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Nissan Becomes First Automaker to Commercially Deploy Methanol Fuel Cells for Material Handling Equipment

Source : nissan

Methanol fuel cells reduce plant’s CO2 emissions

SMYRNA, Tenn. — Nissan North America (NNA) (Nasdaq: NSANY) has become the first vehicle manufacturer to commercially deploy methanol fuel cells to power its material handling equipment (tugs) at its Smyrna, Tenn., assembly plant. The methanol fuel cells from Oorja Protonics, OorjaPac(TM), provide a more energy efficient and cost effective battery-charging process for the 60 tugs that are used to transport thousands of vehicle parts throughout the 5.4 million-square-foot facility.

“Nissan is constantly looking at the impact our business activities have on the environment, and at the same time, how we can become more efficient,” said Mark Sorgi, manager, Material Handling. “The fuel cells, that are fueled by methanol, are helping us in both areas by reducing our CO2 emissions and better utilizing our resources.”

By using OorjaPac, Nissan is able to get rid of more than 70 electric battery chargers that were consuming almost 540,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. This will reduce Nissan’s electric bill and eliminate more than 300 tons of CO2 emissions that were being released into the atmosphere.

Methanol is an alternative liquid transportation fuel that is derived from various sources including wood, grass, landfills, natural gas and coal. Nissan is retrofitting the 60 tugs with methanol fuel cells that are easily, quickly and safely filled with methanol by the technicians who drive them. The fuel cell provides a constant charge that puts less strain on the tugs electrical system, increasing the life of the battery and other electrical parts.

“The methanol fuel cells have made us more productive by saving us almost 35 hours a day that were spent by employees changing out batteries,” said Sorgi. “There’s no changing out of low or dead batteries, which involves a battery technician and 15 to 20 minutes. Now the tug driver can refill the fuel cell in less than one minute and they’re on their way.”

Since no batteries are exchanged and the drivers refuel the tugs themselves, some battery technicians have been moved to other value-added positions in the plant, better utilizing Nissan personnel. Also, the time saved by not having to change batteries has created a more efficient material-handling operation, allowing Nissan to reassign four material handlers.

The methanol fuel cells proved to be a worthwhile investment for Nissan after an 18-month trial period in the Smyrna plant. Nissan is procuring the methanol fuel cells from Oorja Protonics, a manufacturer of ultra-powerful methanol fuel cells from Fremont, Calif. Fuel cells generate electricity by converting the chemical energy stored in a fuel into electrical and thermal energy. The byproducts of the electrochemical reaction are pure water and heat.

“We are excited to take our relationship with Nissan to the next level, and proud to play such a pivotal role in Nissan’s environmental initiatives,” said Sanjiv Malhotra, Founder and CEO of Oorja Protonics. “Our OorjaPac system gives Nissan the opportunity to increase productivity and realize a strong return on investment.”

Nissan’s Smyrna plant has seen its energy efficiency improve by as much as 32 percent since it began aggressively pursing environmental initiatives in 2005. These energy-saving practices are currently saving the company more than $3.5 million per year. As an ENERGY STAR(R) partner, Nissan is committed to improving the energy efficiency of its business and protecting the environment for future generations.

About Nissan

In North America, Nissan’s operations include automotive styling, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and manufacturing. Nissan is dedicated to improving the environment under the Nissan Green Program 2010, whose key priorities are reducing CO2 emissions, cutting other emissions and increasing recycling. More information on Nissan in North America and the complete line of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles can be found online at www.NissanUSA.com and www.InfinitiUSA.com.

About Oorja Protonics

Oorja Protonics designs, develops, and manufacturers the most powerful direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC) in the world. In development for three years and on its fifth generation of technology, Oorja’s products are customer proven, reliable, affordable, and available today. Oorja’s customers include Fortune 50 companies in retail, automotive, logistics, and food processing.

Founded in 2005, Oorja is a privately-held company and is backed by venture capital firms Sequoia Capital, Spring Ventures, McKenna Management and DAG Ventures. For more information, visit www.oorjaprotonics.com.

August 25, 2009 - 11:41 AM No Comments

South Korea unveils 80 per cent subsidy for domestic fuel cells

Source : BusinessGreen

Plans to develop world’s first “Hydrogen Economy” bolstered by generous new incentives

The Asian fuel cell sector recieved a major boost yesterday when the South Korean government announced that it will offer households a subsidy to cover 80 per cent of the cost of domestic hydrogen fuel cells.

Starting in 2010, the government will provide an 80 per cent subsidy to cover the cost of purchasing and installing fuel cells in homes. The size of the subsidy will fall to 50 per cent between 2013 and 2016, and then drop to 30 per cent from 2017 to 2020.

The expense of buying and installing a hydrogen fuel cell for domestic use is currently about US$40,000. The government hopes that the subsidy – intended to lead to greater sales and increased economies of scale for manufacturers – will help reduce the price of systems to $8,000 by 2015, and just $4,000 by 2018.

“Starting next year we hope to receive requests from 100 to 200 households to install hydrogen fuel cells and to expand that number to 1,000 every year from 2013,” an unnamed official at the Ministry of Knowledge Economy told the JoongAng Daily newspaper.

The subsidy will most likely benefit South Korean companies, such as FuelCellPower and GS Fuel Cell, which have emerged as specialists in domestic fuel cells capable of replacing traditional boilers and producing zero carbon heat and electricity for a building.

The move is the latest initiative in the government’s long-term roadmap to create a “Hydrogen Economy”, which was announced in 2005 and has seen around $500 million commited towards hydrogen and fuel cell R&D between 2004 to 2012.

The measure is partly aimed at boosting the country’s energy security, as it currently imports about 97 per cent of its energy sources. It is also aimed at helping South Korea to become a global leader in hydrogen and fuel cell technologies.

In May, the government also announced it would spend $10bn over the next f ive years to develop green technologies such as fuel cells, high-efficiency solar cells, LPG hybrid cars, LEDs and smart grid networks.

In related news, the government’s presidential committee on green growth yesterday said that it was studying the feasibility of plans to build a 100MW wind farm on the country’s west coast at an estimated cost of $322m.

The proposed project, which the committee hopes to build by 2014, would generate enough power for a projected 33,300 households.

Yvonne Chan in Hong Kong

August 25, 2009 - 8:05 AM No Comments

SymPowerco Signs Non-Disclosure Agreement, Provides Corporate Update

Source : Sympower

GARDNERVILLE, NV — SymPowerco Corporation (PINKSHEETS: SYMW) CEO John Davenport announced today that the company has entered discussions and has signed a Non-Disclosure Agreement with an alternative energy and power systems corporation for the purpose of determining the advisability of establishing a business relationship that may include an acquisition or joint venture. SymPowerco has also entered similar discussions with a second group that owns advanced power system technologies and intellectual properties that appear to offer market opportunities for SymPowerco.

SymPowerco also announces the termination, by mutual agreement, of the Share Exchange Agreement amongst Steven Humphries, Hoss Motor Sport, Inc. (HMSI), Highline Hydrogen Hybrids, Inc. (HHHI) and SymPowerco. SymPowerco wishes Mr. Humphries and the shareholders of HMSI and HHHI well in their future endeavors.

Carleton University, the company’s partner in the development of its Flowing Electrolyte Direct Methanol Fuel Cell, has informed SymPowerco that it has selected the first two team members for the Fuel Cell project, one of whom is a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the University. The project at Carleton’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering will employ as many as five graduate students under the direction of the Department Head and other department scholars and is to be funded through a recently announced grant from Ontario Centres of Excellence.

SymPowerco Corporation develops advanced fuel cell and power delivery systems for the rapidly growing personal transportation and portable power system markets that are being created by today’s energy and environmental challenges.

August 25, 2009 - 8:00 AM No Comments

Boris Johnson takes to the hydrogen highway

Source : times online

Boris Johnson is to help create Britain’s first “hydrogen highway”, using a scheme to promote zero-emission cars modelled on one introduced in California by Arnold Schwarzenegger, the state’s governor.

The mayor of London wants to make Britain a leader in fuel cell technology and is planning a network of hydrogen filling stations in the capital. He intends to assemble a pilot fleet of about 150 hydrogen cars in the run-up to the 2012 London Olympics, together with five buses and 20 black taxis.

Johnson’s officials believe that by 2029 as many as one in three of the 31m cars in Britain could be fuelled by hydrogen. Britain has agreed to cut its CO2 emissions by 80% by 2050.

Johnson said the hydrogen network would be developed alongside government plans to introduce electric cars.

“Harnessing low-carbon technology is key to solving the pressing issues of energy security, cutting climate change emissions and improving air quality,” said Johnson. “With electric vehicles gearing up to become a mainstream choice in a few years’ time, we are creating the right conditions for them to flourish.”

In April, Gordon Brown announced plans to subsidise electric-car use. Johnson followed up by unveiling a scheme for 25,000 “juice points” — charging stops for electric cars across London.

“We think it’s going to be pretty big,” said Kit Malthouse, deputy London mayor and chairman of the London Hydrogen Board, the group overseeing the project, who added: “We plan an initial network of six or so hydrogen fuelling stations around the capital. We would then be able to fuel the next generation of vehicles.”

August 25, 2009 - 7:29 AM No Comments