FuelCellsWorks

On-Site production plant based on SCT-CPO (Short Contact Time Catalytic Partial Oxidation), a propriety process of Eni S.p.A realised and tested in August 2008 goes in operation. Designed for a through put 20 Nm³/hr the plant can be operated in continuous as well as intermittent mode. Based on the needs of the FCV fleet in operation at Mantova, it is planned to operate the on-site plant in short campaigns of 4-5 days each with intermission in between. Alternative means for consuming hydrogen such as a stationary fuel-cell unit are planned at the service station for the future (beyond Zero Regio) where the plant will be operated in continuous mode.

SOUTHBOROUGH, MA; Protonex Technology Corporation (LSE: AIM: PTX and PTXU), a leading provider of advanced fuel cell power systems for portable, remote and mobile applications, today announced that David A. Ierardi has joined the Company’s executive team as Vice President of Operations.

Mr. Ierardi has over 25 years of global operations and manufacturing experience with specific capabilities in new product introduction, logistics, supply chain management, quality, cost reduction, and contract manufacturing selection and management.  Mr. Ierardi replaces Protonex’ prior VP of Manufacturing, Ronald Rezac.

‘Dave will be instrumental in establishing and scaling the Company’s manufacturing efforts,’ said Scott Pearson, President and CEO of Protonex. ‘We look forward to his expertise and leadership as we introduce new products, engage new markets and grow the business.’

Prior to joining Protonex, Mr. Ierardi has held senior level positions at RSA-the security division of EMC, Telco Systems, Integral Access and Lucent Technologies and has set-up manufacturing operations in multiple locations in the United States, Europe and Asia. Mr. Ierardi holds a Masters degree in Computer Integrated Manufacturing from Brigham Young University and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Lowell.

The Dutch fuel cell manufacturing  firm NedStack has signed a contract with Australia’s Nalok Enterprises P/L to deliver a 30kW hybrid drive – consisting of a hydrogen fuel cell system and batteries – by 2010. In addition to delivering the materials, NedStack has also committed to a knowledge transfer whereby Nalok engineers will attend a fuel cell systems training in the Netherlands in September 2009.

According to the firm’s press release, this is NedStacks second commercial maritime application. Earlier this year, the fim delivered two fuel cell systems for Amsterdam’s first hydrogen-operated canal boat.

Kick-starting the hydrogen economy will require cheap ways to produce vast quantities of the gas. But rather than building a new and costly plants, societies could modify existing gas powered stations instead, say Dutch and French chemists.

It is the latest proposal in a long line aimed at solving a problem that is the main barrier to a cleaner, low-carbon, hydrogen-fuelled future. However, the new idea is not without its problems: critics say retrofitting gas plants would be inefficient, but agree that the hydrogen-generation hurdle will only be surmounted using existing fossil fuel technology.

Although cheaper fuel cells and other technology needed to convert hydrogen to power are fairly advanced, there is currently no way to cheaply generate the large quantities of hydrogen needed.

Gadi Rothenberg’s team at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, working with colleagues at the University of Lyon 1 in Villeurbanne, France, say that because energy markets are conservative, only pragmatic solutions that use the existing fossil-fuel infrastructure are likely to succeed.

So the team has developed a catalyst it says could be placed in the combustion chamber of a methane-burning power plant which would allow it to produce hydrogen with little modification.

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ZOLDER –Solvay Umicore Zero Emission Racing Team, which is competing in the Formula Zero Championship, has set an unofficial new record with their hydrogen powered vehicle. At the Belgian Circuit Zolder, the students from Leuven drove an 1/8 mile in 10,4 seconds. Which was much faster than the official record of 11,6 seconds. Unfortunately due absence of a FIA representative, the record attempt could not be registered as an official new world record.”

Toyota’s Fuel Cell Hybrid Vehicle – Advanced (FCHV-adv) has arrived in the United States, and several vehicles have recently been delivered to Toyota partners for real-world testing. UC Irvine and UC Berkeley were recent recipients, as was the California Fuel Cell Partnership (CaFCP).

What makes this version of Toyota’s FCHV different from the first generation?

Thanks to results of tests conducted by Toyota’s network of global partners, including the CaFCP, on the first-generation FCHV, FCHV-adv’s fuel-cell system was improved to increase cruising distance and allow for low-temperature starts.

A challenge for fuel-cell vehicles has been operating at low temperatures. The FCHV-adv can start and operate at temperatures as low as minus 22 degrees Fahrenheit, meaning the vehicle can be used in a wide variety of conditions and climates. Fuel-efficiency for the FCHV-adv has been improved by 25% over the first-generation Toyota FCHV through improving fuel-cell-unit performance, enhancing the regenerative brake system and reducing energy consumed by the auxiliary system. The FCHV-adv is equipped with Toyota Motor Corporation-developed 70-MPa high-pressure hydrogen tanks that make it possible to travel more than 500 miles on a single fueling, which is more than double that of its predecessor.

Researchers at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics in China and the National University of Singapore have improved the performance of ammonia borane (AB) as a material for hydrogen storage—potentially for on-board storage in a vehicle—by developing a new method for doping AB with nanosized Co- and Ni-based catalysts.
Experimental results showed that the catalyst-doped AB samples can release approximately 5.8 wt% H2 at a temperature as low as 59 °C. Moreover, the dehydrogenation does not bring any detectable borazine or foaming.

A paper on their work was published online 27 April in the ACS journal Chemistry of Materials.

Ammonia borane (NH3BH3) has been of interest as a hydrogen storage material for a number of years because of its high hydrogen content (19.6 wt%). In 2007, an independent technical review panel convened at the behest of the US Department of Energy to consider the technical status and progress of R&D on the hydrolysis of sodium borohydride (NaBH4) for on-board vehicular hydrogen storage unanimously recommended a “no-go” to further funding for the development of that material, while also suggesting further work on ammonia borane. (Earlier post.)

However, dehydrogenation—releasing the hydrogen—from AB usually required temperatures of more than 100 °C, making it too hot for polymer-based fuel cells. Other issues with its use were the release of other gases which could poison the hydrogen and instability (rapid expansion or turning into foam).

Ping Chen and colleagues doped a two mole percent Co- or Ni-based catalyst to AB using a co-precipitation method they developed. With the only added weight to AB being the 2.0 mol % catalytic additives, the hydrogen capacity of the system is not sacrificed significantly.

Resources

Teng He, Zhitao Xiong, Guotao Wu, Hailiang Chu, Chengzhang Wu, Tao Zhang and Ping Chen (2009) Nanosized Co- and Ni-Catalyzed Ammonia Borane for Hydrogen Storage. Chem. Mater. DOI: 10.1021/cm900672h