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Ballard orders signal growth in automotive fuel cells
NEWS State Energy Conversion Alliance (SECA) for solid oxide fuel cell development. In addition, the US Navy has selected FCE, in partnership with Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey, for a nine-month, $100 000 contract under the Small Business Technology Transfer (SBTT) award program. The award is to develop an alternative compact plasma reforming process for the production of methane-rich gas for FCE’s Ship Service DFC System. The plasma reforming system has potential cost-reduction advantages over conventional steam reforming due to its more compact design. Finally, a two-year, $500 000 SBTT Phase 2 contract from the US Army will fund research into the field-enhanced CO tolerance of PEM fuel cells. This selection is based on the promising results obtained in FCE’s Phase 1 program, which demonstrated improved CO tolerance when magnetic particles are introduced into the fuel cell anode. The Phase 2 research will develop this process further and test complete membrane-electrode assemblies with a variety of techniques to define performance limits and favourable operating conditions. The University of Iowa will also work on this project. FCE has also signed a distribution agreement with Alliance Power of Littleton, Colorado under which Alliance Power will integrate FCE’s DFC power plants into its portfolio of distributed generation solutions in the 1–49 MWe range. Alliance Power will initially focus its marketing efforts in California, seeking to take advantage of its high electricity rates, favorable regulatory environment for fuel cell power plants, and current state incentives. Contact: FuelCell Energy Inc, Danbury, Connecticut, USA. Tel: +1 203 825 6000, www.fuelcellenergy.com or www.fce.com Or contact: Alliance Power Inc, Littleton, Colorado, USA. Tel: +1 303 730 2328, www.alliancepower.com
FCT ships SOFC to RWE Ontario-based Fuel Cell Technologies has shipped its first 5 kWe solid oxide fuel cell, marking the start of this product’s demonstration phase. The unit is being supplied to international multi-utility RWE, Germany’s largest electric power supplier, which is investing in a broad range of R&D activity to gain experience in fuel cell operation. The SOFC unit passed its factory acceptance test before shipping, and will undergo further evaluation at RWE’s research center at Mechernich before eventual installation at the Fuel Cell Pavilion at the company’s Meteorit Park site in Essen.
August 2003
FCT has also built a simulator of the 5 kWe SOFC, and recently shipped it to the US Department of Energy to assist in evaluation and development of inverters and power electronics. The simulator was built for use in a DOEsponsored university competition in DC/AC inverter design. Contact: Fuel Cell Technologies Ltd, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Tel: +1 613 544 8222, www.fct.ca
Ballard orders signal growth in automotive fuel cells Vancouver-based Ballard Power Systems has received a US$1.75m order for its fuel cell products from a new major – but unnamed – automotive customer. Ballard has itself placed a significant new order with Opcon Autorotor, a subsidiary of Sweden’s Opcon group, for air systems designed for automotive fuel cell engines. Commenting on the new automotive order, Dennis Campbell, Ballard’s president/CEO, said that, ‘by supplying a majority of the major auto companies, we have the opportunity to test and evaluate our fuel cells under a variety of different operating conditions and vehicle platforms.’ The Opcon order is for compressors and expanders designed for fuel cell cars produced by Ford and DaimlerChrysler. The deliveries will start in August, and continue for one year. According to Opcon, the Ballard order signals that the fuel cell market for cars has entered into a new phase, leaving the development phase and entering the traditional production phase. Contact: Ballard Power Systems, Burnaby, BC, Canada. Tel: +1 604 454 0900, www.ballard.com Or contact: Opcon Autorotor AB, Saltsjö-Boo, Sweden. Tel: +46 8 448 4444, www.opconab.com/autorotor
Plug’s first product for telecoms backup NY-based Plug Power has introduced its first product intended specifically for the telecoms industry. Its new 5 kWe GenCore™5T PEM fuel cell system is designed to provide extended-run backup power for the demanding outside plant (OSP) market. The company has also reached an agreement with DTE Energy Technologies to make remote monitoring and control available to all of Plug Power’s future fuel cell customers.
In Japan Tokyo’s first liquid hydrogen station opens Showa Shell Seikyu has opened the first liquid hydrogen refueling station in Tokyo, constructed in partnership with Iwatani Corporation and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government – which covered the ¥300m (US$2.5m) cost of the station, and owns the 1800 m2 site – under the Hydrogen Refueling Station Pilot Program. Shell Hydrogen provided technological know-how for the station. The central Tokyo station can store 10 000 liters of liquid hydrogen, enough to refuel more than 70 fuel cell vehicles. For refueling the liquid hydrogen can be converted into hydrogen gas, if necessary. The station is part of the Japan Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Demonstration Project, sponsored by the Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry, under which five hydrogen stations will be built in and around the Tokyo metropolitan area. NGK designs high-output SOFC Nagoya-based NGK Insulators has developed a solid oxide fuel cell that can maintain high power output even when operating at the relatively low SOFC temperature of about 700°C, according to the Nikkei Business Daily. Operation at this intermediate temperature means that the metal components and current collectors can be made from less expensive materials. The new disk-shaped fuel cell is 12 cm in diameter and comprises a triple-layer structure of fuel electrode, electrolyte and air electrode, with the ceramic electrolyte processed as a 10 µm film. The company claims that the cell can produce the relatively high power density of 0.6 W/cm2 at 650°C and 1.6 W/cm2 at 750°C when the voltage is 0.7 V. The company recently announced a hydrogen filter comprising a three-layer ceramic cylinder plated with a 2 µm palladium alloy film, for a more compact unit for separating hydrogen from fuels such as natural gas [FCB, July]. Gas utility accelerating H2 fueling efforts Tokyo Gas has set up an in-house organization tasked with devising a comprehensive strategy in the hydrogen supply business, according to the Nikkei Business Daily. The hydrogen business project group has about 10 members, and reports directly to the head of the R&D department. It will develop plans for extracting hydrogen from natural gas, and business models for delivering hydrogen to be used in fuel cell vehicles. The company already operates a hydrogen fueling station with Nippon Sanso in the Arakawa district of Tokyo. It will also study whether its existing compressed natural gas fueling stations in Tokyo could also be used to provide hydrogen for FCVs.
Fuel Cells Bulletin
7
FCT ships SOFC to RWE Ontario-based Fuel Cell Technologies has shipped its first 5 kWe solid oxide fuel cell, marking the start of this product’s demonstration phase. The unit is being supplied to international multi-utility RWE, Germany’s largest electric power supplier, which is investing in a broad range of R&D activity to gain experience in fuel cell operation. The SOFC unit passed its factory acceptance test before shipping, and will undergo further evaluation at RWE’s research center at Mechernich before eventual installation at the Fuel Cell Pavilion at the company’s Meteorit Park site in Essen.
August 2003
FCT has also built a simulator of the 5 kWe SOFC, and recently shipped it to the US Department of Energy to assist in evaluation and development of inverters and power electronics. The simulator was built for use in a DOEsponsored university competition in DC/AC inverter design. Contact: Fuel Cell Technologies Ltd, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Tel: +1 613 544 8222, www.fct.ca
Ballard orders signal growth in automotive fuel cells Vancouver-based Ballard Power Systems has received a US$1.75m order for its fuel cell products from a new major – but unnamed – automotive customer. Ballard has itself placed a significant new order with Opcon Autorotor, a subsidiary of Sweden’s Opcon group, for air systems designed for automotive fuel cell engines. Commenting on the new automotive order, Dennis Campbell, Ballard’s president/CEO, said that, ‘by supplying a majority of the major auto companies, we have the opportunity to test and evaluate our fuel cells under a variety of different operating conditions and vehicle platforms.’ The Opcon order is for compressors and expanders designed for fuel cell cars produced by Ford and DaimlerChrysler. The deliveries will start in August, and continue for one year. According to Opcon, the Ballard order signals that the fuel cell market for cars has entered into a new phase, leaving the development phase and entering the traditional production phase. Contact: Ballard Power Systems, Burnaby, BC, Canada. Tel: +1 604 454 0900, www.ballard.com Or contact: Opcon Autorotor AB, Saltsjö-Boo, Sweden. Tel: +46 8 448 4444, www.opconab.com/autorotor
Plug’s first product for telecoms backup NY-based Plug Power has introduced its first product intended specifically for the telecoms industry. Its new 5 kWe GenCore™5T PEM fuel cell system is designed to provide extended-run backup power for the demanding outside plant (OSP) market. The company has also reached an agreement with DTE Energy Technologies to make remote monitoring and control available to all of Plug Power’s future fuel cell customers.
In Japan Tokyo’s first liquid hydrogen station opens Showa Shell Seikyu has opened the first liquid hydrogen refueling station in Tokyo, constructed in partnership with Iwatani Corporation and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government – which covered the ¥300m (US$2.5m) cost of the station, and owns the 1800 m2 site – under the Hydrogen Refueling Station Pilot Program. Shell Hydrogen provided technological know-how for the station. The central Tokyo station can store 10 000 liters of liquid hydrogen, enough to refuel more than 70 fuel cell vehicles. For refueling the liquid hydrogen can be converted into hydrogen gas, if necessary. The station is part of the Japan Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Demonstration Project, sponsored by the Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry, under which five hydrogen stations will be built in and around the Tokyo metropolitan area. NGK designs high-output SOFC Nagoya-based NGK Insulators has developed a solid oxide fuel cell that can maintain high power output even when operating at the relatively low SOFC temperature of about 700°C, according to the Nikkei Business Daily. Operation at this intermediate temperature means that the metal components and current collectors can be made from less expensive materials. The new disk-shaped fuel cell is 12 cm in diameter and comprises a triple-layer structure of fuel electrode, electrolyte and air electrode, with the ceramic electrolyte processed as a 10 µm film. The company claims that the cell can produce the relatively high power density of 0.6 W/cm2 at 650°C and 1.6 W/cm2 at 750°C when the voltage is 0.7 V. The company recently announced a hydrogen filter comprising a three-layer ceramic cylinder plated with a 2 µm palladium alloy film, for a more compact unit for separating hydrogen from fuels such as natural gas [FCB, July]. Gas utility accelerating H2 fueling efforts Tokyo Gas has set up an in-house organization tasked with devising a comprehensive strategy in the hydrogen supply business, according to the Nikkei Business Daily. The hydrogen business project group has about 10 members, and reports directly to the head of the R&D department. It will develop plans for extracting hydrogen from natural gas, and business models for delivering hydrogen to be used in fuel cell vehicles. The company already operates a hydrogen fueling station with Nippon Sanso in the Arakawa district of Tokyo. It will also study whether its existing compressed natural gas fueling stations in Tokyo could also be used to provide hydrogen for FCVs.
Fuel Cells Bulletin
7