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Vandenborre, BP win contract for Barcelona hydrogen station
NEWS
Vandenborre, BP win contract for Barcelona hydrogen station Belgian-based Vandenborre Hydrogen Systems has signed an agreement with BP to supply an IMET® powered water electrolyzer for integration in a hydrogen fuel station that BP will deliver to Barcelona, Spain for the Clean Urban Transportation for Europe (CUTE) fuel cell bus project. The CUTE project will see the demonstration of DaimlerChrysler’s Citaro hydrogen fuel cell powered buses for two years in 10 European cities, including Barcelona. BP will install the hydrogen infrastructure for the Barcelona bus facilities. The system will include an IMET electrolyzer to produce hydrogen, which is then compressed and stored in the bus at 350 bar. The Barcelona unit is the second IMET electrolyzer to be supplied within CUTE. Vandenborre has previously signed a deal with Hoekloos Tonnage & On-Site Production to integrate a system into the Amsterdam hydrogen fueling station, for the city’s GVB bus company. Contact: Vandenborre Hydrogen Systems, Nijverheidsstraat 48c, B-2260 Oevel, Belgium. Tel: +32 14 462110, Fax: +32 14 462111, www.hydrogensystems.com Or contact: Peter Histon, BP Sunbury, Chertsey Road, Sunbury-on Thames, Middlesex TW16 7LN, UK. Tel: +44 1932 764519, Email: [email protected]
EU plans to become hydrogen economy Following on from its recent establishment of a High Level Group on hydrogen and fuel cells (FCB, November 2002), the European Commission has unveiled a long-term plan to make the historic transition from the fossil-fuel era into a renewable energy economy powered by hydrogen. The plan includes a 2bn EU commitment, over the next several years, to bring industry, the research community and government together in pursuit of a common roadmap for a hydrogen economy future. Commission president Romano Prodi said that the EU’s scientific effort would be as important for Europe as the space program was for the US. With increased public concern over global warming and rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, the EU initiative is timely. Professor Jeremy Rifkin, the American author and consultant who serves as an advisor to
6
Fuel Cells Bulletin
President Prodi, prepared the strategic white paper that led to the current EU energy initiative. According to Rifkin, ‘The EU decision to transform Europe into a hydrogen economy over the course of the next half-century is likely to have as profound and far-reaching an impact on commerce and society as the changes that accompanied the harnessing of steam power and coal at the dawn of the industrial revolution, and the introduction of the internal-combustion engine and the electrification of society in the 20th century.’
subassemblies and value-added services to fuel cell developers. ‘Our expertise in this area will enable us to combat the current challenges in this industry such as fuel cell contamination, reliability, weight and system and component cost,’ said Goodman, who will oversee the strategy, sales, marketing, product management and support of Entegris’ fuel cell market segment. Contact: Entegris Inc, 3500 Lyman Boulevard, Chaska, MN 55318, USA. Tel: +1 952 556 3131, Fax: +1 952 556 1880, www.entegris.com
Two contracts for Hydrogenics test stations Funding for ‘high-risk’ fuel cell projects Toronto-based Hydrogenics has received a first-time order from European Fuel Cell (EFC) GmbH in Germany for multiple, fully featured FCATS H-series fuel cell and reformer test systems. The Canadian company has also received an order for multiple test systems from a ‘significant’ – but unnamed – fuel cell materials developer. The combined value of the orders is approximately US$1.5m. The test systems for EFC will support its development work in natural gas-fueled combined heat and power (CHP) Home Energy Systems at its R&D facility in Hamburg. Contact: Hydrogenics Corporation, 5985 McLaughlin Road, Mississauga, Ontario L5R 1B8, Canada. Tel: +1 905 361 3660, Fax: +1 905 361 3626, www.hydrogenics.com Or contact: European Fuel Cell GmbH, Ausschläger Elbdeich 127, D-20539 Hamburg, Germany. Tel: +49 40 23667600, Fax: +49 40 23667601, www.europeanfuelcell.de
Entegris brings materials integrity management to fuel cells Minnesota-based Entegris, a materials integrity management company, has established a new business segment to leverage its core competencies in polymer material science and manufacturing in the fuel cell industry. John Goodman has been appointed president of the new segment. Within the fuel cell market, Entegris will produce fuel cell components such as bipolar plates and end plates. The company will also provide fluid handling components, assemblies and service for balance-of-plant (BOP) applications. The company is already providing advanced fuel cell materials, components,
A ‘fuel cell on a chip’ power source for handheld electronics and a low-cost SOFC module made by thin-film fabrication are among the novel technologies to be developed under cost-shared grants from the FY 2002 Advanced Technology Program (ATP) of the US National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST). Lilliputian Systems in Massachusetts will spend $3.5m ($2m from ATP) over two years to develop and demonstrate a prototype miniature SOFC for use in handheld electronics, yielding an energy-to-volume ratio (or run time) 5–10 times better than the leading battery technology. The proposed micro fuel cell, which will be integrated into a silicon chip, will run on highenergy density fuels, such as butane. The design will reduce device heating and make the system reliable enough for real-world use. A low-cost, highly parallel MEMS approach will be used to fabricate the fuel cell components. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California will be subcontracted to assist with fuel cell development and microfabrication. Ohio-based NexTech Materials will develop the Direct Fuel Power Module (DFPM), a novel intermediate-temperature 5 We to 5 kWe SOFC. The design integrates multiple series-connected thin-film cells on porous flattened tube substrates, combining the best features of tubular and planar SOFCs by eliminating sealing problems and providing high volumetric efficiency. The DFPM will operate directly on hydrocarbon fuels without reforming, greatly simplifying system design. The two-year, $2.25m ($2m from ATP) project will produce and test prototype 20 and 150 We module platforms to demonstrate feasibility. Functional Coating Technology (Evanston, Illinois) will contribute design concepts and thinfilm materials and fabrication expertise, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee will help develop the glass-ceramic seals.
December 2002
Vandenborre, BP win contract for Barcelona hydrogen station Belgian-based Vandenborre Hydrogen Systems has signed an agreement with BP to supply an IMET® powered water electrolyzer for integration in a hydrogen fuel station that BP will deliver to Barcelona, Spain for the Clean Urban Transportation for Europe (CUTE) fuel cell bus project. The CUTE project will see the demonstration of DaimlerChrysler’s Citaro hydrogen fuel cell powered buses for two years in 10 European cities, including Barcelona. BP will install the hydrogen infrastructure for the Barcelona bus facilities. The system will include an IMET electrolyzer to produce hydrogen, which is then compressed and stored in the bus at 350 bar. The Barcelona unit is the second IMET electrolyzer to be supplied within CUTE. Vandenborre has previously signed a deal with Hoekloos Tonnage & On-Site Production to integrate a system into the Amsterdam hydrogen fueling station, for the city’s GVB bus company. Contact: Vandenborre Hydrogen Systems, Nijverheidsstraat 48c, B-2260 Oevel, Belgium. Tel: +32 14 462110, Fax: +32 14 462111, www.hydrogensystems.com Or contact: Peter Histon, BP Sunbury, Chertsey Road, Sunbury-on Thames, Middlesex TW16 7LN, UK. Tel: +44 1932 764519, Email: [email protected]
EU plans to become hydrogen economy Following on from its recent establishment of a High Level Group on hydrogen and fuel cells (FCB, November 2002), the European Commission has unveiled a long-term plan to make the historic transition from the fossil-fuel era into a renewable energy economy powered by hydrogen. The plan includes a 2bn EU commitment, over the next several years, to bring industry, the research community and government together in pursuit of a common roadmap for a hydrogen economy future. Commission president Romano Prodi said that the EU’s scientific effort would be as important for Europe as the space program was for the US. With increased public concern over global warming and rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, the EU initiative is timely. Professor Jeremy Rifkin, the American author and consultant who serves as an advisor to
6
Fuel Cells Bulletin
President Prodi, prepared the strategic white paper that led to the current EU energy initiative. According to Rifkin, ‘The EU decision to transform Europe into a hydrogen economy over the course of the next half-century is likely to have as profound and far-reaching an impact on commerce and society as the changes that accompanied the harnessing of steam power and coal at the dawn of the industrial revolution, and the introduction of the internal-combustion engine and the electrification of society in the 20th century.’
subassemblies and value-added services to fuel cell developers. ‘Our expertise in this area will enable us to combat the current challenges in this industry such as fuel cell contamination, reliability, weight and system and component cost,’ said Goodman, who will oversee the strategy, sales, marketing, product management and support of Entegris’ fuel cell market segment. Contact: Entegris Inc, 3500 Lyman Boulevard, Chaska, MN 55318, USA. Tel: +1 952 556 3131, Fax: +1 952 556 1880, www.entegris.com
Two contracts for Hydrogenics test stations Funding for ‘high-risk’ fuel cell projects Toronto-based Hydrogenics has received a first-time order from European Fuel Cell (EFC) GmbH in Germany for multiple, fully featured FCATS H-series fuel cell and reformer test systems. The Canadian company has also received an order for multiple test systems from a ‘significant’ – but unnamed – fuel cell materials developer. The combined value of the orders is approximately US$1.5m. The test systems for EFC will support its development work in natural gas-fueled combined heat and power (CHP) Home Energy Systems at its R&D facility in Hamburg. Contact: Hydrogenics Corporation, 5985 McLaughlin Road, Mississauga, Ontario L5R 1B8, Canada. Tel: +1 905 361 3660, Fax: +1 905 361 3626, www.hydrogenics.com Or contact: European Fuel Cell GmbH, Ausschläger Elbdeich 127, D-20539 Hamburg, Germany. Tel: +49 40 23667600, Fax: +49 40 23667601, www.europeanfuelcell.de
Entegris brings materials integrity management to fuel cells Minnesota-based Entegris, a materials integrity management company, has established a new business segment to leverage its core competencies in polymer material science and manufacturing in the fuel cell industry. John Goodman has been appointed president of the new segment. Within the fuel cell market, Entegris will produce fuel cell components such as bipolar plates and end plates. The company will also provide fluid handling components, assemblies and service for balance-of-plant (BOP) applications. The company is already providing advanced fuel cell materials, components,
A ‘fuel cell on a chip’ power source for handheld electronics and a low-cost SOFC module made by thin-film fabrication are among the novel technologies to be developed under cost-shared grants from the FY 2002 Advanced Technology Program (ATP) of the US National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST). Lilliputian Systems in Massachusetts will spend $3.5m ($2m from ATP) over two years to develop and demonstrate a prototype miniature SOFC for use in handheld electronics, yielding an energy-to-volume ratio (or run time) 5–10 times better than the leading battery technology. The proposed micro fuel cell, which will be integrated into a silicon chip, will run on highenergy density fuels, such as butane. The design will reduce device heating and make the system reliable enough for real-world use. A low-cost, highly parallel MEMS approach will be used to fabricate the fuel cell components. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California will be subcontracted to assist with fuel cell development and microfabrication. Ohio-based NexTech Materials will develop the Direct Fuel Power Module (DFPM), a novel intermediate-temperature 5 We to 5 kWe SOFC. The design integrates multiple series-connected thin-film cells on porous flattened tube substrates, combining the best features of tubular and planar SOFCs by eliminating sealing problems and providing high volumetric efficiency. The DFPM will operate directly on hydrocarbon fuels without reforming, greatly simplifying system design. The two-year, $2.25m ($2m from ATP) project will produce and test prototype 20 and 150 We module platforms to demonstrate feasibility. Functional Coating Technology (Evanston, Illinois) will contribute design concepts and thinfilm materials and fabrication expertise, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee will help develop the glass-ceramic seals.
December 2002