- Email: [email protected]
EVs in Adelaide being recharged using SOFC power generation
NEWS development of its next-generation hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, the Tucson ix Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle, and will begin testing later this year as it targets mass production in 2015. Hyundai says that the fuel cell system has been downsized by 20%, and there is a substantial improvement in fuel efficiency and driving range. Hyundai’s third-generation FCEV is equipped with a 100 kW PEM fuel cell system and two 700 bar (10 000 psi) hydrogen storage tanks, and can start up in ambient temperatures as low as –25°C (–13°F). The new SUV has a range of 650 km (400 miles), equivalent to a gasoline-powered car, and a gasoline equivalent fuel efficiency of 31 km per liter, a 15% improvement on the previous version. The Korean automaker says that the overall volume of the fuel cell system is 20% less than the previous system, achieved through modularization of bulky parts in the system, including the fuel cell stack, balance-of-plant (BOP), inverter and high-voltage junction box. Hyundai took part in the Learning Demonstration Program organized by the US Department of Energy between 2004 and 2009, and is a member of the California Fuel Cell Partnership [FCB, October 2008]. The company – and its sister company, Kia Motors – are among the world’s leading automakers who have jointly committed to the development and market introduction of fuel cell electric vehicles by 2015 [FCB, October 2009]. Later this year, 48 of the new Tucson ix FCEVs will be part of a Domestic Fleet Program supported by the Korean government. Hyundai plans to make a limited number of the Tucson ix FCEVs in 2012, and begin mass production in 2015. Hyundai Motor Company: http://worldwide.hyundai.com
MOBILE APPLICATIONS
Successful first test of Nordic Power’s diesel fuel cell generator
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ordic Power Systems in Norway says that its silent diesel fuel cell power generation technology should be ready for demonstration to selected potential end-users by the spring. This follows work carried out by Marshall SDG, part of Nordic Power’s collaboration partner, UK-based Marshall Land Systems (MLS). Nordic Power and MLS 4
Fuel Cells Bulletin
will now move to the next stage of development of the Cool Flame fuel processing system. After initial work carried out in Norway on the early-stage prototype generator, the system has been successfully tested at MLS in Cambridge, and is now being further developed in both Norway and the UK by a joint team from Marshall and Nordic Power [FCB, May 2010]. During this development work the team will focus on system optimization, reducing the electronic emissions, and ruggedization of the system to ensure the Cool Flame system will meet military requirements. This also includes work on the operating life aspects and packaging of the Cool Flame technology, to limit the footprint and weight of the generator and increase its operational capabilities. ‘The team has been working hard over the last months, developing the generator to the stage where it can now provide a consistent power output,’ says Tor Geir Engebretsen, chief executive of Nordic Power Systems. ‘The next stage of development will be an exciting one, because at the end we plan to have a truly silent system that we can demonstrate.’ The diesel fuel generators are based on the patented Cool Flame technology for processing diesel fuel cleanly enough to use in a lowtemperature fuel cell. The silent generators are expected to produce power outputs suitable for driving a wide variety of electronic equipment, and for auxiliary power units (APUs) where silent running is required, in particular the land and naval defense markets. The NPS technology is unique since it allows onboard and on-demand production of hydrogen from conventional fuels like diesel and biofuels, meaning that fuel cells may be operated without any need for a hydrogen supply chain and storage. NPS is currently delivering its first prototypes to selected partners. The company is also preparing to set up an assembly plant in Hoyanger, Norway to facilitate commercial introduction of the power generators. Nordic Power is also working with California-based SAFCell, to incorporate the latter’s solid acid fuel cell (SAFC) stacks into Nordic Power’s diesel APUs. Last summer, SAFCell delivered a 250 W stack to the Nordic Power testing facility in Porsgrunn, which was successfully integrated and tested with the Cool Flame diesel reformer system [FCB, September 2010]. Nordic Power Systems AS, Snarøya, Norway. Tel: +47 9015 8040, www.nordicpowersystems.com Marshall Land Systems Ltd, Cambridge, UK. Tel: +44 1223 373737, www.marshall-ls.com
EVs in Adelaide being recharged using SOFC power generation
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he South Australian state government and Adelaide City Council have installed an electric vehicle charging station at the city’s Central Market car park, that is powered by low-emissions electricity from a solid oxide fuel cell system supplied by Ceramic Fuel Cells Ltd. The installation is believed to be the world’s first fuel cell powered public EV charging station. The Ceramic Fuel Cells BlueGen™ gas-toelectricity generation unit enables city shoppers to recharge their electric vehicles from low-emission sources rather than carbon-intensive power from the electricity grid. The new station is free to users, and can charge two vehicles at a time. The ChargePoint recharging station’s BlueGen SOFC system – the first such unit installed in South Australia – will be able to generate at least 12.5 MWh of clean electricity per annum. This is enough to power the average South Australian home and two electric cars travelling 15 000 km (9400 miles) each per year. Excess power that is not required for vehicle recharging will be fed into the grid. CFCL has now sold 55 BlueGen generators to major utilities and other foundation customers in Germany, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Japan, Australia, and the US, including three units for one of the UK’s leading energy companies, E.ON [see page 6].
Ceramic Fuel Cells Ltd, Noble Park, Victoria, Australia. Tel: +61 3 9554 2300, www.cfcl.com.au
Versa Power, Boeing in DARPA contract for ultra-long-flight aircraft
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olorado-based solid oxide fuel cell developer Versa Power Systems has been selected as one of the key suppliers to The Boeing Company, under a US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) program to develop and fly a very long-endurance unmanned aircraft. The technology will enable an aircraft to remain on-station at stratospheric altitudes for at least five years, to perform persistent communications, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions from altitudes above
January 2011
MOBILE APPLICATIONS
Successful first test of Nordic Power’s diesel fuel cell generator
N
ordic Power Systems in Norway says that its silent diesel fuel cell power generation technology should be ready for demonstration to selected potential end-users by the spring. This follows work carried out by Marshall SDG, part of Nordic Power’s collaboration partner, UK-based Marshall Land Systems (MLS). Nordic Power and MLS 4
Fuel Cells Bulletin
will now move to the next stage of development of the Cool Flame fuel processing system. After initial work carried out in Norway on the early-stage prototype generator, the system has been successfully tested at MLS in Cambridge, and is now being further developed in both Norway and the UK by a joint team from Marshall and Nordic Power [FCB, May 2010]. During this development work the team will focus on system optimization, reducing the electronic emissions, and ruggedization of the system to ensure the Cool Flame system will meet military requirements. This also includes work on the operating life aspects and packaging of the Cool Flame technology, to limit the footprint and weight of the generator and increase its operational capabilities. ‘The team has been working hard over the last months, developing the generator to the stage where it can now provide a consistent power output,’ says Tor Geir Engebretsen, chief executive of Nordic Power Systems. ‘The next stage of development will be an exciting one, because at the end we plan to have a truly silent system that we can demonstrate.’ The diesel fuel generators are based on the patented Cool Flame technology for processing diesel fuel cleanly enough to use in a lowtemperature fuel cell. The silent generators are expected to produce power outputs suitable for driving a wide variety of electronic equipment, and for auxiliary power units (APUs) where silent running is required, in particular the land and naval defense markets. The NPS technology is unique since it allows onboard and on-demand production of hydrogen from conventional fuels like diesel and biofuels, meaning that fuel cells may be operated without any need for a hydrogen supply chain and storage. NPS is currently delivering its first prototypes to selected partners. The company is also preparing to set up an assembly plant in Hoyanger, Norway to facilitate commercial introduction of the power generators. Nordic Power is also working with California-based SAFCell, to incorporate the latter’s solid acid fuel cell (SAFC) stacks into Nordic Power’s diesel APUs. Last summer, SAFCell delivered a 250 W stack to the Nordic Power testing facility in Porsgrunn, which was successfully integrated and tested with the Cool Flame diesel reformer system [FCB, September 2010]. Nordic Power Systems AS, Snarøya, Norway. Tel: +47 9015 8040, www.nordicpowersystems.com Marshall Land Systems Ltd, Cambridge, UK. Tel: +44 1223 373737, www.marshall-ls.com
EVs in Adelaide being recharged using SOFC power generation
T
he South Australian state government and Adelaide City Council have installed an electric vehicle charging station at the city’s Central Market car park, that is powered by low-emissions electricity from a solid oxide fuel cell system supplied by Ceramic Fuel Cells Ltd. The installation is believed to be the world’s first fuel cell powered public EV charging station. The Ceramic Fuel Cells BlueGen™ gas-toelectricity generation unit enables city shoppers to recharge their electric vehicles from low-emission sources rather than carbon-intensive power from the electricity grid. The new station is free to users, and can charge two vehicles at a time. The ChargePoint recharging station’s BlueGen SOFC system – the first such unit installed in South Australia – will be able to generate at least 12.5 MWh of clean electricity per annum. This is enough to power the average South Australian home and two electric cars travelling 15 000 km (9400 miles) each per year. Excess power that is not required for vehicle recharging will be fed into the grid. CFCL has now sold 55 BlueGen generators to major utilities and other foundation customers in Germany, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Japan, Australia, and the US, including three units for one of the UK’s leading energy companies, E.ON [see page 6].
Ceramic Fuel Cells Ltd, Noble Park, Victoria, Australia. Tel: +61 3 9554 2300, www.cfcl.com.au
Versa Power, Boeing in DARPA contract for ultra-long-flight aircraft
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olorado-based solid oxide fuel cell developer Versa Power Systems has been selected as one of the key suppliers to The Boeing Company, under a US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) program to develop and fly a very long-endurance unmanned aircraft. The technology will enable an aircraft to remain on-station at stratospheric altitudes for at least five years, to perform persistent communications, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions from altitudes above
January 2011