FuelCellsWorks

CARLSBAD — The second annual Hydrogen Fuel Rally is coming up at 8 a.m. on Oct. 9, and the public is invited to attend.

Rick McKean, the event’s organizer, said the hydrogen fuel run will begin at the United Fuel Station on the Loving Highway, run to the Malaga Post Office and conclude back at the truck stop – a total of 31 miles. The runs will be between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m.

The vehicles entered will run on HHO fuel. According to McKean, HHO is created when water is converted into vapor and used for fuel. It burns 130 octane fuel, as opposed to the standard 89 octane.

“This means that it burns cleaner and has more power than gasoline,” said McKean. “We’re looking at freedom.”

The HHO also burns 10 degrees cooler than regular gasoline and is supposed to increase fuel mileage 20 to 40 percent, depending on the computer in the car.

The weekend race is to determine the best improved fuel mileage over the EPA highway estimate. Prizes will be given: 1st place will receive $300, 2nd place will receive $200 and 3rd place is worth $100.

The first ever Hydrogen Fuel Rally was held in Carlsbad last year. Five vehicle owners participated, but McKean expects the entries to double this year.

Last year’s guest at the rally was Ozzie Freedom, author of the book “Water for Gas,” about how to convert hydrogen from water for fuel.

increase mileage up to 40 percent without hydrogen. “With the addition of hydrogen, it’s even better,” said McKean.

A patent is currently pending on the device.

Brice Walter, a college student, will also be a guest. He wrote an eBook on how to separate hydrogen from oxygen for safety and to override cars’ computer systems.

“Hydrogen comes from distilled water through the process of electrolysis,” said McKean.

The KAMQ radio station will be broadcasting live from the Eddy County Extension Office at 1304 West Stevens between 9:30 and 10:30 a.m. Saturday. The public is invited to view the vehicles that participated in the rally at this time.

Three free, 45-minute classes will also be given. Charles Goodwin will teach a class on separation of atoms from hydrogen and oxygen.

Merrick will teach a class on vaporizing fuel, while Walter will teach a class on separating hydrogen from oxygen for safety purposes.

Entry or vendor fees for the event are $35. A non-alcoholic mixer will be held at 7 p.m. Friday at the Eddy County Extension Office. A dinner and awards banquet for winners and sponsors will be held at 6 p.m. Saturday. The public is welcome to attend both evening events for a total of $20.

ITM Power, the energy storage and clean fuel company, is pleased to announce Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (“EPSRC”) grant funding in excess of £88,000 towards two research projects to be undertaken at Southampton and Sheffield Universities.

The funding for the first of these is in the form of an Industrial CASE (Collaborative Awards in Science and Engineering) award towards the sponsorship of a PhD at Southampton University. The doctorate will access Southampton’s world renowned catalysis expertise to investigate materials for water electrolysis which are tolerant of lower quality water and time-varying inputs modelled on renewable sources. This project is one of only 40 Industrial CASE studentships awarded in the UK in 2010 from a highly competitive process.

In addition, ITM Power is sponsoring a doctorate on the University of Sheffield’s E-Futures programme, the UK’s leading course dedicated to energy research. This programme is also supported by EPSRC and will investigate novel polymers based on ITM Power’s patented materials for use in electro-chemical cells.

These focused projects should strengthen the Company’s core intellectual property (“IP”) and foster growing relationships with academia. In addition to the financial contribution, ITM Power will also benefit from access to expertise and equipment at the two university departments, potentially reducing development and testing costs.

Both students started at the end of September 2010. Any new IP generated will be wholly owned by ITM Power for use in the field of fuel cells and electrolysers in all the company’s target markets.

Dr Simon Bourne, Chief Technology Officer of ITM Power commented: “EPSRC funding is very competitive and the requirements demand a high level of innovation and technical content. I am therefore delighted to announce these two awards. The combination of our technology and the world class expertise at Southampton and Sheffield is a strong one and should benefit all parties, not least the two doctoral students. This is a further example of our strategy to increase our profile within the research community.”

Mike Penning took time out of the Conservative Party Conference to see the Air Products hydrogen fuelling station and learn more about the developing technology.

During a visit to a state-of-the-art Air Products hydrogen fuelling station at the University of Birmingham on Tuesday (5th October) Transport Minister, Mike Penning asserted that hydrogen vehicles will be part of the future transport mix and that the UK must not focus only on electric vehicles. Speaking on the day, Mike Penning commented: “A one size fits all approach to low carbon vehicles simply isn’t feasible. In order for the UK to decarbonise road transport, a mix of technologies including hydrogen has to be considered.”

The Minister added “I am delighted to see first-hand today Air Products and the University of Birmingham driving forward hydrogen fuel technology. It’s state of the art technology like this that will help drive the British economy in years to come.”

In Birmingham for the Conservative Party Conference, Mike Penning visited the University to see the Air Products Series 100 fuelling station and witness the fuelling of one of the University’s fleet of hydrogen powered vehicles. The Minister was also able to drive a hydrogen powered Microcab and see first-hand how the technology works in practice.

After the fuelling the minister was also shown around the University’s research facility and given a sneak preview of the new hydrogen powered Microcab design that the University is currently developing.

Used as a transport fuel, hydrogen cuts to zero the exhaust pipe air pollution and carbon emissions currently associated with road transport without compromising range, speed and fuelling time. Air Products is at the forefront of developing hydrogen fuelling technology that has the potential to play a crucial part in creating a low-carbon transport infrastructure for the UK.

Air Products installed the Series 100 fuelling station at the University’s School of Chemical Engineering in April 2008. It was the UK’s first permanent hydrogen fuelling station and the design has since won the Rushlight Hydrogen and Fuel Cell industry award for innovation. The Series 100 is designed to fuel small fleets of hydrogen vehicles on a daily bases and includes an integrated compression, hydrogen storage and dispensing system.

Diana Raine, Air Products, Hydrogen Energy Systems said: “It was fantastic that the Transport Minister could take the time out of his schedule to visit the fuelling station at Birmingham. The technology he has seen today really is capable of changing the transport infrastructure of the UK and contributing to a low carbon economy.

“It is extremely encouraging that the Government is taking the time to learn more about this technology first hand.”

Measuring a fuel cell’s overall performance is relatively easy, but measuring its components individually as they work together is a challenge. That’s because one of the best experimental techniques for investigating the details of an electrochemical device while it’s operating is x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Traditional XPS works only in a vacuum, while fuel cells need gases under pressure to function.

Now a team of scientists from the University of Maryland, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Sandia National Laboratories, and DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has used a new kind of XPS, called ambient-pressure XPS (APXPS), to examine every feature of a working solid oxide electrochemical cell. The tests were made while the sample cell operated in an atmosphere of hydrogen and water vapor at one millibar pressure (about one-thousandth atmospheric pressure) and at very high temperatures, up to 750° Celsius (1,382 degrees Fahrenheit).

“Our team, led by Bryan Eichhorn of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Maryland, combined the expertise in fuel cells at U Maryland, the experience of our Sandia Lab colleagues in collecting electrochemical data, and Berkeley Lab’s own development of a method for doing x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy in situ,” says Zahid Hussain of Berkeley Lab’s Advanced Light Source (ALS). “Together we were able to measure the fundamental properties of a solid oxide fuel cell under realistic operating conditions.”

The researchers report their results in the November, 2010 issue of Nature Materials, in an article now available to subscribers in advance online publication.

How a solid oxide fuel cell works

Like a battery, a fuel cell is a device that uses chemical reactions to produce electricity. Unlike a battery, a fuel cell won’t run down as long as it’s supplied with fuel and oxidant from outside. The main components are two electrodes, an anode and a cathode, separated by an electrolyte.

In a solid oxide cell (SOC) the cycle begins at the cathode, which ionizes oxygen (usually from air) by adding free electrons. These oxygen ions then flow through the solid oxide electrolyte (from which the SOC gets its name), often a material known as yttria-stabilized zirconia. High temperature is needed to maintain good conduction of oxygen ions through the electrolyte.

In a basic solid oxide fuel cell, diagrammed at left, the cathode on one side of the electrolyte ionizes oxygen, which flows through the electrolyte to the anode (left), where fuel is oxidized to free electrons. In the model cell built for the APXPS experiment, all the components are on the same side of the electrolyte and can be reached by the x-ray beam. 

The oxygen ions travel through the electrolyte to reach the anode, where they oxidize the fuel. (The fuel may be pure hydrogen gas or a hydrocarbon.) Electrons freed by oxidation form the current in the device’s electrical circuit and eventually return to the cathode. Unused fuel or other compounds, plus water formed from the positive hydrogen ions and negative oxygen ions, exits the fuel cell.

For the APXPS experiment, the University of Maryland collaborators built a model fuel cell that combined the essential elements of an SOC in a special miniaturized design less than two millimeters in length. Except for the electrolyte of yttria-stabilized zirconia, which formed the base of the device, the various components were thin films measuring from 30 nanometers (billionths of a meter) up to 300 nanometers thick.

Says the University of Maryland’s Eichhorn, “We designed and fabricated solid oxide electrochemical cells that provided precise dimensional control of all the components, while providing full optical access to the entire cell from anode to cathode.”

Instead of stacking the components as in a real fuel cell, the sample’s arrangement was a planar design that placed all the components on the same side of the electrolyte, so the x-ray beam from the ALS could reach them. This allowed direct measurement of local chemical states and electric potentials at surfaces and interfaces during the cell’s operation.

Introducing ambient-pressure x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

Photoemission occurs when light ejects electrons from a material. By collecting the emitted electrons and analyzing their energies and trajectories, photoelectron spectroscopy establishes exactly what elements are in the material and their chemical and electronic states within narrow regions. At the Advanced Light Source, intense x-ray light is used to explore what happens at or near the surface of materials: the only photoelectrons that can escape are from atoms near the surface.

Using an electrostatic lens, the APXPS detector collects photoelectrons emitted from the surface of the sample by the x-ray beam. Chemical states (green circles) and electric potentials (red squares) are measured locally. The greatest activity was measured where the electrode (green) met the electrolyte (blue). 

The APXPS system begins by shining the x-ray beam on the sample fuel cell inside a chamber at the ambient pressure of the gas needed for it to operate. The emitted electrons then travel through chambers pumped to lower pressure, finally entering the high-vacuum chamber of the detector. By itself this arrangement would lose emitted electrons at every stage because of their spreading trajectories, leaving a signal too weak to be useful. So Berkeley Lab researchers developed a system of “lenses” – not made of glass but of electric fields – to capture and refocus the emitted electrons at each stage, preventing excessive loss.

“This is what allows us to find out what’s happening within small regions on the surface of a sample in the presence of a gas,” says Hendrik Bluhm of Berkeley Lab’s Chemical Sciences Division, one of the inventors of APXPS, which was awarded a coveted R&D 100 Award in 2010. “Using the APXPS instruments at the ALS’s molecular environmental science beamline, 11.0.2., and the chemical and materials science beamline, 9.3.2, we can spatially correlate the catalytic activity with the electrical electrical potentials across the different components of the model fuel cells.”

Says Zhi Liu of the ALS, “At first we weren’t sure we could use this technique with an operating fuel cell, because we had to bring it to 750° C – an extreme temperature for such ambient pressure experiments. Few people have done it before. Now we’re able to perform this kind of analysis routinely.”

Michael Grass of the ALS says, “What you need to know to improve any kind of fuel cell is where the inefficiencies are – places where energy is being lost compared to what theoretically should be possible. By scanning across the surface of the cell while it was operating, we could directly measure both the inefficiencies and the chemical states associated with them.”

A new way to study electrochemistry in action

With their model SOC, the Maryland-Sandia-Berkeley Lab team saw details never seen before in an operating fuel cell. Where an overall measurement gave only the fuel cell’s total losses in potential energy, the APXPS measurements found the local potential losses associated with the interfaces of electrode and electrolyte, as well as with charge transport within the ceria electrode. The sum of the losses was equal to the cell’s total loss, or inefficiency.

Hendrik Bluhm, Michael Grass, Zahid Hussain, and Zhi Liu with the APXPS detection system at beamline 11.0.2. 

“The in situ XPS experiments at 750 C allowed us to pinpoint the electroactive regions, measure length scales of electron transport through mixed ionic-electronic conductors, and map out potential losses across the entire cell,” Eichhorn says. “Others have suggested similar experiments in the past, but it was the remarkable facilities and scientific expertise at the ALS that facilitated these challenging measurements for the first time.”

APXPS can provide this kind of fundamental information to solid oxide fuel cell designers, information not available using any other technique. New fuel cell designs are already taking advantage of this new way to study fuel cells in operation.

“Measuring fundamental properties in operating solid oxide electrochemical cells by using in situ x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy,” by Chunjuan Zhang, Michael Grass, Anthony McDaniel, Steven DeCaluwe, Farid El Gabaly, Zhi Liu, Kevin McCarty, Roger Farrow, Mark Linne, Zahid Hussain, Gregory Jackson, Hendrik Bluhm, and Bryan Eichhorn, appears in the November, 2010 issue of Nature Materials and is available to subscribers in advance online publication. Zhang, DeCaluwe, Jackson, and Eichhorn are with the University of Maryland. McDaniel, Gabaly, McCarty, Farrow, and Linne are with Sandia National Laboratories. Grass, Liu, Hussain, and Bluhm are with Berkeley Lab.

Berkeley Lab is a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory located in Berkeley, California. It conducts unclassified scientific research for DOE’s Office of Science and is managed by the University of California. Visit our website.

Southern California Based Quallion Showcases Lithium Ion Battery Technology that Improves Panda’s Safety and Performance

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Quallion LLC, the world leader in the development of customized Lithium Ion batteries, and Centro Ricerche Fiat SCpA (Fiat Research Centre) will unveil the Fiat Panda Hybrid Fuel Cell/Battery powered vehicle today at The Battery Show, in San Jose, California.  Fiat partnered with Quallion to develop a Lithium Ion battery pack for the vehicle that maximizes the Panda’s energy storage and management capacity and improves the vehicle’s safety.  

This vehicle was developed in conjunction with the European HyTRAN and HySYS programs which bring industrial partners together for innovative new research.  The Panda Fuel Cell/Battery powered vehicle recently participated at the Challenge Bibendum 2010, an event on sustainable mobility held by Michelin in Rio de Janeiro (May 31- June 3, 2010).

The Panda Hybrid Fuel Cell/Battery powered vehicle showcases the following innovative technologies:

• An innovative line cathode (air compressor) specially designed and produced by Centro Ricerche Fiat
• The Lithium Ion battery pack, developed and manufactured by Quallion implementing its Matrix™ and HAM™ technologies
• The new stack fuel cell design developed and manufactured by Nuvera

“Quallion is focused on delivering technologies that reduce vehicle emissions and improve vehicle energy management and safety,” says Quallion President, Paul Beach.  ”Working with Fiat on the Panda hybrid prototype Quallion has created a battery that will significantly impact future hybrid vehicle engineering.  Quallion’s Matrix™ and HAM™ technologies maximize the vehicle’s energy storage capacity while significantly increasing the vehicle’s safety.”

The Panda hybrid prototype is debuting Quallion’s new Lithium Ion battery pack, which employs proprietary Matrix™ and HAM™ technologies.  Quallion’s MATRIX™ technology increases a Lithium Ion battery’s reliability and long-term costs.  This proprietary and highly scaleable system is a high power model with a large current output capability that produces an ultra-safe performance.  MATRIX™ technology is utilized in numerous military vehicles as a main application for auxiliary power.  The technology is also employed as a starter battery for unmanned vehicles, HEV/PHEV and aircraft.  Quallion’s HAM™ technology (Heat Absorbent Material) provides structural strength and electrical insulation to battery operations.  HAM™ technology is currently used in a majority of Quallion’s Lithium Ion batteries.

Quallion currently produces high volume medical and military batteries as well as custom-designed aerospace batteries.  Cell designs range from the world’s smallest conventional lithium ion cell (a cylindrical 1.8 mAh cell) for medical implants to large 15 and 72 Ah prismatic cells.  Quallion also has extensive experience with the commercialization of its module type battery configurations using its proprietary Matrix^TM technology that enable scalable battery designs that can be quickly and cost effectively reconfigured for use in a variety of vehicles from heavy duty trucks to passenger cars.  

About Quallion LLC

Quallion LLC was founded in 1998 by biotechnology and aerospace entrepreneur Alfred E. Mann and Lithium Ion battery specialist Dr. Hishashi Tsukamoto. The company designs, fabricates and manufactures state-of-the-art Lithium Ion cells and battery packs, and develops new battery chemistries for the military, aerospace, medical and automotive industries. Building on its legacy leadership position in the medical device industry, the company has developed a range of novel enabling technologies that include the world’s smallest implantable secondary battery and the proprietary Zero-Volt™ and SaFE-LYTE™ technologies. Leveraging its core engineering capabilities, Quallion has established itself as a leader in applications where advanced battery technology, safety, reliability and custom engineering are most valued. The company possesses more than 60 chemistry, cell and battery patents and has 90 pending patents. Company certifications include ISO 9001:2000, AS 9100B, and ISO 13485:2003 Visit www.quallion.com for more information.

About CENTRO RICERCHE FIAT

Centro Ricerche Fiat S.C.p.A. (CRF) was founded in 1976 as the Fiat Group’s major source of expertise in innovation, research and development. CRF’s objective is to use innovation as a strategic lever and to enhance the results of its work through the promotion, development and transfer of innovative content able to make products distinctive and competitive. It is able to play an active role in the technological growth of the Fiat Group, its partners and the community in areas such as powertrain, in collaboration with FPT Powertain Technologies, vehicles and components, safe and environmentally-friendly mobility, telematics, new materials and relative technologies, mechatronics and optics, energy.  CRF is particularly active in the field of research into sustainable mobility, adopting a systematic approach to investigate innovative solutions which address all aspects of sustainability in transport which include reducing emissions and noise pollution through innovations on the powertrain, but also increasing fuel efficiency by reducing vehicle weight, improving the aerodynamics, optimizing the different sub-systems, developing eco-compatible production processes, identifying ecological and recyclable materials, and using communications and info-mobility to help reduce traffic congestion. The aim is obtain vehicles safer, greener and more comfortable, where greener means ecological during the whole cycle of life. Visit www.crf.it for more information.

ABOUT NUVERA FUEL CELLS

Nuvera Fuel Cells is a global leader in the development of fuel cell systems and fuel processors for both end users and OEMs.  With offices in the U.S. and Europe, Nuvera Fuel Cells provides clean, safe and efficient products for industrial vehicles and equipment in addition to furthering the development of power systems for automotive and transportation applications.  For more information, visit www.nuvera.com.

Fiat’s HyTRAN Panda
© HyTRAN

Fuel cells, as an efficient conversion technology, and hydrogen, as a clean energy carrier, have the potential to help reduce carbon dioxide emissions as well as our dependence on hydrocarbons, and to contribute to economic growth. In the automotive sector, the European Union is supporting work towards breakthrough technologies that would enable the industry to bring cleaner fuel cell vehicles to the mass market.

“Our HyTRAN Panda performs quite similarly to a normal production Panda,” explains Alessandro Pozzato of Centro Ricerche Fiat. “It accelerates quickly and has a top speed of about 130 kmh.”

Outstanding specifications

Funded under the EU Research framework Programme, HyTRAN has achieved important advances in terms of energy storage and refuelling time. Its punchy performance is thanks to a highly efficient and noiseless electric motor, “but its most critical feature”, says Pozzato, “is the complete absence of pollutant emissions. And it can travel 250 to 300 kilometres on a single charge, much farther than other electric vehicles. Our refuelling time is also very short – about five minutes.”

The HyTRAN prototype is equipped with a number of innovative new components and subsystems, including:

• Traction electric motor and inverter
• Air compressor
• Stack for power generation
• Primary cooling pump
• Carbon fibre storage tank
• Innovative vehicle management and control system

The vehicle has been successfully demonstrated, notably at the 2010 Bibendum Challenge in Brazil. “Bibendum is an important worldwide event,” explains Pozzato, “We drove a 300-kilometre route in Rio de Janeiro and its surroundings. And the event also included a special track session aimed at evaluating handling and fuel consumption.”

What are we waiting for?

As with other emerging alternative energy technologies, before fuel cells and hydrogen can become competitive vis-à-vis conventional fuels, a great amount of investment is still needed, not only in R&D but also in transport, storage and refuelling infrastructure.

“The cost of producing this vehicle is prohibitive, but that would be expected to change with higher production numbers,” says Pozzato. “The major limiting factor right now is that the supply network for recharging is not yet developed.”

New York, NY –The race to create a hydrogen-based portable power platform sped forward when SiGNa Chemistry, Inc. demonstrated its new ultra-high-performance range extender at the Interbike International Trade Expo. This ground-breaking power platform produces hydrogen gas instantaneously and then converts the hydrogen to electricity using a low-cost fuel cell. The extender creates up to 200W of continuous power; excess energy is stored in a lithium battery for use in more energy-intensive acceleration and hill climbing conditions. Best of all, the power system is safe and clean – the hydrogen is produced at low pressure and the only emission is water vapor.

For the rider, the extender triples the range of their e-bike with minimal additional weight. Existing e-bikes have a range of up to 20 miles without pedaling; SiGNa’s system reaches up to 60 miles without pedaling for each carried fuel cartridge. The fuel cartridges are also hot swappable, lightweight (1.5 pounds) and inexpensive, making this a realistic solution for any e-bike owner.

“The extender uses inherently-safe reactive metal powders to produce electric power. By integrating SiGNa’s hydrogen-generation technology with an e-bike, we have demonstrated an unprecedented power solution with no greenhouse gas emissions,” says Michael Lefenfeld, President and CEO of SiGNa Chemistry, Inc. SiGNa’s range extender was demonstrated on a Pedego electric bicycle, but it is directly compatible with most electric bicycle models.

Sodium silicide makes this portable power system possible. Sodium silicide is a safe, air-stable reactive metal powder that instantly creates hydrogen gas when it comes into contact with water. Any type of water can be used including potable water, polluted water, sea water, or even urine. Once the fuel cartridge is depleted, the rider is left with an environmentally-safe byproduct (sodium silicate) that is fully contained in a disposable or reusable cartridge.

SiGNa has adapted its award-winning powders for use in many industrial applications including pharmaceuticals and oil refining. Since sodium silicide is safe, inexpensive and easily transportable, the portable power market is a natural fit.

Says Lefenfeld, “SiGNa’s portable-power system overcomes two key challenges with using hydrogen for transportation applications – adequate hydrogen storage and safe transport. SiGNa has begun by developing a system that provides power to e-bikes; we envision this platform will become a primary or back up power source for many transportation applications.”

SiGNa’s portable power platform can be utilized in any standalone application that require from 1 W to 1 kW of power including generators, lawn mowers, golf carts and consumer electronics.

Pre-orders for fuel cartridges are being taken now at sales (at) signachem (dot) com.

About SiGNa Chemistry
SiGNa Chemistry, Inc., a green chemical technology company, has developed a nanotechnology-based solution that makes reactive metals far more efficient, safe, and cost effective. These products are fundamental components used for general synthesis in the pharmaceutical, petrochemical, specialty chemical and environmental remediation industries and provide the ability to enable portable fuel cells by safely producing pure, low pressure hydrogen gas on demand. SiGNa’s products have overcome safety and cost efficiency issues and represents the most substantial scientific breakthrough in reactive metals in over 100 years. For more information, visit http://www.signachem.com.

Dozens of people gathered on Tech’s campus today to discuss an energy source other than fossil fuels and wind.

For the next two weeks Montana Tech is playing host to a group of experts on fuel cell technology. An energy source that the experts say is similar to a battery or generator but is environmentally benign.

The experts have gathered together to identify how to make fuel cells more efficient and more economical. At the end of the two weeks they will produce a book for the U.S. Department of Defense on what they should do in the future about fuel cell technology and where to spend the research dollars.

Jay McCloskey with the Center for Advance Mineral and Metallurgical Processing says fuel cells can be a great help to soldiers, “The military uses them because they can’t plug into a telephone pole or electricity from a telephone pole when they’re out in the middle of the nowhere so they have to have energy. The big issues in the military is diesel generators and other types of generators have a noise signature and a heat signature so our enemies can identify those.”

And just a few miles away at MSE some of the experts, who visited Montana Tech today, are developing a similar kind of energy for the masses. Zinc Air Inc is working on a flow battery that also has no negative effects on the environment. The goal is to start manufacturing larger versions in Butte in the next five years, bringing hundreds of jobs to the mining city. And these batteries may make power outages a thing of the past.

“You may see your TV. dim then come back or your digital clocks blinking and need to be reset but that won’t happen anymore,” Haley Beaudry with Zinc Air says. He believes in the future these batteries will be adjacent to almost every power plant.

University of Queensland research is set to bring readily available hydrogen power one step closer to reality.

Dr Yong Wang, from UQ’s School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering has won an $85,000 UQ Foundation Research Excellence Award to increase the efficiency of hydrogen production through the development of powerful new photocatalysts.

The new photocatalysts will also be able to purify water polluted by chemical spills, oil spills and other organic pollutants.

Photocatalysts produce hydrogen by using sunlight to split hydrogen and oxygen from water.

Dr Wang will be working with titanium dioxide which is currently accepted as the most effective photocatalyst.

However, Dr Wang will focus on nanosheets (about one nano-meter thick), which are much thinner and smaller than titanium dioxide particles, which have been the main focus of study to date.

According to Dr Wang, monolayered titanium dioxide nanosheets possess distinctive physiochemical properties in comparison with conventional titanium dioxide nanoparticles.

Dr Wang said that these unique properties can be utilised to enhance the photocatalyst activity of titanium dioxide and make the nanosheets more efficient than current methods of generating hydrogen.

“These kinds of nanosheets are a new type of nanomaterials and therefore not much is known about this emerging technology,” he said.

“My research will therefore focus on understanding the fundamentals of nanosheets and resolving key issues, so they can then be used for practical applications.”

Dr Wang’s research will contribute to significant global efforts to develop hydrogen energy, with the aim of replacing fossil fuels which result in heavy pollution.

Dr Wang has already initiated his research in this field, and is collaborating with Associate Professor Lianzhou Wang and Professor Max Lu’s group at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Functional Nanomaterials and Professor Jin Zou at the UQ School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering.

Dr Wang was presented with his ward at a special ceremony at Customs House on Wednesday, September 22, as part of UQ’s annual Research Week.

The UQ Foundation Research Excellence Awards have been running for 12 years and are an initiative of UQ to recognise outstanding performance and leadership potential in early career researchers.

This year’s awards totaled $910,000.

Dr Wang said he wished to thank the University for the award and funding, which he would use to provide a comprehensive insight to the nanostructures and photocatalytic activities of nanosheets and to help develop high-quality photocatalysts for clean energy and environmental protection.

Dr Wang said he would use the outcomes of his project to seek external funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC) and industry, and to attract research students worldwide to develop the new technology.

Wind Technology Giant Vestas Joins ITM Power’s Hydrogen On Site Trials

ITM Power (AIM: ITM), the energy storage and clean fuel company, is pleased to announce that Vestas Wind Systems AS (”Vestas”) has signed an agreement to participate in the Hydrogen On Site Trials (HOST) of ITM Power’s transportable high pressure refueling unit (HFuel). HFuel is currently being built with support from the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) and partners Gateway to London and Revolve Technologies, as announced in February 2010.

Vestas, headquartered in Denmark but with a worldwide presence, is the world leader in wind technology. It had a 12.5 per cent market share in 2009, a total of 40,659 turbines installed worldwide as at 31 December 2009, and has more than 30 years of experience in developing, manufacturing, installing and maintaining the world’s best-performing wind turbines.

Commenting for ITM Power, CEO Graham Cooley said: “We are obviously delighted that Vestas, the world leader in the manufacture and installation of wind turbines, has joined our HOST programme. Their assessment of our energy storage: clean fuel technology, using wind energy, for decarbonising return to base logistics fleet vehicles, will provide ITM Power with incredibly useful data.”

Mr Rob Sauven of Vestas Technology R&D, added: “Wind is an energy source on par with oil and gas and we are pleased to support ITM Power in the development of its Transportable High Pressure Hydrogen Refuelling Station to demonstrate the proposition of decarbonising vehicle fleets, using hydrogen derived from wind energy. This fits well with Vestas’ goal of generating the greatest and most sustainable return on wind for our customers.”

About HOST

HOST will begin in 2011, and comprises the operation and refueling of two Revolve Technologies hydrogen Ford Transit vehicles, with hydrogen produced on site at the point of use, at sites operated by participating companies and in the Gateway to London development area. Vestas joins DHL Supply Chain, London Stansted Airport, The Forestry Commission, Scottish Water, SSE (Scottish & Southern Energy) and local authorities Sheffield City Council and the London Borough of Camden who have recently joined the programme.

HOST provides each partner with a one week free trial of HFuel and the Revolve HICE transit vehicles, and an option to lease both HFuel and vehicles for additional week(s). The demonstrations are 100% managed and operated by ITM personnel in liaison with site owners’ operations and management.

As part of the HOST programme ITM Power is actively seeking both technical partners interested in storing renewable energy, and commercial partners seeking to trial zero carbon fleets.

Three British companies have joined forces to develop a game-changing venture in clean power generation. Energy pioneers Powerfuel Power Ltd, B9 Coal Ltd and AFC Energy Plc have signed a binding Letter of Intent to install AFC Energy’s revolutionary fuel cell technology at Powerfuel’s Hatfield site near Doncaster.

The agreement envisages the creation of a Joint Venture (JV) between B9 Coal and Powerfuel to exclusively develop low-carbon fuel cell power stations in the UK. B9 Coal will be responsible for installing up to 300 megawatts (MW) of AFC Energy’s fuel cell technology alongside Powerfuel’s planned integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power station. The agreement also includes an option to rollout the technology to further territories worldwide in the future.

“This business venture with Powerfuel is a wonderful opportunity for fuel cell technology on both a local and global scale. Together we can offer a technically advanced solution to the problem of rising carbon emissions, as well as a practical and commercial template for clean energy generation. In the pursuit of a low carbon future, innovative ventures such as these will lie at the heart of a sustainable energy mix,” commented Alisa Murphy, Director B9 Coal Ltd.

Powerfuel is constructing a large scale IGCC, near zero emissions power station with carbon capture capability at the Hatfield site. Initial construction will involve an 800 MW combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) facility optimised for ’syngas’ conversion and operation. Powerfuel then plan to convert the CCGT plant into a 900 MW IGCC power station fuelled by its extensive coal resources at Hatfield colliery.

The syngas used in the plant can easily be passed through a clean-up process to produce hydrogen as a feedstock for AFC Energy’s low cost alkaline fuel cells. AFC Energy’s technology converts hydrogen to emissions-free electricity at 60% electrical efficiency.

“This venture with B9 and AFC supports Powerfuel’s aspiration of leading the drive for low cost clean energy from fossil fuels. In our IGCC project, the lowest carbon capture technology commercially available today will be demonstrated, but through this agreement and others like it, Powerfuel are looking forward at how the cost can be reduced further. Delivering competitive clean power, at a price affordable to the consumer, has to be the aspiration of every responsible generator.” Grant Budge, Chief Operating Officer, Powerfuel Power Ltd.

The deployment marks the second clean coal project in the UK to adopt AFC Energy’s technology. In August, B9 Coal announced that they were putting forward a major consortium bid for the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) carbon capture and storage (CCS) demonstration competition. The groundbreaking project proposed at Rio Tinto Alcan’s Lynemouth Smelter in Northumberland will combine AFC Energy’s fuel cell technology with Linc Energy’s Underground Coal Gasification (UCG), a process which could potentially give access to an extra 17 billion tonnes of coal in the UK.

Ian Balchin, CEO of AFC Energy Plc, commented: “This landmark agreement provides further market validation for our low cost, low carbon fuel cell technology in large scale power generation projects. Combined with growing opportunities in the industrial and waste-to energy sectors, we believe it is truly transitional: solving the carbon conundrum of fossil fuels whilst enabling the renewable energy economy.”

The planned installation at a major low carbon power station such as Hatfield is testament to the growing understanding of the fuel cell as a pull-through technology for the widespread adoption of CCS. AFC Energy’s fuel cell technology is gaining considerable momentum across a variety of industries and applications, including the chlor-alkali sector, waste-to-energy, clean coal and natural gas.

By Jonathan Soble and Daniel Schaefer

ALMOST 200 Victorian households will soon be taking part in a government-run trial of electric cars. But RMIT researchers say electric cars can not alone achieve the government’s aim of slashing greenhouse emissions from transport.

“Many governments around the world have taken the easy way out in proposing electric cars you can plug into the electricity grid,” says John Andrews. “Unless renewable energy is going into the grid, however, it’s worse from an emissions point of view than a car running on petrol.”

Associate Professor Andrews is head of RMIT University’s renewable-energy hydrogen research group in the school of aerospace, mechanical and manufacturing engineering. He believes hydrogen is the fuel of the future in a world that must impose drastic cuts in greenhouse emissions and cope with “peak oil”.

But, although hydrogen was first proposed as a new fuel source by General Motors engineers in America in the 1970s, it has long been ignored in the US and Australia, he says.

“The concept of a ‘hydrogen economy’ was conceived when concerns were first raised about shrinking oil, gas and coal supplies,” Professor Andrews says. “Now that we confront the threat of irreversible climate change, as well as a looming deficit between oil demand and supply, the concept needs radical re-envisioning as a truly sustainable hydrogen economy.”

He refers to a hydrogen economy as a “HE” and a sustainable hydrogen economy as a “SHE” — and SHE is the one to watch: hydrogen produced from renewable energy sources has a critical role to play globally and in Australia as a replacement for petroleum.

Professor Andrews envisages a time when not only cars and trucks but trains and planes will run on hydrogen, emitting only harmless water vapour and cutting the amount of carbon dioxide going into the atmosphere to a fraction of what it is today.

But he says state and federal governments do not understand the role that hydrogen could play, so most current energy policies “simply leave hydrogen out”. Yet, as one of the two elements in water, hydrogen is among the planet’s most abundant elements and its supply is inexhaustible.

RMIT researchers are looking to generate hydrogen using electricity produced from solar or wind systems. As school students know, hydrogen can be made through the electrolysis of a water and salt solution, with oxygen coming off one electrode and hydrogen the other.

Professor Andrews says a more efficient system, however, is a proton-exchange membrane electrolyser — a “solid-state electrolyser” that splits the water into its two elements and allows the hydrogen to be stored.

“We’ve done a lot of work coupling a solar photovoltaic system to the electrolyser. The usual way of storing hydrogen is as a gas and we’ve shown how the electrolyser can be used to compress the gas directly rather than having an external compressor, which would require more electrical power.”

As an alternative to compressed hydrogen gas as a fuel, the researchers are also investigating storing hydrogen produced from solar energy as a metal hydride. “This is one of the more pioneering aspects of our work,” Professor Andrews says.

To store hydrogen in a solid state, the gas is fed into a canister at relatively low pressures of 5-10 times atmospheric. The hydrogen molecules react with a metal powder in the canister and split into separate atoms that bond with the metal. The gas can then be stored in a solid state and at much higher density than is possible as a gas, even under pressures 100 times atmospheric.

“We are investigating which metals would be most suitable, as well as designing canisters that would be lightweight and easily stored in a car or used for stationary power applications,” Professor Andrews says.

“To get the hydrogen out again, you would only need to open the canister to near atmospheric pressure and the hydrogen would be released, although some heat may also be necessary because the reaction takes heat from the surrounds.”

He sees these solid-state storages being able to be used in remote power-supply systems, ultimately replacing batteries. They would provide a reliable, safe and secure energy supply for remote households or entire remote communities, as well as on islands and for telecommunication facilities.

Another potentially important application for hydrogen is as a replacement fuel for petrol or diesel engines.

Plug-in hybrid vehicles — a variant of hybrids such as the Toyota Prius or the fully electric cars that will be under trial in Victoria — use batteries that must be charged from the electricity grid.

“But to achieve zero emissions, the electricity has to come from wind or solar power,” Professor Andrews says. “Electric cars are fine for short-range distances of 100-200 kilometres but beyond that, hydrogen is needed. Stored as high-pressure gas, or better as a metal hydride, it is possible to get ranges of 450-600 kilometres.”

It would be possible to refill a car running on compressed hydrogen gas — such as the Honda FCX Clarity — at a hydrogen refuelling station in just five minutes. A battery electric car requires 10-12 hours to recharge.

“So the role for hydrogen is in vehicles where a longer range and a faster recharge time is needed,” Professor Andrews says. “Electric vehicles with renewable energy systems have a role to play in cities for shorter trips but we will still need vehicles that can travel a lot further, which is where the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle comes in.”

He says manufacturers and consumers would not need to make a straight choice between an electric battery-run system and a hydrogen fuel cell, but use a combination designed to get the best out of both — “a complementary usage of the two”.

“Given we have to get hydrogen from renewable energy sources, it makes sense to produce it in a decentralised way rather than centrally and then transport it in pipelines or trucks. The original idea in the 1970s was to have massive solar power stations in the desert splitting water and then to use long-distance pipelines to pipe it across the country.

“I argue we should produce the gas at individual refuelling stations that are reasonable distances apart — without having the hydrogen piped or trucked there, which would require a new and expensive infrastructure system.”

Professor Andrews says the focus in Australia is very much on electric vehicles. Hydrogen fuel-cell cars “are not on the agendas of the state or federal governments”. Overseas, however, car manufacturers “and more progressive governments” recognise that different fuels and different technologies are needed to meet different transport needs.

“Batteries can’t be used for long-distance transportation but they still have an important place. Hydrogen has a complementary role and if we want to get ahead then we need to start demonstrating the possibilities of hydrogen — but used as an integral part of wind, solar, tidal and other renewable-energy systems.”

Adaptive Materials was recently included in the Defense Appropriations Bill for FY 2011.  Specifics, from a press release issued by Senators Levin and Stabenow:

$2 million for development of fuel cells for unmanned ground vehicles (UGV).  Due to their small size, UGVs typically operate using batteries.  However, these batteries have limited duration and therefore severely limit the capabilities of the vehicles.  The addition of a fuel cell to the robotic platform could greatly increase the on- board available power and also greatly lengthen the time that power is available.  Adaptive Materials in Ann Arbor is developing fuel cells for UGV applications.

The full version of the press release:

Levin, Stabenow Announce Michigan Projects Included in Defense Appropriations Bill

WASHINGTON – Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., announced funding today for many Michigan projects in the Defense Appropriations Bill for fiscal year 2011.

This bill was passed by the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday. The bill now must be approved by the Senate and a House-Senate conference committee before final Congressional approval and the president’s signature.

“Michigan’s workers and manufacturing sector have long supplied critical technology to our armed forces, and with these projects we will certainly remain a leader in this area,” Levin said. “Warren’s TARDEC and TACOM Life Cycle Management Command are leaders in automotive technologies for the Army, and these projects will serve the nation and support development at home in Michigan. As chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee I see firsthand what our troops need and how these projects support their mission. I look forward to passing this bill in the Senate and sending it to the president.”

“Michigan continues to be a leader in defense technology, research and manufacturing, and provides critical support for our troops all around the world,” said Stabenow. “Our state’s industries and work force have always been an important part of our national defense, and this funding will help diversify our economy while creating new jobs for Michigan families. I will continue to work with my colleagues to make sure this funding is approved.”

The bill includes approximately $288 million for Army research on combat vehicle and automotive technologies performed and managed by the Army Tank and Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) in Warren, Michigan.  This includes work on systems to protect Army vehicles against rocket propelled grenades, improvised explosive devices and explosively formed projectiles; advanced materials for combat and tactical vehicle armor; more efficient engines; fuel cell and hybrid electric vehicles; unmanned ground vehicles; computer simulations for vehicle design and training of Army personnel; and technology partnerships with the automotive industry.  TARDEC is the Department of Defense’s (DoD) leading laboratory for research and development of advanced military vehicle technologies.

The bill also includes funding for the programs of the Army’s TACOM Life Cycle Management Command (LCMC) in Warren.  TACOM LCMC is the Army’s lead organization for the development and acquisition of ground vehicle combat, automotive and armaments technologies and systems.  TACOM LCMC-managed systems include the Abrams main battle tank, Bradley Fighting Vehicle, Stryker Armored Vehicle, Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle, and all Army tactical vehicles, such as the HMMWV and Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles.

Robotics

$10 million for the Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) Initiative.  This TARDEC- managed competitive program continues efforts to integrate and demonstrate sensor technologies, robotic vision hardware and software, and robotic control technologies that are required to enable UGV systems to maneuver with minimal human intervention, for on-and off road missions.

$2 million for development of fuel cells for unmanned ground vehicles (UGV).  Due to their small size, UGVs typically operate using batteries.  However, these batteries have limited duration and therefore severely limit the capabilities of the vehicles.  The addition of a fuel cell to the robotic platform could greatly increase the on- board available power and also greatly lengthen the time that power is available.  Adaptive Materials in Ann Arbor is developing fuel cells for UGV applications.

Manufacturing Research and Development

$30 million for the Industrial Base Innovation Fund.  Manufacturing technology plays a critical role in addressing development, acquisition, and sustainment problems associated with advanced weapons programs.  This funding helps support DoD’s ability to address specific shortfalls in the defense industrial base to meet short term surge manufacturing requirements.  This program was initiated in fiscal year 2008.

DoD STARBASE

$10 million above the President’s Budget Request for the DoD STARBASE program.  STARBASE is a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education program run by the Department of Defense for late elementary students.  The STARBASE program is designed to excite students about STEM topics through exposure to the technological foundations of national security.  STARBASE currently operates 60 locations in 34 states.  Michigan has two DoD STARBASE programs located at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township and Kellogg Air National Guard Base in Battle Creek.

Energy Research and Development

$5 million for development of flexible photovoltaics.  This project seeks to develop technologies necessary to lower the cost of roof top solar electric systems to be price competitive with electricity from the grid.  The goal is to generate solar electricity at a cost comparable to that obtained by the burning of fossil fuels.  United Solar Ovonic in Auburn Hills has extensive experience with flexible photovoltaics and has been working with DoD on photovoltaic technologies for several years.

$2 million to continue a biofuels research program through the Defense Logistics Agency.  Interest in biofuels is driven by high oil prices, environmental concerns, as well as national security considerations.  Aggressive efforts are required to develop advanced biofuels such as cellulosic ethanol and butanol, high-yield biodiesel, and wood-derived bio-oil, all of which have significant potential to be utilized by DoD.  This funding will continue a merit-based biofuels initiative managed by the Defense Logistics Agency.

Advanced Automotive

$10 million for development of advanced ground systems power and mobility technologies.  This TARDEC-managed competitive program supports the development of technologies designed to increase fuel economy and improve mobility of military ground vehicles.  Research topics will include high energy/high power batteries; ultracapacitors; hybrid power sources; and advanced engine technologies.  The goal of this research is to enable the Army to acquire more efficient, mobile, and survivable ground vehicles.

$5 million for research on vehicle electronics and architecture.  This TARDEC-managed competitive program supports the development of technologies, processes, and capabilities to improve Army ground vehicle systems development, integration, and life-cycle support.  Specific research areas will include power, electronics, and software architecture; robotic vehicle control architecture; vehicle data networks; condition-based maintenance; and other related technologies.  The resulting technologies could improve ground vehicle capabilities and reduce life-cycle costs.

$2 million to continue the development of advanced thermal management technologies for Army vehicles.  Advanced thermal management technologies have helped the Army address challenges associated with overheating, reducing the thermal signature of vehicles, and making engine systems more efficient.  This research would enable the Army to leverage private sector technological advancements as it continues to push the limits of the ground combat and tactical fleets.  Engineered Machined Products Incorporated of Escanaba has been working with the Army in this area for several years.

$2 million for the development of silicon carbide components for tactical generators. The integration of silicon carbide components into tactical generator units could reduce the weight of such units by approximately 50 percent while also enabling a significant reduction in electrical conversion losses compared to legacy power systems technology, thus significantly contributing to overall Army fuel saving goals.  Dow Corning in Midland manufactures silicon carbide substrate materials.

$2 million for the development and testing of advanced plug-in hybrid vehicle technologies.  This project seeks to develop and deploy plug-in hybrid vehicle technologies that will reduce DoD fuel consumption using conventional generation, renewable generation, and vehicles with exportable electric power.  NextEnergy in Detroit has been working with the Army on hybrid vehicle technologies and related projects.

$2 million for vehicle energy reduction modeling tools.  Fuel delivery to the battlefield and forward operating bases is a tremendous force protection, logistical and financial cost challenge.  In addition, vehicle systems must operate longer and farther on less energy, and provide the same or better performance with improved armor, new weapons, electronics, and communications systems installed which can demand more energy.  This funding will help develop computer tools capable of near real time prediction of performance of various energy efficiency technologies when applied to the legacy and future vehicle fleets.  Ricardo in Van Buren Township has been working with the Army for several years on related technologies.

$2.7 million for hydraulic hybrid vehicle technology.  This research seeks to produce a new line of advanced, highly efficient, hydraulic pump and motor products which will replace conventional automatic transmissions and could significantly improve overall drivetrain efficiencies in military ground vehicles.  Bosch Rexroth Corporation has been working with the Army for several years on the development of hydraulic hybrid technology.

$2 million for engineering and manufacturing quality control tools.  Such tools could lead to the production of more survivable, cost-effective, and reliable military ground vehicles through improved measurement and precision in the manufacturing process.  The Precision Engineering and Manufacturing Alliance in Ann Arbor has experience in the development of such tools.

Procurement

$1.1 billion for the Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV). Arvin Meritor of Troy and a number of other Michigan contractors are involved in the production of FMTVs.

$1.2 billion for the Army’s Stryker armored vehicle.  General Dynamics Land Systems of Sterling Heights is the prime contractor for the Stryker armored vehicle.  Many Michigan companies serve as subcontractors in this program.

$989.1 million for recapitalization of High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs).  Demmer of Lansing, AM General of Livonia, General Motors and many other Michigan companies have played a significant role in the HMMWV program and could participate in this recapitalization effort.

$413.9 million for the Abrams Main Battle Tank program.  General Dynamics Land Systems of Sterling Heights is the prime contractor for the Abrams program.

$176 million for the Lightweight 155mm Howitzer.  Howmet Castings of Whitehall is a major contractor for the Lightweight 155mm Howitzer program.

$738.4 million for the Family of Heavy Tactical Vehicles.  Detroit Diesel manufactures and supplies the engine for this program.

$3.4 billion for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles.  Spartan Chassis of Charlotte, Arvin Meritor of Troy, Demmer Corporation of Lansing, and many other Michigan contractors are involved in this program.

$193.1 million for Bradley Fighting Vehicle modifications.  L-3 of Muskegon is a major contractor for the Bradley program.

University Research

$2 million for advanced energy storage research.  This funding will enable basic research to further the understanding of the atomic and molecular level processes that govern the operation, performance and failure mechanisms on existing energy storage systems and to develop materials, methods and devices to store energy and to manage energy distribution for personal, vehicular and installation level applications. Michigan State University has been working with the Army on this research for several years.

$3 million for hybrid electric drive integration and testing technologies.  This funding will support the development of advanced system integration technologies to evaluate hybrid electric systems on military ground vehicles.  Such tools are of interest to the Army as it seeks to improve the efficiency and mobility of its ground vehicle fleet.  Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo has been working with TARDEC on related projects for several years.

$2 million for diverse threat sensor research and integration.  This funding would be used to develop sensing and data processing methods to combine information from a variety of battlefield sensors to provide warfighters with an enhanced view of the battlefield and improved threat warning in urban environments.  Michigan Technological University in Houghton has been working with the Army in this research area.

$1 million for advanced materials research for alternative energy and transportation applications.  This funding will support basic research on materials, including nanomaterials, required for alternative energy systems including batteries, solar panels, fuel cells, power electronics and hybrid vehicle components.  Such research is intended to help the military meet its alternative energy production and fuel consumption reduction goals.  Researchers at Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant are currently engaged in research using nanotechnology and polymer foams for these purposes.

$1.5 million for the development of orthopedic implant technologies. This funding will be used to research and develop methods to reduce rehabilitation time for wounded soldiers suffering from bone fractures. Mott Community College in Flint has experience with orthopedic implants.

More than $2 billion for merit-based fundamental research to support the military at our nation’s universities and government laboratories.  Many Michigan universities perform high quality fundamental research for the Department of Defense in all fields of science and technology.

Other Military-related Research and Development Initiatives

$5 million for development of ground system survivability technologies.  This TARDEC-managed competitive program supports the development of technologies to help protect ground vehicles and troops from the range of threats they face in the combat environment.  This will be accomplished through Army demonstrations, studies, models, and performance evaluations to improve the survivability of ground vehicles.  These efforts support Army goals of acquiring ground vehicle platforms with more effective, affordable, and manufacturable protection.

$4 million for development of force projection technologies.   This TARDEC- managed competitive program supports research, development and engineering support for Army fuels and lubricants, water purification and handling, military bridging, material handling, mechanical counter-mine and counter-improvised explosive device equipment.  Increased investment would help meet Army requirements for the mobilization and support of military personnel and equipment in deployed locations.

$2 million for development of casting technologies. Under the proposed project, industry and government partners will conduct research, development, design, and engineering support on pre-competitive issues including core quality, inspection methodology, and modeling/simulation to increase yield, allow increased component complexity, and improve basic casting practices for application to key aerospace platforms. Alcoa Howmet in Whitehall is a leader in the casting industry.

$3 million for development of mobile repair capabilities for the Navy.  This project will develop a mobile laser deposition work cell for deployment aboard ships and to remote areas to conduct on-demand repair of parts required for naval platforms.  The work cell will be housed in a standard shipping container and will incorporate a variety of laser deposition, welding, milling, grinding, and measurement technologies to allow for precision repair of parts in deployed locations.  Such a capability could reduce repair time and costs for high- demand parts.  Focus: HOPE in Detroit has been working with the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Keyport, Washington on related projects for several years.

$2 million for the development of magnesium composite armor materials and manufacturing processes.  For a number of years, the Army has invested in the design and development of magnesium armor composites for armor and structural-armor applications.  There are numerous structural and ballistic components in Army systems that could potentially benefit from the availability of a low cost manufacturing technology for high performance magnesium products and armor materials.  REL in Calumet has been working with the Army on the development of these technologies.

$10 million for the Air Force’s Metals Affordability Initiative (MAI).  The MAI is a government-industry cooperative program focused on the development of new aerospace materials and alloys.  Alcoa Howmet in Whitehall is a participating member of the MAI and is developing new materials that will reduce aircraft engine maintenance costs and help enable the next generation of fighter aircraft and unmanned air vehicles.

$3.8 million for Tomahawk missile engine cost reduction efforts. The Tomahawk cruise missile has been used in every theater of operations since Desert Storm and remains one of the United States’ most reliable precision weapons in our nation’s inventory.  This project would lower the cost of producing Tomahawk missile engines by incorporating new technologies into the engine system to improve its affordability.  Williams International in Walled Lake produces Tomahawk missile engines for the military.

Kathleen Culler/for Daily News and Wicked Local

Discard your home furnace, water heater and electrical supplier, he says. Install a file-cabinet-sized fuel cell unit from Trenergi of Hopkinton to turn natural gas into electricity. Get sufficient heat as a free byproduct.

“That’s the game-changer,” he told visitors, a group that included Secretary of Housing and Economic Development Gregory Bialecki, state Sen. Karen Spilka, D-Ashland, and state Rep. Carolyn Dykema, D-Holliston, yesterday.

Having worked out of a South Street office for much of its year-and-a-half history, Trenergi is aiming to bring a finished product to market and is negotiating with potential large-scale buyers such as Natick Soldier Systems Center and defense contractors.

But it is also focusing on household use, which sets it apart from other MetroWest fuel cell firms: Protonex in Southborough, CellTech Power in Westborough, Aspen Systems in Marlborough and Hy9 in Hopkinton. And it is one of the few firms nationally to generate heat from its design.

It works like this: The unit takes hydrogen from natural gas and purifies it, then runs it through several membranes and channel-filled carbon graphite plates to pry loose electrons for electricity. An apartment-sized cell is the size of a car battery.

Heat is produced by generating the electricity and purifying the hydrogen, and leftover elements drive the purifier. Emissions are equivalent to a standard water heater.

During the visit, a prototype sat on a 4-by-8 table inside a frame with the curtains drawn back, much like a princess bed. It felt like a rough-hewn science experiment, with a series of tubes, wires, valves, gauges and small tanks. The visitors flipped switches, blasting the room with light from overheard bulbs.

“This is all coming directly from the fuel cell,” said Myers, the company president, later explaining that a home unit could help promote awareness and acceptance of the technology for other uses.

The fuel cell can also run on propane, meaning it could light villages in developing countries and produce heat from deliveries of barbecue tanks.

Myers said he doesn’t expect to see the company’s fuel cells in homes for several years, but they will cost just $1,200 more than standard equipment once federal tax credits are factored in. He also said that the energy savings payback could take just two years, with the potential to sell unneeded electricity back to suppliers.

With the state looking to renovate much of its public housing stock, Bialecki said he sees opportunities to incorporate technologies like Trenergi’s.

“For the adoption of stuff like this, we have the advantage, ironically, that our existing stock is so far behind,” he said.

The van was refuelled at the comhairle’s H2seed Facility

A hydrogen-powered Royal Mail van has been tested on the Western Isles using fuel from a facility run by the islands council.

The vehicle ran regular delivery routes on Lewis between June and August.

It used fuel from Comhairle nan Eilean Siar’s hydrogen production, storage and fuelling station called the H2seed Facility.

The project will be discussed at a conference on hydrogen power in Edinburgh later this week.