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Adaptive Materials powers military robot
NEWS / EDITORIAL the downtime associated with the charging and changing of lead-acid batteries. ‘Productivity drives purchasing decisions in the material handling industry,’ says Andy Marsh, president/CEO of Plug Power. ‘Integrating Maxwell’s ultracapacitors into our fuel cell systems enhances the value of our GenDrive product for our customers. Ultracapacitors’ burst power capabilities for lifting, as well as regenerative braking for energy recuperation and longer operating life, make them an ideal complement to hydrogen fuel cells in this application.’ Contact: Plug Power Inc, Latham, New York, USA. Tel: +1 518 782 7700, www.plugpower.com Or contact: Maxwell Technologies Inc, San Diego, California, USA. +1 858 503 3300, www.maxwell.com
Adaptive Materials powers military robot
M
ichigan-based Adaptive Materials Inc recently completed successful testing of its hybrid solid oxide fuel cell system for small ground robots, a key milestone in the company’s two-year project. With support from the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa), AMI has proven that its fuel cell system can power small robots across various terrains while the robot conducts surveillance and other mission-critical operations. The proof-of-concept testing, which took place at the independent Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas, included testing an iRobotPackBot, powered by an AMI system, across a number of military-relevant terrains. The PackBot was powered by a hybrid system that combined Adaptive Materials’ SOFC system with a lithium battery to deliver unparalleled performance and duration. ‘Adaptive Materials’ solid oxide fuel cell system helps achieve maximum potential for small robots,’ explains Michelle Crumm, the firm’s chief business officer. ‘Lightweight, convenient and powered by globally available propane, Adaptive Materials fuel cells improve the overall functionality and duration of a robot in missioncritical settings.’ Today the US Army and other armed services have deployed thousands of unmanned systems to disarm improvised explosive devices from a safe distance. The increased runtime possible with an AMI hybrid fuel cell system could open the door for additional missions. The company is working to deliver a fuel cell system for small ground robots that will power the vehicle for more than
November 2008
12 h at a time, to give the robots longer endurance during missions. These robots also have the potential to assist first-responders and others in disaster zones to search debris and complete tasks that would put people in harm’s way. Contact: Adaptive Materials Inc, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. Tel: +1 734 302 7632, www.adaptivematerials.com
small stationary
Callux residential project under way in Germany
T
he German federal ministry for transport, construction and urban development (BMVBS) has launched its Callux ‘lighthouse’ project, to help prepare the route to market for both manufacturers of fuel cell residential combined heat and power (CHP) systems and energy suppliers. Callux – one of the major elements in the German National Innovation Programme for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NIP) – is a large field trial that will see more than 800 demonstration units in operation, providing power and heat for single-family houses. The project aims to strengthen and expand the industrial base for stationary fuel cells in Germany in order to improve the cost, reliability and operational safety of small CHP systems for individual homes and apartment blocks. The task of coordinating the NIP will be managed by the National Organization for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NOW GmbH; FCB, April 2008). This includes the evaluation and selection of projects to be supported, linking R&D with demonstration, setting up international cooperative ventures, and communication and knowledge management. NOW GmbH is thus the central contact for the entire hydrogen and fuel cell sector in Germany. Callux comprises a consortium from across Germany, including heating manufacturers (Baxi Innotech, Vaillant and Viessmann, as well as Hexis in Switzerland), energy suppliers (EnBW, E.on/Ruhrgas, EWE, MVV Energie and VNG Verbundnetz Gas), and the ZSW Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research in Stuttgart. The total funding for Callux amounts to 86 million, with BMVBS contributing around 40 million. Overall, BMVBS will provide up to 500 million over the next 10 years to promote hydrogen and fuel cell technology through the NIP, with industrial partners required to commit at least the same amount. The National Innovation Programme for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology was set up to promote these technologies in the fields of
EDITORIAL
I
t may just be one of those peculiarities of the English language, but I sometimes wonder why pretty much every other language (that uses the Roman alphabet) explicitly refers to combustion or burning in their term for ‘fuel cell’, whereas that link is more equivocal in English. For example, in Romance languages one has ‘pile à combustible’ (French), ‘pilas de combustible’ (Spanish), ‘celle a combustibile’ (Italian) and so on, which clearly refer to the presence of combustible materials. In the Germanic languages you have ‘brennstoffzelle’ (German), ‘brændselscelle’ (Danish) and ‘bränsleceller’ (Swedish), for example, where the first part of the word in each case refers to burning. In the Oxford English Dictionary there are various meanings of the word ‘fuel’, including ‘material for burning, combustible matter as used in fires etc.’ But more specific senses of the word relate to food as energy, and nuclear material to support a chain reaction, neither of which involve combustion. The most relevant sense is a ‘material which reacts with an oxidizer to produce thrust (in a rocket engine) or electricity (in a fuel cell)’. So fuel cells are specifically mentioned in the OED’s definition of ‘fuel’, without referring to combustion. Surprisingly, the OED gives the earliest published reference to the term ‘fuel cell’ as 1922, in the Transactions of the Faraday Society. This is much later than one would expect, since Christian Fridrich Schoenbein is credited with discovering the fuel cell effect in 1838, and Sir William Grove with inventing the first fuel cell in 1845. Schoenbein referred to the effect (in the English-language Philosophical Magazine, in 1839) as ‘voltaic polarization’, while Grove called his device a ‘gas voltaic battery’. [Ulf Bossel’s book, The Birth of the Fuel Cell, 1835–1845, has much more on the history of these developments.]
O
ne last thought on the subject of words. In his closing keynote at the recent Fuel Cells Science & Technology 2008 conference in Copenhagen [conference report, page 11], Søren Linderoth noted that the ‘fuel cell constant’ is ‘5–10 years’, which struck me as an amusing variation on ‘fuel cells will be commercial in 10 years’ – which seems to have survived more or less unscathed in my decade in this sector...
Steve Barrett
Fuel Cells Bulletin
3
Adaptive Materials powers military robot
M
ichigan-based Adaptive Materials Inc recently completed successful testing of its hybrid solid oxide fuel cell system for small ground robots, a key milestone in the company’s two-year project. With support from the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa), AMI has proven that its fuel cell system can power small robots across various terrains while the robot conducts surveillance and other mission-critical operations. The proof-of-concept testing, which took place at the independent Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas, included testing an iRobotPackBot, powered by an AMI system, across a number of military-relevant terrains. The PackBot was powered by a hybrid system that combined Adaptive Materials’ SOFC system with a lithium battery to deliver unparalleled performance and duration. ‘Adaptive Materials’ solid oxide fuel cell system helps achieve maximum potential for small robots,’ explains Michelle Crumm, the firm’s chief business officer. ‘Lightweight, convenient and powered by globally available propane, Adaptive Materials fuel cells improve the overall functionality and duration of a robot in missioncritical settings.’ Today the US Army and other armed services have deployed thousands of unmanned systems to disarm improvised explosive devices from a safe distance. The increased runtime possible with an AMI hybrid fuel cell system could open the door for additional missions. The company is working to deliver a fuel cell system for small ground robots that will power the vehicle for more than
November 2008
12 h at a time, to give the robots longer endurance during missions. These robots also have the potential to assist first-responders and others in disaster zones to search debris and complete tasks that would put people in harm’s way. Contact: Adaptive Materials Inc, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. Tel: +1 734 302 7632, www.adaptivematerials.com
small stationary
Callux residential project under way in Germany
T
he German federal ministry for transport, construction and urban development (BMVBS) has launched its Callux ‘lighthouse’ project, to help prepare the route to market for both manufacturers of fuel cell residential combined heat and power (CHP) systems and energy suppliers. Callux – one of the major elements in the German National Innovation Programme for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NIP) – is a large field trial that will see more than 800 demonstration units in operation, providing power and heat for single-family houses. The project aims to strengthen and expand the industrial base for stationary fuel cells in Germany in order to improve the cost, reliability and operational safety of small CHP systems for individual homes and apartment blocks. The task of coordinating the NIP will be managed by the National Organization for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NOW GmbH; FCB, April 2008). This includes the evaluation and selection of projects to be supported, linking R&D with demonstration, setting up international cooperative ventures, and communication and knowledge management. NOW GmbH is thus the central contact for the entire hydrogen and fuel cell sector in Germany. Callux comprises a consortium from across Germany, including heating manufacturers (Baxi Innotech, Vaillant and Viessmann, as well as Hexis in Switzerland), energy suppliers (EnBW, E.on/Ruhrgas, EWE, MVV Energie and VNG Verbundnetz Gas), and the ZSW Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research in Stuttgart. The total funding for Callux amounts to 86 million, with BMVBS contributing around 40 million. Overall, BMVBS will provide up to 500 million over the next 10 years to promote hydrogen and fuel cell technology through the NIP, with industrial partners required to commit at least the same amount. The National Innovation Programme for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology was set up to promote these technologies in the fields of
EDITORIAL
I
t may just be one of those peculiarities of the English language, but I sometimes wonder why pretty much every other language (that uses the Roman alphabet) explicitly refers to combustion or burning in their term for ‘fuel cell’, whereas that link is more equivocal in English. For example, in Romance languages one has ‘pile à combustible’ (French), ‘pilas de combustible’ (Spanish), ‘celle a combustibile’ (Italian) and so on, which clearly refer to the presence of combustible materials. In the Germanic languages you have ‘brennstoffzelle’ (German), ‘brændselscelle’ (Danish) and ‘bränsleceller’ (Swedish), for example, where the first part of the word in each case refers to burning. In the Oxford English Dictionary there are various meanings of the word ‘fuel’, including ‘material for burning, combustible matter as used in fires etc.’ But more specific senses of the word relate to food as energy, and nuclear material to support a chain reaction, neither of which involve combustion. The most relevant sense is a ‘material which reacts with an oxidizer to produce thrust (in a rocket engine) or electricity (in a fuel cell)’. So fuel cells are specifically mentioned in the OED’s definition of ‘fuel’, without referring to combustion. Surprisingly, the OED gives the earliest published reference to the term ‘fuel cell’ as 1922, in the Transactions of the Faraday Society. This is much later than one would expect, since Christian Fridrich Schoenbein is credited with discovering the fuel cell effect in 1838, and Sir William Grove with inventing the first fuel cell in 1845. Schoenbein referred to the effect (in the English-language Philosophical Magazine, in 1839) as ‘voltaic polarization’, while Grove called his device a ‘gas voltaic battery’. [Ulf Bossel’s book, The Birth of the Fuel Cell, 1835–1845, has much more on the history of these developments.]
O
ne last thought on the subject of words. In his closing keynote at the recent Fuel Cells Science & Technology 2008 conference in Copenhagen [conference report, page 11], Søren Linderoth noted that the ‘fuel cell constant’ is ‘5–10 years’, which struck me as an amusing variation on ‘fuel cells will be commercial in 10 years’ – which seems to have survived more or less unscathed in my decade in this sector...
Steve Barrett
Fuel Cells Bulletin
3