- Email: [email protected]
ITM Power plans flotation in UK
NEWS and deteriorate, creating the risk of hydrogen and air leaks. CRIEPI researchers solved this problem by adding a calcium-based inorganic oxide material to the ceramic, to inhibit the chemical reactions that would otherwise lead to deterioration. The result is an all-ceramic cell that can run at 1000°C and generate 1 W/cm2 – five times as much as a conventional cell. Moreover, the new fuel cell is expected to operate continuously for 2000 h (a 50-fold increase), because cracking due to the different thermal expansion coefficients of metals and ceramics is not a factor. Contact: Dr Takao Watanabe, Fuel Cell Group Leader, Central Research Institute of the Electric Power Industry (CRIEPI), Yokosuka Research Laboratory, Yokosuka, Japan. Tel: +81 468 562121, Email: [email protected], Web: criepi.denken.or.jp
USAF contract for Protonex portable soldier power
M
assachusetts-based Protonex Technology has received a $2.6m award from the US Air Force Research Laboratory for further development of an innovative power solution for individual soldiers on extended field missions. The technology is built on Protonex’s NGen™ Portable Power System, a durable, compact and lightweight power source that combines a PEM fuel cell power generation system with a chemical hydride hydrogen storage system. Protonex is partnered with New Jersey-based Millennium Cell, a major subcontractor in this program, which will provide its patented Hydrogen On Demand™ storage technology to Protonex under an existing joint development and licensing agreement [FCB, April]. Protonex has been working with the military since 2000 to develop long-duration power solutions for portable applications, and is in the process of commercializing a family of products in the 10–1000 We power range.
ITM Power plans flotation in UK
U
K-based fuel cell technology company ITM Power is planning to raise £15m (US$25m) through an initial public offering and listing on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in London. The money will be used to protect ITM’s patents, recruit more scientists and provide working capital. If ITM succeeds in floating it will be the first UK fuel cell company to go public. The Cambridge-based company was formed in June 2001 and is engaged in three parallel programs to develop prototypes, which will help to secure license agreements and joint venture projects. The programs are aimed at producing a flexible, ‘shock-resistant’ PEM fuel cell with a power output of 20 We by June 2005; development of a rigid, 250 We PEM fuel cell by December 2005; and developing an electrolyzer with an input power rating of 250 We by December 2005 and 500 We by June 2006. ITM’s technology is founded on what it says is a unique family of proprietary ion-conducting polymers, reported to be much cheaper than the fluoropolymers used to produce membranes in conventional PEM fuel cells. ITM has also developed a simplified fuel cell architecture to drastically reduce costs in mass production, and has patented a ‘one-step’ manufacturing process that allows a fuel cell or an entire stack to be made in a single process. The company believes its technology will enable it to produce fuel cells at under $100/ kWe, significantly lower than the current US Department of Energy estimate of $3000/kWe. It plans to develop fuel cell products initially to target applications in portable electronics and domestic appliances, and later expand to include applications in sectors such as transport. Contact: ITM Power, Cambridge, UK. Tel: +44 1780 740574, www.itm-power.com
Contact: Protonex Technology Corporation, Southborough, Massachusetts, USA. Tel: +1 508 490 9960, www.protonex.com
Ford FCV fleets, BP stations in California, Florida, Michigan
Or contact: Millennium Cell Inc, Eatontown, New Jersey, USA. Tel: +1 732 542 4000, www.millenniumcell.com
F
Or contact: Dr Thomas Reitz, Energy Storage & Thermal Sciences Branch, Propulsion Directorate (AFRL/PRPS), Air Force Research Laboratory, WrightPatterson AFB, Ohio, USA. Tel: +1 937 255 4275, Email: [email protected], www.pr.afrl.af.mil
June 2004
ord and BP have unveiled a major initiative in which the automaker intends to place up to 30 hydrogenpowered vehicles, with BP building a network of fueling stations to support them, in metropolitan Sacramento, Orlando and Detroit. The proposed
In Brief siGEN signs Plug Power distributor agreement, places orders Scottish-based siGEN has signed a non-exclusive, UK-wide distribution and field-support agreement with Plug Power in Latham, NY for its GenCore® direct hydrogen fuel cell product. siGEN will also offer its own premium UPS products incorporating GenCore. With the agreement, siGEN has placed an order for two GenCore systems; one for the Unst Partnership project in the Shetland Isles, and a second system for a newly awarded contract from the Tees Valley Hydrogen Project, for an installation on behalf of the Centre for Process Innovation and Renew Tees Valley. SiGEN offers complete fuel cell system integration services, including design, build and installation & commissioning. It distributes and services for several fuel cell system manufacturers, including US-based ReliOn (formerly Avista Labs), Voller Energy in the UK, and German-based Heliocentris. It also acts as a system integrator for the Ballard Nexa® fuel cell module for several prototype applications. Plug Power, meanwhile, has also recently signed international distributor agreements with Hidrener Hydrogen Energy Systems in Turkey and with IST Group in South Africa. UVic wins hydrogen station design contest The University of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada won the grand prize in the first Hydrogen Fueling Station Design Contest, announced by US energy secretary Spencer Abraham in a keynote address at the recent 15th Annual US Hydrogen Conference & Hydrogen Expo in Los Angeles. Seventeen teams from universities in the US and Canada participated in the competition, which was sponsored by the Department of Energy, the National Hydrogen Association (NHA), ChevronTexaco, Natural Resources Canada and Swagelok Company. The challenge was to consider five key areas in designing a hydrogen fueling station: technical specifications for hydrogen production, delivery and storage; environmental impact; safety issues; profitability; and education and marketing to build community awareness. The contest was highly competitive – each team received a score based on a possible total of 115 points, but the University of Victoria scored just 0.3 points more than runner-up Humboldt State University in California. The station designs included renewable and non-renewable hydrogen production technologies suitable for constructing a hydrogen fueling station by 2006. The NHA and DOE are soliciting ideas for the 2005 Hydrogen University Competition, called ‘H2U’. For more information or to submit a competition concept, go to: www.h2ucontest.org
Fuel Cells Bulletin
5
USAF contract for Protonex portable soldier power
M
assachusetts-based Protonex Technology has received a $2.6m award from the US Air Force Research Laboratory for further development of an innovative power solution for individual soldiers on extended field missions. The technology is built on Protonex’s NGen™ Portable Power System, a durable, compact and lightweight power source that combines a PEM fuel cell power generation system with a chemical hydride hydrogen storage system. Protonex is partnered with New Jersey-based Millennium Cell, a major subcontractor in this program, which will provide its patented Hydrogen On Demand™ storage technology to Protonex under an existing joint development and licensing agreement [FCB, April]. Protonex has been working with the military since 2000 to develop long-duration power solutions for portable applications, and is in the process of commercializing a family of products in the 10–1000 We power range.
ITM Power plans flotation in UK
U
K-based fuel cell technology company ITM Power is planning to raise £15m (US$25m) through an initial public offering and listing on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in London. The money will be used to protect ITM’s patents, recruit more scientists and provide working capital. If ITM succeeds in floating it will be the first UK fuel cell company to go public. The Cambridge-based company was formed in June 2001 and is engaged in three parallel programs to develop prototypes, which will help to secure license agreements and joint venture projects. The programs are aimed at producing a flexible, ‘shock-resistant’ PEM fuel cell with a power output of 20 We by June 2005; development of a rigid, 250 We PEM fuel cell by December 2005; and developing an electrolyzer with an input power rating of 250 We by December 2005 and 500 We by June 2006. ITM’s technology is founded on what it says is a unique family of proprietary ion-conducting polymers, reported to be much cheaper than the fluoropolymers used to produce membranes in conventional PEM fuel cells. ITM has also developed a simplified fuel cell architecture to drastically reduce costs in mass production, and has patented a ‘one-step’ manufacturing process that allows a fuel cell or an entire stack to be made in a single process. The company believes its technology will enable it to produce fuel cells at under $100/ kWe, significantly lower than the current US Department of Energy estimate of $3000/kWe. It plans to develop fuel cell products initially to target applications in portable electronics and domestic appliances, and later expand to include applications in sectors such as transport. Contact: ITM Power, Cambridge, UK. Tel: +44 1780 740574, www.itm-power.com
Contact: Protonex Technology Corporation, Southborough, Massachusetts, USA. Tel: +1 508 490 9960, www.protonex.com
Ford FCV fleets, BP stations in California, Florida, Michigan
Or contact: Millennium Cell Inc, Eatontown, New Jersey, USA. Tel: +1 732 542 4000, www.millenniumcell.com
F
Or contact: Dr Thomas Reitz, Energy Storage & Thermal Sciences Branch, Propulsion Directorate (AFRL/PRPS), Air Force Research Laboratory, WrightPatterson AFB, Ohio, USA. Tel: +1 937 255 4275, Email: [email protected], www.pr.afrl.af.mil
June 2004
ord and BP have unveiled a major initiative in which the automaker intends to place up to 30 hydrogenpowered vehicles, with BP building a network of fueling stations to support them, in metropolitan Sacramento, Orlando and Detroit. The proposed
In Brief siGEN signs Plug Power distributor agreement, places orders Scottish-based siGEN has signed a non-exclusive, UK-wide distribution and field-support agreement with Plug Power in Latham, NY for its GenCore® direct hydrogen fuel cell product. siGEN will also offer its own premium UPS products incorporating GenCore. With the agreement, siGEN has placed an order for two GenCore systems; one for the Unst Partnership project in the Shetland Isles, and a second system for a newly awarded contract from the Tees Valley Hydrogen Project, for an installation on behalf of the Centre for Process Innovation and Renew Tees Valley. SiGEN offers complete fuel cell system integration services, including design, build and installation & commissioning. It distributes and services for several fuel cell system manufacturers, including US-based ReliOn (formerly Avista Labs), Voller Energy in the UK, and German-based Heliocentris. It also acts as a system integrator for the Ballard Nexa® fuel cell module for several prototype applications. Plug Power, meanwhile, has also recently signed international distributor agreements with Hidrener Hydrogen Energy Systems in Turkey and with IST Group in South Africa. UVic wins hydrogen station design contest The University of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada won the grand prize in the first Hydrogen Fueling Station Design Contest, announced by US energy secretary Spencer Abraham in a keynote address at the recent 15th Annual US Hydrogen Conference & Hydrogen Expo in Los Angeles. Seventeen teams from universities in the US and Canada participated in the competition, which was sponsored by the Department of Energy, the National Hydrogen Association (NHA), ChevronTexaco, Natural Resources Canada and Swagelok Company. The challenge was to consider five key areas in designing a hydrogen fueling station: technical specifications for hydrogen production, delivery and storage; environmental impact; safety issues; profitability; and education and marketing to build community awareness. The contest was highly competitive – each team received a score based on a possible total of 115 points, but the University of Victoria scored just 0.3 points more than runner-up Humboldt State University in California. The station designs included renewable and non-renewable hydrogen production technologies suitable for constructing a hydrogen fueling station by 2006. The NHA and DOE are soliciting ideas for the 2005 Hydrogen University Competition, called ‘H2U’. For more information or to submit a competition concept, go to: www.h2ucontest.org
Fuel Cells Bulletin
5