- Email: [email protected]
PCI wins grant for increasing methane in diesel reformate
NEWS digital intelligent interface, we are able to offer fuel options like the Millennium Cell Hydrogen on Demand without requiring customers to learn anything new.’ Contact: Jadoo Power Systems Inc, Folsom, California, USA. Tel: +1 916 608 9044, www.jadoopower.com Or contact: Millennium Cell Inc, Eatontown, New Jersey, USA. Tel: +1 732 542 4000, www.millenniumcell.com
Next stage of industrial vehicles project with power by Hydrogenics
G
eneral Motors of Canada, NACCO Materials Handling Group Inc (NMHG) and Hydrogenics have been awarded funding from Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) for a demonstration project that will drive advancement of hydrogen technologies for application in commercial forklift trucks and other industrial vehicles. The funding, subject to final contract negotiations, will be leveraged by the project partners. The demonstration project will involve use of Hydrogenics’ beta version HyPM® Fuel Cell Power Packs in up to 19 forklift trucks and tuggers in operation over a two-year period at GM’s Oshawa Car Plant, near Toronto. The materials handling market is expected to be one of the first major commercial mobility markets for hydrogen fuel cell technology. The HyPM Fuel Cell Power Pack provides a clean power option that is compatible with current electric forklift trucks, and fits within the existing battery compartment. For operators of large fleets of forklifts in 24-hour operations, the power packs offer a near-term, economically viable alternative to batteries, by enabling productivity and operational improvements including faster refueling compared with battery recharging, and extended run-time between fills. Hydrogenics is leading the partners, who previously collaborated in the successful fourmonth deployment of two alpha prototype forklifts at GM of Canada’s Oshawa Car Plant [FCB, January]. The new project builds on the previous project to further demonstrate in a real-world setting the reliability, durability and other performance metrics of the next-generation beta HyPM power packs. The project will also quantify the total cost of ownership, which is expected to improve through productivity improvements realized through the efficiencies of operating fuel cell powered forklift trucks in an industrial environment. 8
Fuel Cells Bulletin
‘General Motors of Canada operated two hydrogen-powered forklifts in our car plant in 2005, and we were impressed with the durability and reliability of the vehicles, as well as their environmental potential,’ says David Paterson, the company’s VP for corporate and environmental affairs. The vehicles for the project will be powered by a next-generation HyPM Fuel Cell Power Pack, the development of which is being partially funded by the Canadian Transportation Fuel Cell Alliance, a C$33 million (US$30m) federal government initiative that will demonstrate and evaluate fueling options for fuel cell vehicles in Canada. Hydrogenics’ development of the next-generation Fuel Cell Power Pack is currently under way. Contact: Hydrogenics Corporation, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. Tel: +1 905 361 3660, www.hydrogenics.com Or contact: Sustainable Development Technology Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Tel: +1 613 234 6313, www.sdtc.ca For more on the Canadian Transportation Fuel Cell Alliance, go to: www.nrcan.gc.ca/es/etb/ctfca
PCI wins grant for increasing methane in diesel reformate
C
onnecticut-based Precision Combustion Inc has been awarded a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant by the National Science Foundation, to develop a technology for increasing the methane content in diesel fuel reformate. Methane in the reformate is helpful to solid oxide and molten carbonate fuel cell systems, since its utilization in the stack reduces the temperature and increases lifetime. The proposed simpler, higher-efficiency reformer will displace secondary methanation and associated support components. Successful development of this technology would help lower cost, raise efficiency and lengthen life for SOFC and MCFC systems operating on diesel. Achieving sufficiently robust, efficient and lowcost reforming of liquid fuels suitable for SOFC/ MCFC systems would help broaden the applicability of these fuel cell technologies. Key initial applications would be for commercial and military truck auxiliary power units and naval ships. The firm’s Microlith® reactors have already been demonstrated for use in catalytic partial oxidation (CPOX) and autothermal reforming (ATR), and are being developed for JP-8 and diesel fuel reforming in Department of Defensefunded SBIR and other programs. This new
program will build on these existing fuel processor programs to address the methane requirements of high-temperature fuel cell systems. ‘This builds on our ability to catalytically reform both natural gas and logistics fuels such as diesel without coking, and our reactors’ competitively small size, low weight, fast transient response and high efficiency all provide benefits for mobile applications,’ comments Kevin Burns, president of PCI. Contact: Precision Combustion Inc, North Haven, Connecticut, USA. Tel: +1 203 287 3700, www.precision-combustion.com
Fraunhofer, DLR develop combined reformer/fuel cell system for aircraft
T
wo German research institutes are collaborating with an aerospace company to develop a combined reformer/fuel cell system to generate electricity for use on board civil aircraft. The developers say that it will considerably reduce noise and the emission of pollutants. A reliable electric power supply is the basic requirement for smooth operation of all systems on board an aeroplane. Until now, the aircraft power supply has been provided by generators driven by the engines. An auxiliary gas turbine, or auxiliary power unit (APU), drives the power supply when the aircraft is on the ground at an airport, but this causes considerable disturbance because of the noise and exhaust gases generated. Scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE and the DLR German Aerospace Center are now developing a powergenerating system based on a fuel cell, in cooperation with Liebherr Aerospace, which is also the overall coordinator of the EU-funded Power Optimized Aircraft (POA) project. Under the project, an autothermal reformer has been combined with a solid oxide fuel cell and operated in an integrated system. The kerosene reformer generates a gas containing hydrogen which the SOFC converts into electricity. The reformer, including the heat-exchangers and off-gas burners, was developed by hydrogen technologists working at Fraunhofer ISE. Researchers from the DLR Institute for Technical Thermodynamics constructed an SOFC stack developed at the Forschungszentrum Jülich research center and integrated this into a test stand. Scientists at Fraunhofer ISE tested the automated reformer system and ran it continuously for 300 h before their colleagues at DLR combined it with the SOFC stack from Jülich.
September 2006
Next stage of industrial vehicles project with power by Hydrogenics
G
eneral Motors of Canada, NACCO Materials Handling Group Inc (NMHG) and Hydrogenics have been awarded funding from Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) for a demonstration project that will drive advancement of hydrogen technologies for application in commercial forklift trucks and other industrial vehicles. The funding, subject to final contract negotiations, will be leveraged by the project partners. The demonstration project will involve use of Hydrogenics’ beta version HyPM® Fuel Cell Power Packs in up to 19 forklift trucks and tuggers in operation over a two-year period at GM’s Oshawa Car Plant, near Toronto. The materials handling market is expected to be one of the first major commercial mobility markets for hydrogen fuel cell technology. The HyPM Fuel Cell Power Pack provides a clean power option that is compatible with current electric forklift trucks, and fits within the existing battery compartment. For operators of large fleets of forklifts in 24-hour operations, the power packs offer a near-term, economically viable alternative to batteries, by enabling productivity and operational improvements including faster refueling compared with battery recharging, and extended run-time between fills. Hydrogenics is leading the partners, who previously collaborated in the successful fourmonth deployment of two alpha prototype forklifts at GM of Canada’s Oshawa Car Plant [FCB, January]. The new project builds on the previous project to further demonstrate in a real-world setting the reliability, durability and other performance metrics of the next-generation beta HyPM power packs. The project will also quantify the total cost of ownership, which is expected to improve through productivity improvements realized through the efficiencies of operating fuel cell powered forklift trucks in an industrial environment. 8
Fuel Cells Bulletin
‘General Motors of Canada operated two hydrogen-powered forklifts in our car plant in 2005, and we were impressed with the durability and reliability of the vehicles, as well as their environmental potential,’ says David Paterson, the company’s VP for corporate and environmental affairs. The vehicles for the project will be powered by a next-generation HyPM Fuel Cell Power Pack, the development of which is being partially funded by the Canadian Transportation Fuel Cell Alliance, a C$33 million (US$30m) federal government initiative that will demonstrate and evaluate fueling options for fuel cell vehicles in Canada. Hydrogenics’ development of the next-generation Fuel Cell Power Pack is currently under way. Contact: Hydrogenics Corporation, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. Tel: +1 905 361 3660, www.hydrogenics.com Or contact: Sustainable Development Technology Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Tel: +1 613 234 6313, www.sdtc.ca For more on the Canadian Transportation Fuel Cell Alliance, go to: www.nrcan.gc.ca/es/etb/ctfca
PCI wins grant for increasing methane in diesel reformate
C
onnecticut-based Precision Combustion Inc has been awarded a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant by the National Science Foundation, to develop a technology for increasing the methane content in diesel fuel reformate. Methane in the reformate is helpful to solid oxide and molten carbonate fuel cell systems, since its utilization in the stack reduces the temperature and increases lifetime. The proposed simpler, higher-efficiency reformer will displace secondary methanation and associated support components. Successful development of this technology would help lower cost, raise efficiency and lengthen life for SOFC and MCFC systems operating on diesel. Achieving sufficiently robust, efficient and lowcost reforming of liquid fuels suitable for SOFC/ MCFC systems would help broaden the applicability of these fuel cell technologies. Key initial applications would be for commercial and military truck auxiliary power units and naval ships. The firm’s Microlith® reactors have already been demonstrated for use in catalytic partial oxidation (CPOX) and autothermal reforming (ATR), and are being developed for JP-8 and diesel fuel reforming in Department of Defensefunded SBIR and other programs. This new
program will build on these existing fuel processor programs to address the methane requirements of high-temperature fuel cell systems. ‘This builds on our ability to catalytically reform both natural gas and logistics fuels such as diesel without coking, and our reactors’ competitively small size, low weight, fast transient response and high efficiency all provide benefits for mobile applications,’ comments Kevin Burns, president of PCI. Contact: Precision Combustion Inc, North Haven, Connecticut, USA. Tel: +1 203 287 3700, www.precision-combustion.com
Fraunhofer, DLR develop combined reformer/fuel cell system for aircraft
T
wo German research institutes are collaborating with an aerospace company to develop a combined reformer/fuel cell system to generate electricity for use on board civil aircraft. The developers say that it will considerably reduce noise and the emission of pollutants. A reliable electric power supply is the basic requirement for smooth operation of all systems on board an aeroplane. Until now, the aircraft power supply has been provided by generators driven by the engines. An auxiliary gas turbine, or auxiliary power unit (APU), drives the power supply when the aircraft is on the ground at an airport, but this causes considerable disturbance because of the noise and exhaust gases generated. Scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE and the DLR German Aerospace Center are now developing a powergenerating system based on a fuel cell, in cooperation with Liebherr Aerospace, which is also the overall coordinator of the EU-funded Power Optimized Aircraft (POA) project. Under the project, an autothermal reformer has been combined with a solid oxide fuel cell and operated in an integrated system. The kerosene reformer generates a gas containing hydrogen which the SOFC converts into electricity. The reformer, including the heat-exchangers and off-gas burners, was developed by hydrogen technologists working at Fraunhofer ISE. Researchers from the DLR Institute for Technical Thermodynamics constructed an SOFC stack developed at the Forschungszentrum Jülich research center and integrated this into a test stand. Scientists at Fraunhofer ISE tested the automated reformer system and ran it continuously for 300 h before their colleagues at DLR combined it with the SOFC stack from Jülich.
September 2006