- Email: [email protected]
Mixed fortunes for Toyota FCVs
NEWS second funding round is Russian oil & gas group Yukos, which was also an investor in Intelligent Energy’s first funding round in August 2001. Yukos has now increased its equity stake in the company from 14% to 26%. Contact: Intelligent Energy Ltd, London, UK. Tel: +44 20 7958 9033, www.intelligent-energy.com Or contact: Michael G. Friend, Boeing Research & Technology Center, Madrid, Spain. Tel: +34 91 768 8480, Email: [email protected], www.boeing.com/phantom
UPS collaborating with EPA, DaimlerChrysler for fuel cell delivery vehicles In the US a collaborative project between delivery company United Parcel Service (UPS), automaker DaimlerChrysler and the EPA’s National Vehicle & Fuel Emissions Laboratory (NVFEL) will see UPS operating package delivery vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells by the end of 2003. This will be the first use of fuel cell technology in a commercial delivery fleet in North America. DaimlerChrysler will supply the FCVs for UPS, with EPA providing a hydrogen refueling station at its NVFEL facility in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The fueling station will be designed and built by Air Products & Chemicals using the latest technology for hydrogen storage, dispensing and safety, and will also be operational by the end of 2003. It will provide up to 40 kg/day of compressed hydrogen to fuel the UPS vehicles, as well as other FCVs and EPA hydrogen fuel projects in the area. The first FCV to be tested by UPS will be a DaimlerChrysler ‘F-Cell’ sub-compact car, based on the Mercedes-Benz A-Class and powered by a Ballard fuel cell. It will initially be used for everyday, early-morning express deliveries. In 2004, UPS will add one or more fuel cellpowered Dodge Sprinter delivery vans to its fleet – the first medium-duty fuel cell commercial vehicles to be put in service in the US. These DaimlerChrysler FCVs will be used in typical UPS delivery operations on established routes. The demonstration program will enable the initiative partners to continue evaluating FCV attributes, such as fuel economy, cold-weather operation and driving performance. They will also gain considerable operational experience with a fuel cell fleet vehicle and hydrogen refueling station. Contact: National Vehicle & Fuel Emissions Laboratory, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. Tel: +1 734 214 4200, http://www.epa.gov/otaq/01-nvfel.htm
July 2003
Or go to: www.epa.gov/fuelcell Or contact: United Parcel Service Inc, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Tel: +1 404 828 6000, www.ups.com Or contact: Air Products & Chemicals Inc, Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA. Tel: +1 610 481 4911, Email: [email protected], www.airproducts.com/h2energy
Mixed fortunes for Toyota FCVs Toyota Motor Corporation recently agreed to lease six more hydrogen-powered fuel cell hybrid vehicles (FCHVs) to two local governments and four private companies in Japan. However, delivery has been delayed owing to the discovery of a leak in the fuel tank of one of the vehicles delivered last year to the Japanese Environment Ministry. The new leases were signed with Aichi Prefecture and Nagoya City, and Iwatani International, Nippon Oil, Tokyo Gas and Toho Gas, and will cost ¥1.2m (US$10 200) per month for 30 months. They will increase to 12 the number of Toyota FCHVs marketed since its launch last December, with 10 in Japan and two in the US [FCB, January 2003]. The Toyota FCHV is based on the company’s advanced type-4 prototype – units of which have accumulated approximately 130 000 km in trial runs – and features an in-house developed 90 kWe PEM fuel cell stack. Careful regulation of the power flow from the fuel cell stack and secondary NiMH battery allows the vehicle to achieve both high efficiency and luxury car-like driving performance, with a top speed of 155 km/h (96 mph) and a range of 300 km (190 miles). The leak was detected on 15 May during the filling of the high-pressure hydrogen fuel tank, with hydrogen escaping from the opening for refilling. As a result, Toyota has postponed the supply of the new vehicles and implemented a voluntary recall of the four FCHVs already supplied to Japanese ministries. The two additional cars supplied to the University of California will be recalled soon. The company is investigating the cause of the problem, and will return the vehicles after fixing the problem, although it cannot yet specify a timeframe. The company had been aiming to lease a total of about 20 FCVs in Japan and the US by the end of the year, but this setback is likely to make it difficult to achieve that goal. Contact: Toyota Motor Corporation, Fuel Cell System Development Division, Higashifuji Technical Center, Shizuoka. Japan. Tel: +81 559 977842, www.toyota.com/about/environment/technology
In Brief Toray develops micro fuel cell for cellphone Tokyo-based Toray Industries has collaborated with Shinshu University in Nagano Prefecture to develop a membrane-electrode assembly for a direct methanol fuel cell that is small yet powerful enough to power a cellphone, according to the Nikkei Business Daily. Toray’s new MEA is around 3 mm thick and features a membrane with small pores that allow hydrogen ions to pass, but reduce the undesired crossover of methanol by 80%. The MEA also features an improved catalyst that enables the use of a more highly concentrated solution of methanol, helping to triple both the life of the fuel cell and the power output. Using the new MEA, Toray has prototyped a fuel cell and demonstrated its ability to power a personal digital assistant. In a cellphone, the fuel cell can power the phone for 90 min of talk time on 10 cm3 of methanol – more or less equivalent to current Li-ion batteries. The company is continuing work on boosting the MEA’s performance, but apparently plans to enter into volume production in fiscal 2005 and market the product to battery makers. Grove Symposium program now available The program of oral presentations for the 8th Grove Fuel Cell Symposium is now available on the website. This major conference and exhibition – with the theme this year of ‘Building Fuel Cell Industries’ – will take place 24–26 September at ExCeL in London’s Docklands, providing conference delegates and exhibition visitors with an up-to-date review of developments in fuel cell and related technologies, progress in demonstrations for stationary and mobile applications, and the emerging infrastructure. This year’s program features more than 60 oral presentations reflecting the continued move towards commercialization, and well over 200 poster papers on cutting-edge research. The opening plenary session will see the award of the prestigious Grove Medal to Professor Ferdinand Panik, who led the DaimlerChrysler fuel cell program to its current pre-eminent position, and he will then present a keynote lecture. The Symposium will then move on to sessions covering experience in building fuel cell industries, developing a viable fuel infrastructure, fuel processing, materials and components for PEM fuel cells, materials and systems development for SOFCs, demonstrations and applications, micro fuel cell systems, government incentives to building fuel cell industries, presentations by exhibitors & manufacturers, and financing a new industry. The greatly expanded exhibition will feature more than 100 developers of fuel cell systems and component manufacturers, together with static and live vehicle demonstration areas. For more details, go to: www.grovefuelcell.com
Fuel Cells Bulletin
3
UPS collaborating with EPA, DaimlerChrysler for fuel cell delivery vehicles In the US a collaborative project between delivery company United Parcel Service (UPS), automaker DaimlerChrysler and the EPA’s National Vehicle & Fuel Emissions Laboratory (NVFEL) will see UPS operating package delivery vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells by the end of 2003. This will be the first use of fuel cell technology in a commercial delivery fleet in North America. DaimlerChrysler will supply the FCVs for UPS, with EPA providing a hydrogen refueling station at its NVFEL facility in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The fueling station will be designed and built by Air Products & Chemicals using the latest technology for hydrogen storage, dispensing and safety, and will also be operational by the end of 2003. It will provide up to 40 kg/day of compressed hydrogen to fuel the UPS vehicles, as well as other FCVs and EPA hydrogen fuel projects in the area. The first FCV to be tested by UPS will be a DaimlerChrysler ‘F-Cell’ sub-compact car, based on the Mercedes-Benz A-Class and powered by a Ballard fuel cell. It will initially be used for everyday, early-morning express deliveries. In 2004, UPS will add one or more fuel cellpowered Dodge Sprinter delivery vans to its fleet – the first medium-duty fuel cell commercial vehicles to be put in service in the US. These DaimlerChrysler FCVs will be used in typical UPS delivery operations on established routes. The demonstration program will enable the initiative partners to continue evaluating FCV attributes, such as fuel economy, cold-weather operation and driving performance. They will also gain considerable operational experience with a fuel cell fleet vehicle and hydrogen refueling station. Contact: National Vehicle & Fuel Emissions Laboratory, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. Tel: +1 734 214 4200, http://www.epa.gov/otaq/01-nvfel.htm
July 2003
Or go to: www.epa.gov/fuelcell Or contact: United Parcel Service Inc, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Tel: +1 404 828 6000, www.ups.com Or contact: Air Products & Chemicals Inc, Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA. Tel: +1 610 481 4911, Email: [email protected], www.airproducts.com/h2energy
Mixed fortunes for Toyota FCVs Toyota Motor Corporation recently agreed to lease six more hydrogen-powered fuel cell hybrid vehicles (FCHVs) to two local governments and four private companies in Japan. However, delivery has been delayed owing to the discovery of a leak in the fuel tank of one of the vehicles delivered last year to the Japanese Environment Ministry. The new leases were signed with Aichi Prefecture and Nagoya City, and Iwatani International, Nippon Oil, Tokyo Gas and Toho Gas, and will cost ¥1.2m (US$10 200) per month for 30 months. They will increase to 12 the number of Toyota FCHVs marketed since its launch last December, with 10 in Japan and two in the US [FCB, January 2003]. The Toyota FCHV is based on the company’s advanced type-4 prototype – units of which have accumulated approximately 130 000 km in trial runs – and features an in-house developed 90 kWe PEM fuel cell stack. Careful regulation of the power flow from the fuel cell stack and secondary NiMH battery allows the vehicle to achieve both high efficiency and luxury car-like driving performance, with a top speed of 155 km/h (96 mph) and a range of 300 km (190 miles). The leak was detected on 15 May during the filling of the high-pressure hydrogen fuel tank, with hydrogen escaping from the opening for refilling. As a result, Toyota has postponed the supply of the new vehicles and implemented a voluntary recall of the four FCHVs already supplied to Japanese ministries. The two additional cars supplied to the University of California will be recalled soon. The company is investigating the cause of the problem, and will return the vehicles after fixing the problem, although it cannot yet specify a timeframe. The company had been aiming to lease a total of about 20 FCVs in Japan and the US by the end of the year, but this setback is likely to make it difficult to achieve that goal. Contact: Toyota Motor Corporation, Fuel Cell System Development Division, Higashifuji Technical Center, Shizuoka. Japan. Tel: +81 559 977842, www.toyota.com/about/environment/technology
In Brief Toray develops micro fuel cell for cellphone Tokyo-based Toray Industries has collaborated with Shinshu University in Nagano Prefecture to develop a membrane-electrode assembly for a direct methanol fuel cell that is small yet powerful enough to power a cellphone, according to the Nikkei Business Daily. Toray’s new MEA is around 3 mm thick and features a membrane with small pores that allow hydrogen ions to pass, but reduce the undesired crossover of methanol by 80%. The MEA also features an improved catalyst that enables the use of a more highly concentrated solution of methanol, helping to triple both the life of the fuel cell and the power output. Using the new MEA, Toray has prototyped a fuel cell and demonstrated its ability to power a personal digital assistant. In a cellphone, the fuel cell can power the phone for 90 min of talk time on 10 cm3 of methanol – more or less equivalent to current Li-ion batteries. The company is continuing work on boosting the MEA’s performance, but apparently plans to enter into volume production in fiscal 2005 and market the product to battery makers. Grove Symposium program now available The program of oral presentations for the 8th Grove Fuel Cell Symposium is now available on the website. This major conference and exhibition – with the theme this year of ‘Building Fuel Cell Industries’ – will take place 24–26 September at ExCeL in London’s Docklands, providing conference delegates and exhibition visitors with an up-to-date review of developments in fuel cell and related technologies, progress in demonstrations for stationary and mobile applications, and the emerging infrastructure. This year’s program features more than 60 oral presentations reflecting the continued move towards commercialization, and well over 200 poster papers on cutting-edge research. The opening plenary session will see the award of the prestigious Grove Medal to Professor Ferdinand Panik, who led the DaimlerChrysler fuel cell program to its current pre-eminent position, and he will then present a keynote lecture. The Symposium will then move on to sessions covering experience in building fuel cell industries, developing a viable fuel infrastructure, fuel processing, materials and components for PEM fuel cells, materials and systems development for SOFCs, demonstrations and applications, micro fuel cell systems, government incentives to building fuel cell industries, presentations by exhibitors & manufacturers, and financing a new industry. The greatly expanded exhibition will feature more than 100 developers of fuel cell systems and component manufacturers, together with static and live vehicle demonstration areas. For more details, go to: www.grovefuelcell.com
Fuel Cells Bulletin
3