- Email: [email protected]
Maryland, Ballard, Army create fuel processing center
NEWS cell systems for portable power applications in the 100 W to 1 kW range. Its fuel cell systems are designed to meet the needs of military, commercial and consumer customers for off-grid applications, by providing customizable, stand-alone portable power solutions and systems that may be hybridized with existing power technologies. Protonex Technology Corporation, Southborough, Massachusetts, USA. Tel: +1 508 490 9960, www.protonex.com
Proton Energy Scholarship gives $1m to students
T
he audience at the recent NHA Hydrogen Conference & Expo in Long Beach, California got a big surprise, when entrepreneur Tom Sullivan announced that all 10 finalists for the Proton Energy Scholarship would receive a $100 000, four-year undergraduate scholarship. The initial plan was to give a $100 000 scholarship to one of the 10 finalists, but Sullivan decided all were worthy of the full scholarship. ‘All 10 finalists are truly exceptional individuals, and it was impossible to only give away one $100 000 scholarship – so we awarded all the students the grand prize,’ says Sullivan, supporter and funder of the Proton Energy Scholarship. ‘Each and every student shows tremendous promise in fields of science and technology, and we are excited to help support the bright futures ahead of these talented individuals.’ Sponsored by Proton Energy Systems, which is owned by Sullivan, and administered by the Hydrogen Education Foundation (HEF), the Proton Energy Scholarship recognizes and awards high school seniors who demonstrate outstanding achievement, excellence and promise in the fields of science or technology, and who plan to pursue higher education in these areas. ‘As a result of Tom’s generous gift, the Foundation is proud to help these exceptional young people pursue their studies in science and technology,’ says Jeff Serfass, president of both the HEF and the NHA. ‘As industry makes investments in hydrogen technologies, we must also invest in our future leaders. This is the recipe for growth and continued success.’ The Proton Energy Scholarship finalists were evaluated on academic performance, strength of application, commitment to further education in a science or technology related field, financial need, and demonstrated leadership, work ethic and community involvement.
10
Fuel Cells Bulletin
Tom Sullivan founded Lumber Liquidators, the largest US retailer of hardwood floors, and SunHydro, the world’s first chain of privately funded fueling stations to provide hydrogen for fuel cell cars [FCB, May 2010]. He also owns Connecticut-based Proton Energy Systems, the leading supplier of onsite hydrogen generators utilizing PEM technology. HEF is the charitable, education-focused arm of the US National Hydrogen Association. The HEF currently administers four hallmark programs: the H2 &You outreach program, the Hydrogen Student Design contest, the H-Prize Competition [FCB, October 2009], and the Proton Energy Scholarship Program. Proton Energy Systems, Wallingford, Connecticut, USA. Tel: +1 203 678 2000, www.protonenergy.com Proton Energy Scholarship: www.protonenergyscholarship.com Hydrogen Education Foundation: www.HydrogenEducationFoundation.org National Hydrogen Association: www.HydrogenAssociation.org
ACAL Energy raises £3.5m in latest investment round
I
n the UK, ACAL Energy has completed a £3.5 million (US$5 million) investment round, to boost the development of its innovative, low-cost fuel cell technology. Carbon Trust Investments led the funding round, along with Solvay SA, Porton Capital, and a leading Japanese automotive corporation. Additional funds are expected in a second round later this summer. The funds will be used to complete development of ACAL’s FlowCath® platinum-free cathode technology, and introduce the first commercial offerings. An OEM evaluation kit is planned for availability later this year, and a first fuel cell engine product incorporating FlowCath will be sampled to prospective customers in 2011. FlowCath replaces the expensive platinum catalyst in conventional fuel cells with a proprietary low-cost liquid catalyst. This not only reduces the cost of the fuel cell, but also provides significant durability and reliability benefits, through system simplification and the elimination of the most common failure mechanisms found in standard fuel cells. ACAL Energy believes its FlowCath technology is ready for application in small and medium-sized stationary power applications, replac-
ing diesel generators in backup power systems, combined heat and power (CHP) installations and remote power applications. Larger-scale stationary power and transport applications are planned for the future. Over the last year, ACAL Energy has achieved several important milestones, including achieving a peak power density of nearly 800 mW/cm2, the development of new, potentially higher-performance chemical systems, and the scale-up from a 50 W integrated system to a 1.5 kW laboratory demonstration system [FCB, December 2009]. In March, a model hydrogen fuel cell system was launched to great interest at the Fuel Cell Expo in Japan. Carbon Trust Investments – the venture capital investment subsidiary of The Carbon Trust – recently appointed Dr J. Byron McCormick as a non-executive director on the ACAL board. McCormick is well known in the automotive industry, bringing with him 25 years’ experience in advanced automotive systems, electric vehicle propulsion systems, fuel cells and hydrogen. Most recently he was executive director of General Motors’ fuel cell vehicle development team, which at one time comprised up to 1500 engineers, technicians, and support staff. ACAL Energy Ltd, Runcorn, Cheshire, UK. Tel: +44 1928 511581, www.acalenergy.co.uk
RESEARCH
Maryland, Ballard, Army create fuel processing center
A
new center of excellence for the advancement of fuel processing technology is being established at the University of Maryland (UMD) in College Park, to enable operation of fuel cell products with non-hydrogen fuels. The new FuelWorks™ center will leverage the ongoing efforts of its founding partners: UMD, Canadianbased Ballard Power Systems, and the US Department of Defense’s Army Research Laboratory (ARL). FuelWorks has a mandate to develop technologies that enable fuel cells to operate with fuels such as JP-8, diesel, natural gas, and LPG. It will be open to industry, academia and government agencies, and provide a forum for collaboration to advance fuel reforming technology for military and commercial applications. The center will coordinate ongoing research among scientific and technical staff from UMD, Ballard, and ARL. ‘Ballard is committed to accelerating the implementation of flexible fueling approaches for
June 2010
NEWS fuel cell generators,’ says Michael Goldstein, the firm’s chief commercial officer. ‘This capability is especially important for developing countries that can benefit from clean fuel cell power.’ At FuelWorks, collaboration will advance the operation of fuel cells using hydrogen extracted from military logistics fuels, specifically JP-8/ DF-2 fuels. Success will ensure low noise and thermal signatures, together with very high efficiency operation, which are desirable properties for military tactical generators. Related advances in fuel processing are also expected to have direct commercial applicability for residential, commercial, mobile, and utility applications. Ballard intends to apply its substantial intellectual property portfolio of more than 2000 patents and licenses. Ballard will also continue its active participation in UMD’s Center for Environmental Energy Engineering (CEEE), an industry-sponsored consortium of public and private organizations collaborating on clean energy solutions for portable and distributed power. ‘FuelWorks will build on existing expertise at CEEE and, through collaboration between Ballard and other partners, it will address critical research needs for fuel cells operating in various applications, using existing and emerging fuels,’ comments Reinhard Radermacher, director of CEEE and professor of mechanical engineering at UMD. Contact: Professor Reinhard Radermacher, Director – Center for Environmental Energy Engineering, Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA. Tel: +1 301 405 5439, Email: [email protected] University of Maryland, Center for Environmental Energy Engineering: www.enme.umd.edu/ceee Ballard Power Systems Inc, Burnaby, BC, Canada. Tel: +1 604 454 0900, www.ballard.com US Army Research Laboratory: www.arl.army.mil
Brown chemists show enhanced nanoparticle cathode catalyst
C
hemists at Brown University in Rhode Island have demonstrated that a nanoparticle with a palladium core and an iron-platinum shell outperforms commercially available pureplatinum catalysts, and lasts longer. The team created a unique core and shell nanoparticle that uses much less of the expensive platinum than commercial pure-platinum catalysts for fuel cell cathode reactions.
June 2010
The oxygen reduction reaction takes place at the cathode, creating water. The cathode is also where up to 40% of a fuel cell’s efficiency is lost, so ‘this is a crucial step in making fuel cells a more competitive technology with internal combustion engines and batteries,’ says Shouheng Sun, professor of chemistry at Brown University and co-author of the paper in the Journal of the American Chemical Society [DOI: 10.1021/ja1024436]. The research team, which includes graduate student and co-author Vismadeb Mazumder and researchers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, created a 5 nm palladium (Pd) core, and encircled it with a shell consisting of iron and platinum (FePt). The trick, explains Mazumder, is molding a shell that retains its shape, and requires only the smallest amount of Pt to give an efficient reaction. The team created the FePt shell by decomposing iron pentacarbonyl [Fe(CO)5] and reducing platinum acetylacetonate [Pt(acac)2]. The result is a shell that uses only 30% Pt, although the researchers say they expect they will be able to make thinner shells and use even less Pt. The team created FePt shells that varied in width from 1 to 3 nm, although the 1 nm shells were found to perform best. The researchers demonstrated for the first time that they could consistently produce the unique core-shell structures. In lab tests, the Pd/ FePt nanoparticles generated 12 times more current than commercially available pure-Pt catalysts at the same catalyst weight. The output also remained consistent over 10 000 cycles, at least 10 times longer than commercially available Pt models, which begin to deteriorate after 1000 cycles. ‘Catalysts with a core and a shell can be made readily in half-gram quantities in the lab, they’re active, and they last,’ says Mazumder. ‘The next step is to scale them up for commercial use, and we are confident we’ll be able to do that.’ Mazumder and Sun are studying why the Pd core increases the catalytic abilities of FePt, which they think relates to the transfer of electrons between the core and shell metals. To that end, they are trying to use a chemically more active metal than Pd as the core, to confirm the electron transfer in the core-shell arrangement and its importance to the catalyst’s function. Last year Sun and Mazumder reported the production of 4.5 nm Pd catalyst nanoparticles with about 40% greater surface area than commercially available Pd particles, which they attached to a carbon platform on a direct formic acid fuel cell anode [FCB, May 2009]. Contact: Professor Shouheng Sun, Department of Chemistry, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA. Tel: +1 401 863 3329, Email: shouheng_sun@ brown.edu, Web: www.chem.brown.edu/research/sun
IN BRIEF Toyota aims to sell first fuel cell cars at $50 000 retail price Toyota has cut the cost of making fuel cell vehicles by about 90% over the past five years, and expects to price its first retail fuel cell car at about US$50 000, according to a Bloomberg report. The first model will be a sedan with a range equal to a gasoline-powered car, ‘with some extra cost,’ says Yoshihiko Masuda, Toyota’s managing director for advanced vehicles (www.toyota.com/esq). The automaker has cut production costs to about one-tenth of earlier estimates – which ran as high as $1m each – but would still need to halve current expenses before starting retail sales, he says. Toyota plans to sell an ‘affordable’ model in the US and elsewhere. At a US price of about $50,000, the market for the vehicles would be ‘small, but with some support,’ says Masuda. ‘Our target is, we don’t lose money with introduction of the vehicle,’ he says. ‘Production cost should be covered within the price of the vehicle.’ Toyota has cut the cost by reducing platinum use by about two-thirds, and finding cheaper ways to produce the thin films used in the fuel cells and the carbon-fiber hydrogen tanks, Masuda told delegates at the recent NHA Conference in Long Beach, California. Toyota now uses about 30 g (1 oz) of platinum per FCV, and aims to reduce it to about 10 g. Shifting from low-volume assembly to massscale production would cut costs further, he adds. Bob Rose receives NHA merit award The NHA 2010 Award for Meritorious Service was presented to Robert Rose, cofounder and currently senior advisor to the US Fuel Cell Council (www.usfcc.com), at the recent NHA (www.HydrogenAssociation. org) Conference & Expo in Long Beach, California. The Award recognizes an individual for his or her leadership and significant personal contribution in the promotion of hydrogen technology. ‘[This honor] is recognition of the leadership of hundreds and perhaps thousands of men and women who have built the US Fuel Cell Council and made it an effective force,’ said Rose. ‘It is also an affirmation for dozens of men and women who had faith in me and in our mission.’ Rose founded the USFCC in 1998 as the fuel cell industry association. It conducts a wide variety of technical, safety, educational, and policy activities in its mission of commercializing fuel cells for all applications. Rose was executive director of the USFCC from 1998 until 2009.
Fuel Cells Bulletin
11
Proton Energy Scholarship gives $1m to students
T
he audience at the recent NHA Hydrogen Conference & Expo in Long Beach, California got a big surprise, when entrepreneur Tom Sullivan announced that all 10 finalists for the Proton Energy Scholarship would receive a $100 000, four-year undergraduate scholarship. The initial plan was to give a $100 000 scholarship to one of the 10 finalists, but Sullivan decided all were worthy of the full scholarship. ‘All 10 finalists are truly exceptional individuals, and it was impossible to only give away one $100 000 scholarship – so we awarded all the students the grand prize,’ says Sullivan, supporter and funder of the Proton Energy Scholarship. ‘Each and every student shows tremendous promise in fields of science and technology, and we are excited to help support the bright futures ahead of these talented individuals.’ Sponsored by Proton Energy Systems, which is owned by Sullivan, and administered by the Hydrogen Education Foundation (HEF), the Proton Energy Scholarship recognizes and awards high school seniors who demonstrate outstanding achievement, excellence and promise in the fields of science or technology, and who plan to pursue higher education in these areas. ‘As a result of Tom’s generous gift, the Foundation is proud to help these exceptional young people pursue their studies in science and technology,’ says Jeff Serfass, president of both the HEF and the NHA. ‘As industry makes investments in hydrogen technologies, we must also invest in our future leaders. This is the recipe for growth and continued success.’ The Proton Energy Scholarship finalists were evaluated on academic performance, strength of application, commitment to further education in a science or technology related field, financial need, and demonstrated leadership, work ethic and community involvement.
10
Fuel Cells Bulletin
Tom Sullivan founded Lumber Liquidators, the largest US retailer of hardwood floors, and SunHydro, the world’s first chain of privately funded fueling stations to provide hydrogen for fuel cell cars [FCB, May 2010]. He also owns Connecticut-based Proton Energy Systems, the leading supplier of onsite hydrogen generators utilizing PEM technology. HEF is the charitable, education-focused arm of the US National Hydrogen Association. The HEF currently administers four hallmark programs: the H2 &You outreach program, the Hydrogen Student Design contest, the H-Prize Competition [FCB, October 2009], and the Proton Energy Scholarship Program. Proton Energy Systems, Wallingford, Connecticut, USA. Tel: +1 203 678 2000, www.protonenergy.com Proton Energy Scholarship: www.protonenergyscholarship.com Hydrogen Education Foundation: www.HydrogenEducationFoundation.org National Hydrogen Association: www.HydrogenAssociation.org
ACAL Energy raises £3.5m in latest investment round
I
n the UK, ACAL Energy has completed a £3.5 million (US$5 million) investment round, to boost the development of its innovative, low-cost fuel cell technology. Carbon Trust Investments led the funding round, along with Solvay SA, Porton Capital, and a leading Japanese automotive corporation. Additional funds are expected in a second round later this summer. The funds will be used to complete development of ACAL’s FlowCath® platinum-free cathode technology, and introduce the first commercial offerings. An OEM evaluation kit is planned for availability later this year, and a first fuel cell engine product incorporating FlowCath will be sampled to prospective customers in 2011. FlowCath replaces the expensive platinum catalyst in conventional fuel cells with a proprietary low-cost liquid catalyst. This not only reduces the cost of the fuel cell, but also provides significant durability and reliability benefits, through system simplification and the elimination of the most common failure mechanisms found in standard fuel cells. ACAL Energy believes its FlowCath technology is ready for application in small and medium-sized stationary power applications, replac-
ing diesel generators in backup power systems, combined heat and power (CHP) installations and remote power applications. Larger-scale stationary power and transport applications are planned for the future. Over the last year, ACAL Energy has achieved several important milestones, including achieving a peak power density of nearly 800 mW/cm2, the development of new, potentially higher-performance chemical systems, and the scale-up from a 50 W integrated system to a 1.5 kW laboratory demonstration system [FCB, December 2009]. In March, a model hydrogen fuel cell system was launched to great interest at the Fuel Cell Expo in Japan. Carbon Trust Investments – the venture capital investment subsidiary of The Carbon Trust – recently appointed Dr J. Byron McCormick as a non-executive director on the ACAL board. McCormick is well known in the automotive industry, bringing with him 25 years’ experience in advanced automotive systems, electric vehicle propulsion systems, fuel cells and hydrogen. Most recently he was executive director of General Motors’ fuel cell vehicle development team, which at one time comprised up to 1500 engineers, technicians, and support staff. ACAL Energy Ltd, Runcorn, Cheshire, UK. Tel: +44 1928 511581, www.acalenergy.co.uk
RESEARCH
Maryland, Ballard, Army create fuel processing center
A
new center of excellence for the advancement of fuel processing technology is being established at the University of Maryland (UMD) in College Park, to enable operation of fuel cell products with non-hydrogen fuels. The new FuelWorks™ center will leverage the ongoing efforts of its founding partners: UMD, Canadianbased Ballard Power Systems, and the US Department of Defense’s Army Research Laboratory (ARL). FuelWorks has a mandate to develop technologies that enable fuel cells to operate with fuels such as JP-8, diesel, natural gas, and LPG. It will be open to industry, academia and government agencies, and provide a forum for collaboration to advance fuel reforming technology for military and commercial applications. The center will coordinate ongoing research among scientific and technical staff from UMD, Ballard, and ARL. ‘Ballard is committed to accelerating the implementation of flexible fueling approaches for
June 2010
NEWS fuel cell generators,’ says Michael Goldstein, the firm’s chief commercial officer. ‘This capability is especially important for developing countries that can benefit from clean fuel cell power.’ At FuelWorks, collaboration will advance the operation of fuel cells using hydrogen extracted from military logistics fuels, specifically JP-8/ DF-2 fuels. Success will ensure low noise and thermal signatures, together with very high efficiency operation, which are desirable properties for military tactical generators. Related advances in fuel processing are also expected to have direct commercial applicability for residential, commercial, mobile, and utility applications. Ballard intends to apply its substantial intellectual property portfolio of more than 2000 patents and licenses. Ballard will also continue its active participation in UMD’s Center for Environmental Energy Engineering (CEEE), an industry-sponsored consortium of public and private organizations collaborating on clean energy solutions for portable and distributed power. ‘FuelWorks will build on existing expertise at CEEE and, through collaboration between Ballard and other partners, it will address critical research needs for fuel cells operating in various applications, using existing and emerging fuels,’ comments Reinhard Radermacher, director of CEEE and professor of mechanical engineering at UMD. Contact: Professor Reinhard Radermacher, Director – Center for Environmental Energy Engineering, Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA. Tel: +1 301 405 5439, Email: [email protected] University of Maryland, Center for Environmental Energy Engineering: www.enme.umd.edu/ceee Ballard Power Systems Inc, Burnaby, BC, Canada. Tel: +1 604 454 0900, www.ballard.com US Army Research Laboratory: www.arl.army.mil
Brown chemists show enhanced nanoparticle cathode catalyst
C
hemists at Brown University in Rhode Island have demonstrated that a nanoparticle with a palladium core and an iron-platinum shell outperforms commercially available pureplatinum catalysts, and lasts longer. The team created a unique core and shell nanoparticle that uses much less of the expensive platinum than commercial pure-platinum catalysts for fuel cell cathode reactions.
June 2010
The oxygen reduction reaction takes place at the cathode, creating water. The cathode is also where up to 40% of a fuel cell’s efficiency is lost, so ‘this is a crucial step in making fuel cells a more competitive technology with internal combustion engines and batteries,’ says Shouheng Sun, professor of chemistry at Brown University and co-author of the paper in the Journal of the American Chemical Society [DOI: 10.1021/ja1024436]. The research team, which includes graduate student and co-author Vismadeb Mazumder and researchers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, created a 5 nm palladium (Pd) core, and encircled it with a shell consisting of iron and platinum (FePt). The trick, explains Mazumder, is molding a shell that retains its shape, and requires only the smallest amount of Pt to give an efficient reaction. The team created the FePt shell by decomposing iron pentacarbonyl [Fe(CO)5] and reducing platinum acetylacetonate [Pt(acac)2]. The result is a shell that uses only 30% Pt, although the researchers say they expect they will be able to make thinner shells and use even less Pt. The team created FePt shells that varied in width from 1 to 3 nm, although the 1 nm shells were found to perform best. The researchers demonstrated for the first time that they could consistently produce the unique core-shell structures. In lab tests, the Pd/ FePt nanoparticles generated 12 times more current than commercially available pure-Pt catalysts at the same catalyst weight. The output also remained consistent over 10 000 cycles, at least 10 times longer than commercially available Pt models, which begin to deteriorate after 1000 cycles. ‘Catalysts with a core and a shell can be made readily in half-gram quantities in the lab, they’re active, and they last,’ says Mazumder. ‘The next step is to scale them up for commercial use, and we are confident we’ll be able to do that.’ Mazumder and Sun are studying why the Pd core increases the catalytic abilities of FePt, which they think relates to the transfer of electrons between the core and shell metals. To that end, they are trying to use a chemically more active metal than Pd as the core, to confirm the electron transfer in the core-shell arrangement and its importance to the catalyst’s function. Last year Sun and Mazumder reported the production of 4.5 nm Pd catalyst nanoparticles with about 40% greater surface area than commercially available Pd particles, which they attached to a carbon platform on a direct formic acid fuel cell anode [FCB, May 2009]. Contact: Professor Shouheng Sun, Department of Chemistry, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA. Tel: +1 401 863 3329, Email: shouheng_sun@ brown.edu, Web: www.chem.brown.edu/research/sun
IN BRIEF Toyota aims to sell first fuel cell cars at $50 000 retail price Toyota has cut the cost of making fuel cell vehicles by about 90% over the past five years, and expects to price its first retail fuel cell car at about US$50 000, according to a Bloomberg report. The first model will be a sedan with a range equal to a gasoline-powered car, ‘with some extra cost,’ says Yoshihiko Masuda, Toyota’s managing director for advanced vehicles (www.toyota.com/esq). The automaker has cut production costs to about one-tenth of earlier estimates – which ran as high as $1m each – but would still need to halve current expenses before starting retail sales, he says. Toyota plans to sell an ‘affordable’ model in the US and elsewhere. At a US price of about $50,000, the market for the vehicles would be ‘small, but with some support,’ says Masuda. ‘Our target is, we don’t lose money with introduction of the vehicle,’ he says. ‘Production cost should be covered within the price of the vehicle.’ Toyota has cut the cost by reducing platinum use by about two-thirds, and finding cheaper ways to produce the thin films used in the fuel cells and the carbon-fiber hydrogen tanks, Masuda told delegates at the recent NHA Conference in Long Beach, California. Toyota now uses about 30 g (1 oz) of platinum per FCV, and aims to reduce it to about 10 g. Shifting from low-volume assembly to massscale production would cut costs further, he adds. Bob Rose receives NHA merit award The NHA 2010 Award for Meritorious Service was presented to Robert Rose, cofounder and currently senior advisor to the US Fuel Cell Council (www.usfcc.com), at the recent NHA (www.HydrogenAssociation. org) Conference & Expo in Long Beach, California. The Award recognizes an individual for his or her leadership and significant personal contribution in the promotion of hydrogen technology. ‘[This honor] is recognition of the leadership of hundreds and perhaps thousands of men and women who have built the US Fuel Cell Council and made it an effective force,’ said Rose. ‘It is also an affirmation for dozens of men and women who had faith in me and in our mission.’ Rose founded the USFCC in 1998 as the fuel cell industry association. It conducts a wide variety of technical, safety, educational, and policy activities in its mission of commercializing fuel cells for all applications. Rose was executive director of the USFCC from 1998 until 2009.
Fuel Cells Bulletin
11