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Fujitsu boosts DMFC operating time with new material, has prototype
NEWS
Editorial office: Elsevier Advanced Technology PO Box 150 Kidlington Oxford OX5 1AS United Kingdom Tel:+44 (0)1865 843239 Fax: +44 (0)1865 853160 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.fuelcellsbulletin.com Editor: Steve Barrett Production/Design Coordinator: Lin Lucas Permissions may be sought directly from Elsevier Science Global Rights Department, PO Box 800, Oxford OX5 1DX, UK; phone: (+44) 1865 843830, fax: (+44) 1865 853333, e-mail: permissions@elsevier. com. You may also contact Global Rights directly through Elsevier’s home page (http:// www.elsevier.com), by ‘Obtaining Permissions’. In the USA, users may clear permissions and make payments through the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, USA; phone: (+1) (978) 7508400, fax: (+1) (978) 7504744, and in the UK through the Copyright Licensing Agency Rapid Clearance Service (CLARCS), 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P 0LP, UK; phone: (+44) (0) 20 7631 5555; fax: (+44) (0) 20 7631 5500. Other countries may have a local reprographic rights agency for payments. Derivative Works Subscribers may reproduce tables of contents or prepare lists of articles including abstracts for internal circulation within their institutions. Permission of the Publisher is required for resale or distribution outside the institution. Permission of the Publisher is required for all other derivative works, including compilations and translations. Electronic Storage or Usage Permission of the Publisher is required to store or use electronically any material contained in this journal, including any article or part of an article. Except as outlined above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of the Publisher. Address permissions requests to: Elsevier Science Global Rights Department, at the mail, fax and e-mail addresses noted above. Notice No responsibility is assumed by the Publisher for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions or ideas contained in the material herein. Because of rapid advances in the medical sciences, in particular, independent verification of diagnoses and drug dosages should be made. Although all advertising material is expected to conform to ethical (medical) standards, inclusion in this publication does not constitute a guarantee or endorsement of the quality or value of such product or of the claims made of it by its manufacturer.
02233 Printed by Mayfield Press (Oxford) LImited
2
Fuel Cells Bulletin
Fujitsu boosts DMFC operating time with new material, has prototype
T
okyo-based Fujitsu Laboratories has developed a new solid electrolyte material that enables the use of highly concentrated (30%) methanol as a fuel source for DMFCs. The company has also unveiled a prototype power unit that incorporates the technology. Fujitsu’s new MEA technology replaces the fluorinated polymers typically used as the solid electrolyte in micro fuel cells, with an aromatic hydrocarbon polymer. This alternative material allows slow methanol permeation, and is also covered with a high density of highly active, Pt-based nanoparticle catalyst with methanolblocking properties. This reduces the total MEA methanol crossover to just one-tenth of that encountered with fluorinated polymers, allowing the use of more concentrated methanol without loss of power capacity. Where previously the optimum methanol concentration was 3–6%, Fujitsu’s system can use 30% concentration, which provides a significant increase in operating time for the same volume of fuel. Applying this technology in its latest prototype DMFC, Fujitsu has obtained an operating time of 8–10 h for a notebook PC with 300 ml of 30% methanol. Furthermore, the prototype fuel cell has been slimmed down to 15 mm thickness, while delivering a power output of 15 We. According to a report in the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Fujitsu expects to commercialize the new cell next year. The company plans to continue development work to further reduce size and increase operating times.
Contact: Functional Organic Materials Laboratory, Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd, Tokyo, Japan. Tel: +81 46 250 8257, Email: [email protected], www.labs.fujitsu.com
Scientists discover new H2 storage compounds
R
esearchers at the University of Chicago have discovered a new class of icy compounds that can store molecular hydrogen. They believe the materials could offer an alternative route to the storage of hydrogen fuel under less stringent temperature and pressure conditions than either liquid or compressed hydrogen.
The daughter–father research team of Wendy L. Mao, a graduate student in Geophysical Sciences at Chicago, and Ho-kwang (David) Mao, a visiting scientist from the Geophysical Laboratory of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, synthesized compounds made of hydrogen and water, hydrogen and methane, and hydrogen and octane in a diamond-anvil cell, which researchers use to simulate the high pressures found far beneath Earth’s surface. The hydrogen–water experiments produced the best results, yielding three compounds so far. The compound – called a hydrogen clathrate hydrate – that holds the most promise for hydrogen storage was synthesized at pressures between 20 000 and 30 000 bar and a temperature of –133°C. More importantly, the compound remains stable at atmospheric pressure and –195.8°C, the boiling point of liquid nitrogen, which is easy and cheap to make. The hydrogen in a clathrate can be released when heated to –133°C, with water as the by-product. The Maos have applied for a patent on their hydrogen clathrate synthesis technique. However, the problem of scale-up to useful quantities remains, as it is only possible to make very small amounts in diamond-anvil cells. The study was published in the 20 January 2004 [101(3)] edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (www.pnas.org). Contact: Wendy Mao, Department of Geophysical Sciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA. Tel: +1 773 795 6697, Email: [email protected], Web: geosci.uchicago.edu
Russian breakthrough with SOFC system
T
he first Russian power system based on a solid oxide fuel cell has been tested in the All-Russia Research Institute of Technical Physics, at the Russian Federal Nuclear Centre in Snezhinsk. The experimental system comprises a fuel cell, reformer and air pump developed and built by Russia’s Ministry of Atomic Energy (Minatom). The testing program was aided by financial support from the International Science & Technical Centre (ISTC) within its fuel cell construction initiative. The experimental system operates on synthesis gas derived from natural gas, and has an electric power output of 1 kW. Viktor Emel’yanov, co-coordinator of the ISTC fuel cell construction initiative, reports that the experimental SOFC system was operated for several days to determine what further modifications are necessary. Although the cost has not
March 2004
Editorial office: Elsevier Advanced Technology PO Box 150 Kidlington Oxford OX5 1AS United Kingdom Tel:+44 (0)1865 843239 Fax: +44 (0)1865 853160 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.fuelcellsbulletin.com Editor: Steve Barrett Production/Design Coordinator: Lin Lucas Permissions may be sought directly from Elsevier Science Global Rights Department, PO Box 800, Oxford OX5 1DX, UK; phone: (+44) 1865 843830, fax: (+44) 1865 853333, e-mail: permissions@elsevier. com. You may also contact Global Rights directly through Elsevier’s home page (http:// www.elsevier.com), by ‘Obtaining Permissions’. In the USA, users may clear permissions and make payments through the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, USA; phone: (+1) (978) 7508400, fax: (+1) (978) 7504744, and in the UK through the Copyright Licensing Agency Rapid Clearance Service (CLARCS), 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P 0LP, UK; phone: (+44) (0) 20 7631 5555; fax: (+44) (0) 20 7631 5500. Other countries may have a local reprographic rights agency for payments. Derivative Works Subscribers may reproduce tables of contents or prepare lists of articles including abstracts for internal circulation within their institutions. Permission of the Publisher is required for resale or distribution outside the institution. Permission of the Publisher is required for all other derivative works, including compilations and translations. Electronic Storage or Usage Permission of the Publisher is required to store or use electronically any material contained in this journal, including any article or part of an article. Except as outlined above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of the Publisher. Address permissions requests to: Elsevier Science Global Rights Department, at the mail, fax and e-mail addresses noted above. Notice No responsibility is assumed by the Publisher for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions or ideas contained in the material herein. Because of rapid advances in the medical sciences, in particular, independent verification of diagnoses and drug dosages should be made. Although all advertising material is expected to conform to ethical (medical) standards, inclusion in this publication does not constitute a guarantee or endorsement of the quality or value of such product or of the claims made of it by its manufacturer.
02233 Printed by Mayfield Press (Oxford) LImited
2
Fuel Cells Bulletin
Fujitsu boosts DMFC operating time with new material, has prototype
T
okyo-based Fujitsu Laboratories has developed a new solid electrolyte material that enables the use of highly concentrated (30%) methanol as a fuel source for DMFCs. The company has also unveiled a prototype power unit that incorporates the technology. Fujitsu’s new MEA technology replaces the fluorinated polymers typically used as the solid electrolyte in micro fuel cells, with an aromatic hydrocarbon polymer. This alternative material allows slow methanol permeation, and is also covered with a high density of highly active, Pt-based nanoparticle catalyst with methanolblocking properties. This reduces the total MEA methanol crossover to just one-tenth of that encountered with fluorinated polymers, allowing the use of more concentrated methanol without loss of power capacity. Where previously the optimum methanol concentration was 3–6%, Fujitsu’s system can use 30% concentration, which provides a significant increase in operating time for the same volume of fuel. Applying this technology in its latest prototype DMFC, Fujitsu has obtained an operating time of 8–10 h for a notebook PC with 300 ml of 30% methanol. Furthermore, the prototype fuel cell has been slimmed down to 15 mm thickness, while delivering a power output of 15 We. According to a report in the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Fujitsu expects to commercialize the new cell next year. The company plans to continue development work to further reduce size and increase operating times.
Contact: Functional Organic Materials Laboratory, Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd, Tokyo, Japan. Tel: +81 46 250 8257, Email: [email protected], www.labs.fujitsu.com
Scientists discover new H2 storage compounds
R
esearchers at the University of Chicago have discovered a new class of icy compounds that can store molecular hydrogen. They believe the materials could offer an alternative route to the storage of hydrogen fuel under less stringent temperature and pressure conditions than either liquid or compressed hydrogen.
The daughter–father research team of Wendy L. Mao, a graduate student in Geophysical Sciences at Chicago, and Ho-kwang (David) Mao, a visiting scientist from the Geophysical Laboratory of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, synthesized compounds made of hydrogen and water, hydrogen and methane, and hydrogen and octane in a diamond-anvil cell, which researchers use to simulate the high pressures found far beneath Earth’s surface. The hydrogen–water experiments produced the best results, yielding three compounds so far. The compound – called a hydrogen clathrate hydrate – that holds the most promise for hydrogen storage was synthesized at pressures between 20 000 and 30 000 bar and a temperature of –133°C. More importantly, the compound remains stable at atmospheric pressure and –195.8°C, the boiling point of liquid nitrogen, which is easy and cheap to make. The hydrogen in a clathrate can be released when heated to –133°C, with water as the by-product. The Maos have applied for a patent on their hydrogen clathrate synthesis technique. However, the problem of scale-up to useful quantities remains, as it is only possible to make very small amounts in diamond-anvil cells. The study was published in the 20 January 2004 [101(3)] edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (www.pnas.org). Contact: Wendy Mao, Department of Geophysical Sciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA. Tel: +1 773 795 6697, Email: [email protected], Web: geosci.uchicago.edu
Russian breakthrough with SOFC system
T
he first Russian power system based on a solid oxide fuel cell has been tested in the All-Russia Research Institute of Technical Physics, at the Russian Federal Nuclear Centre in Snezhinsk. The experimental system comprises a fuel cell, reformer and air pump developed and built by Russia’s Ministry of Atomic Energy (Minatom). The testing program was aided by financial support from the International Science & Technical Centre (ISTC) within its fuel cell construction initiative. The experimental system operates on synthesis gas derived from natural gas, and has an electric power output of 1 kW. Viktor Emel’yanov, co-coordinator of the ISTC fuel cell construction initiative, reports that the experimental SOFC system was operated for several days to determine what further modifications are necessary. Although the cost has not
March 2004