- Email: [email protected]
Suzuki, Intelligent Energy partner on fuel cell motorcycles
NEWS Acta. Prototype catalysts have already been despatched to interested parties, and trials are under way. Acta’s ammonia electrolyzer works by breaking down ammonia into nitrogen (which already makes up 79% of our air) and hydrogen, with no harmful by-products. This is done at room temperature using theoretically just 5% of the electricity input required to remove the hydrogen from water by water electrolysis. This allows the use of an electrolyzer on-board a car to produce the hydrogen; this is not possible with a water electrolyzer, because the latter uses more energy to generate hydrogen than the fuel cell can produce. Ammonia is one of the most widely used and transported chemicals on the planet, and is a more efficient hydrogen storage material than hydrogen itself. It can be manufactured from renewable sources such as biomass, which results in no CO2 emissions. In February 2006 the US Department of Energy noted that the chief barrier to the use of ammonia as a fuel for fuel cells was the high temperature required to release the hydrogen. Acta claims to be the first company to demonstrate ammonia electrolysis at room temperature. This builds on important work being conducted by Professor Gerardine Botte at the Electrochemical Engineering Research Lab at Ohio University (webche.ent.ohiou.edu/eerl), and a $1m grant has recently been awarded to the University of Delaware for research into ammonia electrolysis [see page 9]. Contact: Acta SpA, Cascina (Pisa), Italy. Tel: +39 050 644281, www.acta-nanotech.com
FCE signs 10-year deal with Korea’s POSCO
U
S-based FuelCell Energy has announced an expanded agreement with its Korean strategic distribution partner, POSCO [FCB, January 2005]. The latter’s subsidiary POSCO Power will become a provider of FCE’s molten carbonate Direct FuelCell (DFC) power plants in Korea, and will manufacture the balance-of-plant (BOP) equipment. Under the 10-year license and distribution agreement, POSCO Power will create a fuel cell sales & service organization, and employ its expertise in power plant design and materials procurement to reduce costs. Fuel cell stack modules will be manufactured by FCE in Connecticut and shipped to Asian customers
April 2007
for installation with POSCO Power’s BOP systems. POSCO Power also will build a facility to manufacture the BOP sections in Korea. As part of the alliance, POSCO Power will pay FCE a 4.1% annual royalty on fuel cell related sales by POSCO Power over the term of the agreement, subject to minimum royalties. It has also agreed to invest US$29m in FuelCell Energy Inc through the purchase of common stock at $7.59 per share, resulting in POSCO purchasing 3.8m shares. In addition to Korea, POSCO has the right to sell DFC power plants worldwide except in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Japan. Capitalizing on POSCO’s strong manufacturing capabilities and economies of scale, FCE also has the option to purchase POSCO Power’s BOP sections for sale to its customers in other parts of the world. The Korean Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy (MOCIE) has been a strong proponent of Korean energy independence. Last year, it announced a new renewable energy subsidy program, under which fuel cells powered by biogas and natural gas received subsidies in excess of the amounts allocated to wind power, biomass and hydro, and second only to solar power. Because the MOCIE subsidy requires that power from renewable sources first be exported to the utility grid, rather than consumed onsite, the law is expected to favor the installation of multi-MW power stations. POSCO Power intends to focus its core marketing efforts in this sector. FuelCell Energy anticipates sales volume in South Korea of 5–15 MW over the next several years, while POSCO Power establishes its local manufacturing facilities and continued sales growth for DFC stack modules following POSCO Power’s launch of domestically produced balance-of-plant sections. Contact: FuelCell Energy Inc, Danbury, Connecticut, USA. Tel: +1 203 825 6000, www.fuelcellenergy.com Or contact: POSCO Power Corporation, Seoul, Korea. Tel: +82 2 2087 5309, www.poscopower.co.kr
Suzuki, Intelligent Energy partner on fuel cell motorcycles
U
K-based fuel cell power systems company Intelligent Energy and the Suzuki Motor Corporation in Japan are working together on the development of prototype hydrogen fuel cell motorcycles using Intelligent Energy’s advanced fuel cell power systems.
IN BRIEF Kurita demos improved solid-state methanol for fuel cells Tokyo-based Kurita Water Industries Ltd demonstrated solid-state methanol fuel for direct methanol fuel cells at the recent Fuel Cell Expo 2007. The water treatment firm developed solid-state methanol by making use of a clathrate compound technology produced in its main water processing business. The company believes that solid-state methanol could be a safer alternative to liquid methanol for use in fuel cells. Liquid methanol is highly flammable and toxic. Therefore heavy-duty cartridges must be used for carrying and storing it, and its transport onboard aircraft is still restricted. In a clathrate compound technology, a ‘guest’ compound – in this case methanol – is trapped in a solid state host compound. Kurita first unveiled solid-state methanol in late 2005 [FCB, December 2005]. Initially the reaction required water, but this year’s demonstration used no water. Power was generated by placing dry, white granular solid bodies on the anode. The energy density of solid-state methanol is presently about half that of the same volume of liquid methanol, but does not require the same bulky cartridge. In this respect the energy density is comparable to that of the liquid form. Kurita is now providing samples of the solid methanol to cell phone venders, and expects that the first products – in the form of battery chargers – will hit the market in the summer, at the earliest. According to an EETimes.com report, the company ultimately aims to house the solid methanol fuel cell in a compact card like an SD card, which will directly snap into cell phones. Corporate restructuring for Plug Power US-based Plug Power (www.plugpower.com) has announced changes to its corporate structure, allowing its CEO, Dr Roger Saillant, to have more direct involvement with daily operations while also creating a more traditional and optimal organizational structure. Concurrently, company president Gregory Silvestri has resigned, with Saillant taking on this additional role. As a result of these changes, three vice presidents will join the executive management team and report directly to Saillant. The new additions are Allan Greenberg as VP sales, Thomas Hutchison as VP engineering, and Brad Johnson as VP operations. Greenberg and Hutchison were hired last year to fill key strategic roles at the executive level. ‘This restructuring further improves the alignment of the organization with our efforts to reduce costs and improve reliability,’ says Saillant. ‘I am encouraged by our ability to further develop the company by leveraging the experience and expertise of this newly appointed executive management team.’
Fuel Cells Bulletin
5
NEWS The fuel cell developer will employ its proprietary PEM technology to deliver to Suzuki a series of advanced, compact and lightweight fuel cell systems, which are intended to become an integral part of Suzuki’s future motor products. These fuel cell systems will demonstrate class-leading fuel cell performance under typical automotive environmental conditions. Intelligent Energy has developed a range of fuel cell, fuel processing, desulfurization and hydrogen generation technologies. Its unique and proprietary PEM fuel cell designs are based on the use of thin metallic bipolar plates, which make the fuel cell extremely compact and well suited to mass production. In addition, Intelligent Energy’s fuel cell systems are designed to be simple, robust and cost-effective solutions, which are especially attractive for automotive applications. Contact: Intelligent Energy Ltd, Mayfair, London, UK. Tel: +44 20 7958 9033, www.intelligent-energy.com Or contact: Suzuki Motor Corporation, Miyakoda R&D Center, Fuel Cell Project, Hamamatsu-shi, Shizuoka, Japan. Tel: +81 53 428 5109, www.suzuki.co.jp
Energy Systems. ‘This new functional structure allows us to focus more precisely on the markets, critical business drivers and capabilities that give Distributed Energy Systems the best prospects for the higher-margin revenues we need to foster strong, sustained, profitable growth.’ Schwallie also announced the appointment of three senior vice presidents to implement the reorganization. Mark Murray, who had been heading the company’s commercial hydrogen business, now leads the sales and marketing functions for all products, systems and services. Betsy Anderson assumes responsibility for all of the company’s engineering, production, project management and service activities, expanding her prior operating responsibilities beyond energy systems, products and services. And Robert Friedland takes on management duties encompassing all technology innovation, including the hydrogen R&D programs he previously ran. Contact: Distributed Energy Systems Corporation (and Proton Energy Systems), Wallingford, Connecticut, USA. Tel: +1 203 678 2000, www.distributed-energy.com or www.protonenergy.com
Proton Energy, Northern HTceramix collaborates Power to be combined with SOFCpower
C
onnecticut-based Distributed Energy Systems Corporation is combining its two subsidiaries – Northern Power Systems and Proton Energy Systems – to reduce costs and strengthen systems sales, engineering, production, service and technology development. The reorganization is also expected to enhance efficiencies of its systems engineering, products and service capabilities, and enable more and better cross- fertilization in advanced technology development. The company, which creates and delivers products and solutions for the decentralized energy marketplace, said the reorganization will result in a charge of approximately $1m, reflecting the elimination of about 60 jobs, or 20% of the workforce, and related expenses. The reorganization is estimated to result in annual savings of approximately $4–5m. In addition, the Waitsfield, Vermont location will be closed, and its activities moved to the company’s 110 000 ft2 (10 200 m2) facility in Barre, Vermont. ‘During the past year, it became increasingly clear that we would benefit going forward by implementing our strategy now, to become a one-company organization,’ comments Ambrose L. Schwallie, CEO of Distributed
6
Fuel Cells Bulletin
S
wiss-based HTceramix has established a partnership with SOFCpower in Italy for the industrial production and commercialization of the former’s integrated solid oxide fuel cell system, HoTbox™. HTceramix has also expanded its facilities, in part to cope with a large increase in orders from the Asia-Pacific region, and will be adding multiple test benches for stacks and HoTboxes. Meanwhile, SOFCpower is setting up a pilot production line that will be operational by the end of 2007. HTceramix exhibited its latest products at the recent Fuel Cell Expo 2007 in Tokyo. Recent technical results include an excellent performance of the 500 W-class stack, which achieved a maximum power output of more than 630 W at 30% electrical efficiency, with homogeneous performance of each cell component. Efforts over the coming weeks will concentrate on delivering HTceramix’s 1 kW-class stack. SOFCpower is a new Italian company established to spin out SOFC activities started four years ago within the Eurocoating SpA Turbocoating Group. Turbocoating is a pri-
vately held company focused on developing and manufacturing coatings and special processes for gas turbine and aeroengine component manufacturers. SOFCpower aims to become a leader in the development and commercialization of stacks and power generation units to be integrated into SOFC systems. HTceramix SA is a developer of SOFCs, with a mission to manufacture and deliver fully integrated SOFC generators to system integrators at competitive prices. At the heart of its development is the SOFConnex™ based stack, which uses a unique approach for stacking ceramic fuel cells. Two years ago HTceramix integrated one of its SOFC stacks with a thermal management system manufactured by Dantherm in Denmark [FCB, July 2005]. The company was founded in 2000 using technology developed over 10 years at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL). Contact: HTceramix SA, Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland. Tel: +41 24 426 1083, www.htceramix.ch Or contact: SOFCpower Srl, Pergine Valsugana (Trento), Italy. Tel: +39 046 151 8932, www.sofcpower.com
Contract extension for NuVant’s DMFC research
I
n the US, NuVant Systems has been awarded an extension to a government research contract aimed at developing ways to extend the lifetime of portable power fuel cells. The Indiana-based technology company, which develops and licenses advanced fuel cell components and component evaluation instrumentation, instituted its Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Lifetime Improvement Program last October as part of a $1.74m contract from the Department of Defense. The DOD’s amendment to the contract to $2.61m will fund NuVant Systems’ continuing research and development of DMFCs. ‘For portable fuel cells, one of the advantages of liquid methanol fuel over compressed hydrogen fuel is that liquid methanol has a much higher energy density and is easier to handle,’ says company founder Dr Eugene Smotkin, who also chairs the firm’s science advisory board. He is also professor of chemistry at Northeastern University in Boston, and a research professor of chemical & biomolecular engineering at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. ‘As part of this contract extension, we will hold workshops to introduce companies and
April 2007
FCE signs 10-year deal with Korea’s POSCO
U
S-based FuelCell Energy has announced an expanded agreement with its Korean strategic distribution partner, POSCO [FCB, January 2005]. The latter’s subsidiary POSCO Power will become a provider of FCE’s molten carbonate Direct FuelCell (DFC) power plants in Korea, and will manufacture the balance-of-plant (BOP) equipment. Under the 10-year license and distribution agreement, POSCO Power will create a fuel cell sales & service organization, and employ its expertise in power plant design and materials procurement to reduce costs. Fuel cell stack modules will be manufactured by FCE in Connecticut and shipped to Asian customers
April 2007
for installation with POSCO Power’s BOP systems. POSCO Power also will build a facility to manufacture the BOP sections in Korea. As part of the alliance, POSCO Power will pay FCE a 4.1% annual royalty on fuel cell related sales by POSCO Power over the term of the agreement, subject to minimum royalties. It has also agreed to invest US$29m in FuelCell Energy Inc through the purchase of common stock at $7.59 per share, resulting in POSCO purchasing 3.8m shares. In addition to Korea, POSCO has the right to sell DFC power plants worldwide except in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Japan. Capitalizing on POSCO’s strong manufacturing capabilities and economies of scale, FCE also has the option to purchase POSCO Power’s BOP sections for sale to its customers in other parts of the world. The Korean Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy (MOCIE) has been a strong proponent of Korean energy independence. Last year, it announced a new renewable energy subsidy program, under which fuel cells powered by biogas and natural gas received subsidies in excess of the amounts allocated to wind power, biomass and hydro, and second only to solar power. Because the MOCIE subsidy requires that power from renewable sources first be exported to the utility grid, rather than consumed onsite, the law is expected to favor the installation of multi-MW power stations. POSCO Power intends to focus its core marketing efforts in this sector. FuelCell Energy anticipates sales volume in South Korea of 5–15 MW over the next several years, while POSCO Power establishes its local manufacturing facilities and continued sales growth for DFC stack modules following POSCO Power’s launch of domestically produced balance-of-plant sections. Contact: FuelCell Energy Inc, Danbury, Connecticut, USA. Tel: +1 203 825 6000, www.fuelcellenergy.com Or contact: POSCO Power Corporation, Seoul, Korea. Tel: +82 2 2087 5309, www.poscopower.co.kr
Suzuki, Intelligent Energy partner on fuel cell motorcycles
U
K-based fuel cell power systems company Intelligent Energy and the Suzuki Motor Corporation in Japan are working together on the development of prototype hydrogen fuel cell motorcycles using Intelligent Energy’s advanced fuel cell power systems.
IN BRIEF Kurita demos improved solid-state methanol for fuel cells Tokyo-based Kurita Water Industries Ltd demonstrated solid-state methanol fuel for direct methanol fuel cells at the recent Fuel Cell Expo 2007. The water treatment firm developed solid-state methanol by making use of a clathrate compound technology produced in its main water processing business. The company believes that solid-state methanol could be a safer alternative to liquid methanol for use in fuel cells. Liquid methanol is highly flammable and toxic. Therefore heavy-duty cartridges must be used for carrying and storing it, and its transport onboard aircraft is still restricted. In a clathrate compound technology, a ‘guest’ compound – in this case methanol – is trapped in a solid state host compound. Kurita first unveiled solid-state methanol in late 2005 [FCB, December 2005]. Initially the reaction required water, but this year’s demonstration used no water. Power was generated by placing dry, white granular solid bodies on the anode. The energy density of solid-state methanol is presently about half that of the same volume of liquid methanol, but does not require the same bulky cartridge. In this respect the energy density is comparable to that of the liquid form. Kurita is now providing samples of the solid methanol to cell phone venders, and expects that the first products – in the form of battery chargers – will hit the market in the summer, at the earliest. According to an EETimes.com report, the company ultimately aims to house the solid methanol fuel cell in a compact card like an SD card, which will directly snap into cell phones. Corporate restructuring for Plug Power US-based Plug Power (www.plugpower.com) has announced changes to its corporate structure, allowing its CEO, Dr Roger Saillant, to have more direct involvement with daily operations while also creating a more traditional and optimal organizational structure. Concurrently, company president Gregory Silvestri has resigned, with Saillant taking on this additional role. As a result of these changes, three vice presidents will join the executive management team and report directly to Saillant. The new additions are Allan Greenberg as VP sales, Thomas Hutchison as VP engineering, and Brad Johnson as VP operations. Greenberg and Hutchison were hired last year to fill key strategic roles at the executive level. ‘This restructuring further improves the alignment of the organization with our efforts to reduce costs and improve reliability,’ says Saillant. ‘I am encouraged by our ability to further develop the company by leveraging the experience and expertise of this newly appointed executive management team.’
Fuel Cells Bulletin
5
NEWS The fuel cell developer will employ its proprietary PEM technology to deliver to Suzuki a series of advanced, compact and lightweight fuel cell systems, which are intended to become an integral part of Suzuki’s future motor products. These fuel cell systems will demonstrate class-leading fuel cell performance under typical automotive environmental conditions. Intelligent Energy has developed a range of fuel cell, fuel processing, desulfurization and hydrogen generation technologies. Its unique and proprietary PEM fuel cell designs are based on the use of thin metallic bipolar plates, which make the fuel cell extremely compact and well suited to mass production. In addition, Intelligent Energy’s fuel cell systems are designed to be simple, robust and cost-effective solutions, which are especially attractive for automotive applications. Contact: Intelligent Energy Ltd, Mayfair, London, UK. Tel: +44 20 7958 9033, www.intelligent-energy.com Or contact: Suzuki Motor Corporation, Miyakoda R&D Center, Fuel Cell Project, Hamamatsu-shi, Shizuoka, Japan. Tel: +81 53 428 5109, www.suzuki.co.jp
Energy Systems. ‘This new functional structure allows us to focus more precisely on the markets, critical business drivers and capabilities that give Distributed Energy Systems the best prospects for the higher-margin revenues we need to foster strong, sustained, profitable growth.’ Schwallie also announced the appointment of three senior vice presidents to implement the reorganization. Mark Murray, who had been heading the company’s commercial hydrogen business, now leads the sales and marketing functions for all products, systems and services. Betsy Anderson assumes responsibility for all of the company’s engineering, production, project management and service activities, expanding her prior operating responsibilities beyond energy systems, products and services. And Robert Friedland takes on management duties encompassing all technology innovation, including the hydrogen R&D programs he previously ran. Contact: Distributed Energy Systems Corporation (and Proton Energy Systems), Wallingford, Connecticut, USA. Tel: +1 203 678 2000, www.distributed-energy.com or www.protonenergy.com
Proton Energy, Northern HTceramix collaborates Power to be combined with SOFCpower
C
onnecticut-based Distributed Energy Systems Corporation is combining its two subsidiaries – Northern Power Systems and Proton Energy Systems – to reduce costs and strengthen systems sales, engineering, production, service and technology development. The reorganization is also expected to enhance efficiencies of its systems engineering, products and service capabilities, and enable more and better cross- fertilization in advanced technology development. The company, which creates and delivers products and solutions for the decentralized energy marketplace, said the reorganization will result in a charge of approximately $1m, reflecting the elimination of about 60 jobs, or 20% of the workforce, and related expenses. The reorganization is estimated to result in annual savings of approximately $4–5m. In addition, the Waitsfield, Vermont location will be closed, and its activities moved to the company’s 110 000 ft2 (10 200 m2) facility in Barre, Vermont. ‘During the past year, it became increasingly clear that we would benefit going forward by implementing our strategy now, to become a one-company organization,’ comments Ambrose L. Schwallie, CEO of Distributed
6
Fuel Cells Bulletin
S
wiss-based HTceramix has established a partnership with SOFCpower in Italy for the industrial production and commercialization of the former’s integrated solid oxide fuel cell system, HoTbox™. HTceramix has also expanded its facilities, in part to cope with a large increase in orders from the Asia-Pacific region, and will be adding multiple test benches for stacks and HoTboxes. Meanwhile, SOFCpower is setting up a pilot production line that will be operational by the end of 2007. HTceramix exhibited its latest products at the recent Fuel Cell Expo 2007 in Tokyo. Recent technical results include an excellent performance of the 500 W-class stack, which achieved a maximum power output of more than 630 W at 30% electrical efficiency, with homogeneous performance of each cell component. Efforts over the coming weeks will concentrate on delivering HTceramix’s 1 kW-class stack. SOFCpower is a new Italian company established to spin out SOFC activities started four years ago within the Eurocoating SpA Turbocoating Group. Turbocoating is a pri-
vately held company focused on developing and manufacturing coatings and special processes for gas turbine and aeroengine component manufacturers. SOFCpower aims to become a leader in the development and commercialization of stacks and power generation units to be integrated into SOFC systems. HTceramix SA is a developer of SOFCs, with a mission to manufacture and deliver fully integrated SOFC generators to system integrators at competitive prices. At the heart of its development is the SOFConnex™ based stack, which uses a unique approach for stacking ceramic fuel cells. Two years ago HTceramix integrated one of its SOFC stacks with a thermal management system manufactured by Dantherm in Denmark [FCB, July 2005]. The company was founded in 2000 using technology developed over 10 years at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL). Contact: HTceramix SA, Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland. Tel: +41 24 426 1083, www.htceramix.ch Or contact: SOFCpower Srl, Pergine Valsugana (Trento), Italy. Tel: +39 046 151 8932, www.sofcpower.com
Contract extension for NuVant’s DMFC research
I
n the US, NuVant Systems has been awarded an extension to a government research contract aimed at developing ways to extend the lifetime of portable power fuel cells. The Indiana-based technology company, which develops and licenses advanced fuel cell components and component evaluation instrumentation, instituted its Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Lifetime Improvement Program last October as part of a $1.74m contract from the Department of Defense. The DOD’s amendment to the contract to $2.61m will fund NuVant Systems’ continuing research and development of DMFCs. ‘For portable fuel cells, one of the advantages of liquid methanol fuel over compressed hydrogen fuel is that liquid methanol has a much higher energy density and is easier to handle,’ says company founder Dr Eugene Smotkin, who also chairs the firm’s science advisory board. He is also professor of chemistry at Northeastern University in Boston, and a research professor of chemical & biomolecular engineering at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. ‘As part of this contract extension, we will hold workshops to introduce companies and
April 2007