- Email: [email protected]
NREL, CSM collaborating on energy research
NEWS Lower Saxony, Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, North Rhine-Westfalia, Bavaria, MecklenburgWestern Pomerania and Baden-Württemberg. During a press conference to mark the launch, the alliance made an appeal for government support to help Germany compete internationally in fuel cell research, development and production. It claims that German industry is close to opening up production lines for the manufacture of stationary fuel cells for industrial use. Companies and research institutes are also developing the technology for cars, household energy and portable devices and equipment, with DaimlerChrysler already embarked on an ambitious FCV program. However, stationary fuel cell development is widely considered to be an important precursor to the establishment of a hydrogen infrastructure capable of supporting volume sales of FCVs. According to BZB, Germany could create stationary plants of a total capacity of 15 MWe a year from 2006 – and annual electrical output could be boosted to around 1300 MWe by 2015 – if the industry received the requisite political support. Such support could take the form of state grants, tax advantages and guaranteed rates for electricity produced by fuel cells, BZB said in a statement. National budgets for R&D and field tests also need to be enhanced, and improved German presence in EU projects. BZB highlighted the examples of Japan and the US, where governments have invested particularly heavily in R&D and commercialization initiatives. Japan estimates that it will have stationary plants with a total power of 2.1 GWe and 50 000 FCVs by 2010. ‘Fuel cells will definitely come,’ says Johannes Schiel of the VDMA engineering association, an initiator of the BZB. ‘If they are not made in Germany, they will come to Germany. Politics and industry need to work together on this issue.’ Contact: Johannes Schiel, c/o VDMA Power Systems, Frankfurt, Germany. Tel: +49 69 6603 1876, Email: [email protected], www.vdma.org
Honda’s FCX gains new lease, is certified in Japan
T
he Hokkaido prefectural government in Japan has leased a 2005 FCX fuel cell vehicle from Honda Motor Co. The FCV is equipped with Honda’s breakthrough FC Stack, capable of starting and operating in subzero temperatures [FCB, December 2003]. Delivery of Hokkaido’s FCX was scheduled for the end of January. Honda is commissioning the Prefecture’s participation in ongoing 8
Fuel Cells Bulletin
road testing of the new FCX, and the collection of data relevant to its subzero startup and operational capabilities and hydrogen supply. Honda views the Hokkaido lease as an opportunity to verify the performance of the FCX in various winter driving conditions. A 2005 FCX was recently delivered to the State of New York [FCB, January], which experiences frequent subzero winter temperatures. In December, the 2005 FCX also received certification from the Japanese Ministry of Land, Transport & Infrastructure for use on public roads. Honda says it is now planning to offer the new FCX for lease in a wider range of regions starting in 2005, including those with cold winter climates, as it continues to work toward large-scale FCV commercialization. In addition to subzero operation, the 2005 FCX has increased range and performance compared with the previous FCX model, available since 2002. Honda says the new FCX also features a newly developed traction control system, which helps ensure ideal torque transmission even on snowy roads and other slippery surfaces. Other new features include a Honda HDD navigation system featuring voice recognition and programmed to indicate the location of hydrogen stations. Contact: Honda Motor Company, Saitama, Japan. Tel: +81 48 462 5467, Web: world.honda.com/tech
Plants inspire cooling system for future fuel cell laptops
U
K/US-based Cambridge Consultants has developed an ‘evaporative cooler’ concept design for cooling fuel cell powered laptop computers. The powerful microchips used in laptops produce a substantial amount of heat, which is difficult to dissipate in compact product arrangements, while the operation of fuel cells produces water as a by-product, which must likewise be managed or contained. Cambridge Consultants has developed and tested a design that uses evaporation of this by-product water to cool the processor, at the same time reducing package space and improving user experience. The ‘evaporative cooler’ concept takes its inspiration from plants, which use microscopic openings (stomata) to evaporate water, providing a capillary force for nutrient distribution and cooling the leaf surface. Cambridge Consultants’s design features a modular arrangement of aluminum fins with etched
microchannels. The microchannels enable heat take-up and efficient fluid transfer to the evaporation surface, where heat is dissipated, while the thermal properties of aluminum provide a highly conductive link between the surface and the electronic process requiring cooling. The evaporation surface uses a porous mesh membrane, ensuring even distribution of water and a large surface area for evaporation. During in-house tests, the surface temperature of the evaporative cooler was compared with a conventional air cooler of identical geometry operated under identical environmental conditions. The stabilized temperature of the conventional air cooler was an unsafe 74°C, while the evaporative cooler maintained 47°C. According to Johannes Hartick, head of Cambridge Consultants’s Energy Systems group, the evaporative cooler dissipated three times as much heat as air cooling alone. ‘This provides device manufacturers with many options when it comes to the cooling system, including the opportunity to reduce its overall size and impact on the end-user, or provide space for increased features,’ he says. The company says it is essential that the convenience of using fuel cell powered products is improved in order to speed market acceptance and enable fuel cells in portable electronic devices to reach their high growth projections. According to a 2004 study from NY-based ABI Research, worldwide shipments of micro fuel cells could reach 120 million by 2012, powering 13.5% of all laptops, provided the technology is accepted by the sector in the near future. Contact: Cambridge Consultants Ltd, Cambridge, UK. Tel: +44 1223 420024, www.cambridgeconsultants.com Or contact: Cambridge Consultants Inc, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Tel: +1 617 532 4700. Or contact: ABI Research, Oyster Bay, New York, USA. Tel: +1 516 624 2500, www.abiresearch.com
NREL, CSM collaborating on energy research
T
he US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Lab and the Colorado School of Mines – both based in Golden, Colorado – have signed a memorandum of understanding relating to energy research. The MOU, signed by NREL director Richard Truly and CSM president John Trefny, is seen as the first step towards establishing a joint research institute. The agreement also paves the way for a number of planned collaborative efforts in energy research, including fuel cells.
February 2005
NEWS CSM and NREL have a history of working together on energy issues; the new agreement envisages a more formal, ongoing relationship. Three key areas are highlighted: • Strategic initiatives for fuel cells, materials science and related research. • Programs for graduate education and business development. • Sharing staff and managing intellectual property, including jointly developed patents. NREL is DOE’s premier laboratory for renewable energy R&D. It is operated for DOE by Midwest Research Institute and Battelle. CSM is a public research university internationally recognized for its leadership in engineering, applied science and related disciplines, with a special emphasis on the Earth and its resources. Contact: Dr George Sverdrup, Technology Manager – Hydrogen, Fuel Cells & Infrastructure Technologies, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado, USA. Tel: +1 303 275 4433, Email: [email protected], www.nrel.gov/programs/ hydrogen.html Or contact: Dr Dag Nummedal, Director – Colorado Energy Research Institute (CERI), Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado, USA. Tel: +1 303 384 2506, Email: [email protected], www.mines.edu/ research/ceri
SFC’s marine fuel cell demonstrated at show
G
erman-based Smart Fuel Cell showcased its latest product for the leisure sector, the MFC-100 marine fuel cell for sailing boats, at the Düsseldorf boat show in January. The product is designed to provide a reliable, onboard power supply for sailors. The recently introduced methanol-powered MFC-100 supplies the yacht’s battery with 1200 Wh of energy per day, equal to 100 Ah. A builtin charge regulator cuts in automatically as soon as the battery voltage drops below a certain level, and tops up the battery charge. The liquid methanol fuel is supplied in pre-filled plastic containers; one 4.3 kg container provides more than 300 Ah of electricity. According to Dr Manfred Stefener, founder and executive director of Smart Fuel Cell, the MFC-100 provides a reliable source of power, is quiet and, at just 7 kg, is light and easy to install compared to a diesel genset. The unit is designed to cope with the harshest weather conditions, and can operate continuously at an angle of 35°, and at even steeper angles for short
February 2005
periods. Other advantages include its compactness, and the low odor and environmental friendliness of the fuel compared to diesel. The product’s innovative characteristics have already been recognized through the award of the Innovation Prize at the Paris Boat Show in December, and the ‘DAME’ design award at the Amsterdam Marine Equipment Trade Show in November. The fuel cell demonstrated its sea legs in the DaimlerChrysler North Atlantic Challenge in summer 2003, providing power for the 15 m yacht SY Mamelie. In the course of the threeweek journey, covering more than 3500 nautical miles, the methanol consumption was 30 liters (around 26 kg). By comparison, a diesel genset would have used around 190 liters of fuel. The MFC-100 and its pre-charged fuel containers are distributed via Max Power, a member of the Navimo Group, which is a major equipment supplier in the leisure boat sector. Contact: SFC Smart Fuel Cell AG, Brunnthal-Nord, Germany. Tel: +49 89 607 45460, www.smartfuelcell.com Or contact: Max Power, Mandelieu Technology Center, Cannes-Mandelieu, France. Tel: +33 4 9219 6060, www.max-power.com
New fuel cell and low carbon center for UK
T
he UK’s Department of Trade & Industry is establishing a £15m (US$28m) Fuel Cell and Low Carbon Technologies Centre of Excellence in Loughborough. The aim is to promote the development of new technology for environmentally friendly vehicles by bringing together key stakeholders such as government, manufacturers and academia. The Loughborough center is the first of two facilities being set up by the DTI to help tackle the effects of global warming and reduce traffic congestion, as announced by industry minister Jacqui Smith in late December. It will work on both hybrid and fuel cell zero-emission vehicle technologies. Automotive expert Professor Geoff Callow, managing director of TEC Ltd, is launch director of the new center. The second center, for new intelligent transport system technologies, will be developed at the new Centre for Transport Telematics and Technologies for Sustainable Mobility, the location of which has not yet been announced. The new centers are being set up in response to recommendations made by the Automotive Innovation and Growth Team (AIGT), which
In Japan GS Yuasa tests fuel cell in fruit greenhouse Kyoto-based battery manufacturer GS Yuasa Corporation has launched an experiment to gauge the effectiveness of a fuel cell in a strawberry greenhouse in Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, in a tie-up with its subsidiary GS Yuasa Power Supply. The test – funded by the Mie prefectural and Suzuka municipal governments – will run until October, and is designed to help commercialize a fuel cell-based power generator system, according to the Nikkei Business Daily. Power generated by the 1 kWe direct methanol fuel cell is used to illuminate the greenhouse each night, while CO2 produced by the fuel cell is used to promote strawberry growth through photosynthesis. Heat produced by the generator is used to warm the greenhouse. Nippon Oil to introduce home-use, LPG-based fuel cell Next month Nippon Oil will start leasing the first residential fuel cells in Japan to feature a system to remove hydrogen from liquefied petroleum gas, according to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun. The company’s fuel cell produces hydrogen by reforming LPG from home-use gas cylinders, reacting it with oxygen from the air. It generates 750 We, with the excess heat supplied to hot-water and home-heating units. Its power generation efficiency is 34%, but the overall system electrical/thermal efficiency is 76%. The company will initially lease the fuel cells for three years, and begin selling them in fiscal 2008. The annual rental fee will be ¥60 000 (US$570), roughly the amount the units will save in electric or gas charges, according to Nippon Oil. The firm aims to lease 150 units in Tokyo and 10 prefectures in the areas of Kanto and Koshinetsu during the first fiscal year, before introducing it nationwide in fiscal 2006. Testing begins on using hydrogen by-product in fuel cells The Yamaguchi prefectural government and several major companies have started testing a new fuel cell system, which uses hydrogen generated as a by-product during the process of manufacturing sodium hydroxide and other products, in an industrial park. The project will supply ordinary households, via pipelines, with hydrogen generated at the Shunan industrial complex, in the first verification test to be conducted in Japan on a residential fuel cell system using hydrogen from an industrial plant, according to the Nikkei Business Daily. PEM fuel cell manufacturer Ebara Ballard will conduct the testing, on behalf of the prefectural government, until the end of 2006, to check the performance, durability and safety of the system. Tokuyama Corporation’s plant in the prefecture – at the western tip of the main Japanese island of Honshu – will supply hydrogen with 99.99% purity for the test.
Fuel Cells Bulletin
9
Honda’s FCX gains new lease, is certified in Japan
T
he Hokkaido prefectural government in Japan has leased a 2005 FCX fuel cell vehicle from Honda Motor Co. The FCV is equipped with Honda’s breakthrough FC Stack, capable of starting and operating in subzero temperatures [FCB, December 2003]. Delivery of Hokkaido’s FCX was scheduled for the end of January. Honda is commissioning the Prefecture’s participation in ongoing 8
Fuel Cells Bulletin
road testing of the new FCX, and the collection of data relevant to its subzero startup and operational capabilities and hydrogen supply. Honda views the Hokkaido lease as an opportunity to verify the performance of the FCX in various winter driving conditions. A 2005 FCX was recently delivered to the State of New York [FCB, January], which experiences frequent subzero winter temperatures. In December, the 2005 FCX also received certification from the Japanese Ministry of Land, Transport & Infrastructure for use on public roads. Honda says it is now planning to offer the new FCX for lease in a wider range of regions starting in 2005, including those with cold winter climates, as it continues to work toward large-scale FCV commercialization. In addition to subzero operation, the 2005 FCX has increased range and performance compared with the previous FCX model, available since 2002. Honda says the new FCX also features a newly developed traction control system, which helps ensure ideal torque transmission even on snowy roads and other slippery surfaces. Other new features include a Honda HDD navigation system featuring voice recognition and programmed to indicate the location of hydrogen stations. Contact: Honda Motor Company, Saitama, Japan. Tel: +81 48 462 5467, Web: world.honda.com/tech
Plants inspire cooling system for future fuel cell laptops
U
K/US-based Cambridge Consultants has developed an ‘evaporative cooler’ concept design for cooling fuel cell powered laptop computers. The powerful microchips used in laptops produce a substantial amount of heat, which is difficult to dissipate in compact product arrangements, while the operation of fuel cells produces water as a by-product, which must likewise be managed or contained. Cambridge Consultants has developed and tested a design that uses evaporation of this by-product water to cool the processor, at the same time reducing package space and improving user experience. The ‘evaporative cooler’ concept takes its inspiration from plants, which use microscopic openings (stomata) to evaporate water, providing a capillary force for nutrient distribution and cooling the leaf surface. Cambridge Consultants’s design features a modular arrangement of aluminum fins with etched
microchannels. The microchannels enable heat take-up and efficient fluid transfer to the evaporation surface, where heat is dissipated, while the thermal properties of aluminum provide a highly conductive link between the surface and the electronic process requiring cooling. The evaporation surface uses a porous mesh membrane, ensuring even distribution of water and a large surface area for evaporation. During in-house tests, the surface temperature of the evaporative cooler was compared with a conventional air cooler of identical geometry operated under identical environmental conditions. The stabilized temperature of the conventional air cooler was an unsafe 74°C, while the evaporative cooler maintained 47°C. According to Johannes Hartick, head of Cambridge Consultants’s Energy Systems group, the evaporative cooler dissipated three times as much heat as air cooling alone. ‘This provides device manufacturers with many options when it comes to the cooling system, including the opportunity to reduce its overall size and impact on the end-user, or provide space for increased features,’ he says. The company says it is essential that the convenience of using fuel cell powered products is improved in order to speed market acceptance and enable fuel cells in portable electronic devices to reach their high growth projections. According to a 2004 study from NY-based ABI Research, worldwide shipments of micro fuel cells could reach 120 million by 2012, powering 13.5% of all laptops, provided the technology is accepted by the sector in the near future. Contact: Cambridge Consultants Ltd, Cambridge, UK. Tel: +44 1223 420024, www.cambridgeconsultants.com Or contact: Cambridge Consultants Inc, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Tel: +1 617 532 4700. Or contact: ABI Research, Oyster Bay, New York, USA. Tel: +1 516 624 2500, www.abiresearch.com
NREL, CSM collaborating on energy research
T
he US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Lab and the Colorado School of Mines – both based in Golden, Colorado – have signed a memorandum of understanding relating to energy research. The MOU, signed by NREL director Richard Truly and CSM president John Trefny, is seen as the first step towards establishing a joint research institute. The agreement also paves the way for a number of planned collaborative efforts in energy research, including fuel cells.
February 2005
NEWS CSM and NREL have a history of working together on energy issues; the new agreement envisages a more formal, ongoing relationship. Three key areas are highlighted: • Strategic initiatives for fuel cells, materials science and related research. • Programs for graduate education and business development. • Sharing staff and managing intellectual property, including jointly developed patents. NREL is DOE’s premier laboratory for renewable energy R&D. It is operated for DOE by Midwest Research Institute and Battelle. CSM is a public research university internationally recognized for its leadership in engineering, applied science and related disciplines, with a special emphasis on the Earth and its resources. Contact: Dr George Sverdrup, Technology Manager – Hydrogen, Fuel Cells & Infrastructure Technologies, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado, USA. Tel: +1 303 275 4433, Email: [email protected], www.nrel.gov/programs/ hydrogen.html Or contact: Dr Dag Nummedal, Director – Colorado Energy Research Institute (CERI), Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado, USA. Tel: +1 303 384 2506, Email: [email protected], www.mines.edu/ research/ceri
SFC’s marine fuel cell demonstrated at show
G
erman-based Smart Fuel Cell showcased its latest product for the leisure sector, the MFC-100 marine fuel cell for sailing boats, at the Düsseldorf boat show in January. The product is designed to provide a reliable, onboard power supply for sailors. The recently introduced methanol-powered MFC-100 supplies the yacht’s battery with 1200 Wh of energy per day, equal to 100 Ah. A builtin charge regulator cuts in automatically as soon as the battery voltage drops below a certain level, and tops up the battery charge. The liquid methanol fuel is supplied in pre-filled plastic containers; one 4.3 kg container provides more than 300 Ah of electricity. According to Dr Manfred Stefener, founder and executive director of Smart Fuel Cell, the MFC-100 provides a reliable source of power, is quiet and, at just 7 kg, is light and easy to install compared to a diesel genset. The unit is designed to cope with the harshest weather conditions, and can operate continuously at an angle of 35°, and at even steeper angles for short
February 2005
periods. Other advantages include its compactness, and the low odor and environmental friendliness of the fuel compared to diesel. The product’s innovative characteristics have already been recognized through the award of the Innovation Prize at the Paris Boat Show in December, and the ‘DAME’ design award at the Amsterdam Marine Equipment Trade Show in November. The fuel cell demonstrated its sea legs in the DaimlerChrysler North Atlantic Challenge in summer 2003, providing power for the 15 m yacht SY Mamelie. In the course of the threeweek journey, covering more than 3500 nautical miles, the methanol consumption was 30 liters (around 26 kg). By comparison, a diesel genset would have used around 190 liters of fuel. The MFC-100 and its pre-charged fuel containers are distributed via Max Power, a member of the Navimo Group, which is a major equipment supplier in the leisure boat sector. Contact: SFC Smart Fuel Cell AG, Brunnthal-Nord, Germany. Tel: +49 89 607 45460, www.smartfuelcell.com Or contact: Max Power, Mandelieu Technology Center, Cannes-Mandelieu, France. Tel: +33 4 9219 6060, www.max-power.com
New fuel cell and low carbon center for UK
T
he UK’s Department of Trade & Industry is establishing a £15m (US$28m) Fuel Cell and Low Carbon Technologies Centre of Excellence in Loughborough. The aim is to promote the development of new technology for environmentally friendly vehicles by bringing together key stakeholders such as government, manufacturers and academia. The Loughborough center is the first of two facilities being set up by the DTI to help tackle the effects of global warming and reduce traffic congestion, as announced by industry minister Jacqui Smith in late December. It will work on both hybrid and fuel cell zero-emission vehicle technologies. Automotive expert Professor Geoff Callow, managing director of TEC Ltd, is launch director of the new center. The second center, for new intelligent transport system technologies, will be developed at the new Centre for Transport Telematics and Technologies for Sustainable Mobility, the location of which has not yet been announced. The new centers are being set up in response to recommendations made by the Automotive Innovation and Growth Team (AIGT), which
In Japan GS Yuasa tests fuel cell in fruit greenhouse Kyoto-based battery manufacturer GS Yuasa Corporation has launched an experiment to gauge the effectiveness of a fuel cell in a strawberry greenhouse in Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, in a tie-up with its subsidiary GS Yuasa Power Supply. The test – funded by the Mie prefectural and Suzuka municipal governments – will run until October, and is designed to help commercialize a fuel cell-based power generator system, according to the Nikkei Business Daily. Power generated by the 1 kWe direct methanol fuel cell is used to illuminate the greenhouse each night, while CO2 produced by the fuel cell is used to promote strawberry growth through photosynthesis. Heat produced by the generator is used to warm the greenhouse. Nippon Oil to introduce home-use, LPG-based fuel cell Next month Nippon Oil will start leasing the first residential fuel cells in Japan to feature a system to remove hydrogen from liquefied petroleum gas, according to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun. The company’s fuel cell produces hydrogen by reforming LPG from home-use gas cylinders, reacting it with oxygen from the air. It generates 750 We, with the excess heat supplied to hot-water and home-heating units. Its power generation efficiency is 34%, but the overall system electrical/thermal efficiency is 76%. The company will initially lease the fuel cells for three years, and begin selling them in fiscal 2008. The annual rental fee will be ¥60 000 (US$570), roughly the amount the units will save in electric or gas charges, according to Nippon Oil. The firm aims to lease 150 units in Tokyo and 10 prefectures in the areas of Kanto and Koshinetsu during the first fiscal year, before introducing it nationwide in fiscal 2006. Testing begins on using hydrogen by-product in fuel cells The Yamaguchi prefectural government and several major companies have started testing a new fuel cell system, which uses hydrogen generated as a by-product during the process of manufacturing sodium hydroxide and other products, in an industrial park. The project will supply ordinary households, via pipelines, with hydrogen generated at the Shunan industrial complex, in the first verification test to be conducted in Japan on a residential fuel cell system using hydrogen from an industrial plant, according to the Nikkei Business Daily. PEM fuel cell manufacturer Ebara Ballard will conduct the testing, on behalf of the prefectural government, until the end of 2006, to check the performance, durability and safety of the system. Tokuyama Corporation’s plant in the prefecture – at the western tip of the main Japanese island of Honshu – will supply hydrogen with 99.99% purity for the test.
Fuel Cells Bulletin
9