable apparatus that can be used to power other devices that require electricity. One common misconception is that the company is creating motorcycles, but Burford is quick to point out that the ENV and the CORE should be viewed as floor models for a much larger concept.

“We came up with several ways to showcase the technology to demonstrate how fuel cells could offer things that the incumbent technologies can’t,” Burford says. “We did that, but what do you do with it? We narrowed it down to what most people would want, which is a common energy carrier that’s portable. This is different than electricity in that you can store it. The next thing might be a back-up power system for your house and maybe to heat and light your cabin on the lake. Those are the concepts, and we have to make business out of it.”

Supply and demand is one of the first mantras drilled into the head of every business student across the country. But the emerging technology that the people behind Intelligent Energy are developing takes a different approach.

“Our main objective is to drive consumer demand to accept electric vehicles driven by fuel cells and then the consumer will demand the infrastructure required to support the products,” Burford explains. “That line from ‘Field of Dreams,’ – ‘Build it and they will come.’ That doesn’t work in this business.”

Intelligent Energy is a worldwide company with representation in Long Beach, New Mexico, England, South Africa, and Japan. Currently, IE’s local office has 18 full-time employees and seven part-timers who work in a warehouse designed to practice what the company preaches. Before moving into the space, the vice president looked at ways to combine financial and environmental responsibility. This led to the installation of solar panels on the roof, which allows the company to create more energy than needed and pass along this excess into a solar grid to help power other companies.

Burford, a La Crescenta resident, says he makes the hour-long commute because of the relationship his company has with this city.

“We’re here for a good reason,” Burford says. “Long Beach is very friendly for new enterprises. They’ve provided us with significant incentives to stay and grow here, and it’s much appreciated. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be driving from as far as I do.”