FuelCellsWorks

SAO PAULO – Sao Paulo state officials have launched what they say is Latin America’s first passenger bus with an electric engine powered by hydrogen fuel cells.

Gov. Jose Serra says the bus will start test runs on the streets of South America’s biggest city in August and will be joined by three similarly powered vehicles next year.

In a fuel cell, hydrogen reacts with oxygen to produce electricity and water.

“Brazil is one of five countries in the world that have mastered this technology and that has developed a hydrogen-powered bus,” Serra said at Wednesday’s launching ceremony. Among the others are the U.S. and China.

The state government has not provided information regarding investment or future production plans.

With today’s publication of the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Technology Initiative (JTI)’s second call for proposals for research, Europe stays the course to realise the potential of fuel cell and hydrogen technologies and to create a cleaner energy system for the future. Around €140 million have been allocated to this second call, with €71.3 million by the Commission matched by in-kind contributions of the industrial partners. The 29 project topics aim to put fuel cell and hydrogen energy technologies on the market two to five years sooner than what is estimated without the support it offers. Selected teams of researchers will investigate bottlenecks in the whole range of applications for these energy technologies, from cars to large scale power plants, as well as the whole supply chain from hydrogen production to demonstration of the market-readiness of applications. Breakthrough research should foster the use of hydrogen-fuelled buses and fuel cell vehicles. It will help develop hydrogen storage and improve fuel cells’ durability, performance and the cost-efficiency to make green applications such as power stations or laptops ready for the market. This call is the second being launched by this EU-wide collaborative private-public partnership whose total budget amounts around €1bn to be invested by 2014.

Welcoming the launch, EU Commissioner for Science and Research, Janez Poto č nik, said:

“ The new step taken today by the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen JTI highlights the continued commitment of the European Commission and the European industry to develop breakthrough technologies to put Europe at the forefront of green technologies. Precious partnership in this area and others that are to follow in the framework of SET Plan will help the EU to meet its ambitious energy and environmental goals faster and cheaper. Such Investments today are a guarantee for EU competitiveness and growth tomorrow “.

The Chairman of the Governing Board of the Joint Undertaking, Gijs van Breda Vriesman, also welcomed the launch of the second call, saying:

“The industry has been thriving to create this partnership for a long time. It is important to join forces to overcome the technical and economic hurdles to market-introduction of these technologies which have a big potential to address problems of climate change and energy import dependence. It is gratifying to see the long work done by the partners bearing fruit. We have a well-prepared research agenda and we are receiving a good response from the industry and the research community. We are just in time to grasp the chance to make Europe a leader in these technologies.”

Targeting obstacles to market-introduction

Fuel cells, as an efficient conversion technology, and hydrogen, as a clean energy carrier, can be applied in a variety of end uses, from cars and other vehicles to stationary power generation in power stations and homes, to portable applications such as laptops.

The 29 topics of the call address key issues that need to be tackled to achieve market breakthroughs. They are divided in 5 application areas: transportation and refuelling infrastructure; hydrogen production and distribution; stationary power generation; and early markets, such as portable applications or small utility vehicles. The fifth application area focuses on cross-cutting issues, supporting research necessary for market creation, such as developing a life cycle assessment framework, training regulators or supporting SMEs. Complementarities exist, and the research results will in many cases be useful for several types of applications.

Next steps

The application deadline for the call is 15 October 2009 and projects selected for contract negotiations will be announced in March 2010.

Background

The Fuel Cells and Hydrogen JTI was launched on 14 th October 2008. Its main goal is to speed up the development of fuel cell and hydrogen technologies in Europe to enable their commercialisation between 2010 and 2020. Current membership includes the European Commission and 64 companies, from multinationals to small and medium enterprises, represented by the European Industry Grouping for the FCH JTI (NEW IG), as well as 54 universities and research institutes, represented by the Research Grouping N.ERGHY, engaging more than 2000 researchers in the field of fuel cells and hydrogen.

STOCKHOLM, Sweden–In partnership with international corporations Midroc and OCAS, the Swedish Energy Agency and the Volvo Group are investing SEK 200 M in Volvo’s development of fuel cells. The investment will create around 100 new positions in the Gothenburg region within the next three years.

To accelerate the introduction of fuel cells into the market, the Volvo Group, through its company Volvo Technology Transfer, will receive investment from the companies Midroc New Technology and OCAS, as well as from the Swedish Energy Agency. The parties make a joint investment of SEK 200 M in Powercell Sweden AB in Gothenburg. Powercell Sweden is currently owned by Volvo Technology Transfer but following the investment, Volvo will be a minority owner.

In the autumn of 2009, Powercell Sweden will need to hire around 60 people in an entirely new plant in the Gothenburg region. Per Wassen, who is Investment Director at Volvo Technology Transfer and chairman of Powercell Sweden AB, foresees that the company will create around 100 new jobs within the next three years.

“We are immediately going to start hiring qualified people for production, product development, marketing and sales”, says Per Wassen.

A fuel cell resembles a small battery. It is charged with hydrogen gas and converts this into electricity, water and carbon dioxide through a chemical reaction. The areas of use can be power supply units for households, trucks, boats, radio masts in remote locations and electric hybrid vehicles. Compared with normal diesel or gas-powered engines, fuel cells produce significantly less carbon dioxide and no emissions at all of particulates and nitrogen oxides. In addition, they are more efficient, smaller and lighter.

“I am immensely proud that we are building this company on a technology that has been developed by Volvo for 15 years”, says Per Ekdunge, CEO of Powercell Sweden.

The company Powercell Sweden AB is based on two patented components: a fuel converter (reformer) and a PEM fuel cell – the type of fuel cell most often used in transport applications. The fuel converter produces hydrogen gas from bio fuels such as ethanol, DME (Dimethyl ether), biogas, methanol and biodiesel, but also from regular diesel or gasoline. The PEM fuel cell then converts the hydrogen gas into electricity.

“Thanks to our reformer technology we are now ready to start our production without having to wait for an infrastructure for the distribution of hydrogen gas. This is truly a major step in the development of fuel cells”, says Per Wassen.

Volvo Technology Transfer is a subsidiary of the Volvo Group. Volvo Technology Transfer develops and supports new business that is relevant to the Volvo Group. This comprises investing in companies and projects that are of strategic, technical and commercial interest.

Midroc New Technology, a part of Midroc Europe, develops and invests in future technologies within Clean Tech and BioMed. Midroc is owned by Mohammed H. Al-Amoudi who among other companies owns Preem Petroleum, Swedish Petroleum Exploration and Vastra Hamnen Funds.

OCAS is an advanced market-driven material research center based in Belgium. OCAS’ part in the investment is taken up by its sister company, the investment fund Finindus. OCAS will support Powercell Sweden with the development and optimizing of materials and their implementations.

The Swedish Energy Agency’s portion of the investment comprises a loan of SEK 30 M for three years.

BEND, OR, Jul 02, 2009 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) — IdaTech plc (AIM: IDA.L), an advanced fuel cell products company, is pleased to announce positive progress regarding its contract with ACME Telepower Group (’ACME’). The Company received notification that its advanced fuel cell system, the ElectraGen(TM) H2, has successfully passed all customer specification testing.

The ElectraGen(TM) H2 system was developed following the Supply Agreement between IdaTech, ACME and Ballard Power Systems Inc. (’Ballard’) signed in October 2008. Under this Agreement, IdaTech will develop and supply fuel cell systems for delivery to ACME in 2009 and 2010, including 310 direct hydrogen fueled systems for delivery this year. The direct hydrogen fueled systems use Ballard’s FCgen(TM)-1020 ACS fuel cell stack, while the remaining systems will utilise natural gas and will incorporate Ballard’s new FCgen(TM)-1300 fuel cell stack. ACME selected IdaTech to develop and produce these systems based on IdaTech’s proven technology and its proprietary fuel reforming, with its ability to produce hydrogen onsite and on demand from a wide range of commonly available convenient liquid fuels, and its system integration experience. IdaTech has already deployed over 150 fuel cell systems worldwide to date to a variety of customers.

The direct hydrogen system, the ElectraGen(TM) H2, is to be used by ACME to develop the Indian telecommunications market ahead of the deployment of the natural gas fueled hydrogen fuel cell systems, due to commence in 2010.

10 ElectraGen(TM) H2 systems were shipped in June 2009 with the remaining 300 to be delivered during the remainder of 2009.

The ElectraGen(TM) H2 systems are being assembled in IdaTech’s existing low cost Mexican production facility.

The development of the natural gas fueled system continues, ahead of its expected deployment in 2010.

Commenting on the product acceptance and order for 310 systems, Hal Koyama, CEO, said:

“The acceptance of IdaTech’s ElectraGen(TM) H2 by ACME for telecommunication deployment in India is an exciting milestone for IdaTech. ACME’s acceptance process included the most rigorous testing any IdaTech product has faced to date. Passing this and securing the purchase order for the first 310 ElectraGen(TM) H2 validates the robustness of the product and ACME’s commitment to the program. Our system integration skills and real world field experience, gained from the 150 systems we have already deployed, have proved invaluable to ensuring the success of the ElectraGen(TM) H2.”

Sanjay Dhawan, CEO of ACME Telepower Group, commented:

“The performance of the ElectraGen(TM) H2 unit, incorporating Ballard’s FCgen(TM)-1020 ACS fuel cell, passed our acceptance criteria and expectations.”

Atul Sabharwal, Chief Operating Officer of ACME, further commented:

“We are excited to be working with both IdaTech and Ballard. The strong performance of the hydrogen fuel cells is an important operational milestone and demonstrates that we are on track for the broader deployment of the natural gas fuel cell product to begin later in the year.”

John Sheridan, Ballard’s President and Chief Executive Officer, said:

“Having the IdaTech ElectraGen(TM) H2 fuel cell product pass product acceptance is a key proof point in our joint partnership with ACME. This formal acceptance triggers the order of 310 hydrogen units.”

About IdaTech

IdaTech plc is an advanced fuel cell products company which is operationally headquartered in Bend, Oregon, USA and is listed on AIM with the ticker code IDA.

IdaTech designs, develops, and manufactures extended run backup power fuel cell products for Telecom applications requiring 100 W to 15 kW of backup power. IdaTech’s unique PEM fuel cell technology provides solutions for a wide range of applications to directly support efforts towards sustainable energy.

IdaTech’s portfolio of industry-certified fuel cell products are based on the company’s fuel processing, purification and fuel cell system integration capabilities. With the support of strategic partners and customers, the company’s extended run backup power products are being deployed worldwide for stationary applications.

Additional information may be obtained by contacting the company direct or by visiting its website at http://www.idatech.com.

LONG BEACH, Calif.–Hydrogen Energy International has won $308 million of Department of Energy (DOE) funding for its Kern County, California, Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) power plant which will capture and permanently store 90% of its carbon dioxide.

The funding award comes to California as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and is part of the third round of the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) highly competitive Clean Coal Power Initiative.

“This award is a significant commitment by the US Administration to low-carbon power generation with carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology. Both the DOE and Hydrogen Energy recognize that this project may become the model for new power generating facilities throughout the world,” said Lewis Gillies, Chief Executive of Hydrogen Energy International.

“Today’s news, together with Hydrogen Energy having just completed the engineering and design for its low-carbon project in Abu Dhabi, demonstrates how our company is working on two of the most advanced large scale CCS power projects in the world. We are on a schedule that would allow us to make the final investment decision late next year or in early 2011,” added Lewis Gillies.

Federal DOE support follows on the heels of earlier support this year from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) in its decision approving Southern California Edison’s $30 million request for participation in a Hydrogen Energy California (HECA) project study.

“This federal and state partnership represents a win-win for California, and could not have happened without the leadership of Governor Schwarzenegger and all five of the CPUC commissioners led by President Michael Peevey,” added Jonathan Briggs, regional director of the Americas at Hydrogen Energy International. “These policy leaders have publicly encouraged the state’s utilities to work together to demonstrate and deploy carbon capture and storage technology. In addition to this, the California Energy Commission is managing the permitting process.”

“Today’s announcement is an important step for the HECA project and also demonstrates the importance and viability of the project in meeting the dual challenges of global climate change mitigation and increased state and national demand for energy security. And, importantly, these critical federal funds flowing from the President’s economic stimulus package will have a positive impact for California and the local Kern County area,” Briggs continued.

HECA is an IGCC power plant that takes petroleum coke, coal, or blends of each, combined with non-potable water and converts them into hydrogen, a clean burning gas, and carbon dioxide (CO₂). The hydrogen gas will be used to fuel a net 250-megawatt power station, and the CO₂ will be transported by pipeline to nearby oil reservoirs and injected for storage with the additional benefit of enhanced oil recovery (EOR).

HECA helps realize the stated goal of the DOE program to “demonstrate new technologies and pathways to power and hydrogen production with integrated carbon management capabilities.”

“One thing that we can be sure of,” summarized Briggs, “is that this critical federal funding supporting the delivery of the additional benefits of the project could not have occurred without the diligent support of numerous local, state and federal policymakers who have come to understand the need for this environmentally responsible energy technology.”

Notes to Editors:

About HECA (Hydrogen Energy California) project:

The goal of the HECA project is to generate low-carbon, hydrogen power to meet California’s increasing electricity demand while capturing CO₂ to address concerns about climate change and to meet California’s requirements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The CO₂ will be used for EOR and stored permanently in nearby oil fields, also enhancing U.S. energy security by boosting domestic oil production. Occidental Petroleum plans to use the CO₂ for enhanced oil recovery in its Elk Hills oil field.

HECA will be located in Kern County, California, which offers numerous benefits, including existing, adjacent oil reservoirs for CO₂ storage and for economic use of the CO₂ in enhanced oil recovery operations. Existing electric transmission lines and substations are nearby, providing the opportunity to interconnect to the local electricity grid. Local delivery points for western coal are nearby as are local refineries that produce petroleum coke. Pipeline corridors already exist and are close to existing oil fields to store carbon dioxide. HECA will also treat and use local brackish groundwater sources that are not otherwise suitable for agricultural use.

The DOE grant will help to realize HECA’s full benefits, including:

• Providing over 150,000 homes in the local community with new, low-carbon electric power (250 megawatts), at a time when state agencies are predicting possible power shortages in coming years.
• Preventing more than 2 million tons/yr. of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere by storing them underground.
• Enabling additional production from existing California oilfields, producing previously unrecoverable oil reserves by injecting the CO₂ into oil reservoirs, where the CO₂ will also be stored.
• Demonstrating near-term commercial availability of CCS technology in well-characterized geologies, such as oilfields.
• Creating clean hydrogen, making it available for power generation as well as other potential uses, including clean transportation, contributing to the realization of a low-carbon energy economy in central California.
• Boosting the local economy in the San Joaquin Valley region by creating up to 1,500 construction jobs and up to 100 permanent “green collar” jobs in various operational positions.
• Generating $5 million in new tax revenues from construction and $1 million in annual tax revenues from operation.
• Furthering California’s leadership in deploying cutting-edge technologies that benefit the U.S. and the world, and demonstrating that CCS technology deployment is one of the critical elements to achieve California’s climate policy goals.

About Hydrogen Energy International:

BP Alternative Energy and Rio Tinto Hydrogen formed Hydrogen Energy International to create low-carbon hydrogen from fossil fuels. The hydrogen would initially be for use in industrial scale power generation plants and the CO₂ from the fossil fuel would be captured and stored in deep geological formations.