FuelCellsWorks

A report by the Stockholm Environment Institute, entitled ‘A European Eco-efficient Economy’, will provide a basis for discussions during an informal meeting of energy and environment ministers in Åre on 23-25 July. Thus, Sweden, which took over the EU’s rotating Presidency on July 1^st, has pledged to put energy efficiency high on its agenda. One of its priorities is to lead a shift to an eco-efficient economy where economic growth and climate-friendly policies go hand-in-hand.

The report argues that Europe’s leadership is “primarily evident” in its climate change commitments, but in order to continue attracting investment and businesses, greater efforts must be made to promote innovation and energy efficiency. Crucially, the report urges the EU to step up programmed interventions, alongside more generic policies, to induce development and diffusion of eco-efficient technologies such as hydrogen. Due to the lack of support system, EU has so far lagged behind main competitors such as the US and Japan. The importance of a strong domestic market to nurture the growth of new industries is well known but the potential of Europe becoming a lead market for new technologies is partly unfulfilled today. The report suggests that one example to learn from is the approach in renewable electricity: supporting early-stage technologies through fixing prices and guaranteeing market access, and letting more mature technologies compete with each other under a quota system or other pricing mechanism.

To download the report please click here

TOKYO GAS put ENEFARMs (residential fuel cell cogenerating systems) on the market on this May. The results of sales of ENEFARMs show that the ENEFARM cogenerators have been sold in an unexpected way. The number of ENEFARMs having been sold up to now to customers having already built houses has reached the target number of sales.
The fact teaches that the customers who will reform their houses show relatively high interest in ENEFARMs. On the basis of this fact, the company decided to increase the target number of sales from 1,500 units to 2,100 units.
Before putting ENEFARMs on the market, the company predicted that it would be easy to sell ENEFARMs to customers newly building houses.
In the sales plan, the target number of sales of ENEFARMs was set at about 1,500 units a year. About 1,000 units of the target number were assigned to the customers who will build new houses.

BOTHELL, Wash.– Neah Power Systems, Inc. (’Neah’) (OTCBB:NPWZ)  the Company developing fuel cells for the military and portable electronic devices, announced today that it has reached agreement with Optimus Energy Capital Partners, LLC (’Optimus’), an investment fund, under which Optimus may purchase up to $10 million of Neah Power’s Series B Preferred Stock between today’s date and July 27, 2010 at Neah Power’s sole discretion.

Dr. Chris D’Couto, Neah CEO, said, “The confidence shown by the financial community in Neah’s patent-protected technology and our commercial engagements is truly gratifying. This major commitment to the company should enable us to quickly complete manifold renewable energy solutions for our customers and meet our corporate goals including listing on the AMEX. We are enthused by this further endorsement of Neah’s IP-protected, differentiated product, management team, and, we believe, the untapped market opportunity ahead of the company.”

About Neah Power

Neah Power Systems, Inc. (NPWZ) is developing long-lasting, efficient and safe power solutions for the military and for portable electronic devices. Neah uses a unique, patented, silicon-based design for its micro fuel cells that enable higher power densities, lower cost and compact form-factors. The company’s micro fuel cell system can run in aerobic and anaerobic modes.

WILMINGTON, Del., and BRUNNTHAL, Germany–DuPont and SFC Smart Fuel Cell AG today announced that they have received a follow-up order from the U.S. Army for the development of the M-25 fuel cell – a small, lightweight, portable power supply that can extend soldier mission times to 72 hours or more. The project cost is approximately $3 million.

The M-25 is part of an integrated body-worn power source that can be carried by the soldier that combines DuPont’s direct methanol technology with SFC’s commercially proven fuel cell systems, products and integration expertise. Enabling a significant weight reduction when compared to conventional battery systems for multi-day missions, the M-25’s standard design, when worn by soldiers in the field for extended missions, is up to 80 percent lighter than conventional power sources, yet capable of powering a wide range of soldier equipment. In addition to its light weight for powering digital communication and navigation equipment, the M-25 delivers quiet and continuous energy, and offers independent standalone functions such as remote area battery charging and power.

The agreement is the latest step in the M-25 program, which was awarded $1 million by the U.S. Department of Defense Wearable Power Prize in October 2008.

“This technology is a decisive advantage and DuPont is proud to partner again with SFC to address the need for lightweight, long endurance power system for soldiers,” said John D. Colven, global business manager – DuPont Fuel Cells. “The integration of our membrane electrode assembly technology within SFC direct methanol fuel cell systems will further the success of fuel cell power solutions in defense applications.”

“The new U.S. Army order reconfirms the success of our cooperation, and DuPont’s and SFC’s expertise in integrating the latest technologies into solutions with superior user benefits for our customers,” said Peter Podesser, CEO – SFC Smart Fuel Cell AG. “Based on this, there is a significant potential for portable and vehicle-based autonomous power applications that require full systems solutions combining fuel cells and batteries as a system. Fuel-efficient, lightweight, silent and emission-free power sources are a unique way to achieve customer requirements and ultimate customer satisfaction.”

About SFC Smart Fuel Cell AG

SFC Smart Fuel Cell is market leader in fuel cell technologies for mobile and off-grid power applications serving the leisure, industrial and defense markets. As one of Germany’s technology pioneers, SFC has won numerous innovation awards. SFC has alliances with leading companies in a wide range of industries. Unlike most other fuel cell manufacturers, who are in the research and development phase or run subsidized demonstration projects, SFC has shipped over 14,000 fully commercial products to industrial and private end users for five years, and has created a convenient fuel cartridge supply infrastructure. SFC is DIN ISO 9001:2000 certified. SFC is based in Brunnthal, Germany, and has a U.S. sales and technical service office in Atlanta.

About DuPont

DuPont produces proven, science-based life-protection solutions, including some of the world’s most trusted brands. Among these are DuPont™ Kevlar® and Nomex® advanced fibers and Tyvek® nonwovens used in protective apparel and equipment worn by military, law enforcement, firefighting and other emergency and defense personnel.

Briefing of the International Energy Agency (IEA) Collaborations in Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Science and Technology on Global Investments in our Energy, Economic and Environmental Future July 31, 2009, 10:30-11:30 am in 628 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington D.C.

Directions:
Location:
628 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington D.C. (close to Union Station)

Time: 10:30-11:30 am

Contact:
Questions? Call Mary-Rose de Valladares at 301 634 7423. No R.S.V.P. required.

9650 Rockville Pike Suite 3500 Bethesda, MD USA 20814 301 634 7423 www.ieahia.org

In their most recent experiments with Geobacter, the sediment-loving microbe whose hairlike filaments help it to produce electric current from mud and wastewater, Derek Lovley and colleagues at the University of Massachusetts Amherst supervised the evolution of a new strain that dramatically increases power output per cell and overall bulk power. It also works with a thinner biofilm than earlier strains, cutting the time to reach electricity-producing concentrations on the electrode.

Dr. Hana Yi takes a reading from fuel cells.

“This new study shows that output can be boosted and it gives us good insights into what it will take to genetically select a higher-power organism.” The work, supported by the Office of Naval Research and the U.S. Department of Energy, is described in the August issue of the journal, Biosensors and Bioelectronics, now available online.

Findings open the door to improved microbial fuel cell architecture and should lead to “new applications that extend well beyond extracting electricity from mud,” Lovley says. In the new experiments, the UMass Amherst researchers adapted the microbe’s environment, which pushed it to adapt more efficient electric current transfer methods.

“In very short order we increased the power output by eight-fold, as a conservative estimate,” says Lovley. “With this, we’ve broken through the plateau in power production that’s been holding us back in recent years.” Now, planning can move forward to design microbial fuel cells that convert waste water and renewable biomass to electricity, treat a single home’s waste while producing localized power (especially attractive in developing countries), power mobile electronics, vehicles and implanted medical devices, and drive bioremediation of contaminated environments.

Geobacter’s hairlike pili are extremely fine, only 3 to 5 nanometers in diameter or about 20,000 times finer than a human hair, and more than a thousand times longer than they are wide. Nevertheless, they are strong. Nicknamed nanowires for their role in moving electrons, pili are the secret to this particular microbe’s ability to produce electric current from organic waste and sediment. Geobacter’s pili seem critical for forming the biofilm which aids transfer of the electron products to iron in soil and sediment. In nature, bacteria colonies form gluey biofilms to anchor to a surface such as a tooth or an underwater rock, providing a living environment near a food source.

The Geobacter biofilm’s “fortuitous” electron-transferring skill, the product of natural selection, suggested a pathway to Lovley?a way he might use selective pressure to increase its capacity to produce power. He and colleagues grew Geobacter as usual on a graphite electrode, providing acetate as food and allowing a colony to form the biologically active slime, or biofilm where electron transfer takes place across the nanowires. But for this new experiment they added a tiny, 400-millivolt “pushback” current in the electrode that forced Geobacter to press harder to get rid of its electrons.

The result of providing a more challenging environment, within five short months, Lovley notes, was evolution of a beefed-up microorganism that can press at least eight times more electric current across the electrode than the original strain. “I’m really happy with this outcome,” the microbiologist notes. “It’s exceptionally fast feedback to us and a very satisfying result.” He adds, “I’m still a little amazed that they make electricity, but I’m happy to be exploring how to harness that ability. I’m sure there’ll be applications developed in the future that we can’t even envision right now.”

Lovley’s first experiments with the anaerobic microbe, Geobacter, which he and colleagues discovered in sediment under the Potomac River in 1987, explored its use in decontaminating soil due to its ability to respire iron and other metals the way we breathe oxygen. Geobacter showed promise for a variety of bioremediation tasks, but the microbiologists further discovered in 2002 that it could produce electricity from the organic matter found in soils, sediments and wastewater. This ability appeared to be a feature of the electrically conductive pili, discovered in 2005. Together, these discoveries have led to intense research on how to harness the microbes for producing electricity in microbial fuel cells.

Microbial fuel cells, which convert fuel to electricity without combustion, consist of an electrode known as an anode that accepts electrons from the microorganisms, and another electrode known as a cathode, which transfers electrons onto oxygen. Electrons flow between the anode and the cathode to provide the current that can be harvested to power electronic devices.

The California Center for Sustainable Energy in San Diego announced today that the University of California, San Diego will receive $11 million in incentives from California’s Self-Generation Incentive Program for the installation of an innovative fuel cell energy generation and storage system. This is the largest amount ever awarded by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) for a renewable energy project and is the nation’s first advanced energy storage project to receive state incentive funds.

The planned 2.8-megawatt fuel cell, funded at $7.65 million, will be paired with an additional 2.8-megawatt advanced energy-storage system, funded at $3.4 million, which will allow UC San Diego to store off-peak power and discharge the energy during peak-demand hours. It is the largest project of its kind in the world. Integrating clean, renewable generation with advanced energy storage is an important strategy for transforming California’s electricity system into a sustainable “smart grid,” according to the CPUC.

“Increasingly the state will be relying on renewable resources, like wind, fuel cells and other technologies that do not necessarily produce energy when it is most valuable,” said CPUC President Michael R. Peevey. “Storage solves that problem, transforming what would otherwise be low-value energy into high-value energy that can be used on-site to reduce peak energy demand. UCSD should be commended for taking this important step.”

The $11 million award for the UC San Diego project comes from the CPUC’s Self-Generation Incentive Program that provides rebates for fuel cell and wind generating systems from 30 kilowatts to 3 megawatts in size. The California Center for Sustainable Energy (CCSE) administers the program within the San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) service territory. CCSE is a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering public policy and programs that promote clean and efficient energy technologies and practices.

“Advanced energy storage lets us take the best advantage of renewable generation resources, and at the same time, it can improve the reliability of the electric system and ensure the level of power quality that a modern society requires,” said Andrew McAllister, CCSE director of programs. “CCSE and UCSD have been advocates for inclusion of advanced energy storage in incentive programs as an important way to develop this new marketplace. CCSE is pleased to partner with UCSD on this and many other projects.”

The integration of this continuously available renewable resource with energy storage will demonstrate for the first time the ability to optimally meet the daily peaks and valleys of customers’ electricity demand loads, according to Byron Washom, UC San Diego’s director of strategic energy initiatives.

“The fuel cell integrated with energy storage is the centerpiece project for UC San Diego providing global leadership in smart grid initiatives” said Washom. “It is the world’s largest commercially available system and the first such unit of this size to utilize renewable methane gas as fuel.”

UC San Diego’s fuel cell and storage system is being deployed by BioFuels Energy, LLC of Encinitas, Calif., and is scheduled to be completed in 2010. FuelCell Energy, Inc. of Danbury, Conn., the world’s largest supplier of fuel cells, will provide the system, which utilizes a well-established electrochemical process to convert the purified methane gas directly into electricity without combustion. The renewable methane will be collected at the City of San Diego’s Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant, purified and compressed on-site and delivered to the UC San Diego campus by BioFuels Energy. The wastewater treatment plant’s methane is currently flared into the atmosphere as waste gas.

Once in operation, the electrical output of the fuel cell will be used to help power UC San Diego’s microgrid and also be stored for discharge during periods of highest electricity demand. The entire fuel cell and storage project is expected to cost as much as $16 million. In addition, the university will capture the waste heat generated by the fuel cell as a continuous power source for 320 tons of chilling capacity to cool campus buildings.

UC San Diego is committed to reducing its carbon footprint through energy-efficient operations and developing renewable-energy sources that can serve as a basis for other projects. The campus has one of the country’s most sophisticated microgrid energy systems that generates 80 percent of the university’s electricity needs with a 30-megawatt gas turbine plant and 1 megawatt of solar photovoltaic arrays. The campus’s microgrid energy system maximizes the efficient use of power while supplying a community of 54,000 students, faculty and staff.

The UC San Diego fuel cell and storage system will reduce carbon dioxide greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 8,200 tons per year. The California Air Resources Board has certified the local pollution emissions of the planned fuel cell system as an “ultra clean” electrical generation technology that is exempt from the permit requirements of air pollution control or air quality management districts.

Fuel cells produce electricity by separating the component electrons and protons of a fuel, which will be methane gas at UC San Diego, and forcing the electrons to travel through a circuit that converts them to electrical power. Methane-powered fuel cells are in operation at landfills and waste water treatment plants across the country, as well as at several breweries. Fuel cells will operate virtually continuously as long as the reactant fuel is replenished.

WASHINGTON — A House committee approved a bill today that would boost federal spending on research into new vehicle technologies, including hybrids and hydrogen fuel cells, by $216 million.

The bill sponsored by Rep. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, passed the House Science and Technology Committee on a voice vote, and now goes to the full House for consideration.

Peters’ bill calls for $550 million to be spent by the U.S. Department of Energy on vehicle research in the 2010 fiscal year, up from the $334 million requested by the Obama administration. The bill also calls for some of its money to be spent on hydrogen fuel cell research, an area the Obama administration had said it wanted to cut, but that Congress appears ready to restore.

The bill increases the research money by $10 million a year through 2014, and also provides money for research into technologies for medium and heavy-duty trucks.

DETROIT, July 29 (UPI) — U.S. automaker General Motors Co. said its hydrogen fuel-cell research program is in danger of falling behind as funding grows scarce.

“The program has not slowed down at all. The issue is, going forward, do we have sufficient money to operate at that rate,” GM’s vice president of research, Larry Burns, told USA Today Wednesday.

The program is years away from putting a hydrogen fuel-cell car on the market, but it has been able to run steadily despite GM’s bankruptcy filing this summer.

But the program is likely to be under more scrutiny this year. GM’s commercial business has received about $50 billion in government bailout funds prior to and during its bankruptcy proceeding

.

In his first months as secretary of the Department of Energy, Steven Chu reduced the hydrogen research budget by $100 million to focus on electric cars, which are closer to market acceptance and already in production.

GM is seeking grants to maintain its research and has some support in Congress, where some lawmakers have intentions to restore funding, the newspaper said.

Sydney– Ceramic Fuel Cells (ASX:CFU) has extended its agreement with GDF Suez to develop and deploy fuel cell micro combined heat and power (mCHP) units in France.

Ceramic Fuel Cells’ heat and power units convert natural gas to electricity and heat, providing power and heating for homes and other buildings.

GDF Suez has agreed to fund their share of the development of a fully integrated mCHP, comprising a fuel cell module from Ceramic Fuel Cells together with a condensing boiler from the De Dietrich Remeha Group.

The mCHP unit will produce up to 2kW of power and provide hot water for use in French households.

Ceramic Fuel Cells and De Dietrich Remeha expect to deliver the first fully integrated unit to GDF Suez in late November 2009.

The integrated mCHP will be operated at GDF Suez’s test facilities in Paris.

This mCHP will have all the functionality expected of a commercial mCHP product.

In parallel the parties will work on the next version of the mCHP for deployment in large numbers.

Ceramic Fuel Cells is also developing products with leading utility and appliance partners in Germany, the United Kingdom and Japan.

Ceres Power announces that it has successfully completed the fit out of its 50,000 sq. ft. (5,000 m2) fuel cell mass manufacturing facility in Horsham. The fit out works involved upgrading power and air handling equipment , health & safety systems and other services as well as preparing the facility for the installation of volume fuel cell manufacturing equipment.

The key fuel cell manufacturing equipment has been procured and installation of some of the main machines is already underway. It is anticipated that an initial manufacturing line will be commissioned during Q3 2009 and manufacturing operations will commence during Q4 2009. The facility will manufacture low volume beta units in 2009 and into 2010 for sheltered field trials under the contract with British Gas. Additional equipment will be installed in 2010 to deliver the higher volumes required for commercial field trials and in preparation for volume launch with British Gas in 2011.

The facility in Horsham will mass manufacture fuel cells and assemble fuel cell stacks and fuel cell modules in volume. Assembly of the CHP products in volume will be completed by an assembly partner in accordance with Ceres Power’s overall design and sold by Ceres Power under volume supply agreements with channel partners including British Gas and Calor Gas.

The new volume manufacturing facility will create a significant number of new skilled ‘green-collar’ jobs in Horsham and the surrounding area both at Ceres and in the Company’s supply chain.

Peter Bance, Chief Executive Officer of Ceres Power, commented:

“We are delighted to have completed the fit out of Ceres Power’s fuel cell mass manufacturing facility. Our residential CHP products have the potential to make a major contribution to reducing carbon emissions and we are investing in our operational capabilities to produce large numbers of products cost effectively”.

The Environment and Natural Resources Committee of the Victorian Parliament is conducting an inquiry into the approvals process for renewable energy projects in Victoria.

Ceramic Fuel Cells made a submission to the Committee and was invited to appear. Managing Director, Brendan Dow appeared before the Committee on 27 July 2009.

A copy of Ceramic Fuel Cells’ briefing note which was given to the Committee is below. The hearing was recorded for Hansard and a transcript should be available in a few weeks.

More information about the inquiry is at http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/enrc/inquiries/renewable_energy/default.htm

For further information please contact:

Ceramic Fuel Cells
Andrew Neilson
Tel: +61 3 9554 2300

Australia Media enquiries
Richard Allen,
Oxygen Financial Public Relations
Tel: +613 9915 6341

About Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited

Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited is a world leader in developing solid oxide fuel cell technology to provide highly efficient and low-emission electricity from widely available natural gas. The company is developing micro combined heat and power and distributed generation units that generate electricity and heat for homes and other buildings. Ceramic Fuel Cells is developing products with leading appliance partners and utility customers in Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Japan. In May 2009 the company launched its BlueGen gas-to-electricity product. Headquartered in Melbourne, and with operations in the UK and Germany, Ceramic Fuel Cells is listed on the London Stock Exchange AIM market and the Australian Securities Exchange (code CFU).

GARDNERVILLE, NV– SymPowerco Corporation (PINKSHEETS: SYMW) CEO John Davenport today revealed details of the terms of the recently announced government grant in support of the development of the company’s unique Flowing Electrolyte Direct Methanol Fuel Cell (”FEDMFC”). Polygenic Power Systems, Inc. (”PPSI”), SymPowerco’s majority-owned subsidiary, was recently informed by the Ontario Centres of Excellence (”OCE”) that it was successful in its application for a grant from the OCE’s Centre of Excellence for Energy.

The Centre of Excellence for Energy, a part of Ontario’s Centres of Excellence, was created to address the significant challenges and opportunities posed by the current energy situation in Ontario, Canada. The Centre invests in and promotes cutting-edge research collaborations between industry and colleges, universities and research hospitals. The Centre’s objective is to foster innovation in energy markets, systems and technologies. The Centre works with industry to solve problems by engaging the brightest minds at Ontario’s universities and colleges in the challenges faced by businesses.

The grant has been approved in support of the FEDMFC development project to be undertaken by the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Carleton University in Canada’s capital city, Ottawa, Ontario, in collaboration with PPSI, which is jointly owned by SymPowerco (70%) and Hybrid Energy Technologies of Toronto, Canada (30%). The total value of the project has a cash and “in kind” value of CDN $1,040,655.

SymPowerco CEO, John Davenport, commented, “We at SymPowerco are very excited and pleased that the lengthy application process for this grant has been so successful. Our application went through an exhaustive process of evaluation and peer review. The peer reviews were conducted by academics from various universities and research organizations and by successful business people. They were all chosen by the Ontario Centres of Excellence and were all anonymous to SymPowerco. We believe this process and the grant funding is very confirming of the importance and viability of SymPowerco’s Flowing Electrolyte Direct Methanol Fuel Cell technologies.”

SymPowerco Corporation develops advanced fuel cell and power delivery systems for the rapidly growing personal transportation and portable power system markets. SymPowerco’s soon-to-be majority-owned subsidiaries, HOSS Motor Sports and Highline Hydrogen Hybrids Systems, offer potentially expansive synergies and marketing opportunities with SymPowerco’s Flowing Electrolyte Direct Methanol Fuel Cell and Hybrid Power System technologies.

BOTHELL, Wash.– NEAH Power Systems, Inc., (’NEAH’) (OTCBB:NPWZ) the Company developing fuel cells for the military and portable electronic devices, announced today that it has completed its acquisition of SolCool, One (”SolCool”), a leader in the solar air conditioning industry.

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