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NIST imaging instrument peers inside fuel cells
NEWS
Energy from ceramics at Astris AFC electrodes Fraunhofer IKTS pass 5000 h test
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esearchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies & Systems IKTS in Dresden, Germany are pursuing a completely new approach to fabricating micro fuel cells, producing them from a new type of ceramic film called LTCC (Low Temperature Co-fired Ceramic). The material has been in use in the semiconductor chip industry for some time as a substrate for microelectronic components. The bugbear of laptop or notebook computer technology has always been the power supply. Yet while computer developers have heralded micro fuel cells as the solution to the tiresome problem of mobile power supplies, there is still not a single affordable miniaturized fuel cell available for everyday use. One reason for this situation, believes Dr Michael Stelter of the Fraunhofer IKTS, is that the tiny power sources are put together from hundreds of filigree parts: ‘That makes them complicated to develop and expensive to manufacture.’ The IKTS researchers have successfully developed cost-effective ways of integrating additional ‘non-electronic functional elements’ into the ceramics. Their task is facilitated by a special feature of the material: structures can be applied not only to the surface of the ceramic, but also to the inside. The micro fuel cells are criss-crossed with tiny channels that transport hydrogen or fluids. These are simple and cheap to produce, says Stelter. ‘We can produce a fuel cell out of LTCC in one go. Not only is the process economical – it is reliable as well.’ A further advantage is that the LTCC fuel cell can run on various types of fuel – mainly hydrogen and methanol, but also less conventional fuels such as formic acid. ‘Formic acid is an excellent power source, but it corrodes ordinary fuel cell materials,’ explains Stelter. The ceramic material, in contrast, is resistant to the acid. The IKTS researchers are pressing ahead with the new generation of micro fuel cells in collaboration with several German industrial enterprises. They are already using the LTCC technology to manufacture other products that will make their market debut much sooner: tiny pressure sensors with integrated electronics, for instance, or microtiter plates for use in biochemical assays.
Contact: Dr Michael Stelter, Fraunhofer-Institut für Keramische Technologien und Systeme IKTS, Dresden, Germany. Tel: +49 351 2553 648, Email: michael. [email protected], www.ikts.fraunhofer.de
8
Fuel Cells Bulletin
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ntario-based Astris Energi reports that its electrode improvement program, which aims to extend the useful life of its alkaline fuel cells, is bearing positive results. Several tested samples exceeded 5000 h of operation under full load, without noticeable performance degradation. In fact, the performance of these new electrodes slightly improved during the initial 1000 h period and then stabilized near the initial value. Astris says that this kind of performance differentiates its electrodes from conventional platinum catalyzed electrodes that typically show slight but continuous degradation throughout their service life [FCB, August]. The company does not use costly platinum catalyst in its fuel cells. Although platinum is a very effective catalyst, it is expensive, and was eliminated primarily for economic reasons. The initial performance sacrifice has been partially regained over the past decade through improvements in engineering. The fuel cell generators and golf cart engines that are currently available are rated for a 2000 h operational life. For comparison purposes, 2000 operating hours in a passenger car is the equivalent of driving more than 160 000 km (100 000 miles) at an average speed of about 80 km/h (50 mph). Although many smaller applications involving, for example, lawnmowers or portable generators, can be satisfied with a shorter operational life, Astris believes that extended product life will open doors to many new markets. Contact: Astris Energi Inc, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. Tel: +1 905 608 2000, www.astris.ca
NIST imaging instrument peers inside fuel cells
S
cientists are now able to closely observe the movement of water inside hydrogen fuel cells using an imaging instrument at the US National Institute of Standards and Technology. With a visualization power 10 times better than has been achieved before, researchers can ‘see’ water production and removal in fuel cells under a range of simulated operating conditions at high and low temperatures. ‘This as-it-happens, inside view is essential because a fuel cell’s performance depends on a delicate balance,’ explains NIST physicist Muhammad Arif, who leads the NIST team
that developed the instrument. ‘Too little or too much water can shut it down.’ Better water management is fundamental to meeting targets for fuel cell performance, reliability and durability. Reaching these targets, in turn, is integral to efforts to replace petroleum with hydrogen to power cars and trucks by 2020 – the goal of President Bush’s Hydrogen Fuel Initiative. Water is the by-product of the electrochemical process in fuel cells. Using the newly commissioned neutron imaging facility, water quantities smaller than 1 µg are revealed, and details as small as 0.02 mm can be discerned in images. Even better spatial resolution is expected. Outputs are akin to computerized axial tomography (CAT) scans and movies. Images are recorded at a rate of up to 30 frames per second, or 30 times faster than the first-generation instrument that NIST built to demonstrate the usefulness of neutron imaging for fuel cell research. Located at NIST’s Center for Neutron Research, the research station is operated as a national user facility, open to scientists from industry, universities and government agencies. It is jointly funded by NIST, the US Department of Energy and General Motors. Contact: Dr Muhammad Arif, NIST Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA. Tel: +1 301 975 6303, Email: [email protected], www.ncnr.nist.gov
Nuvera reorganizes and relocates European operations
I
n Italy, Nuvera Fuel Cells’ European subsidiary, Nuvera Fuel Cells Europe Srl, is reorganizing and relocating its operations. The company says that the change is another step towards the commercialization of fuel cell products. The firm’s laboratory in Osio Sotto, Bergamo will be expanded to include development of the Forza™ hydrogen high-power system, along with durability and reliability testing of PowerFlow™ hydrogen fuel-cell engines. It will also house prototype building and testing facilities for advanced systems. Forza hydrogen high-power system design and engineering, application and service engineering, quality and supply-chain management, marketing, sales and administration will be moved to new offices in San Donato Milanese, during November. The assembly and testing of the XDS-900 fuel cell stacks are being transferred to the US where, during June 2007, all of the industrial
October 2006
Energy from ceramics at Astris AFC electrodes Fraunhofer IKTS pass 5000 h test
R
esearchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies & Systems IKTS in Dresden, Germany are pursuing a completely new approach to fabricating micro fuel cells, producing them from a new type of ceramic film called LTCC (Low Temperature Co-fired Ceramic). The material has been in use in the semiconductor chip industry for some time as a substrate for microelectronic components. The bugbear of laptop or notebook computer technology has always been the power supply. Yet while computer developers have heralded micro fuel cells as the solution to the tiresome problem of mobile power supplies, there is still not a single affordable miniaturized fuel cell available for everyday use. One reason for this situation, believes Dr Michael Stelter of the Fraunhofer IKTS, is that the tiny power sources are put together from hundreds of filigree parts: ‘That makes them complicated to develop and expensive to manufacture.’ The IKTS researchers have successfully developed cost-effective ways of integrating additional ‘non-electronic functional elements’ into the ceramics. Their task is facilitated by a special feature of the material: structures can be applied not only to the surface of the ceramic, but also to the inside. The micro fuel cells are criss-crossed with tiny channels that transport hydrogen or fluids. These are simple and cheap to produce, says Stelter. ‘We can produce a fuel cell out of LTCC in one go. Not only is the process economical – it is reliable as well.’ A further advantage is that the LTCC fuel cell can run on various types of fuel – mainly hydrogen and methanol, but also less conventional fuels such as formic acid. ‘Formic acid is an excellent power source, but it corrodes ordinary fuel cell materials,’ explains Stelter. The ceramic material, in contrast, is resistant to the acid. The IKTS researchers are pressing ahead with the new generation of micro fuel cells in collaboration with several German industrial enterprises. They are already using the LTCC technology to manufacture other products that will make their market debut much sooner: tiny pressure sensors with integrated electronics, for instance, or microtiter plates for use in biochemical assays.
Contact: Dr Michael Stelter, Fraunhofer-Institut für Keramische Technologien und Systeme IKTS, Dresden, Germany. Tel: +49 351 2553 648, Email: michael. [email protected], www.ikts.fraunhofer.de
8
Fuel Cells Bulletin
O
ntario-based Astris Energi reports that its electrode improvement program, which aims to extend the useful life of its alkaline fuel cells, is bearing positive results. Several tested samples exceeded 5000 h of operation under full load, without noticeable performance degradation. In fact, the performance of these new electrodes slightly improved during the initial 1000 h period and then stabilized near the initial value. Astris says that this kind of performance differentiates its electrodes from conventional platinum catalyzed electrodes that typically show slight but continuous degradation throughout their service life [FCB, August]. The company does not use costly platinum catalyst in its fuel cells. Although platinum is a very effective catalyst, it is expensive, and was eliminated primarily for economic reasons. The initial performance sacrifice has been partially regained over the past decade through improvements in engineering. The fuel cell generators and golf cart engines that are currently available are rated for a 2000 h operational life. For comparison purposes, 2000 operating hours in a passenger car is the equivalent of driving more than 160 000 km (100 000 miles) at an average speed of about 80 km/h (50 mph). Although many smaller applications involving, for example, lawnmowers or portable generators, can be satisfied with a shorter operational life, Astris believes that extended product life will open doors to many new markets. Contact: Astris Energi Inc, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. Tel: +1 905 608 2000, www.astris.ca
NIST imaging instrument peers inside fuel cells
S
cientists are now able to closely observe the movement of water inside hydrogen fuel cells using an imaging instrument at the US National Institute of Standards and Technology. With a visualization power 10 times better than has been achieved before, researchers can ‘see’ water production and removal in fuel cells under a range of simulated operating conditions at high and low temperatures. ‘This as-it-happens, inside view is essential because a fuel cell’s performance depends on a delicate balance,’ explains NIST physicist Muhammad Arif, who leads the NIST team
that developed the instrument. ‘Too little or too much water can shut it down.’ Better water management is fundamental to meeting targets for fuel cell performance, reliability and durability. Reaching these targets, in turn, is integral to efforts to replace petroleum with hydrogen to power cars and trucks by 2020 – the goal of President Bush’s Hydrogen Fuel Initiative. Water is the by-product of the electrochemical process in fuel cells. Using the newly commissioned neutron imaging facility, water quantities smaller than 1 µg are revealed, and details as small as 0.02 mm can be discerned in images. Even better spatial resolution is expected. Outputs are akin to computerized axial tomography (CAT) scans and movies. Images are recorded at a rate of up to 30 frames per second, or 30 times faster than the first-generation instrument that NIST built to demonstrate the usefulness of neutron imaging for fuel cell research. Located at NIST’s Center for Neutron Research, the research station is operated as a national user facility, open to scientists from industry, universities and government agencies. It is jointly funded by NIST, the US Department of Energy and General Motors. Contact: Dr Muhammad Arif, NIST Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA. Tel: +1 301 975 6303, Email: [email protected], www.ncnr.nist.gov
Nuvera reorganizes and relocates European operations
I
n Italy, Nuvera Fuel Cells’ European subsidiary, Nuvera Fuel Cells Europe Srl, is reorganizing and relocating its operations. The company says that the change is another step towards the commercialization of fuel cell products. The firm’s laboratory in Osio Sotto, Bergamo will be expanded to include development of the Forza™ hydrogen high-power system, along with durability and reliability testing of PowerFlow™ hydrogen fuel-cell engines. It will also house prototype building and testing facilities for advanced systems. Forza hydrogen high-power system design and engineering, application and service engineering, quality and supply-chain management, marketing, sales and administration will be moved to new offices in San Donato Milanese, during November. The assembly and testing of the XDS-900 fuel cell stacks are being transferred to the US where, during June 2007, all of the industrial
October 2006