FuelCellsWorks

Bangalore–(IANS) India’s top industrialist Ratan Tata has funded a research project in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to use hydrogen from water as an alternative fuel to drive cars, an eminent scientist said Friday.

“Tata has given $15 million to fund the research being conducted by MIT professor Daniel Nocera on using water as auto fuel. The project involves generating hydrogen by splitting water and storing it in a safe can to drive an automobile,” noted scientist C.N.R Rao told reporters at a press meet here.

Tata and Nocera, who owns the patent, plan to set up a start-up for building a prototype can that can store hydrogen in a compressed form and fit it into a car for using as an alternative fuel cost-effectively.

“As it is Tata’s dream to run his cars on water ultimately, he is funding the project so that he will have control on the innovative technology. He will also be associated with the start-up to develop the prototype, which will have a catalyst to warm up the water and create hydrogen as a fuel,” Rao said on the eve of 2011 being celebrated as the International Year of Chemistry.

The Pune-based Tata Motors Ltd is a leading manufacturer of passenger vehicles in major segments, including India’s least expensive car Nano, which is priced at Rs.100,000.

“The challenge is to develop an eco-friendly and efficient energy at low-cost as an alternative to depleting fossil fuels. Water and hydrogen as an alternative source of energy can help us in reducing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere,” Rao, who is also chairman of the scientific advisory council to the prime minister, pointed out.

The state-run Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advance Scientific Research (JNCASR), headed by Rao, is also doing research to generate hydrogen using graphite as a catalyst.

“In our lab, we are attempting to create hydrogen by warming up water with graphite, a polymorph of the element carbon. We are working on finding a method to store the natural gas in solid state and converting it into 100 percent energy for various applications,” Rao said.

H2 Nemo is now operational on the canals of Amstetrdam.

The recent Maritime Awards Gala in Amsterdam saw the prestigious VNSI Timmers Award 2010 for young maritime designers go to Nico van der Hoeven from Alewijnse Marine Technology B.V. based at Nijmegen in the Netherlands.

The Yomiuri Shimbun

A hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle leased by the Yamanashi prefectural government is charged on April 28.

The Yamanashi prefectural government plans to seek “special fuel-cell district” status for the prefecture, in which restrictions on hydrogen fuel for fuel-cell vehicles would be eased, under the central government’s special economic zones to be launched next fiscal year, sources said.

The prefectural government will cooperate with Yamanashi University and other entities to promote the use of fuel-cell vehicles, which have been called “the ultimate eco-car.”

According to the plan, the prefecture will allow fuel-cell vehicles to be charged on public highways and service areas off expressways, which is currently banned under the High Pressure Gas Safety Law and the Road Traffic Law. It also plans to install hydrogen filling stations at service areas along the Chuo Expressway and conduct long-distance tests involving fuel-cell vehicles on the highway.

The prefectural government further intends to ease regulations on hydrogen filling stations by simplifying and shortening mandatory annual safety checks. Currently, stations must shut down during the 10-day inspection periods.

Legally required distances between the stations and public highways–currently set at more than six meters to eight meters depending on the type of hydrogen tank–also would be shortened. In addition, the quantity of hydrogen able to be stored at the stations would be increased.

The prefecture also intends to use central government subsidies to fund small and midsize companies involved in fuel-cell development projects.

After Yamanashi University opened a fuel-cell research center in 2009, the prefectural government provided land for the center free of charge and dispatched government employees to assist in research projects.

Local officials say they want to turn the prefecture into a “Silicon Valley of fuel-cell technology.”

Because fuel-cell vehicles run on motors powered by electricity generated from a chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen, they produce no carbon dioxide emissions.

However, the cost of producing hydrogen fuel stations remains prohibitive, and installing them involves many difficulties.

JAPANESE researchers have created an alloy with properties similar to palladium, a precious metal used in many high-tech goods, a news report said Thursday, dubbing the breakthrough “present-day alchemy”.
Kyoto University professor Hiroshi Kitagawa and his team said they used nano-technology to combine rhodium and silver, elements which do not usually mix, to produce the new composite, the Yomiuri daily said.
The alloy has similar properties to palladium, which is used in cars’ emission-reducing catalytic converters as well as in computers, mobile phones, flatscreen TVs and dentistry instruments.
Like other white metals, such as silver and platinum, palladium is expensive, with its deposits largely limited to South Africa and Russia.
Palladium also has applications in the production of fuel cells – a clean and renewable energy source that produces electricity by combining hydrogen and oxygen, with water as the only byproduct.
To make the new alloy, the Kyoto team used nano-technology to “nebulise” the rhodium and silver and gradually mixed them with heated alcohol, with the two metals mixed stably at the atomic level, the report said.
Japan’s industry ministry has listed 31 rare metals, including palladium and lithium, which are used in industrial products, such as electronic devices and batteries. Of these, 17 elements are called rare earth minerals.

Resource-poor Japan has tried to shift from its dependence on China, which controls the bulk of global rare earth production.

Kitagawa said he hopes to create more alloys using nano-technology, without specifying which ones, the Yomiuri said.

The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) recently issued a funding opportunity announcement (FOA) for proposals to develop and deliver deployable stationary combined heat and power and combined cooling, heating, and electric power fuel cell systems for small commercial applications.

This solicitation closes on January 31, 2011; more information is available on the PNNL solicitation page.

The  secretary of Transport of the City of Arnhem, Margreet van Gastel and the director  of the AVIA refeulling station, Petra van Stijn are filling up a Honda FCX Clarity as aprt of the launch of the first Arnhem public hydorgen refuelling station. This refuelling station will be supplying the HyMove-hydrogen bus, the  Hytruck of 2Switch, a  Subaru Impreza and a Fiat Doblo with hydrogen in the future. The Fait Doblo will be part of the City of Arnhem public fleet.
The reformer, at the filling station in Arnhem, provided by local reformer manufacturer HyGear,  has an initial capacity of approximately 12 kg of hydrogen a day, which is enough to fuel the bus and four cars. Should there be an unexpected increased demand for hydrogen, the filling station can use a stock of hydrogen in cylinders, delivered by truck.  Air Products supplied the hydrogen refuelling equipment.
The station is one of the features of the regional HyMove project that will see the opening of a second station in 2011. HyMove is an initiative by the Province of Gelderland, the Arnhem-Nijmegen Urban Region and the Municipality of Arnhem. Connexxion, a number of regional businesses and the HAN University of Applied Sciences are also involved in the project. It has been developed in order to gain practical experience of using hydrogen in means of transport and to allow the public to become familiar with the new fuel. The first phase of the project consists of building a hydrogen bus, purchasing a number of hydrogen cars and installing a refuelling point for hydrogen at an existing filling station in Arnhem.

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• Fuel-cell activities for stationary power generation discontinued due to a lack of medium-term commercial viability, given current market conditions and subsidy schemes
• Non-operational, one-off impact of approximately €60 million on FY2010 results
• Existing FY2010 guidance confirmed
• Current dividend policy will be maintained
• Positive outlook for 2011 unaffected by fuel-cell exit; company maintains medium-term growth targets

Friedrichshafen, 29 December 2010. The Executive Board of Tognum AG, specialist for propulsion and power solutions, has decided to discontinue its fuel-cell activities for stationary power generation. Having carefully examined the most recent demand forecasts and carried out a thorough risk/reward analysis, Tognum opted against further active engagement in this area. The company has come to the conclusion that the fuel-cell business is unlikely to become commercially viable in the medium term, given current market conditions and subsidy schemes.

In the course of this year, management had actively looked at additional market initiatives in support of fuel-cell technology in Asia. Management also analysed potential partnerships for serial production in Asia, which, however, proved not sufficiently promising. After negotiations with a potential Asian partner, which had appeared promising at first, ended without agreement on 28 December 2010, the Executive Board took the decision to discontinue its fuel-cell activities.

MANILA, Philippines – Sen. Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. sought Friday congressional approval of his proposal that would establish a Hydrogen Research and Development Center to pave the way for the use of hydrogen as an alternative energy source.

The proposal, contained in Senate Bill No. 2593 known as ‘’An Act Creating a Hydrogen Research and Development Center,’’ came after the successful implementation wind power project in Ilocos Norte which is a project of Marcos.

The measure, when signed into law, will join several statutes passed by Congress that seek the conversion of non-fossil fuel elements into energy sources.

Marcos, son of the late President Ferdinand Marcos, was a former Ilocos Norte congressman and a former Ilocos Norte governor.

He said the government’s thrust to intensify the exploration of available energy resources in the country, both its oil and alternative fuel energy resources, is a decisive step toward mitigating the alarming impact of over-dependence on oil imports. (Mario Casayuran)

Billerica, MA– Nuvera Fuel Cells and the Town of Billerica presented 13 community grants to local organizations in support of 2011 activities. The grants are the result of a $20,000 community fund that Nuvera contributes to annually as part a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) agreement.

The following community organizations were awarded grants: The Billerica Boys and Girls Club, Career Launch Program; Yankee Doodle Homecoming Inc. , Annual Event; Billerica Historical Society, Clara E. Sexton House Improvements; The Locke Middle School, Before School Starts: The Store; Hajjar School Parent’s Association, Playground Slide; Billerica Lion’s Club, Fourth of July Celebration; Billerica Public Library, One Book, One Billerica Program; Friends of The Recreation Department, Billerica Skate Park; Billerica Garden Club, Farmer’s Market; Friends of The Billerica Council on Aging, Senior Citizen of the Year Event; Paul Grassia, Publishing ‘A Stroke of Luck’ Book; Billerica Community Alliance, Sweetheart Dinner Dance; and the Billerica Public Library Adult Book Club, Drive Up Book Drop.

“Nuvera is proud to be able to give back to the community that has welcomed us warmly since our arrival in 2007,” commented Francesco Fragasso, Vice President of Finance at Nuvera Fuel Cells. “We are happy to offer our support to these organizations and look forward to continuing to grow our business in Billerica.”

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 located in the U.S. and Europe, Nuvera 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.

To promote collaboration between the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Energy (DOE), along with industry, university, and state partners, the Hawaii Hydrogen Initiative (”H2I”) was announced by General Motors on Wednesday December 8 in Honolulu. The H2I is aligned with DOE’s Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative to reduce oil consumption and promote clean energy technologies, and will help promote energy independence, and grow the state’s clean energy economy.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy has funded cutting-edge research and development which has reduced the high volume cost of fuel cells by more than 80% since 2002 – to nearly $50 per kW, on track towards meeting the target of $30 per kW by 2015. However, hydrogen infrastructure remains a key barrier. Through the H2I, DOE plans to conduct testing and validation of hydrogen infrastructure technologies, including hydrogen injection into existing natural gas pipelines as well as long term renewable approaches in Hawaii.

In addition to General Motors, DOD and DOE, the H2I involves a number of partners, including The Hawaii Gas Company, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the University of Hawaii; the University of California at Irvine and FuelCell Energy. A Letter of Understanding was signed with the intent of formulating further details under the initiative within the next year. These activities will leverage the efforts and expertise of all partners to accelerate the development and demonstration of clean energy technologies.

Three APFCT’s fuel cell scooters run 280km to attend The 5thNational Conference on Hydrogen Energy and Fuel Cells and the Showcase of 2009 Taiwan fuel cell Technology Demonstration and Validation Projects in Tainan, Taiwan, taking place at National Cheng Kung University on 17-18th December.

After 1000km around Taiwan test drive in May this year, under the invitation of National Cheng Kung University and the Fuel Cell Demonstration and Promotion Office of the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, the hosts of The 5thNational Conference on Hydrogen Energy and Fuel Cells and the Showcase of 2009 Taiwan Fuel Cell Technology Demonstration and Validation Projects, APFCT conducted another long on-road test drive from Hsin-Chu to Tainan with three fuel cell scooters on 16th December, the coldest day in Taiwan this winter.

Three fuel cell scooters departed from the hydrogen canister exchange station in National Tsing Hua University at about 9am in the morning and arrived in National Cheng Kung University at about 10pm at the same day. The scooters were ridden by 5 students from National Cheng Kung University and Kun-Shan University and one staff from the Fuel Cell Demonstration and Promotion Office of the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research. The total distance of the journey is about 280km. When they entered the exhibition hall on 17th December, they received very warm welcome.

The riding event organizer, Mr. Howard Chen, said that the whole journey was extremely smooth despite of the cold weather and the rain. No fault or system break-down happened. This event once again shows the strengths of APFCT’s fuel cell technology applied on the scooter.

APFCT also provided test ride in these two days. Many people said they were very impressed by the achievement and this event proved the materiality of aPFCT’s fuel cell technology. They feel confident and optimistic of the commercialization of the products in near future.

The R&D activities during 2010 confirmed that the Integrated Stack Module (ISM) 1.4kW with higher power using ESC4 cells shows an equal low degradation behavior and robustness than the 1.1kW ISM using ESC2 cells. This allows staxera to raise the guarantee to identical levels (5000 h) for the 1.1 kW and 1.4 kW products. With this step staxera goes on with the continuous and customer oriented improvements of its SOFC products.

- Ballard to work with 4 system integrators on reduced-cost bus configurations

- Will help advance clean fuel cell bus commercialization, using no fossil fuels

LOWELL, MA and VANCOUVER–Ballard Power Systems (TSX: BLD; NASDAQ: BLDP) today announced that the company will be participating in four Federal Transit Administration (FTA) projects for development and deployment of clean, zero-emission fuel cell buses under the National Fuel Cell Bus Program.

The funded program is aimed at reducing fuel cell bus cost, expanding the supply chain and demonstrating fuel cell buses with transit agencies, potentially leading to larger procurements in future. Ballard will deliver four FCvelocity(R) fuel cell power modules in 2011 from its Lowell, MA facility, one each to system integrators BAE Systems Inc. – which has partnered with Ballard previously – Proterra Inc., EVAmerica LLC and DesignLine USA.

One of the Ballard zero-emission modules will produce 150 kilowatts (kW) of power, while the remaining three modules will each produce 75kW of power. These will be integrated into hybrid electric drive systems on transit buses slated for operation in Alabama, Illinois, Ohio and South Carolina.

Congresswoman Niki Tsongas (D-MA) said, “Ballard is leading the way in developing the clean energy technology that creates jobs, protects our environment, and lowers our dependence on foreign sources of fuel. This award from the FTA is a significant step forward in their development of zero emission buses and is excellent news for the continued growth of Ballard’s Lowell operation.”

The National Fuel Cell Bus Program facilitates development of commercially viable fuel cell bus technologies and related infrastructure for deployment in transit revenue service. The FTA is playing a key role in accelerating fuel cell bus deployments, providing greater public exposure to the safe operation of zero emission vehicles and leading to broader acceptance of this technology.

“These awards are enabling four sophisticated system integrators to incorporate Ballard zero-emission fuel cell technology into a range of innovative vehicle configurations,” said Michael Goldstein, Ballard’s Chief Commercial Officer. “Buses will then be showcased in various transit agency operating environments. The additional system integration partners demonstrating multiple bus configurations will help to accelerate the path to a cleaner environment and quieter streets for everyone.”

Ballard continues to work with U.S. industry and clean transportation advocates, including CALSTART and the Center for Transportation and the Environment, to stimulate use of fuel cell technology in transit buses. Increased volumes of fuel cell-powered buses are expected to support cost and price reductions through scale economies, enabling fuel cell solutions to compete more effectively with incumbent transit technologies.

About Ballard Power Systems

Ballard Power Systems (TSX: BLD; NASDAQ: BLDP) provides clean energy fuel cell products enabling optimized power systems for a range of applications. To learn more about Ballard, please visit www.ballard.com.

WASHINGTON – Pursuing new technologies to let fuel cell buses operate in cold climates is among the research projects to receive money from the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) National Fuel Cell Bus Program, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced today.

The Center for Transportation and the Environment in Atlanta will receive $6.42 million and CALSTART in Pasadena, CA will receive $10.17 million to coordinate research among fuel cell manufacturers, engineering firms and transit agencies throughout the country.

“The Obama Administration is proud to partner with researchers who are exploring greener, more efficient ways to power buses,” said Secretary LaHood. “Adapting fuel-cell technology to buses will result in a cleaner environment and quieter streets for everyone.”

“The transit industry must continue to be at the forefront of creating green jobs and establishing globally competitive technologies right here at home in the United States,” said FTA Administrator Peter Rogoff. “As we move clean, fuel-efficient bus projects from the drawing board to the street, we move the nation closer to energy independence and a cleaner environment.”

Other projects being funded this year include an effort to develop a smaller, less costly and more durable fuel cell power system that will enable commercialization of U.S. fuel cell buses, and an effort to develop and demonstrate a lightweight highly efficient bus that incorporates an improved hybrid-electric drive and enhanced bus design.

The purpose of the program is to facilitate the development of commercially viable fuel cell bus technologies and increase public acceptance of the fuel cell vehicles. The program is one of three environmentally friendly FTA grant competitions whose winners have been recently announced. The others are the Transit Investments for Greenhouse Gas and Energy Reduction (TIGGER) and the Clean Fuels programs.

A complete list of Fuel Cell Bus Program projects being funded can be found here.

By GreenerBuildings Staff at Greener World Media

NOVATO, CA — Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company will soon join eBay, Coca-Cola, Walmart and Google as early adopters of Bloom Energy technology with the installation of six of the company’s high-tech fuel cells, the insurance firm announced today.

Fireman’s Fund, the first carrier to widely introduce green insurance to the U.S. commercial market, plans to install the Bloom Energy Servers — fuel-cell energy generators better known as Bloom boxes — at its headquarters in Novato in early 2011.

The Bloom boxes, which turn fuel into electricity through a clean electro-chemical process, will cost the insurance company about $8.2 million, an expense that is expected to be offset by tax credits and a sharp drop in energy bills. Fireman’s Fund said it anticipates a return on investment plus $1.5 million in the next 10 years.

The technology will enable the insurance company to produce 60 percent of the energy it uses at its Novato site, thereby reducing the firm’s carbon footprint by 15 percent, Fireman’s Fund said in its announcement.

“This further demonstrates Fireman’s Fund’s commitment to the environment and our efforts to become a sustainable company,” President and CEO Michael LaRocco said in the statement. “What we are doing is not only good for the environment and future generations, but it also makes economic sense for our company.”

The company has a goal of reducing carbon emissions by 25 percent by 2012. Its efforts to cut energy use, conserve other resources and generate less waste include attaining an Energy Star rating of 92 at its headquarters campus, which also is LEED certified; earning LEED certification for buildings in Dallas and St. Louis; reducing energy use by 49 percent in 2009, compared to a decade before; and recycling 82 percent of waste in 2009.

Fireman’s Fund introduced green insurance for commercial buildings in 2006 and has steadily expanded its offerings for business properties while extending coverage to green homes, vehicles and vessels as well as green energy equipment.

With its installation of the Bloom boxes, the company will become one of Bloom Energy’s first 20 customers for the technology. Others include Bank of America, Staples, FedEx and Cox Enterprises.

Rendering of Bloom box and inset image courtesy of Fireman’s Fund.

Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited, (AIM/ASX:CFU) a leading developer of high efficiency and low emission electricity generation units for homes and other buildings, has sold three BlueGen gas-to-electricity generators to one of the UK’s leading energy companies, E.ON.

One BlueGen will be installed in early 2011 at the E.ON training centre in Tipton, where E.ON’s Property Services department trains its staff in the installation and maintenance of gas and electrical appliances. The other two BlueGen units will be installed at demonstration sites.

BlueGen uses ceramic fuel cells to turn natural gas into electricity and heat for hot water. BlueGen units can generate electricity far more efficiently than the current power grid, providing significant cost savings to energy bills and large carbon savings.

Each BlueGen unit can produce three times the electricity needed to power an average UK home. The UK Government’s feed-in tariff pays 10 pence for every kilowatt hour of electricity generated by small scale co-generation products, plus an additional 3 pence for every kilowatt hour of electricity sold back to the local power grid. BlueGen also produces enough heat to satisfy the average UK home’s daily needs for hot water.

Ceramic Fuel Cells is continuing to make progress towards having BlueGen certified under the Microgeneration Certification Scheme in order to access the UK Government’s feed in tariff. The Company is working towards achieving certification as soon as practicable, and will give a further update towards the end of January 2011.

In parallel with installing three BlueGen units, Ceramic Fuel Cells and E.ON are continuing to develop fully integrated power and heating products for the UK market. In this project, integrated units are installed with appliance company Gledhill and in a test house with EA Technology. Under a product development agreement signed in 2009, Ceramic Fuel Cells and E.ON have agreed the development stages to move into production of commercial units. The partners are currently discussing the project plan details for the next phase of product development and deployment.

SEOUL, Korea–Hyundai Motor Company has completed development of its next- generation hydrogen fuel cell vehicle — the Tucson ix Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle — and will begin testing next year with an eye toward 2015 mass production.

Hyundai’s third-generation FCEV is equipped with a 100-kilowatt fuel cell system and two hydrogen storage tanks (700bar). The SUV can travel 650 kilometers on a single charge – a range equal to a gasoline-powered car. It can start in temperatures as low as minus 25 degrees Celsius.

The Tucson ix FCEV’s range is a 76-percent improvement over the second-generation Tucson FCEV, which was limited to 370 kilometers on one charge. The new model gets gasoline equivalent fuel efficiency of 31 kilometers per liter, a 15-percent improvement over the previous version.

More than 95 percent of the Tucson ix FCEV’s major components were made with Korean technology through close collaboration with about 120 domestic auto parts manufacturers. Overall volume of the fuel cell system was downsized by 20-percent compared to the previous system via modularization of bulky parts in the fuel cell system including fuel cell stack, balance of plant(BOP), inverter and high voltage junction box.

Hyundai took part in the `Learning Demonstration Program’ organized by the U.S. Department of Energy between 2004 and 2009. Next year, 48 Tucson ix FCEV’s will be part of a `Domestic Fleet Program’ supported by the Korean government.

Its hydrogen vehicles have so far registered more than 2 million kilometers. Hyundai plans to make a limited supply of the Tucson ix FCEV in 2012 and begin mass production in 2015. Hyundai unveiled a cutaway version of the vehicle at the Geneva Motor Show in March.

※ Comparison of new Tucson ix FCEV (3rd generation) and Tucson FCEV (2nd generation)

Established in 1967, Hyundai Motor Co. has grown into the Hyundai Motor Group which has ranked as the world’s fifth-largest automaker since 2007 and includes over two dozen auto-related subsidiaries and affiliates. Employing over 75,000 people worldwide, Hyundai Motor sold approximately 3.1 million vehicles globally in 2009, posting sales of US$41.8 billion (including overseas plants, using the average currency exchange rate of 1,276 won per US dollar). Hyundai vehicles are sold in 193 countries through some 6,000 dealerships and showrooms. Further information about Hyundai Motor and its products are available at www.hyundai.com.

PASADENA, CA– CALSTART, an organization working nationally to grow the clean transportation technology industry, today announced that it has been selected for more than $10 million from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), for two projects that will lead to the development of lower cost and more durable zero emission fuel cell buses.

In its own press release on the announcement, the FTA noted, “The Obama Administration is proud to partner with researchers who are exploring greener, more efficient ways to power buses,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “Adapting fuel-cell technology to buses will result in a cleaner environment and quieter streets for everyone.” Fuel cell buses improve urban air quality because they produce zero tailpipe emissions while also producing far fewer greenhouse gas pollutants.

The funding will primarily be used to help leading fuel cell manufacturers, UTC Power and Ballard, improve the performance of and lower the costs of their fuel cells. One bus will be tested in the harsh operating environment of one of the nation’s largest cities.

“As a result of these awards, and other recent investments, we believe these two leading manufacturers will be able to reduce the cost and improve the durability of their fuel cell buses significantly compared to just three to four years ago,” said CALSTART’s President and CEO, John Boesel. “The FTA’s investment will significantly help move fuel cell buses closer to commercial viability,” said Boesel.

The larger of the two projects provides funding of $7,200,000 with CALSTART partner, UTC Power, to complete the first phase of a project to develop a next generation fuel cell power system that is lower in cost and has a significantly longer life.

The FTA will also be providing $2,970,000 in funding to CALSTART and its lead partner, the Chicago Regional Transit Authority (RTA), to develop and conduct in-service testing for a next generation Buy America compliant fuel cell bus in its fleet. The project will enable the RTA, Ballard, and its partners to test the latest technology and see how it performs in a cold weather environment. Other project partners include bus maker El Dorado Inc., hybrid drive train manufacturer, BAE Systems Inc., and hydrogen refueling station builder and operator, Air Products Inc.

In addition to these two very worthy projects, CALSTART submitted several others that, while having tremendous potential, were not selected by the FTA. ”The fact that so many other high impact projects were not chosen calls out the need for continued federal funding in this sector,” said Boesel.

About CALSTART
CALSTART is the only organization working nationally to foster the rapid growth of the entire clean transportation technology industry. Building on its strong base of knowledge and operations in California, CALSTART serves as a catalyst for the comprehensive clean transportation industry as a way to create more jobs, clean the air, make the country more secure, and reduce the threat of global warming. CALSTART manages leading edge technology programs while providing value-added services to its 130 member companies and consulting clients. For more information visit: www.calstart.org.

AC Transit's new hydrogen fuel cell powered bus.

LEHIGH VALLEY — Air Products (NYSE: APD) is using its diverse portfolio of hydrogen fueling technologies to fill five new hydrogen fuel cell powered buses that transport riders daily on the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) bus system in the San Francisco Bay Area in California.  AC Transit looked to Air Products for solutions to provide hydrogen and infrastructure technology to get the newest generation of zero emission buses on the road quickly.  AC Transit expects to increase its hydrogen fuel cell bus fleet to 12; the largest single site deployment of hydrogen fuel cell buses in the United States.

“AC Transit should be very proud of its growing hydrogen bus fleet and being a leader in the U.S. in the conversion to this zero emission mode of mass transit transportation.  We’re pleased to be fueling their buses and bringing several of our patented fueling technologies together to support this large scale fueling application,” said Nick Mittica, commercial manager – Hydrogen Energy Systems at Air Products.  ”At this site, we’ve been able to show our broad suite of unique hydrogen delivery technologies that no one else in the world has to offer.  These capabilities give us a competitive advantage when considering varied hydrogen sources as well as the methods of hydrogen delivery.”  Mittica added that the Air Products technologies in place at AC Transit were relatively easy to permit and presented no large infrastructure issues.

“Air Products has clearly demonstrated to us and our industry that the technology and know-how exists to effectively fuel heavy-duty transit buses on a large scale.  We’ve been impressed at how quickly the Air Products team stepped up to support our fueling needs by installing a 500 kg mobile fueling station within days,” noted Jaimie Levin, AC Transit’s director of Alternative Fuels Policy and Hydrogen Fuel Cell Program manager.

Air Products has two self-contained mobile fuelers and additional high-pressure storage capacity, all at approximately 350 bar (5,000 psi), at AC Transit’s Oakland, Calif. operating division.  The station employs a new hydrogen delivery concept capable of dispensing either liquid or gaseous hydrogen, at very high pressure, depending on a specific customer’s need.

• Up to EUR 760,000 grant as support of the industrial fieldtests
• Grant from the German Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development

Berlin – Heliocentris Energy Solutions AG, a leading specialist in clean energy storage solutions, receives a grant of up to EUR 760,000 for the recently started industrial field tests of the Heliocentris “Nexa 1200″ fuel cell system.

„We appreciate the extensive support of our industrial field tests by the Nationale Innovationsprogramm Wasserstoff- und Brennstoffzellentechnologie (NIP). The program is focused on the support of market preparation and thus fits well in our schedule of market introduction of stationary fuel cell solutions” commented Henrik Colell, CEO of Heliocentris.

The goal of the field tests is to further optimise the “Nexa 1200″ to meet the concrete market requirements. The system is being integrated in the field tests into various solutions in the field of emergency power and autonomous power supply solutions. Given the much higher energy density of hydrogen in comparison with batteries a significantly longer range is achieved while maintaining a compact design.

The project, which runs from 2010-2012 is supported by the German Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development in the framework of the Nationale Innovationsprogramm Wasserstoff- und Brennstoffzellentechnologie (NIP). Responsible for coordination of the NIP is the NOW GmbH Nationale Organisation Wasserstoff- und Brennstoffzellentechnologie.

Supported by: Bundesministerium für Verkehr, Bau und Stadtentwicklung, aufgrund eines Beschlusses des Deutschen Bundestags