- Email: [email protected]
North American fuel cell revenues up, no profits
NEWS electrodes and microfluidics for handling fuel and oxidant. The two-year, $6.6m project (with $2m from ATP) will use MEMS technology to direct and control the flow of streams of fuel, oxidant and electrolyte as they circulate among the catalyst-coated, porous-silicon electrodes. NY-based Plug Power has been awarded $1.9m towards a two-year, $3.8m project to develop four technologies – a power-control system using digital signal processing, a carbon nanotube hybrid electrode for superior stack performance, hydrogen pumping to cope with sporadic high power demands, and electroimpedance spectroscopy for humidity management – to reduce the cost of fuel cell power to a grid-competitive level. The Albany Nanotechnology Institute at the State University of New York will develop nanotube electrode material as part of this project. And PolyFuel in California proposes to develop a new gas diffusion layer material and a low-cost, high-speed manufacturing process – using printing industry hardware – to modify its three-layer, catalyst-coated membrane structure into a five-layer MEA for performance- and costcompetitive DMFCs. Subcontractors in the $2.8m, two-year project ($2m from ATP) include Case Western Reserve University, Clemson University in South Carolina, and Memorial University of Newfoundland in Canada. Contact: Integrated Fuel Cell Technologies, Bedford, Massachusetts, USA. Tel: +1 781 271 1343, www.IFCTech.com Or contact: Neah Power Systems, Bothell, Washington, USA. Tel: +1 425 482 0654, www.neahpower.com Or contact: Plug Power, Latham, NY, USA. Tel: +1 518 782 7700, www.plugpower.com Or contact: PolyFuel Inc, Mountain View, California, USA. Tel: +1 408 307 1236, www.polyfuel.com For more information on the ATP, go to: www.atp.nist.gov
Ineos Chlor launches bipolar plate system UK-based Ineos Chlor has commercially launched PEMcoat FCP, which it claims gives greatly improved metal plate performance in hydrogen PEM and DMFC stack technologies for high power density, long-lifetime stacks. Combining PEMcoat coating technology with a cost-effective substrate gives stack developers a high-performance bipolar plate system well suited to applications requiring high power density, such as automotive, auxiliary power units and consumer electronics. Ineos Chlor says that 6
Fuel Cells Bulletin
ex situ corrosion tests show an order of magnitude decrease in corrosion rates over previously available systems, with performance proven with more than 50 000 h of stack experience. The company is also joining the EU-funded FEBUSS project, which aims to develop a hydrogen-fueled 100 kWe PEM fuel cell power module standardized for public transport and stationary applications. The project is being led by French-based fuel cell stack developer Axane, a subsidiary of Air Liquide. Metal bipolar plates will be used to achieve high stack power densities, using Ineos Chlor’s PEMcoat range of coating systems for metal bipolar plates in test stacks. The company will also investigate new plate coatings. Contact: Dr David Hodgson, PEMcoat Technology Manager, ETB, Ineos Chlor Ltd, Runcorn, Cheshire, UK. Tel: +44 1928 512096, Email: david.hodgson@ ineoschlor.com, www.pemcoat.com Or contact: Axane Fuel Cell Systems, Sassenage, France. Tel: +33 4 7643 6093, www.axane.fr
North American fuel cell revenues up, no profits The North American fuel cell industry enjoyed a 71% increase in revenues to US$219m in 2002, up from $128m in 2001. But according to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ 2003 Fuel Cell Industry Survey, the industry also experienced significant operational losses as heavy spending on R&D continued in moving towards fuel cell commercialization. The PwC survey focused on the 2002 yearon-year financial information of the 16 publicly traded independent companies based in the US and Canada engaged in fuel cell production, system integration and related fueling infrastructure, which represent approximately one-third of the region’s fuel cell industry (the rest are privately held). The survey also found that R&D spending increased by $42m (up 19%) between 2001 and 2002, with operating profits impacted by R&D spending and the high cost of low-volume production for early-stage customers, resulting in losses totaling $405m, an increase of 35% from $301m in 2001. ‘The PwC survey found that strategic alliances and partnerships that leverage complementary strengths remain prominent in the fuel cell industry,’ says survey co-author, Alastair Nimmons. ‘The emergence of fuel cellspecific venture capital groups is encouraging, given the general downturn in the public capital markets between 2002 and 2001.’ A significant decline in financings – from $612m in 2001 to $159m in 2002 – was a major contributor to negative cash flows for the
companies surveyed. The average cash ‘burn rate’ for these companies is 3.5 years; for six of the companies it is less than one year. Contact: John Webster, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Vancouver, BC, Canada. Tel: +1 604 806 7726, Email: [email protected] The full survey is available free at: www.pwc.com/ca/fuelcellsurvey03
GTI’s DMFC membrane in cooperative tests The Gas Technology Institute (GTI) in Illinois, in a cooperative program with the US Army Research Laboratory (ARL), reports that a new membrane it has developed for PEM fuel cells offers substantially improved direct methanol fuel cell system performance. Independent testing by ARL researchers has verified that GTI’s non-fluorinated membrane outperformed standard Nafion® 117 membrane during multiple DMFC tests. ARL tested the GTI and Nafion membranes for electrical conductivity using a standard four-point conductivity test. The results indicated that the GTI membrane produced about 10 times greater electrical conductivity than Nafion. Improved conductivity means DMFC power systems using the GTI membrane will have lower currentresistance (IR) losses, higher cell voltages and greater power for a given cell volume. Traditionally, DMFC power has been limited by the diffusion of methanol from the anode to the cathode (‘crossover’). Tests by GTI indicate that this new membrane has lower methanol crossover than traditional membranes. GTI is conducting long-term membrane testing using hydrogen and air, with more than 5100 h accumulated to date in a 60 cm2 cell and more than 3000 h with the membrane in a multi-cell, 360 cm2 stack. Contact: Gas Technology Institute, Des Plaines, Illinois, USA. Tel: +1 847 768 0500, www.gastechnology.org
FCE, Caterpillar first joint sale in California The development and distribution alliance formed in April 2002 between Connecticutbased FuelCell Energy and Caterpillar in Illinois has borne its first fruit in California, with the joint sale of an ultra-low emissions fuel cell power generation plant. The order is FCE’s fifth for a wastewater treatment application in the US and Japan.
November 2003
Ineos Chlor launches bipolar plate system UK-based Ineos Chlor has commercially launched PEMcoat FCP, which it claims gives greatly improved metal plate performance in hydrogen PEM and DMFC stack technologies for high power density, long-lifetime stacks. Combining PEMcoat coating technology with a cost-effective substrate gives stack developers a high-performance bipolar plate system well suited to applications requiring high power density, such as automotive, auxiliary power units and consumer electronics. Ineos Chlor says that 6
Fuel Cells Bulletin
ex situ corrosion tests show an order of magnitude decrease in corrosion rates over previously available systems, with performance proven with more than 50 000 h of stack experience. The company is also joining the EU-funded FEBUSS project, which aims to develop a hydrogen-fueled 100 kWe PEM fuel cell power module standardized for public transport and stationary applications. The project is being led by French-based fuel cell stack developer Axane, a subsidiary of Air Liquide. Metal bipolar plates will be used to achieve high stack power densities, using Ineos Chlor’s PEMcoat range of coating systems for metal bipolar plates in test stacks. The company will also investigate new plate coatings. Contact: Dr David Hodgson, PEMcoat Technology Manager, ETB, Ineos Chlor Ltd, Runcorn, Cheshire, UK. Tel: +44 1928 512096, Email: david.hodgson@ ineoschlor.com, www.pemcoat.com Or contact: Axane Fuel Cell Systems, Sassenage, France. Tel: +33 4 7643 6093, www.axane.fr
North American fuel cell revenues up, no profits The North American fuel cell industry enjoyed a 71% increase in revenues to US$219m in 2002, up from $128m in 2001. But according to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ 2003 Fuel Cell Industry Survey, the industry also experienced significant operational losses as heavy spending on R&D continued in moving towards fuel cell commercialization. The PwC survey focused on the 2002 yearon-year financial information of the 16 publicly traded independent companies based in the US and Canada engaged in fuel cell production, system integration and related fueling infrastructure, which represent approximately one-third of the region’s fuel cell industry (the rest are privately held). The survey also found that R&D spending increased by $42m (up 19%) between 2001 and 2002, with operating profits impacted by R&D spending and the high cost of low-volume production for early-stage customers, resulting in losses totaling $405m, an increase of 35% from $301m in 2001. ‘The PwC survey found that strategic alliances and partnerships that leverage complementary strengths remain prominent in the fuel cell industry,’ says survey co-author, Alastair Nimmons. ‘The emergence of fuel cellspecific venture capital groups is encouraging, given the general downturn in the public capital markets between 2002 and 2001.’ A significant decline in financings – from $612m in 2001 to $159m in 2002 – was a major contributor to negative cash flows for the
companies surveyed. The average cash ‘burn rate’ for these companies is 3.5 years; for six of the companies it is less than one year. Contact: John Webster, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Vancouver, BC, Canada. Tel: +1 604 806 7726, Email: [email protected] The full survey is available free at: www.pwc.com/ca/fuelcellsurvey03
GTI’s DMFC membrane in cooperative tests The Gas Technology Institute (GTI) in Illinois, in a cooperative program with the US Army Research Laboratory (ARL), reports that a new membrane it has developed for PEM fuel cells offers substantially improved direct methanol fuel cell system performance. Independent testing by ARL researchers has verified that GTI’s non-fluorinated membrane outperformed standard Nafion® 117 membrane during multiple DMFC tests. ARL tested the GTI and Nafion membranes for electrical conductivity using a standard four-point conductivity test. The results indicated that the GTI membrane produced about 10 times greater electrical conductivity than Nafion. Improved conductivity means DMFC power systems using the GTI membrane will have lower currentresistance (IR) losses, higher cell voltages and greater power for a given cell volume. Traditionally, DMFC power has been limited by the diffusion of methanol from the anode to the cathode (‘crossover’). Tests by GTI indicate that this new membrane has lower methanol crossover than traditional membranes. GTI is conducting long-term membrane testing using hydrogen and air, with more than 5100 h accumulated to date in a 60 cm2 cell and more than 3000 h with the membrane in a multi-cell, 360 cm2 stack. Contact: Gas Technology Institute, Des Plaines, Illinois, USA. Tel: +1 847 768 0500, www.gastechnology.org
FCE, Caterpillar first joint sale in California The development and distribution alliance formed in April 2002 between Connecticutbased FuelCell Energy and Caterpillar in Illinois has borne its first fruit in California, with the joint sale of an ultra-low emissions fuel cell power generation plant. The order is FCE’s fifth for a wastewater treatment application in the US and Japan.
November 2003