FuelCellsWorks

MONTREAL– Air Liquide announces that Vancouver International Airport is the second of the two Canadian airports in its 14 million dollar hydrogen and fuel cell demonstration project, joining Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau International Airport in Montréal.

Air Liquide Canada leads this project in collaboration with Natural Resources Canada, the governments of British Columbia and Quebec, and 14 participating companies. Vancouver International Airport will deploy several hydrogen transportation technologies in shuttle buses, as well as passenger and utility vehicles provided by the Vancouver Airport Authority and Air Canada.

“We are extremely pleased to contribute to British Columbia’s Hydrogen Highway initiative by showcasing our hydrogen technologies at Vancouver International Airport,” said President and CEO of Air Liquide Canada, Luc Doyon. “As we near the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, this exciting demonstration program will be observed by millions of travellers coming to Vancouver for the Games and beyond. Air Liquide is privileged to have a front row seat with British Columbia to show the world how innovative fuel cell technologies and hydrogen energy can power important sectors of the Canadian economy while protecting our environment. ”

“This is just another example of why British Columbia is a recognized world centre for hydrogen and fuel cell technology,” said Blair Lekstrom, Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources. “The hydrogen fueling station complements our green highway initiative, and the hydrogen and fuel cell technologies demonstrated here are a critical part of B.C.’s and Canada’s low carbon economy.”

“This cutting edge technology demonstrates our Government’s commitment to encouraging alternative energy sources while reducing our carbon footprint,” said Alice Wong, MP for Richmond, on behalf of the Honourable Lisa Raitt, Minister of Natural Resources. “We are pleased that YVR will be one of two airports in Canada to showcase this new fuel cell technology.”

Air Liquide is actively engaged in meeting energy needs and preserving our atmosphere, investing 60 percent of its R&D budget in developing technologies for sustainable development. Among these, working closely with partners in the private and public sectors, Air Liquide is developing the entire hydrogen energy supply chain, from the production, storage, distribution and safe handling of hydrogen to the development and manufacture of advanced fuel cells.

Hydrogen vector of energy

Used in a fuel cell, hydrogen combines with oxygen in the air to produce electricity with only water as a by-product.

Hydrogen can be produced from any energy source including natural gas and coal, but also from renewable energy sources. Hydrogen thus represents a fabulous potential for providing renewable, clean, silent energy, and guarantees a secure supply.

To support car manufacturers in the development of their hydrogen-powered vehicles, Air Liquide has developed fueling stations to fill fuel tanks with pressurized hydrogen up to 700 bars. These stations complete the fill up in less than five minutes and as easily and safely as for a gasoline stop. Air Liquide has already supplied nearly 40 hydrogen fueling stations throughout the world.

Air Liquide hydrogen sales in 2008 reached (euro)1.2 billion.

Air Liquide’s hydrogen energy projects in North America

In British Columbia, Air Liquide is providing the fueling infrastructure and hydrogen to support BC Transit’s 20 fuel cell powered buses, the world’s largest such fleet. Air Liquide is also participating in numerous projects to fuel cars, buses and lift trucks in Prince Edward Island, Quebec and Ontario.

In the U.S., Air Liquide has supplied four 700-bar, portable fast-fill hydrogen fueling systems to General Motors and Shell Hydrogen in Washington, D.C., California and New York.

Air Liquide has also installed a hydrogen fueling station at Albany International Airport.

staxera and EBZ have begun a joint SOFC system development program, focusing on high electrical efficiency and based on steam reforming of natural gas.  The commercial focus of this program is a 20 kW system with an electrical efficiency of between 50 and 60%.  The basic design will also be used to develop other products such as systems which operate on biogas or landfill gas.

The first phase of the program involves the construction and testing of a system demonstrator based on a peak stack power of 3 kW, using two of staxera’s integrated stack modules (ISMs).  The system demonstrator has been in operation since September 2009, and is at present using two of staxera’s 1.1 kW ISMs.  With this configuration the peak stack power has been measured at over 2 kW, which matches expectations.  The full design power of 3 kW will be demonstrated in 2010, when the 1.5 kW ISMs become available.

staxera will use this system demonstrator to analyze and characterize the performance and operation of the ISM when fuelled with steam-reformed natural gas.  Additionally, EBZ and staxera offer the system demonstrator as a commercial product, which provides customers with an ideal method of gaining SOFC experience in a system-relevant environment.

In order to accelerate the development and marketing of the system, staxera and EBZ welcome other partners to join their cooperation.

FuelCell Energy, Inc. (Nasdaq:FCEL), a leading manufacturer of high efficiency ultra-clean power plants using renewable biogas, natural gas, and other fuels for commercial, industrial, government, and utility customers, today issued the following statement by R. Daniel Brdar, the company’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, prior to his participation in Representative John Larson’s Town Hall Forum on the Economy and Energy with T. Boone Pickens tomorrow at 4 pm.

“As a company that relies on the use of natural gas for a large number of our stationary fuel cell applications, we are pleased that Rep. John Larson and T. Boone Pickens are here today letting the people of Connecticut know the vital role natural gas can and must play in our effort to reduce carbon emissions and expand job opportunities. Our fuel cell power plants use natural gas more efficiently than any other distributed generation technology available today.

“FuelCell Energy, which employs over 460 people manufacturing state-of-the-art high efficiency, 24/7, clean stationary fuel cells, agrees with T. Boone Pickens and Rep. Larson, on expanding natural gas production and use. By using natural gas in our fuel cells, we are helping states like California, Connecticut, and countries like South Korea and Japan achieve significant carbon reductions, while generating electric power more efficiently and cleanly than conventional power generation.

“Our stationary fuel cells, which employ an electro-chemical process, rather than combustion, produce near-zero criteria pollutants and roughly half the greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) of the average U.S. fossil fuel central generation power plant. Today, our advanced fuel cells provide reliable baseload power to the grid, wastewater treatment plants, manufacturing and food and beverage processing plants, as well as hotels and universities in the U.S. and other countries around the world.

“By using our increasing supply of domestic natural gas with our high-efficiency domestic fuel cell technology, we can increase jobs here in Connecticut and the US as we confront the challenges of clean energy supply and climate change.”

The town hall will be in the Goodwin College Auditorium, River Campus, One Riverside Drive, East Hartford, Conn. from 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm.

About FuelCell Energy

FuelCell Energy is the world leader in the development and production of stationary fuel cells for commercial, industrial, municipal and utility customers. FuelCell Energy’s ultra-clean and high efficiency DFC® fuel cells are generating power at over 55 locations worldwide. The company’s power plants have generated over 340 million kWh of power using a variety of fuels including renewable wastewater gas, biogas from beer and food processing, as well as natural gas and other hydrocarbon fuels. FuelCell Energy has partnerships with major power plant developers and power companies around the world. The company also receives funding from the U.S. Department of Energy and other government agencies for the development of leading edge technologies such as fuel cells. For more information please visit our website at www.fuelcellenergy.com

New York, NY – SiGNa Chemistry, Inc., a developer of stabilized reactive metals for safer, more efficient industrial chemistry, recently announced the successful design, assembly, and initial testing of its H300 Hydrogen Generation System. The H300 utilizes real-time swappable cartridges that generate hydrogen on demand using SiGNa’s proprietary sodium silicide (NaSi) powder. The H300 uses two hydrogen canisters that generate more than 800 liters of H2 at a combined flow-rate of up to 4 slpm (continuous) and 10 slpm (peak). This level of continuous hydrogen flow supports a broad range of portable fuel cell applications including back-up power systems, emergency responder work-stations, military battery recharging, and electric bicycles. SiGNa has demonstrated hydrogen generation for applications ranging from 1 to 500 Watts.

“With its award-winning technology, including inherently safe, air stable reactive metal powders, SiGNa continues to develop ground-breaking products for industrial applications,” says Michael Lefenfeld, President and CEO, SiGNa Chemistry, Inc. “The H300 Hydrogen Generator System allows us to easily showcase our effective materials to portable fuel cell system developers.”

The H300 demonstrates truly unique characteristics with a real-time hydrogen fuel gauge, on-demand hydrogen generation, and rapid canister insertion/removal. In collaboration with Trulite, Inc., a leading developer of portable and semi-portable hybrid power systems, SiGNa utilized Trulite’s FCS-300 PEM fuel cell system to demonstrate the technology. The FCS delivers 300 Watts of continuous power and has multiple electrical outputs including: 12 V auto, 12 V military, and 110 VAC.

“Hydrogen storage continues to be the single most important piece of technology limiting portable fuel cell commercialization, “says Ken Pearson, COO, Trulite, Inc. “High energy density, low cost, and start-stop capability are all critical market requirement areas that SiGNa’s NaSi powder technology has the potential to meet.”

“The H300 platform provides the only high-performance, portable hydrogen generation system to the fuel cell industry,” according to Andrew Wallace, Director of the Alternative Energy Research Center, SiGNa Chemistry, Inc. “This system will enable hydrogen fuel cell developers to readily evaluate sodium silicide and adapt their systems to be compatible with SiGNa’s technology.”

UND’s Energy and Environmental Research Center is set to embark on a $7 million project to expand its hydrogen lab.

The National Center for Hydrogen Technology, completed in winter 2008, needs more room for more research projects, specifically focusing on different kinds of renewable fuels.

The funding comes from the U.S. Department of Energy with assistance from Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D. The State Board of Higher Education will have to authorize the expenditure when it meets Thursday in Minot.

Tom Erickson, the EERC’s associate director of research, said he anticipates seeing more research in areas such as renewable jet fuels and gasoline, the conversion of coal into diesel fuel and the conversion of liquid fuels, such as ethanol, into hydrogen.

The last area of research, he said, would allow gas stations all over the country to turn into hydrogen fuel stations at minimal cost. Liquid fuels are easier to store than hydrogen, he said, and easier to convert into high-pressure hydrogen, than, for example, water.

Of the $7 million, $4 million would go toward construction of the building, including site preparation, landscaping, parking and furnishings, according to state board documents. Another $3 million would go toward test equipment.

Erickson said he projects that that would allow the EERC to win $20 million to $40 million in new contracts, the actual amount being dependent on the scope of the research, which isn’t known at this time.

Nevertheless, the hydrogen tech center has had a good track record.

Since it opened, it’s allowed the EERC to hire 28 new employees, which is about 8 percent of the group’s work force. The expansion, Erickson said, would allow the hiring of another 20 to 30.

The EERC conducts its research mostly through competitive federal and private contracts. Contracts for work through the hydrogen tech center now exceed $50 million, Erickson said.

The expansion is expected to be completed by December 2011 at the latest.