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Allegheny Ludlum receives SOFC material contract
NEWS
Astris delivers first generator to AEC, buys out Czech affiliate
O
ntario-based alkaline fuel cell developer Astris Energi has delivered a 2.4 kWe model E8 AFC portable power generator to Alternate Energy Corporation and completed customer training. The delivery is the first under an agreement signed with AEC in May, which made AEC a value-added reseller for Astris’s AFC power generation products. AEC is currently testing the power pack. Subject to the performance evaluation of this first unit, AEC’s original purchase order calls for an additional five E8 units to be delivered in stages throughout 2005. Plans are under way to couple the E8 generator with AEC’s hydrogen technology, which produces hydrogen on demand [FCB, September 2003]. AEC’s technology utilizes readily available bio-compatible elements to produce hydrogen with a purity of 99.9% at a competitive cost. The resulting fuel cell power pack will be reliable and economical. The combined AEC-Astris power pack is aimed at the expanding markets for high-quality, clean power on an uninterrupted basis. These include stationary industrial and residential backup applications in data centers, telecom installations, hospitals, construction sites, emergency power support and recreational segments. AEC is now scheduling a series of demonstrations with organizations in these sectors, and anticipates initial shipments later in 2005. Astris’ E8 Generator [FCB, February 2004] is the latest in a series of power generators driven by the company’s AFC technology. Targeted at stationary applications, it contains two 1.2 kWe fuel cell stacks, has an electrical efficiency >50% and provides 48 Vdc at 50 A. It is the first generator powered by Astris’ Powerstack™ MC250 fuel cell modules. Jiri K. Nor, Astris Energi’s president/CEO, says that the success of the Astris-AEC project could drive product demand and advance production of the Powerstack MC250 from pilot- to full-scale production. In related news, at the end of January Astris completed the purchase of its Czech affiliate Astris sro, where its Powerstack pilot production line is based. Prior to the purchase, Astris owned 30% of the shares of Astris sro, with the remaining 70% owned by Macnor Corporation – also controlled by Jiri Nor, Astris’s president/CEO. ‘The purchase of Astris sro adds approximately C$2.2m (US$1.78m) to our assets, and completes a key phase of our business development plan,’ says finance VP, Anthony Durkacz.
March 2005
Since 1992, Astris sro has focused on R&D of AFC electrodes. The company owns a 1.5 acre (0.6 ha) site in Vlasim, Czech Republic with an 8000 ft2 (750 m2) manufacturing facility. Contact: Astris Energi Inc, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. Tel: +1 905 608 2000, www.astris.ca Or contact: Alternate Energy Corporation, Burlington, Ontario, Canada. Tel: +1 905 332 3110, www.cleanwatts.com
Allegheny Ludlum receives SOFC material contract
A
TI Allegheny Ludlum of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has been awarded a subcontract from the University of Pittsburgh, with support from the Department of Energy’s Solid State Energy Conversion Alliance (SECA) initiative, to develop specialty metallic materials for use in fuel cells intended for the power generation industry. The development contract aims to create critical interconnect materials for SOFCs. Interconnects provide an electrical current path as well as structure to the fuel cell, and must exhibit strength while resisting high temperatures in a variety of gaseous environments. Fuel cell interconnect materials represent one of two key material challenges to making SOFCs a reality for the power generation market, according to Wayne Surdoval, DOE’s SECA Coordinator.
Contact: ATI Allegheny Ludlum, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. Tel: +1 412 394 2800, www.alleghenytechnologies.com
AIM flotation for Voller
I
n the UK, Voller Energy Group, the holding company of portable fuel cell manufacturer Voller Energy Ltd, made its debut on London’s Alternative Investment Market on 1 February, with a placement of 13.5m new ordinary shares. At the placing price of £0.74 (US$1.42), the group had a market capitalization of £17m ($32.7m) on admission. The share placement raised £10m ($19.2m) before expenses, which will be used by Voller Energy primarily to finance the development and marketing of the group’s existing and new products, and to satisfy the consideration for the acquisition of certain assets of a Germanbased company and finance the development of reformer technology, as well as to provide working capital. The listing will enable Voller Energy
In Brief Low-cost DMFC membrane from Toagosei Tokyo-based Toagosei Company has developed a low-cost, high-performance electrolytic membrane for DMFCs. Made from polyolefin with a multiporous structure, the new membrane costs one-half to one-third as much as membranes made from conventional fluororesin materials, according to the Nikkei Business Daily. The lower price will facilitate efforts to develop fuel cells for notebook computers and cell phones. The new membrane is tens of microns thick and has demonstrated the ability to withstand more than 4000 h of continuous operation. According to Toagosei, the new membrane also reduces methanol crossover to as little as a quarter of that of conventional membranes. Proton transmission across the membrane is three to four times as high as with fluoropolymer membranes, and overall electricity generation is around 20% higher, the company says. From mid-2005 Toagosei will make the new electrolytic membrane available in rolls of different widths, using test production lines for absorbent resin sheets at its plant in Nagoya. GM updates fuel cell curriculum General Motors, in collaboration with US educational publisher Weekly Reader, has updated its free fuel cell curriculum for middle school students. The latest version of ‘Fuel cells: driving the future’ includes a 13-minute classroom video on energy and fuel cell technology, a teacher’s guide, student activity worksheets and posters, all aimed at increasing students’ awareness of energy, the environment and fuel cell technology. The curriculum will be distributed to 10 000 schools in cities nationwide, reaching nearly 3.5m students, and is also available to download (www.gmability.com/education). Japanese house-builder to sell homes equipped with fuel cells From March, Japanese house-builder Sekisui House Ltd plans to market houses equipped with Tokyo Gas’s residential PEM fuel cell cogeneration systems. The houses for sale are in Musashino, on the outskirts of central Tokyo, says the Nihon Keizai Shimbun. Of the 31 lots at the site, seven houses will be equipped with fuel cells that Tokyo Gas recently began leasing [FCB, February]. The sale price of a house and accompanying land is expected to total ¥100–130m. Although the purchaser will have to sign a contract with Tokyo Gas, the charge of leasing the fuel cell – ¥1m (US$9630) for 10 years – will be included in the price of the home. For the first three years, the homeowner will be able to save about ¥60 000–110 000 ($580– 1060) annually on electricity and heating costs, according to calculations by Sekisui House.
Fuel Cells Bulletin
5
Astris delivers first generator to AEC, buys out Czech affiliate
O
ntario-based alkaline fuel cell developer Astris Energi has delivered a 2.4 kWe model E8 AFC portable power generator to Alternate Energy Corporation and completed customer training. The delivery is the first under an agreement signed with AEC in May, which made AEC a value-added reseller for Astris’s AFC power generation products. AEC is currently testing the power pack. Subject to the performance evaluation of this first unit, AEC’s original purchase order calls for an additional five E8 units to be delivered in stages throughout 2005. Plans are under way to couple the E8 generator with AEC’s hydrogen technology, which produces hydrogen on demand [FCB, September 2003]. AEC’s technology utilizes readily available bio-compatible elements to produce hydrogen with a purity of 99.9% at a competitive cost. The resulting fuel cell power pack will be reliable and economical. The combined AEC-Astris power pack is aimed at the expanding markets for high-quality, clean power on an uninterrupted basis. These include stationary industrial and residential backup applications in data centers, telecom installations, hospitals, construction sites, emergency power support and recreational segments. AEC is now scheduling a series of demonstrations with organizations in these sectors, and anticipates initial shipments later in 2005. Astris’ E8 Generator [FCB, February 2004] is the latest in a series of power generators driven by the company’s AFC technology. Targeted at stationary applications, it contains two 1.2 kWe fuel cell stacks, has an electrical efficiency >50% and provides 48 Vdc at 50 A. It is the first generator powered by Astris’ Powerstack™ MC250 fuel cell modules. Jiri K. Nor, Astris Energi’s president/CEO, says that the success of the Astris-AEC project could drive product demand and advance production of the Powerstack MC250 from pilot- to full-scale production. In related news, at the end of January Astris completed the purchase of its Czech affiliate Astris sro, where its Powerstack pilot production line is based. Prior to the purchase, Astris owned 30% of the shares of Astris sro, with the remaining 70% owned by Macnor Corporation – also controlled by Jiri Nor, Astris’s president/CEO. ‘The purchase of Astris sro adds approximately C$2.2m (US$1.78m) to our assets, and completes a key phase of our business development plan,’ says finance VP, Anthony Durkacz.
March 2005
Since 1992, Astris sro has focused on R&D of AFC electrodes. The company owns a 1.5 acre (0.6 ha) site in Vlasim, Czech Republic with an 8000 ft2 (750 m2) manufacturing facility. Contact: Astris Energi Inc, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. Tel: +1 905 608 2000, www.astris.ca Or contact: Alternate Energy Corporation, Burlington, Ontario, Canada. Tel: +1 905 332 3110, www.cleanwatts.com
Allegheny Ludlum receives SOFC material contract
A
TI Allegheny Ludlum of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has been awarded a subcontract from the University of Pittsburgh, with support from the Department of Energy’s Solid State Energy Conversion Alliance (SECA) initiative, to develop specialty metallic materials for use in fuel cells intended for the power generation industry. The development contract aims to create critical interconnect materials for SOFCs. Interconnects provide an electrical current path as well as structure to the fuel cell, and must exhibit strength while resisting high temperatures in a variety of gaseous environments. Fuel cell interconnect materials represent one of two key material challenges to making SOFCs a reality for the power generation market, according to Wayne Surdoval, DOE’s SECA Coordinator.
Contact: ATI Allegheny Ludlum, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. Tel: +1 412 394 2800, www.alleghenytechnologies.com
AIM flotation for Voller
I
n the UK, Voller Energy Group, the holding company of portable fuel cell manufacturer Voller Energy Ltd, made its debut on London’s Alternative Investment Market on 1 February, with a placement of 13.5m new ordinary shares. At the placing price of £0.74 (US$1.42), the group had a market capitalization of £17m ($32.7m) on admission. The share placement raised £10m ($19.2m) before expenses, which will be used by Voller Energy primarily to finance the development and marketing of the group’s existing and new products, and to satisfy the consideration for the acquisition of certain assets of a Germanbased company and finance the development of reformer technology, as well as to provide working capital. The listing will enable Voller Energy
In Brief Low-cost DMFC membrane from Toagosei Tokyo-based Toagosei Company has developed a low-cost, high-performance electrolytic membrane for DMFCs. Made from polyolefin with a multiporous structure, the new membrane costs one-half to one-third as much as membranes made from conventional fluororesin materials, according to the Nikkei Business Daily. The lower price will facilitate efforts to develop fuel cells for notebook computers and cell phones. The new membrane is tens of microns thick and has demonstrated the ability to withstand more than 4000 h of continuous operation. According to Toagosei, the new membrane also reduces methanol crossover to as little as a quarter of that of conventional membranes. Proton transmission across the membrane is three to four times as high as with fluoropolymer membranes, and overall electricity generation is around 20% higher, the company says. From mid-2005 Toagosei will make the new electrolytic membrane available in rolls of different widths, using test production lines for absorbent resin sheets at its plant in Nagoya. GM updates fuel cell curriculum General Motors, in collaboration with US educational publisher Weekly Reader, has updated its free fuel cell curriculum for middle school students. The latest version of ‘Fuel cells: driving the future’ includes a 13-minute classroom video on energy and fuel cell technology, a teacher’s guide, student activity worksheets and posters, all aimed at increasing students’ awareness of energy, the environment and fuel cell technology. The curriculum will be distributed to 10 000 schools in cities nationwide, reaching nearly 3.5m students, and is also available to download (www.gmability.com/education). Japanese house-builder to sell homes equipped with fuel cells From March, Japanese house-builder Sekisui House Ltd plans to market houses equipped with Tokyo Gas’s residential PEM fuel cell cogeneration systems. The houses for sale are in Musashino, on the outskirts of central Tokyo, says the Nihon Keizai Shimbun. Of the 31 lots at the site, seven houses will be equipped with fuel cells that Tokyo Gas recently began leasing [FCB, February]. The sale price of a house and accompanying land is expected to total ¥100–130m. Although the purchaser will have to sign a contract with Tokyo Gas, the charge of leasing the fuel cell – ¥1m (US$9630) for 10 years – will be included in the price of the home. For the first three years, the homeowner will be able to save about ¥60 000–110 000 ($580– 1060) annually on electricity and heating costs, according to calculations by Sekisui House.
Fuel Cells Bulletin
5