- Email: [email protected]
Millennium Cell, Samsung combine for consumer electronics
NEWS The Conduit fund invests in unquoted growth companies in the post-seed to pre-IPO stages that develop and market fuel cell and associated hydrogen technologies. Conduit focuses its investments in Europe and North America, and has already invested in Cellex Power Products, a Canadian-based PEM fuel cell developer. Contact: Conduit Ventures, London, UK. Tel: +44 20 7242 9595, www.conduit-ventures.com Or contact: Danfoss A/S, Nordborg, Denmark. Tel: +45 7488 2222, www.danfoss.com
Hydrogen economy is dirty without renewables The European Wind Energy Association (EWEA), the world’s largest renewable energy association, is warning that a premature push towards a hydrogen economy could have a serious environmental downside. In a submission to the European Commission’s High Level Group on Hydrogen & Fuel Cells, which is developing a vision document to define a ‘sustainable energy and transport system for Europe’, EWEA argues that the environmental case for developing hydrogen and fuel cell technologies is flawed without large-scale renewable energy production. According to EWEA, the vision report assumes that hydrogen and fuel cells are inherently clean, without examining the total hydrogen cycle. As EWEA policy director Christian Kjaer points out, hydrogen is only as clean as the technologies producing it; currently 98% of hydrogen is generated from fossil fuel sources. ‘Without renewables, hydrogen is dirty and it will simply be another energy carrier that is set to increase traditional polluting energy sources,’ he said. EWEA urges that a full ‘well-to-wheel’ approach, including the hydrogen production technologies and their environmental and carbon effects, is needed when debating the hydrogen future. (In fact several well-to-wheel studies have been published, including by Joan Ogden at Princeton and two by General Motors.) EWEA believes large-scale renewable energy production, such as offshore wind power, is an essential precondition for the credible deployment of a sustainable hydrogen economy. In EWEA’s view, the potential of existing renewable energy technologies is vastly underused because barriers such as unfavorable grid codes, limited grid access and other regulatory requirements currently put them at a competitive disadvantage. However, if existing renewable energy potential is ignored, ‘both early action benefits and the long-term credibility and 4
Fuel Cells Bulletin
environmental integrity of the future hydrogen system are put at risk,’ said EWEA’s Kjaer. Contact: European Wind Energy Association, Brussels, Belgium. Tel: +32 2 546 1940, www.ewea.org For more information on the High Level Group on Hydrogen & Fuel Cells, go to: europa.eu.int/ comm/research/energy/nn/nn_rt_hlg1_en.html
Millennium Cell, Samsung combine for consumer electronics New Jersey-based Millennium Cell has signed a cooperative development agreement with the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT) in Korea to advance fuel-cell powered portable computers and communications devices. The collaboration will combine Millennium Cell’s Hydrogen On Demand™ fuel technology with Samsung’s expertise in PEM fuel cell development, MEMS technologies and its leading position in the consumer electronics industry. The goal is to develop a fuel cell system that will power consumer electronic devices for several times the lifetime of today’s rechargeable batteries, but within the same space and weight. Under the agreement, Samsung and the South Korean government will provide immediate funding to Millennium Cell to cooperatively design Hydrogen On Demand systems for these applications. Millennium Cell’s system generates pure hydrogen from the catalyst-mediated reaction between water and sodium borohydride. Contact: Millennium Cell, Eatontown, NJ, USA. Tel: +1 732 542 4000, www.millenniumcell.com Or contact: Mr Jong-Ho Kim, Materials & Devices Lab, Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, Korea. Tel: +82 31 280 9066, Email: [email protected], www.sait.samsung.co.kr
HARC 2003 program draws 14 sponsors A group of 14 corporations, regulatory agencies and universities are collaborating to support a program at the Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC) in Texas to evaluate the performance of stationary fuel cell systems. The California Air Resources Board, California Power Authority, BP, ChevronTexaco, Ecce Energy Corporation, San Diego Gas & Electric, Shell Hydrogen, South Coast Air Quality Management District, Southern California Gas,
Southern Company, Texas A&M University, Texas State Energy Conservation Office, University of Houston and Walt Disney Imagineering R&D are sponsors of HARC’s Center for Fuel Cell Research & Applications for the 2003 program year. The center’s work will provide sponsors with engineering data on fuel cell operation and the commercial and industrial applications where they can be used. Other interested parties may still join the 2003 program. HARC plans to evaluate a full range of performance metrics for stationary fuel cell systems, including overall system efficiency, continuous power capability, power quality, performance degradation, fuel consumption, load-following capability, failure modes, component wear, reformer and stack emissions, maintenance requirements and technical support requirements. Researchers will also consider the impact of temperature, humidity and salt air on the performance and cost of operating fuel cells in sub-tropical and coastal climates. In response to a growing demand for clean power, HARC established its Center for Fuel Cell Research & Applications in July 1998, and has since operated a test laboratory to evaluate PEM fuel cell systems and related equipment. Contact: Dan Bullock, Fuel Cell Program Manager, Houston Advanced Research Center, The Woodlands, TX, USA. Tel: +1 281 364 6087, Email: dbullock@ harc.edu, www.harc.edu/fuelcell
Donaldson partners Los Alamos to study PEM contaminants The Fuel Cell Contamination Control (FC3) division of Minneapolis-based filtration specialist Donaldson Company is to join forces with Los Alamos National Laboratory in a research partnership to study the effect of ambient contaminants on the performance, life and durability of PEM fuel cells. Fuel cell development to date has largely taken place in controlled laboratory environments, where the air is relatively free of real-world contaminants. However, air quality studies conducted by Donaldson show that ambient air on every continent carries enough pollution to adversely affect hydrogen fuel cell reliability. Submicron-sized particles, salts, oils, chemicals and volatile organic compounds, which can shorten fuel cell life, are all found in varying degrees in the atmosphere. Donaldson, which is sponsored in part by the US Department of Energy, will use the findings of the two-year joint research program in its ongoing development of fuel cell filtration
June 2003
Hydrogen economy is dirty without renewables The European Wind Energy Association (EWEA), the world’s largest renewable energy association, is warning that a premature push towards a hydrogen economy could have a serious environmental downside. In a submission to the European Commission’s High Level Group on Hydrogen & Fuel Cells, which is developing a vision document to define a ‘sustainable energy and transport system for Europe’, EWEA argues that the environmental case for developing hydrogen and fuel cell technologies is flawed without large-scale renewable energy production. According to EWEA, the vision report assumes that hydrogen and fuel cells are inherently clean, without examining the total hydrogen cycle. As EWEA policy director Christian Kjaer points out, hydrogen is only as clean as the technologies producing it; currently 98% of hydrogen is generated from fossil fuel sources. ‘Without renewables, hydrogen is dirty and it will simply be another energy carrier that is set to increase traditional polluting energy sources,’ he said. EWEA urges that a full ‘well-to-wheel’ approach, including the hydrogen production technologies and their environmental and carbon effects, is needed when debating the hydrogen future. (In fact several well-to-wheel studies have been published, including by Joan Ogden at Princeton and two by General Motors.) EWEA believes large-scale renewable energy production, such as offshore wind power, is an essential precondition for the credible deployment of a sustainable hydrogen economy. In EWEA’s view, the potential of existing renewable energy technologies is vastly underused because barriers such as unfavorable grid codes, limited grid access and other regulatory requirements currently put them at a competitive disadvantage. However, if existing renewable energy potential is ignored, ‘both early action benefits and the long-term credibility and 4
Fuel Cells Bulletin
environmental integrity of the future hydrogen system are put at risk,’ said EWEA’s Kjaer. Contact: European Wind Energy Association, Brussels, Belgium. Tel: +32 2 546 1940, www.ewea.org For more information on the High Level Group on Hydrogen & Fuel Cells, go to: europa.eu.int/ comm/research/energy/nn/nn_rt_hlg1_en.html
Millennium Cell, Samsung combine for consumer electronics New Jersey-based Millennium Cell has signed a cooperative development agreement with the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT) in Korea to advance fuel-cell powered portable computers and communications devices. The collaboration will combine Millennium Cell’s Hydrogen On Demand™ fuel technology with Samsung’s expertise in PEM fuel cell development, MEMS technologies and its leading position in the consumer electronics industry. The goal is to develop a fuel cell system that will power consumer electronic devices for several times the lifetime of today’s rechargeable batteries, but within the same space and weight. Under the agreement, Samsung and the South Korean government will provide immediate funding to Millennium Cell to cooperatively design Hydrogen On Demand systems for these applications. Millennium Cell’s system generates pure hydrogen from the catalyst-mediated reaction between water and sodium borohydride. Contact: Millennium Cell, Eatontown, NJ, USA. Tel: +1 732 542 4000, www.millenniumcell.com Or contact: Mr Jong-Ho Kim, Materials & Devices Lab, Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, Korea. Tel: +82 31 280 9066, Email: [email protected], www.sait.samsung.co.kr
HARC 2003 program draws 14 sponsors A group of 14 corporations, regulatory agencies and universities are collaborating to support a program at the Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC) in Texas to evaluate the performance of stationary fuel cell systems. The California Air Resources Board, California Power Authority, BP, ChevronTexaco, Ecce Energy Corporation, San Diego Gas & Electric, Shell Hydrogen, South Coast Air Quality Management District, Southern California Gas,
Southern Company, Texas A&M University, Texas State Energy Conservation Office, University of Houston and Walt Disney Imagineering R&D are sponsors of HARC’s Center for Fuel Cell Research & Applications for the 2003 program year. The center’s work will provide sponsors with engineering data on fuel cell operation and the commercial and industrial applications where they can be used. Other interested parties may still join the 2003 program. HARC plans to evaluate a full range of performance metrics for stationary fuel cell systems, including overall system efficiency, continuous power capability, power quality, performance degradation, fuel consumption, load-following capability, failure modes, component wear, reformer and stack emissions, maintenance requirements and technical support requirements. Researchers will also consider the impact of temperature, humidity and salt air on the performance and cost of operating fuel cells in sub-tropical and coastal climates. In response to a growing demand for clean power, HARC established its Center for Fuel Cell Research & Applications in July 1998, and has since operated a test laboratory to evaluate PEM fuel cell systems and related equipment. Contact: Dan Bullock, Fuel Cell Program Manager, Houston Advanced Research Center, The Woodlands, TX, USA. Tel: +1 281 364 6087, Email: dbullock@ harc.edu, www.harc.edu/fuelcell
Donaldson partners Los Alamos to study PEM contaminants The Fuel Cell Contamination Control (FC3) division of Minneapolis-based filtration specialist Donaldson Company is to join forces with Los Alamos National Laboratory in a research partnership to study the effect of ambient contaminants on the performance, life and durability of PEM fuel cells. Fuel cell development to date has largely taken place in controlled laboratory environments, where the air is relatively free of real-world contaminants. However, air quality studies conducted by Donaldson show that ambient air on every continent carries enough pollution to adversely affect hydrogen fuel cell reliability. Submicron-sized particles, salts, oils, chemicals and volatile organic compounds, which can shorten fuel cell life, are all found in varying degrees in the atmosphere. Donaldson, which is sponsored in part by the US Department of Energy, will use the findings of the two-year joint research program in its ongoing development of fuel cell filtration
June 2003