- Email: [email protected]
FCHEA publishes guidance on PEMFC stack gasket standards
NEWS
DOE sees (some of) Insolvent P21 acquired its fuel cell, hydrogen by Heliocentris, wins energy budget restored Kuwait order
W
hile President Obama and Congress thrash out how to deal with the US federal debt, there appears to be a smattering of good news on government funding for the fuel cell sector. Some of the proposed cuts in the fuel cell and hydrogen energy programs administered by the Department of Energy have been reversed – although it remains to be seen whether these are affected by the latest deficit reduction measures… In any case, the House Committee on Appropriations cleared the Fiscal Year 2012 Energy and Water Appropriations bill, which funds DOE. The Committee allocated $91.5 million for DOE’s Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies program within the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). This is $9 million below the President’s FY 2012 budget request, and about $6.6 million below FY 2011 funding. The House Committee also appropriated $25 million for continuing R&D of solid oxide fuel cell systems in the Solid State Energy Conversion Alliance (SECA) program. This is $23.7 million below FY 2010 funding, but – given that the SECA program was cut from the President’s FY 2012 budget request entirely – this appropriation amounts to a $25 million increase. Fuel cell research is also carried out under the Advanced Research Projects Agency- Energy (ARPA-E) program, for which the House Committee recommended $100 million. This is $450 million below the FY 2012 budget request, and almost $80 million below 2011 funding. This money will be used to fund research on a broad range of energy solutions, including fuel cells and natural gas technologies. The Washington, DC-based Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association is quick to point out that these numbers do not necessarily represent the final 2012 budget, as the Energy and Water Appropriations bill still has several steps to go through before becoming law. Once the final bill is passed by both the House and Senate it will be sent to President Obama, who can veto or sign it into law.
Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association: www.fchea.org
10
Fuel Cells Bulletin
I
n Germany, Heliocentris Energy Solutions in Berlin has acquired all the assets – and the workforce of around 20 people – of the insolvent P21 GmbH, based in Munich. P21 subsequently announced the receipt of an order for a monitoring and data acquisition system at the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research. P21 GmbH specializes in efficient energy solutions for the telecoms industry. It was founded in 2001 as a buy-out by former employees of Mannesmann, but filed for insolvency in March 2011. After minimal revenues in previous years, P21 managed to boost revenues to around E1 million (US$1.4 million) in 2010. ‘For a long time, we have regarded company acquisitions as a growth option, and we monitor the market very closely,’ says Dr Henrik Colell, CEO of Heliocentris Energy Solutions. ‘With this, our first takeover, we are now reinforcing our position as a supplier of decentralized, efficient and clean energy solutions, and strengthening our core area of expertise in the field of energy management.’ ‘This step will also accelerate our entry into industrial business. We are expecting the existing access to the global telecommunications market and the innovative products of P21 to give Heliocentris an additional growth spurt,’ continues Colell. ‘Promising negotiations with regard to major projects are already ongoing.’ P21 has developed a scalable energy management platform, in which hybrid energy solutions – based on batteries, diesel generators, photovoltaics, and wind – can be combined to create reliable and efficient power solutions. This platform was recently launched on the market, and is already in commercial use in Zimbabwe and Indonesia. Successful tests have already been performed in major target markets such as the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, India, Mozambique, and the Philippines. The new order in Kuwait – worth E100 000 (US$143 000) – is for a monitoring and data acquisition system, as part of a scientific PV systems testing platform at the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research. The project at KISR – the R&D arm of the State of Kuwait – is part of the institute’s renewable energy program. The client is Life Energy in Kuwait, which recently became a strategic investor in Heliocentris [FCB, June 2011].
Heliocentris Energy Solutions AG, Berlin, Germany. Tel: +49 30 340 601500, www.heliocentris.com P21 GmbH, Munich, Germany. Tel: +49 89 2000 4140, www.p-21.de Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research: www.kisr.edu.kw Life Energy, Kuwait: www.thelifeenergy.com
FCHEA publishes guidance on PEMFC stack gasket standards
T
he Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association (FCHEA) in Washington, DC has published a report addressing industry concerns regarding gasket performance and testing standardization. Gasket performance is integral to the successful long-term operation of a fuel cell stack, and this technical paper offers guidance to the fuel cell design community through standardized testing of materials. The report – from FCHEA’s Gasket Focus Group – is the culmination of a two-year effort to identify, select, and use test protocols to evaluate various gasket materials and measure property change and material losses over a 2000 h time period. ‘We hope that this report will help the industry by suggesting suitable means of evaluating gaskets, and helping to facilitate gasket choices for improved performance of future fuel cell stacks,’ says Robert Wichert, technical director at FCHEA. Standardization of gasket testing methods should provide a means to evaluate new materials, and compare them with materials that have already been benchmarked using the same standard methods. Material selection concerns include outgassing, degradation and extraction of the gasket’s material components, which may contribute to contaminant migration into the active areas of the fuel cell stack. Another key concern is the potential for internal and/or external leakage of fuel cell reactant gases when gasket materials lose their compression-set capabilities, and thus lose their sealing contact with the adjoining substrates. After significant deliberation, the FCHEA Gasket Focus Group determined that existing ASTM methods could be used to evaluate material physical properties of gasket material candidates. As an evaluation exercise of the test methods, the group selected and tested candidate materials with physical and material properties that are believed to be important for
July 2011
NEWS sealing the interface of the membrane-electrode assembly (MEA) and individual cells of a PEM fuel cell stack. Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association, Washington, DC, USA. Tel: +1 202 736 5738, www.fchea.org FCHEA gasket report: www.fchea.org/core/import/ PDFs/FCHEA_Gasket_Report_2011.pdf
RESEARCH
ITM Power in UK project to investigate coated metal hydrides
I
n the UK, ITM Power is participating in a collaborative project on coated metal hydrides for energy storage. The project is part-funded by the government-backed Technology Strategy Board, and ITM Power will receive £66 000 (US$108 000) over the threeyear project timescale. The other participants in the project are E.ON, eminate Ltd, the University of Nottingham, Teer Coatings Ltd (Miba Coating Group), and Sunamp Ltd. A key issue for the use of hydrogen in sustainable energy systems is a commercially viable means for safe and cost-effective hydrogen storage. One attractive option is the use of solid hydrides, which can adsorb and release hydrogen on demand at relatively low pressures. However, storage systems must combine optimum gas kinetics with the practicalities of system manufacturing and safety. While the move towards high surface area to volume ratio nanoparticulates improves the kinetics, handling and containing these reactive materials presents enormous difficulties. An alternative approach was proposed and addressed successfully in an earlier feasibility study funded by the Technology Strategy Board, and this new project progresses that successful approach. ITM Power will test and critically analyze the hydrogen storage hydrides produced by the project partners, through direct coupling with electrolyzers and reuse in fuel cells. The company will analyze the efficiencies and ease of use, as well as contribute to market analysis.
ITM Power Plc, Sheffield, UK. Tel: +44 114 244 5111, www.itm-power.com Technology Strategy Board: www.innovateuk.org
July 2011
Self-cleaning electrode allows SOFCs to operate on coal gas
A
research group led by materials scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology has developed a selfcleaning technique using barium oxide nanoparticles, that could allow solid oxide fuel cells to be powered directly by coal gas at operating temperatures as low as 750°C. The technique could provide a cleaner and more efficient way to generate electricity from the vast US coal reserves. SOFCs can operate on a wide variety of fuels, and use hydrocarbon gases directly. SOFC anodes are made from nickel and yttriastabilized zirconia (YSZ). However, carboncontaining fuels such as coal gas or propane can quickly deactivate Ni-YSZ anodes, clogging them with carbon deposits (‘coking’), especially at lower operating temperatures. To counter this problem, the researchers have developed a technique for growing barium oxide nanostructures on the anodes. The structures adsorb moisture to initiate a water-based chemical reaction that oxidizes the carbon as it forms, keeping the nickel electrode surfaces clean even with carbonaceous fuels at low temperatures. The water-mediated carbon removal technique was reported recently in Nature Communications. The research was supported by the Department of Energy’s Office of Basic Energy Sciences through the HeteroFoaM Center, an Energy Frontier Research Center. The work also involved researchers from Brookhaven National Laboratory, the New Jersey Institute of Technology, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The carbon removal system developed by the team uses vapor deposition to apply barium oxide nanoparticles to the Ni-YSZ electrode. The 10–100 nm particles form ‘islands’ on the nickel that do not block the flow of electrons across the electrode surface, explains Professor Meilin Liu at Georgia Tech, who is also codirector of its Center for Innovative Fuel Cell and Battery Technologies.
Contact: Professor Meilin Liu, School of Materials Science & Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Tel: +1 404 894 6114, Email: [email protected], Web: www.mse.gatech.edu Georgia Tech Center for Innovative Fuel Cell and Battery Technologies: www.fcbt.gatech.edu DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncomms1359 (open access)
In Brief Lilliputian lands $11m for portable power Massachusetts-based Lilliputian Systems has raised $11.1 million of a planned $21 million financing, according to a recent regulatory filing, reported by Mass High Tech. Lilliputian Systems (www.lilliputiansystemsinc.com) is developing chip-based micro fuel cells to charge portable electronics. The company’s patented Silicon Power Cell™ technology was originally developed at MIT’s Microsystems Technology Laboratory. Last fall Lilliputian announced that Intel had become its newest investor, as well as signing a wafer manufacturing deal [FCB, December 2010]. Lilliputian had previously received a $5 million loan from MassDevelopment and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, to help it prepare for pilot-scale manufacturing [FCB, May 2010]. Ballard denies rumor of Indian investment Canadian-based Ballard Power Systems (www. ballard.com) has taken the unusual step of issuing an official denial of rumors that the company is considering a significant investment in an Indian corporation. Ballard insists that it has no current plan or intention of effecting any such transaction, and has not even had any contact with the company named in several reports. The Times of India reported that Ballard is considering a stake of up to 10% in Adani Power (www.adanipower.com). Adani Power – an arm of the diversified Adani Group – has a number of thermal and solar power projects in western India. There was no reported comment from Adani Power on the speculation. Market launch for Mercedes-Benz FCV in 2014, a year earlier than previous target Mercedes-Benz plans to bring its F-CELL hydrogen fuel cell vehicle to the market in Germany – and possibly in Japan – in 2014, at a price on a par with a diesel hybrid car. This is a year earlier than the company’s previous target of 2015, announced alongside several other automakers two years ago [FCB, October 2009]. The earlier target for volume production came to light during a media roundtable in New York, where Dr Dieter Zetsche – Daimler chairman, and head of Mercedes-Benz – outlined the marque’s overall product strategy. ‘We intended to go for volume production in 2015, but because of the experience of the world tour [FCB, June 2011] we have pulled forward,’ Zetsche said. ‘We made this trip to prove technology is ready, and we need partners to take care of infrastructure’ [see page 7]. So far Daimler has not committed to offering the production F-CELL car in North America, although it is conducting a trial of about two dozen F-CELL vehicles in California.
Fuel Cells Bulletin
11
DOE sees (some of) Insolvent P21 acquired its fuel cell, hydrogen by Heliocentris, wins energy budget restored Kuwait order
W
hile President Obama and Congress thrash out how to deal with the US federal debt, there appears to be a smattering of good news on government funding for the fuel cell sector. Some of the proposed cuts in the fuel cell and hydrogen energy programs administered by the Department of Energy have been reversed – although it remains to be seen whether these are affected by the latest deficit reduction measures… In any case, the House Committee on Appropriations cleared the Fiscal Year 2012 Energy and Water Appropriations bill, which funds DOE. The Committee allocated $91.5 million for DOE’s Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies program within the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). This is $9 million below the President’s FY 2012 budget request, and about $6.6 million below FY 2011 funding. The House Committee also appropriated $25 million for continuing R&D of solid oxide fuel cell systems in the Solid State Energy Conversion Alliance (SECA) program. This is $23.7 million below FY 2010 funding, but – given that the SECA program was cut from the President’s FY 2012 budget request entirely – this appropriation amounts to a $25 million increase. Fuel cell research is also carried out under the Advanced Research Projects Agency- Energy (ARPA-E) program, for which the House Committee recommended $100 million. This is $450 million below the FY 2012 budget request, and almost $80 million below 2011 funding. This money will be used to fund research on a broad range of energy solutions, including fuel cells and natural gas technologies. The Washington, DC-based Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association is quick to point out that these numbers do not necessarily represent the final 2012 budget, as the Energy and Water Appropriations bill still has several steps to go through before becoming law. Once the final bill is passed by both the House and Senate it will be sent to President Obama, who can veto or sign it into law.
Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association: www.fchea.org
10
Fuel Cells Bulletin
I
n Germany, Heliocentris Energy Solutions in Berlin has acquired all the assets – and the workforce of around 20 people – of the insolvent P21 GmbH, based in Munich. P21 subsequently announced the receipt of an order for a monitoring and data acquisition system at the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research. P21 GmbH specializes in efficient energy solutions for the telecoms industry. It was founded in 2001 as a buy-out by former employees of Mannesmann, but filed for insolvency in March 2011. After minimal revenues in previous years, P21 managed to boost revenues to around E1 million (US$1.4 million) in 2010. ‘For a long time, we have regarded company acquisitions as a growth option, and we monitor the market very closely,’ says Dr Henrik Colell, CEO of Heliocentris Energy Solutions. ‘With this, our first takeover, we are now reinforcing our position as a supplier of decentralized, efficient and clean energy solutions, and strengthening our core area of expertise in the field of energy management.’ ‘This step will also accelerate our entry into industrial business. We are expecting the existing access to the global telecommunications market and the innovative products of P21 to give Heliocentris an additional growth spurt,’ continues Colell. ‘Promising negotiations with regard to major projects are already ongoing.’ P21 has developed a scalable energy management platform, in which hybrid energy solutions – based on batteries, diesel generators, photovoltaics, and wind – can be combined to create reliable and efficient power solutions. This platform was recently launched on the market, and is already in commercial use in Zimbabwe and Indonesia. Successful tests have already been performed in major target markets such as the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, India, Mozambique, and the Philippines. The new order in Kuwait – worth E100 000 (US$143 000) – is for a monitoring and data acquisition system, as part of a scientific PV systems testing platform at the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research. The project at KISR – the R&D arm of the State of Kuwait – is part of the institute’s renewable energy program. The client is Life Energy in Kuwait, which recently became a strategic investor in Heliocentris [FCB, June 2011].
Heliocentris Energy Solutions AG, Berlin, Germany. Tel: +49 30 340 601500, www.heliocentris.com P21 GmbH, Munich, Germany. Tel: +49 89 2000 4140, www.p-21.de Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research: www.kisr.edu.kw Life Energy, Kuwait: www.thelifeenergy.com
FCHEA publishes guidance on PEMFC stack gasket standards
T
he Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association (FCHEA) in Washington, DC has published a report addressing industry concerns regarding gasket performance and testing standardization. Gasket performance is integral to the successful long-term operation of a fuel cell stack, and this technical paper offers guidance to the fuel cell design community through standardized testing of materials. The report – from FCHEA’s Gasket Focus Group – is the culmination of a two-year effort to identify, select, and use test protocols to evaluate various gasket materials and measure property change and material losses over a 2000 h time period. ‘We hope that this report will help the industry by suggesting suitable means of evaluating gaskets, and helping to facilitate gasket choices for improved performance of future fuel cell stacks,’ says Robert Wichert, technical director at FCHEA. Standardization of gasket testing methods should provide a means to evaluate new materials, and compare them with materials that have already been benchmarked using the same standard methods. Material selection concerns include outgassing, degradation and extraction of the gasket’s material components, which may contribute to contaminant migration into the active areas of the fuel cell stack. Another key concern is the potential for internal and/or external leakage of fuel cell reactant gases when gasket materials lose their compression-set capabilities, and thus lose their sealing contact with the adjoining substrates. After significant deliberation, the FCHEA Gasket Focus Group determined that existing ASTM methods could be used to evaluate material physical properties of gasket material candidates. As an evaluation exercise of the test methods, the group selected and tested candidate materials with physical and material properties that are believed to be important for
July 2011
NEWS sealing the interface of the membrane-electrode assembly (MEA) and individual cells of a PEM fuel cell stack. Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association, Washington, DC, USA. Tel: +1 202 736 5738, www.fchea.org FCHEA gasket report: www.fchea.org/core/import/ PDFs/FCHEA_Gasket_Report_2011.pdf
RESEARCH
ITM Power in UK project to investigate coated metal hydrides
I
n the UK, ITM Power is participating in a collaborative project on coated metal hydrides for energy storage. The project is part-funded by the government-backed Technology Strategy Board, and ITM Power will receive £66 000 (US$108 000) over the threeyear project timescale. The other participants in the project are E.ON, eminate Ltd, the University of Nottingham, Teer Coatings Ltd (Miba Coating Group), and Sunamp Ltd. A key issue for the use of hydrogen in sustainable energy systems is a commercially viable means for safe and cost-effective hydrogen storage. One attractive option is the use of solid hydrides, which can adsorb and release hydrogen on demand at relatively low pressures. However, storage systems must combine optimum gas kinetics with the practicalities of system manufacturing and safety. While the move towards high surface area to volume ratio nanoparticulates improves the kinetics, handling and containing these reactive materials presents enormous difficulties. An alternative approach was proposed and addressed successfully in an earlier feasibility study funded by the Technology Strategy Board, and this new project progresses that successful approach. ITM Power will test and critically analyze the hydrogen storage hydrides produced by the project partners, through direct coupling with electrolyzers and reuse in fuel cells. The company will analyze the efficiencies and ease of use, as well as contribute to market analysis.
ITM Power Plc, Sheffield, UK. Tel: +44 114 244 5111, www.itm-power.com Technology Strategy Board: www.innovateuk.org
July 2011
Self-cleaning electrode allows SOFCs to operate on coal gas
A
research group led by materials scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology has developed a selfcleaning technique using barium oxide nanoparticles, that could allow solid oxide fuel cells to be powered directly by coal gas at operating temperatures as low as 750°C. The technique could provide a cleaner and more efficient way to generate electricity from the vast US coal reserves. SOFCs can operate on a wide variety of fuels, and use hydrocarbon gases directly. SOFC anodes are made from nickel and yttriastabilized zirconia (YSZ). However, carboncontaining fuels such as coal gas or propane can quickly deactivate Ni-YSZ anodes, clogging them with carbon deposits (‘coking’), especially at lower operating temperatures. To counter this problem, the researchers have developed a technique for growing barium oxide nanostructures on the anodes. The structures adsorb moisture to initiate a water-based chemical reaction that oxidizes the carbon as it forms, keeping the nickel electrode surfaces clean even with carbonaceous fuels at low temperatures. The water-mediated carbon removal technique was reported recently in Nature Communications. The research was supported by the Department of Energy’s Office of Basic Energy Sciences through the HeteroFoaM Center, an Energy Frontier Research Center. The work also involved researchers from Brookhaven National Laboratory, the New Jersey Institute of Technology, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The carbon removal system developed by the team uses vapor deposition to apply barium oxide nanoparticles to the Ni-YSZ electrode. The 10–100 nm particles form ‘islands’ on the nickel that do not block the flow of electrons across the electrode surface, explains Professor Meilin Liu at Georgia Tech, who is also codirector of its Center for Innovative Fuel Cell and Battery Technologies.
Contact: Professor Meilin Liu, School of Materials Science & Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Tel: +1 404 894 6114, Email: [email protected], Web: www.mse.gatech.edu Georgia Tech Center for Innovative Fuel Cell and Battery Technologies: www.fcbt.gatech.edu DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncomms1359 (open access)
In Brief Lilliputian lands $11m for portable power Massachusetts-based Lilliputian Systems has raised $11.1 million of a planned $21 million financing, according to a recent regulatory filing, reported by Mass High Tech. Lilliputian Systems (www.lilliputiansystemsinc.com) is developing chip-based micro fuel cells to charge portable electronics. The company’s patented Silicon Power Cell™ technology was originally developed at MIT’s Microsystems Technology Laboratory. Last fall Lilliputian announced that Intel had become its newest investor, as well as signing a wafer manufacturing deal [FCB, December 2010]. Lilliputian had previously received a $5 million loan from MassDevelopment and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, to help it prepare for pilot-scale manufacturing [FCB, May 2010]. Ballard denies rumor of Indian investment Canadian-based Ballard Power Systems (www. ballard.com) has taken the unusual step of issuing an official denial of rumors that the company is considering a significant investment in an Indian corporation. Ballard insists that it has no current plan or intention of effecting any such transaction, and has not even had any contact with the company named in several reports. The Times of India reported that Ballard is considering a stake of up to 10% in Adani Power (www.adanipower.com). Adani Power – an arm of the diversified Adani Group – has a number of thermal and solar power projects in western India. There was no reported comment from Adani Power on the speculation. Market launch for Mercedes-Benz FCV in 2014, a year earlier than previous target Mercedes-Benz plans to bring its F-CELL hydrogen fuel cell vehicle to the market in Germany – and possibly in Japan – in 2014, at a price on a par with a diesel hybrid car. This is a year earlier than the company’s previous target of 2015, announced alongside several other automakers two years ago [FCB, October 2009]. The earlier target for volume production came to light during a media roundtable in New York, where Dr Dieter Zetsche – Daimler chairman, and head of Mercedes-Benz – outlined the marque’s overall product strategy. ‘We intended to go for volume production in 2015, but because of the experience of the world tour [FCB, June 2011] we have pulled forward,’ Zetsche said. ‘We made this trip to prove technology is ready, and we need partners to take care of infrastructure’ [see page 7]. So far Daimler has not committed to offering the production F-CELL car in North America, although it is conducting a trial of about two dozen F-CELL vehicles in California.
Fuel Cells Bulletin
11