Ultra Electronics, AMI recently secured a $870,000 contract to provide 30 of its solid oxide fuel cells to the U.S. Army’s Rapid Equipping Force. Soldiers in the field will use the Ultra Electronics, AMI 300-watt fuel cells to recharge batteries and provide primary power to communications and information systems.
The first delivery by Ultra Electronics, AMI of five fuel cells to the U.S. Army was made this week
“Ultra Electronics, AMI fuel cells are the ideal power source because they’re lightweight, portable, and reliable,” said Aaron Crumm, Ultra Electronics, AMI president. “The Rapid Equipping Force contract is unique in that it quickly puts technology in the hands of soldiers. Ultra Electronics, AMI has a long history of providing portable power to the military and it’s that track record that makes our technology attractive for immediate field use”
Rapid Equipping Force selected Ultra Electronics, AMI, because its fuel cells solve a significant military challenge. Providing reliable power for multi-day missions, the 300-watt fuel cell is ideal for applications requiring more power or longer durations than batteries can support.
Compared to a generator or the number of batteries that would be required for a multi-day mission, the fuel cell, weighing just 32 lbs., is lightweight and portable.
The Ultra Electronics, AMI fuel cells were tested for altitude, vibration, shock, cold, heat, rain, dust and drops. They are proven to perform in temperatures ranging from -20° C to 50°C.
Columbia, S.C. –The USC-Columbia Fuel Cell Collaborative (USCFCC) celebrates another milestone with the announcement that the program being selected by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), the premier membership organization dedicated to helping economic development professionals create high-quality jobs, develop vibrant communities and improve the quality of life in their regions, to receive its Excellence in Economic Development Award for “Technology-led Economic Development, Population 25,000–200,000.”
Representatives from the collaborative were recognized at an awards ceremony last week during the IEDC Annual Conference on September 20, 2011, in Charlotte, N.C. The Excellence in Economic Development Awards Program annually recognizes the world’s best economic development programs and partnerships and the industry’s most influential leaders. The program honors organizations and individuals in 28 categories for their efforts in creating positive change in urban, suburban, and rural communities. This is the first time that the USC-Columbia Fuel Cell Collaborative has received this honor.
“We truly believe that continued investments in research, innovation and technology-based economic development will consistently produce real results for the region, the state and beyond,” said SCRA CEO Bill Mahoney, one of the four investing partners of the collaborative.
“We have been working for seven years to create the foundation for a fuel cell cluster in the Columbia region,” said Neil McLean, executive director for EngenuitySC, a public/private partnership formed to develop and grow the Columbia region’s knowledge-based economy and founding partner of the collaborative . “This is part of a 20 year vision for our community, and we’re proud that Columbia is being recognized as one of the most innovative cities in the U.S. for its tech-based economic development.”
“Clean tech companies should really be taking another look at South Carolina as a compelling place to launch new ventures,” said Don Herriott, director of the University of South Carolina’s Innovista Research Campus. “With a supportive ecosystem and world class research in advanced materials, membranes, and catalysts at the University of South Carolina, Columbia is competing globally in the clean energy economy.”
The USC–Columbia Fuel Cell Collaborative was formed by the University of South Carolina, the City of Columbia, EngenuitySC and SCRA, to position Columbia, S.C., as a leader in hydrogen fuel cell innovation and technology. Its mission is to attract private sector partners, top fuel cell scientists, entrepreneurs, and innovators to the Columbia region to help grow an innovation pipeline from discovery to development to deployment of fuel cell technology. For more information, visit www.fuelcellcollaborative.com.
The International Economic Development Council (IEDC) is the premier membership organization dedicated to helping economic development professionals create high-quality jobs, develop vibrant communities and improve the quality of life in their regions. Serving more than 4,500 members, IEDC represents the largest network of economic development professionals in the world. IEDC provides a diverse range of services, including conferences, certification, professional development, publications, research, advisory services and legislative tracking.
The ‘artificial leaf,’ a device that can harness sunlight to split water into hydrogen and oxygen without needing any external connections, is seen with some real leaves, which also convert the energy of sunlight directly into storable chemical form.
Photo: Dominick Reuter
Researchers led by MIT professor Daniel Nocera have produced something they’re calling an “artificial leaf”: Like living leaves, the device can turn the energy of sunlight directly into a chemical fuel that can be stored and used later as an energy source.
The artificial leaf — a silicon solar cell with different catalytic materials bonded onto its two sides — needs no external wires or control circuits to operate. Simply placed in a container of water and exposed to sunlight, it quickly begins to generate streams of bubbles: oxygen bubbles from one side and hydrogen bubbles from the other. If placed in a container that has a barrier to separate the two sides, the two streams of bubbles can be collected and stored, and used later to deliver power: for example, by feeding them into a fuel cell that combines them once again into water while delivering an electric current.
The creation of the device is described in a paper published Sept. 30 in the journal Science. Nocera, the Henry Dreyfus Professor of Energy and professor of chemistry at MIT, is the senior author; the paper was co-authored by his former student Steven Reece PhD ’07 (who now works at Sun Catalytix, a company started by Nocera to commercialize his solar-energy inventions), along with five other researchers from Sun Catalytix and MIT.
The device, Nocera explains, is made entirely of earth-abundant, inexpensive materials — mostly silicon, cobalt and nickel — and works in ordinary water. Other attempts to produce devices that could use sunlight to split water have relied on corrosive solutions or on relatively rare and expensive materials such as platinum.
The artificial leaf is a thin sheet of semiconducting silicon — the material most solar cells are made of — which turns the energy of sunlight into a flow of wireless electricity within the sheet. Bound onto the silicon is a layer of a cobalt-based catalyst, which releases oxygen, a material whose potential for generating fuel from sunlight was discovered by Nocera and his co-authors in 2008. The other side of the silicon sheet is coated with a layer of a nickel-molybdenum-zinc alloy, which releases hydrogen from the water molecules.
An ‘artificial leaf’ made by Daniel Nocera and his team, using a silicon solar cell with novel catalyst materials bonded to its two sides, is shown in a container of water with light (simulating sunlight) shining on it. The light generates a flow of electricity that causes the water molecules, with the help of the catalysts, to split into oxygen and hydrogen, which bubble up from the two surfaces. Video courtesy of the Nocera Lab/Sun Catalytix“I think there’s going to be real opportunities for this idea,” Nocera says. “You can’t get more portable — you don’t need wires, it’s lightweight,” and it doesn’t require much in the way of additional equipment, other than a way of catching and storing the gases that bubble off. “You just drop it in a glass of water, and it starts splitting it,” he says.
Now that the “leaf” has been demonstrated, Nocera suggests one possible further development: tiny particles made of these materials that can split water molecules when placed in sunlight — making them more like photosynthetic algae than leaves. The advantage of that, he says, is that the small particles would have much more surface area exposed to sunlight and the water, allowing them to harness the sun’s energy more efficiently. (On the other hand, engineering a system to separate and collect the two gases would be more complicated in such a setup.)
The new device is not yet ready for commercial production, since systems to collect, store and use the gases remain to be developed. “It’s a step,” Nocera says. “It’s heading in the right direction.”
Ultimately, he sees a future in which individual homes could be equipped with solar-collection systems based on this principle: Panels on the roof could use sunlight to produce hydrogen and oxygen that would be stored in tanks, and then fed to a fuel cell whenever electricity is needed. Such systems, Nocera hopes, could be made simple and inexpensive enough so that they could be widely adopted throughout the world, including many areas that do not presently have access to reliable sources of electricity.
Professor James Barber, a biochemist from Imperial College London who was not involved in this research, says Nocera’s 2008 finding of the cobalt-based catalyst was a “major discovery,” and these latest findings “are equally as important, since now the water-splitting reaction is powered entirely by visible light using tightly coupled systems comparable with that used in natural photosynthesis. This is a major achievement, which is one more step toward developing cheap and robust technology to harvest solar energy as chemical fuel.”
Barber cautions that “there will be much work required to optimize the system, particularly in relation to the basic problem of efficiently using protons generated from the water-splitting reaction for hydrogen production.” But, he says, “there is no doubt that their achievement is a major breakthrough which will have a significant impact on the work of others dedicated to constructing light-driven catalytic systems to produce hydrogen and other solar fuels from water. This technology will advance side by side with new initiatives to improve and lower the cost of photovoltaics.”
Nocera’s ongoing research with the artificial leaf is directed toward “driving costs lower and lower,” he says, and looking at ways of improving the system’s efficiency. At present, the leaf can redirect about 2.5 percent of the energy of sunlight into hydrogen production in its wireless form; a variation using wires to connect the catalysts to the solar cell rather than bonding them together has attained 4.7 percent efficiency. (Typical commercial solar cells today have efficiencies of more than 10 percent). One question Nocera and his colleagues will be addressing is which of these configurations will be more efficient and cost-effective in the long run.
Another line of research is to explore the use of photovoltaic (solar cell) materials other than silicon — such as iron oxide, which might be even cheaper to produce. “It’s all about providing options for how you go about this,” Nocera says.
PORTLAND, Ore.–ClearEdge Power, a manufacturer of scalable, continuous onsite power systems, today announced that Portland Community College (PCC) has chosen two ClearEdge5 fuel cell systems to advance its energy efficiency, sustainability and educational goals. PCC aims to use the ClearEdge5 systems to help reduce its emissions by 37 percent. Supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, the implementation will also help establish fuel cells as part of PCC’s comprehensive alternative energy curriculum.
“This project is very exciting; it allows us to gain significant environmental benefits and create a living laboratory for students,” said PCC President, Dr. Preston Pulliams. “With the ClearEdge Power systems, we will be able to support our sustainability goals and give our students the opportunity to see fuel cell technologies in action. We also are proud to be part of a broader DOE supported project that will help demonstrate the incredible value of continuous power systems like the ClearEdge5 for colleges nationwide.”
Portland Community College is part of a diverse group of West Coast organizations that are participating in the innovative project supported by the DOE. The project is designed to accelerate the application of fuel cell technologies in a variety of industries by demonstrating the significant environmental and cost savings that can be delivered by combined heat and power fuel cell technologies. To verify the performance of the two ClearEdge5 systems at PCC, researchers at DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, or PNNL, will analyze the technical, economic and environmental performance of the two systems during the next several years. PNNL will provide its analysis in a report to DOE’s Fuel Cell Technologies Program.
“With projects like this, Oregon is establishing the infrastructure to transform our economy and establish opportunities for future generations,” said Senator Jeff Merkley. “Portland Community College and ClearEdge Power are leading the way in their respective fields and Oregonians can be proud of how they are championing the clean economy. This not only creates high quality jobs, but ensures Oregon’s position as a leader in clean technology.”
With multiple programs and interdisciplinary studies that emphasize energy technology, energy conservation, green building design and environmental research, PCC has a strong commitment to sustainability education. The partnership with ClearEdge Power enhances academics by establishing fuel cells as part of the college’s comprehensive alternative energy curriculum. The installation will be an integral part of a new educational program and will be leveraged to create awareness within the greater Portland community about the role that fuel cells can play in addressing current and future energy demands.
“Portland Community College is setting an example for colleges across the nation,” said Congressman Kurt Schrader. “It has an incredibly impressive alternative energy curriculum and the way it leverages alternative energy sources is also highly commendable. There is significant potential for continuous power solutions such as fuel cell technologies in other educational, municipal and commercial institutions and I am very pleased to see an Oregon-based company meeting this demand.”
ClearEdge Power will be joined by public officials, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and Congressman Kurt Schrader, and Rick Farmer, program manager with DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), to present details on the ClearEdge5 installation at Portland Community College. The presentation takes place on Thursday, September 29, 2011 and will highlight how the installation and educational program will support clean tech jobs to Oregon and how ClearEdge Power technology will enable Portland Community College to reduce costs, minimize its environmental footprint and support the local community.
The ClearEdge5 is a 5-kilowatt fuel cell from ClearEdge Power that combines heat and power in a scalable solution that can meet individual business’ specific energy needs. Unlike power sources that use traditional combustion technology, the ClearEdge5 uses an electrochemical process to convert natural gas to electricity and heat. This process dramatically reduces the environmental impact of producing electricity by reducing carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 35 to 40 percent compared to traditional combustion technology. Roughly the size of a standard refrigerator and incorporating a system for real-time remote monitoring, the innovative fuel cell system also reduces other typical pollutants, such as volatile organic compounds, ash and particulates, to negligible levels.
About ClearEdge Power
ClearEdge Power provides distributed energy generation solutions to commercial, institutional and residential customers. The company designs, manufactures and sells a family of continuous onsite power systems that uses fuel cell technology to efficiently deliver predictable, clean and cost-effective power and heat. This enables customers to increase independence from the electricity grid, save money and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. For more information, please visit http://www.clearedgepower.com.
Researchers from TU Delft and VU University Amsterdam in the Netherlands have demonstrated that the size of a metal alloy nanoparticle influences the speed with which hydrogen gas is released when stored in a metal hydride. The smaller the size of the nanoparticle, the greater the speed at which the hydrogen gas makes its way to the fuel cell. The researchers publish their findings in the October issue of the scientific journal Advanced Energy Materials.
Hydrogen heaven
On 27 September Dutch Minister of Infrastructure and the Environment, Ms Schultz van Haegen, announced she will earmark 5 million Euros to stimulate hydrogen transport in the Netherlands. According to the Minister the Netherlands and neighbouring countries have all it takes to become a ‘hydrogen heaven’. In July 2011, the German car manufacturer Daimler announced its intention to build twenty new hydrogen fuelling stations along Germany’s motorways. Hydrogen is back on the agenda. Hydrogen gas is currently stored in a vehicle fuel tank at 700 bar pressure. Fuelling stations thus require high-pressure pumps to fill these tanks and these systems consume a lot of energy.
Hydrogen storage
There are thus good reasons for finding alternative hydrogen storage techniques. Hydrogen can be absorbed in high densities in metals such as magnesium, without the need for high pressure. However, the disadvantage is that releasing the hydrogen again is a very difficult and very slow process. One way of speeding up the release of the hydrogen is to use magnesium nanoparticles that are fixed in a matrix to prevent them from aggregating.
Nanoparticles in a matrix
Professor of Materials for Energy Conversion and Storage, Bernard Dam, and his colleagues at TU Delft and VU University Amsterdam have demonstrated experimentally that the interaction between the nanoparticles and the matrix can cause the hydrogen gas to be released faster. Using models consisting of thin layers of magnesium and titanium, they show how the pressure of the hydrogen being released from the magnesium increases as the layers become thinner. This means that it indeed makes sense to store hydrogen in nanoparticles in a matrix. The choice of matrix determines to what extent the hydrogen desorption pressure increases. The researchers published their findings in the October 2011 edition of the scientific journal Advanced Energy Materials.
Efficient and affordable hydrogen storage techniques can play an important role in the large-scale adoption of hydrogen fuel cells. Bernard Dam foresees the development of hybrid vehicles that use batteries for short distances but switch to hydrogen for long distances: ‘Your electric motor will be powered by batteries inside the city, and by hydrogen when you go further afield.’
A combined catalyst/carbon dioxide (CO2)-sorbent system (middle) that removes carbon monoxide (CO) contaminants from hydrogen gas (H2) may soon be part of on-board fuel cells.
Pure hydrogen (H2) is an important chemical widely used in the chemical industry, many semiconductor fabrication processes, as well as in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) fuel cells. Almost all of the hydrogen (H2) gas generated today comes from the steam reforming of natural gas at oil refineries. However, this process also produces trace amounts of carbon monoxide (CO) byproduct, which limits the application of H2 and can ‘poison’ or destroy the delicate catalysts used in the manufacture of semiconductor and state-of-the-art fuel cells. Researchers led by Ziyi Zhong and Jizhong Luo from the A*STAR Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences in Singapore1 have now developed a material that purifies H2 gas by catalytically converting CO to carbon dioxide (CO2) while simultaneously removing excess CO2—an approach that enables CO removal down to the parts-per-million (ppm) level.
Although several methods exist for H2 purification, the preferential oxidation (PROX) reaction is often favored by fuel cell designers because it can be adapted for use in small, on-board reactors. In the PROX system, a mixture of H2, CO and oxygen gases passes over a metal catalyst located on a ceramic support (see image). This sets off a complex series of oxidation reactions that consume CO, which generates various by-products including CO2.
Currently, gold nanoparticles are garnering attention as PROX catalysts because they are active below 100°C; lower temperatures enable more selective CO oxidation and are safer for vehicle applications. One problem with these catalysts, however, is their inability to lower CO concentrations below 100 ppm. Previous studies have suggested that the reason CO2 gradually deactivates these catalysts is because CO2 binds to the catalyst surface as carbonate.
Removing CO2 from the gas mixture with a solid-state sorbent material is one way to enhance PROX reactions and lower CO concentrations to the single ppm levels needed for H2 fuel cells. However, the challenge faced by Zhong and co-workers was that most common inorganic CO2 sorbents are incompatible with gold nanoparticles—their high working temperatures decrease the effectiveness of CO oxidation and destabilize the tiny metallic particles.
The team chose a novel porous material known as APTES/SBA-15 for their sorbent because it has a robust silica structure and contains amine groups that readily react with free CO2 at low temperatures. Further experiments revealed that APTES/SBA-15 sorbents boosted CO removal by an average 10% over unprotected gold PROX nanocatalysts.
Optimizing the layered arrangement of catalysts and sorbents in the reactor lowered the CO levels in H2 gas from 2000 ppm to 25 ppm. Zhong says that he expects even better performance in the future. “There is still plenty of room for development of better CO2 sorbents and catalysts for this process,” he notes.
Cella Energy Limited has received a new round of financing led by a $1 million investment by Space Florida. These funds are part of a larger equity raise by international institutions and other qualified individual investors that will support the development of four proof-of-concept projects for Cella’s new safe, low-cost hydrogen storage technologies. The funds will also be used to expand operations and provide employment opportunities, both in the UK and in Florida.
Cella’s ground breaking technology could lead to lower priced fuel at the pumps, but moreover could improve energy security in the European Union, the United States and throughout NATO.
Cella plans to develop its safe, low-cost hydrogen storage materials both at the UK Governments’ prestigious Science and Technology Facilities Council’s (STFC’s) Rutherford Appleton Laboratory near Oxford, UK and in a new facility at the NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida, USA. The KSC location is expected to hire up to 10 new employees by the end of 2011.
Over 30 years NASA-KSC has become one of the largest users of hydrogen, and has built up unique expertise in this area. Cella’s technology allows hydrogen to be stored without high-pressure tanks and other potential safety hazards normally involved with hydrogen gas.
Hydrogen, which produces only pure water when burned, is considered an ideal solution to cutting carbon emissions from road vehicles, which cause 25 percent of the carbon release in developed countries like the USA and UK. Until Cella’s solution, hydrogen storage has not been consumer friendly.
Initial funding for Cella came from Thomas Swan & Co Ltd, a specialist UK chemical company established in 1926.
“To be announcing a second round of investment so soon after Cella Energy was formed is testament to the confidence investors have in our technology” said Stephen Voller, CEO of Cella Energy Limited.
“As the world population grows, so will our demand for energy. Hydrogen provides a way of helping to meet this demand for more energy but without increasing harmful emissions”.
“This is a great example of international cooperation to overcome some of the most serious challenges that face mankind today” said Cella’s Chief Scientific Officer, Professor Stephen Bennington.
Cella’s Board is being strengthened with the appointment of Charles Resnick, who has more than 25 years experience in venture capital and general management. In addition, Ms. Janet Petro, KSC Assistant Center Director, will join the Cella Board as an executive observer.
“Space Florida is very excited about our investment into Cella, and we look forward to bringing this new technology to KSC,” said Space Florida President Frank DiBello. “Companies like Cella are leading the way in keeping Florida a driving force in alternative energy. We will continue leveraging our financing relationships to help companies like Cella succeed.”
The technology that Cella is developing arose from research done at the STFC, University College London and Oxford University.
Simon Robeson, a partner at CoreTec Ventures, advised Cella Energy on this investment round. www.coretecventures.com
Gelsenkirchen–Masterflex AG today signed a contract for the sale of its fuel cell technology activities as part of an asset deal. The contract was signed with the usual conditions for such transactions. All effects of the transaction on the balance sheet were already dealt with in the 2010 annual financial statements. The transfer of the assets of Brennstoffzellentechnik GmbH is expected to take place shortly.
The sale of the fuel cell technology marks the final completion of the disposal of the loss-making Mobility unit resolved on 10 November 2010. The two other, dominant companies in this segment, Clean Air Bike GmbH and Velo Drive GmbH, were already sold in the first half of 2011.
With the sale of the last non-core activities, the Masterflex Group now operates solely in the profitable business with High Tech hoses. The Group intends to achieve further growth with an internationalisation and innovation strategy.
Porous form of magnesium borohydride can store hydrogen
Hydrogen could be one of the most important fuels in a new energy economy based on renewable resources. However, no ideal hydrogen storage material has yet been found. A team led by Yaroslav Filinchuk at the Universit¨¦ Catholique de Louvain, Belgium, and Torben R. Jensen at the University of Aarhus in Denmark has now introduced a new highly porous form of magnesium borohydride in the journal Angewandte Chemie. This material can store hydrogen in two ways: chemically bound and physically adsorbed.
The perfect hydrogen storage material must store hydrogen efficiently and securely in a small volume, and should release it on demand. It must be rapidly refillable under mild conditions, while being as light and inexpensive as possible. One approach to this is solid-state storage. In such systems, hydrogen can be chemically bound, as in borohydride compounds, or it can be adsorbed as a molecule into a nanoporous material, as in some metal¨Corganic frameworks.
The researchers have now found a material that can do both. It is a new, highly porous form of magnesium borohydride¡ªthe first light-metal hydride that is porous like a metal¨Corganic framework and is capable of storing molecular hydrogen.
Magnesium borohydride (Mg(BH4)2) is one of the most promising materials for chemical hydrogen storage because it releases hydrogen at relatively low temperatures and can hold a high proportion by weight (about 15 %) of hydrogen. Two forms of this compound, ¦Á and ¦Â, were previously known. The researchers have now made a third form, designated the ¦Ã form. Its pore volume comprises about 33 % of the structure, and its channels are wide enough to take up and store small gas molecules, such as nitrogen, dichloromethane, and most importantly hydrogen.
Interestingly, under high pressure this material converts into a nested, non-porous framework with a density that is nearly 80 % higher. This makes the ¦Ä form the second densest in hydrogen content and more than twice as dense as liquid hydrogen. Furthermore, this conversion results in a 44 % reduction in volume, which is the largest contraction yet observed for a hydride.
¡°A combination of the chemical (through covalent bonding) and physical (through adsorption in the pores) storage of hydrogen seems to be difficult in practical applications,¡± explains Filinchuk. ¡°However, this research has a broader impact, as it reveals a new class of hydride-based porous solids for storage and separation of various gases.¡±
Author: Yaroslav Filinchuk, Universit¨¦ Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium), http://filinchuk.com/
Title: Porous and Dense Magnesium Borohydride Frameworks: Synthesis, Stability, and Reversible Absorption of Guest Species
Angewandte Chemie International Edition, Permalink to the article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/anie.201100675
Mild but very efficient: new catalytic process extracts hydrogen from bioalcohols
Over 80 % of the worlds energy demands continue to be met with fossil fuels. The environmental problems associated with this, such as global warming, are well-known. The efficient supply of energy based on renewable resources is becoming more pressing.
Hydrogen technology, which involves the production of hydrogen from biomass for use in electricity production in fuel cells, is a very promising approach. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, researchers led by Matthias Beller at the Leibniz Institute for Catalysis in Rostock (Germany) have now introduced a new catalyst that allows for the use of bioalcohols for the production of hydrogen. Their novel process proceeds efficiently under particularly mild conditions.
Ethanol and other alcohols do not willingly give up their hydrogen atoms; this type of reaction requires highly active catalysts. Previous catalytic processes require downright drastic reaction conditions: temperatures above 200 °C and the presence of strong bases. The Rostock researchers thus aimed to develop a catalyst that would also work efficiently at significantly milder temperatures.
Martin Nielson, working on Beller’s team thanks to an Alexander von Humboldt scholarship, has now been successful.
The new catalyst demonstrates previously unachievable high efficiency in the extraction of hydrogen from alcohols under mild reaction conditions. Says Beller, “This is the first catalytic system that is capable of obtaining hydrogen from readily available ethanol at temperatures under 100 °C without the use of bases or other additives.”
After initial successful tests with a relatively easily converted model alcohol (isopropanol), the researchers turned their attention to ethanol, also known as the “alcohol” in alcoholic beverages. Ethanol has taken on increasing importance as a renewable resource but is significantly harder to convert. “Even with ethanol, this new catalyst system demonstrated an unusually good conversion rate under milder conditions (60–80 °C),“ says Beller. “In comparison to previous catalyst systems, this one is nearly an order of magnitude higher.”
The active catalyst consists of a ruthenium complex that is formed in situ. The starting point is a central ruthenium atom that is surrounded by a special ligand that grasps it from three sides. The other ligands are a carbon monoxide molecule and two hydrogen atoms. Upon heating, a hydrogen molecule (H2) is released from the complex. When the remaining complex comes into contact with ethanol or isopropanol it grabs two replacement hydrogen atoms, allowing the cycle to begin again.
Author: Matthias Beller, Leibniz-Institut für Katalyse an der Universität Rostock (Germany), http://www.catalysis.de/Beller-Matthias.239.0.html
Title: Efficient Hydrogen Production from Alcohols under Mild Reaction Conditions
Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2011, 50, No. 41, 9593–9597, Permalink to the article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/anie.201104722
Boeing is looking to fly its company-funded Phantom Eye hydrogen-fueled, long-endurance unmanned aircraft in late October or early November at Edwards AFB, Calif.
The twin-engine, 150-ft.-wingspan demonstrator is due to be rolled out onto the dry lakebed at Edwards this weekend for an integrated fueling, engine run and defueling test.
“This will be the first time we have fully fueled the aircraft with liquid hydrogen, run the engines, shut them down and defueled,” says Darryl Davis, Boeing Phantom Works president.
First flight of the Phantom Eye has been slipped four weeks to the last week of October or first week of November to allow more software and mission-related testing “to be ultra-sure,” he says.
The goal of the internally funded program is to demonstrate up to four days of endurance at 65,000 ft. The aircraft will not have a payload for these flights, but is being looked at as a testbed for payloads now under development.
“There is a lot of interest, for different uses,” Davis says. “We are looking at communications relay and potential sensor payloads, including for missile defense.”
The Phantom Eye could be used to flight test an aerial layer network communication payload now being prototyped by the Phantom Works, he says.
Boeing completed two company-funded flights of the Phantom Eye at Edwards earlier this year, but has parked the tailless flying wing after failing to secure a customer to fund further flights.
Spokane, Wash.: ReliOn, the leading provider of high reliability fuel cell solutions for backup power applications, today announced that its E-2500 fuel cell system has been designated a “Hot Product” by the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO). The selection occurs during the APCO conference in August, where new products are reviewed anonymously. The editor of Public Safety Communications and the review team selects twenty-five of the most exciting products to be featured in their November issue. This year, more than 80 “Hot Product” entries were submitted for review.
ReliOn introduced its E-series fuel cell systems earlier this year. The E-2500 fuel cell system offers 2,500 Watts of power, utilizing the patented modular, fault-tolerant aspects of ReliOn’s field-proven fuel cell systems. It is the third in the E-series product line, which also includes the E-200 and E-1100 fuel cell systems for smaller applications. The E-2500 product is a compact complete fuel cell system housed in an 8U (14” tall) 23” rack-mountable package. The product may be used singularly or in configurations of multiple chassis to meet higher power requirements. ReliOn products are used for backup power and site hardening in both traditional configurations and as part of a clean technology system integrated with solar and wind power.
Joe Blanchard, ReliOn Chief Operating Officer stated, “ReliOn is honored to have our newest product recognized by the world’s largest organization of public safety communications professionals. All of the communications networks that allow first responders to address crisis events require power to operate, yet many of these same events are accompanied by loss of grid power. ReliOn strives to provide highly reliable products to address the need for continuing power while also addressing the desire to work toward a sustainable environment.”
About ReliOn:
ReliOn’s continuous innovation in core technology has made it a leader in the development and marketing of modular, fault-tolerant fuel cell products for customers seeking solutions to critical backup power applications. With more than 1,300 systems serving sites in 38 U.S. states and 28 countries, ReliOn customers enjoy the benefits of high reliability, low operating costs and easy maintenance. ReliOn fuel cells…simply powerful. www.relion-inc.com.
The Environment Agency benefits from fuel cell technology
UPS Systems has installed a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) at the Environment Agency’s Woolston Weir fishery. The fuel cell will aid the Environment Agency’s conservation work by providing power to telemetry and CCTV equipment at an ‘eel pass’ to monitor the endangered species’ journey upstream to fresh water.
The number of young eels migrating into European rivers has fallen to less than 5% of 1980s levels, the exact causes of which are as yet unclear. Ease of movement for elvers into important water courses for protection, reproduction and growth is a key factor in maximising their breeding success. The newly designed eel pass at Woolston has been installed to allow the easy movement of eels between stretches of river, overcoming the concern that older-style flap gates can pose a significant obstacle for eels in their migratory movements. To monitor the success of the new eel pass, the Environment Agency has installed a monitoring and telemetry system at the Woolston site, which uses CCTV to record and monitor the eels’ journeys providing data about its success.
To provide power to the eel pass, UPS Systems has installed an EFOY Pro 2200 DMFC alongside two load-carrying batteries hooked up in parallel. The DMFC acts as a charger to ensure the batteries are kept at optimum voltage at all times. The system provides continuous power to a water pump that oxygenates a holding tank where the eels are counted and checked. It also powers a web cam and the telemetry system.
“Fuel cells offer the potential to run electrical devices at remote locations where laying in mains supply is too costly and batteries alone cannot supply enough power or duration,” said Wesley Irving from the Environment Agency’s Evidence Directorate’s Innovation Team. “As the methanol fuel is increasingly being produced from renewable power we can consider our remote monitoring stations as running on clean energy. This fits well with our environmental policies for carbon reduction.”
Tom Sperrey, Managing Director at UPS Systems, said, “Unlike their ‘electric’ namesakes, glass eels don’t generate their own power. Instead, the DMFC offers the Environment Agency long runtimes and zero emissions so it won’t interfere with the eels’ natural habitat.”
Eel conservation benefits from clean, portable power
UPS Systems plc has worked with the Environment Agency using the latest fuel cell technology to provide low emission, long runtime, stand-alone power for a remote reservoir site.
Not only does this solve power supply issues in these remote areas but also helps meet carbon reduction commitments in minimising installation, maintenance and operational costs.
The number of young eels migrating into European rivers has fallen to less than 5% of 1980s levels, the exact causes of which are as yet unclear. Ease of movement for elvers into important water courses for protection, reproduction and growth is a key factor in maximising their breeding success.
A newly designed eel pass at Woolston has been installed to allow the easy movement of eels between stretches of river, overcoming the concern that older-style flap gates can pose a significant obstacle for eels in their migratory movements.
The requirement
Providing power to remote sites for operating automated equipment or monitoring systems is often expensive or has major cost and carbon consumption implications.
For this project a long-term, remote, reliable and quiet power source was needed to operate and monitor the newly installed eel flap-gate.
Connecting to the grid was prohibitively expensive and the use of traditional remote power options such as generators or batteries would have required regular visits to site to refuel or swap-out. This would have increased the amount of man hours and vehicle transport required for the project, which in turn would also have increased carbon consumption, noise and emissions outputs.
The Eel pass site at Woolston
The solution
UPS Systems provided an EFOY 2200 Pro DMFC (direct methanol fuel cell) using liquid methanol as a fuel source. Due to the energy-density of methanol as a fuel, a relatively small volume provides an extremely long runtime for the eel gate and monitoring system. The added advantage of being able to link two fuel canisters together using an automatic transfer switch, means that the fuel cell can be left for up to four months without the need to refuel. This reduces the number of site visits required compared to other power generation systems saving man hours and carbon costs. The site telemetry, which is also powered by the fuel cell is used to monitor equipment function and performance over extended periods.
The fuel cell unit weighs only 12kg and is about the size of a small carry-on suitcase, making it easy to transport and install.
The DMFC fuel cell generator operates in conjunction with batteries in parallel, which carry the power load of the gate and ancillary systems. The fully automated DMFC then effectively acts as a battery charger ensuring that the batteries are kept at optimum voltage at all times. The intelligent DMFC system continuously monitors the battery voltage and as soon as the load has reduced the voltage to a pre-set figure the system will automatically start, charging the batteries back to 14.4V before automatically shutting down again.
This intelligent charging pattern maintains the batteries in peak condition, extending their operational lifetime. Fuel life is also extended within the fuel cell system as the unit is only running during charging. A traditional style generator would run continuously.
As the methanol fuel is increasingly being produced from renewable power we can consider our remote monitoring stations as running on clean energy. This fits well with our environmental policies for carbon reduction. – Wesley Irving
As power is produced directly from the fuel cell, the system is considerably more efficient than an internal combustion generator, by up to 400% in many cases, with associated fuel and cost savings. With a fuel cell also having so few moving parts results in higher levels of reliability and reduced noise levels (which compare to those of a laptop PC) so the units are also practically silent maintaining the peace of the environment in which they are used.
State officials are encouraging the public to support an effort to bring an alternative energy company to Delaware.
Bloom Energy wants to build a fuel-cell factory at the closed Chrysler plant in Newark, with the help of $16 million in state incentives. Delmarva Power would be allowed to count electricity from the fuel cells toward its renewable energy requirements.
The decision to let Bloom’s fuel cells to be counted as renewable energy even though they are powered by natural gas has angered some proponents of solar and wind power, but supporters say Bloom Energy’s fuel cells are more efficient than conventional natural gas turbines.
The first of three public comment sessions was to be held Tuesday night at the Public Service Commission office in Dover.
Hydrogen might be the most abundant element in the Universe, but as an energy store there are gaps in our knowledge – and a few misconceptions.
For instance, some people believe that hydrogen is not a safe fuel. This attitude was probably formed over many years by incidents such as the Hindenburg disaster in the 1930s, when a hydrogen-filled airship burst into flames in the USA and killed more than 30 people. The incident is memorable because it was filmed and has been shown in countless newsreels, newspapers and television programs. But hydrogen wasn’t the culprit. It’s now believed that the flammability of a coating on the airship’s fabric was the main cause of the inferno.
Likewise, some people wrongly blamed hydrogen fuel for the 1986 Challenger space shuttle disaster, rather than the faulty o-rings later identified by investigators.
Like other fuels, such as petrol and gas, hydrogen is very flammable. But refineries and industrial sites have been producing, storing and using hydrogen safely for a long time. In fact, a hydrogen pipeline has been operating in Germany’s Ruhr Valley since 1938 with no apparent problems.
But like any fuel, hydrogen has to be treated with respect, with appropriate storage and handling guidelines. What’s different is that because hydrogen is not widely used, people are unfamiliar with how to handle it. But that’s changing as more countries draw up appropriate safety frameworks.
Surprisingly, you might actually be better off in the vicinity of a hydrogen spill rather than a petrol or gas accident. Hydrogen is the lightest known element. Gaseous hydrogen has 1/14th the density of air, so when released it disperses quickly and has a strong tendency to rise up. If there’s a leak, it doesn’t hang around for long so the risk of fire is brief. Even liquid hydrogen, if spilled, evaporates almost instantaneously on account of its low boiling point and diffuses rapidly away.
When it burns, the pale flames tend to shoot upwards (rather than outwards) and there is less radiant heat to burn bystanders, damage property or cause secondary fires. BMW, which has produced a car with an internal combustion engine that uses liquid hydrogen or petrol, has not found safety concerns to be an overwhelming issue. Other factors in hydrogen’s favour are that it’s non-toxic to the environment, non-corrosive, has no disadvantageous physiological effects, and won’t pollute waterways if there is a leak.
But it’s not all good news. Hydrogen is colourless, odourless and tasteless. If there’s a leak, you won’t notice it unless there is a sensor or safety system to alert you. In addition, when hydrogen burns the flames are less obvious than flames of other fuels, posing a further safety risk.
Research at the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom indicates that hydrogen cars could be a problem if they were involved in an accident in a tunnel, where any fire could reach up to the roof in a ‘jet flame’ and possibly damage ceilings, sensors and sprinkler systems.
Despite the bad image it might have developed over the years, there seems to be a general consensus that hydrogen is as safe as other fuels such as petrol – if you understand its properties and follow appropriate handling and storage guidelines. Development of such frameworks is underway as researchers pursue the quest to develop a universal hydrogen economy.
• Award honours outstanding developments in the field of fuel cell technology • EFOY COMFORT wins award for an even more powerful, even quieter and more user-friendly mode of operation
Brunnthal/Munich, Germany– In the “2011 Fuel Cell Innovation Prize” competition, sponsored by the State of Baden-Württemberg, SFC Energy AG, the technology and market leader in mobile and off-grid energy solutions based on fuel cells, took third place with its latest generation of fuel cells EFOY COMFORT. The prize money for the f-cell Bronze award is 5,000€.
The new EFOY COMFORT series has been developed specifically for the off-grid power needs of private consumers and comprises three performance classes with a charge capacity of 80, 140 and 210 Ah per day. Just like all SFC fuel cells, EFOY COMFORT also uses the patented innovations and DMFC technology (Direct methanol fuel cell) that SFC has been producing and selling with great success for many years. In the new generation, this technology has undergone a further significant evolutionary step – with resulting increased efficiencies and reduced costs. The small powerhouses are also quieter and more user-friendly. A newly-developed insulation along with an innovative attenuation system prevents the transfer of operating noise. This reduces the transfer of vibrations both measurably and perceptibly, making EFOY COMFORT barely audible, even close up. Thanks to an expert mode option, users can adjust advanced settings such as the customisation of switch-on and switch-off thresholds. Until now, such changes were only possible via an interface adapter and computer.
“SFC has already won an f-cell award twice with precursor models to today’s EFOY COMFORT”, says Dr. Peter Podesser, CEO of SFC Energy AG. “So we are even more delighted by this award, since it is affirmation of the further innovative leap we have taken with these devices on the basis of our customers’ feedback.
Just as before, EFOY COMFORT is the only mobile power supply solution based on fuel cells for leisure applications to be available as standard in stores worldwide. SFC fuel cells are now available from over 50 motor home manufacturers across Europe. At the same time, SFC successfully markets products for off-grid power supply to industrial and defence applications, as well as working on the development of a prototype to extend the range of electric vehicles. SFC has already sold more than 22,000 fuel cells with a total of more than 8 million operating hours and is the world market leader in this sector.
Filling up, with hydrogen fuel (image courtesy of ITM Power)
NPL has developed a suite of analytical methods to detect trace-level impurities in hydrogen fuel that can affect the performance of hydrogen fuel cells – a potentially carbon-free power source for vehicles.
Hydrogen-powered vehicles emit nothing more harmful than water at the point-of-use, so they have great potential to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and therefore help combat climate change. There is, however, a pressing industrial need for accurate and traceable measurements of the purity of hydrogen fuel, as even parts-per-billion levels of some impurities can severely reduce the power output of fuel cells.
The suite of methods developed at NPL, in a collaborative project with ITM Power, Air Products and the UK Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association, will enable industry to ensure hydrogen dispensed at refuelling stations meets required quality specifications.
The methods allow the measurement of a range of impurities such as oxygen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, as well as less stable species such as sulphur compounds and formaldehyde that require specialised sampling and analysis. Tests found that the methods used could detect each impurity to the levels set in the International Standards being developed for the specification of hydrogen fuel (ISO 14687-2 and ISO 14687-3).
The project also tested the suitability of hydrogen fuel produced via electrolysis, by testing samples provided by ITM Power’s electrolyser systems, which produce hydrogen by splitting water molecules using electricity generated from renewable sources. The results showed that fuel produced in this way does not require any further purification, other than the relatively inexpensive removal of water and oxygen.
Dr Andrew Brown, the scientist responsible for hydrogen purity projects at NPL, said:
“The success of the analytical methods developed by NPL provides UK industry with a much needed source of quality assurance for measurements of hydrogen purity. The results of this collaborative project bode well for the future of hydrogen as a fuel source, as leading UK companies such as ITM Power strive to develop innovative technologies to help make hydrogen refuelling stations as ubiquitous as petrol stations are today.”
Graham Cooley, CEO of ITM Power, commented:
“ITM are committed to achieving the right hydrogen purity for its customers. NPL is the best placed organisation in the UK to develop appropriate gas analysis and provide independent assessment. We look forward to using the results across our product portfolio.”
On September 8th 2011 two hydrogen-driven fuel cell hybrid buses successfully finished a four-month test period. The 18 meter articulated buses named “Phileas” will now take up regular public transport service on inner-city and regional lines in the Rhein-Erft county for the first time. The cities of Hürth and Brühl will be the core areas of the traffic service offering.
As Eugen Puderbach, managing director of the operating company RVK (Regionalverkehr Köln GmbH) underlines: “We are very happy to start regular transport service with our hydrogen buses. It is our objective to further develop the technology and deploy it in the Greater Cologne region.”
After years of research and development in the realm of fuel cell technology it is now high time to communicate the results to the broad public and make them palpable in daily life. Dr. Albrecht Möllmann, 1st chairman of “HyCologne Wasserstoff Region Rheinland e.V.”, points out that the HyCologne initiative also considers public relations to be among its tasks as a project development agency. “The fuel cell buses will be used in the regional public transport service and be officially presented at several public events: at the 46th IAA Motor Show in Frankfurt / Main, the 11th German Aerospace Day in Cologne, the fuel cell symposium f-cell 2011 in Stuttgart as well as at the first-time UrbanTec trade fair & congress in Cologne and further more. The buses will act as heralds of fuel cell technology.”
On Sunday, Sept. 18th, 2011 the German National Research Center for Aeronautics and Space (DLR) will organize the 11th “Tag der Luft- und Raumfahrt” on its R&D location in Cologne. On this occasion the visitors’ attention will be drawn to the 18 meter articulated hybrid bus along with the flying observatory SOFIA and the world’s biggest airliner Airbus A380. Under the patronage of the German Minister of Economics Dr. Philipp Rösler, the DLR and the European Space Agency (ESA) together with the Cologne-based European Astronaut Centre (EAC) will show exciting research projects in the areas aerospace, energy and traffic. Technological innovation to put your hands on is the slogan of the day. Visitors will be invited to inspect the hybrid bus inside out. Information material and a video presentation will explain the background of the development and the functional design of the fuel cell hybrid busses in a comprehensible way.
In the time from September 25th till 28th, 2011 one of the Phileas buses will serve as a shuttle bus for the 800 participants from more than 20 nations and 4 continents who take part in f-cell symposium in Stuttgart. The bus will commute between the different event locations and take the participants on the excursions to the Daimler fuel cell vehicle development center in Kirchheim/Teck and the Max Planck Institute in Stuttgart. The focus of the 2011 f-cell congress is on “Mobile applications – Fuel cells and batteries moving the future”.
In Cologne the Koelnmesse GmbH will put a new trade fair concept into practice: UrbanTec – Smart Technologies for better Cities. This event with its integrated congress held from October 24th – 26th, 2011 will present technologies and developments which are apt to improve life in existing growing and newly emerging urban agglomerations in a sustainable way. The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development has assumed the UrbanTec patronage. Here, a Phileas bus will serve as a shuttle for the congress and the surrounding events. Its tangible presence will clearly demonstrate the promising potential of fuel cell technology.
As Dr. Albrecht Möllmann puts it: “To the members of the HyCologne initiative it is a pleasure to see the developments in other cities and federal states apart from Cologne and NRW. We will all benefit from the experiences here and there, respectively. Therefore, our participation in national and international projects such as the “Hydrogen Bus Alliance” and “CHIC – Clean Hydrogen in European Cities” is of essential importance: The ensuing information exchange and research results will be beneficial to future bus generations and other projects.” In August 2011, the Hamburger Hochbahn AG (HOCHBAHN) tramway has deployed four Mercedes-Benz Citaro FueICELL hybrid busses in regular service. This launch was supported by NIP, the National Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology Innovation Programme of the German Federal Ministry of Transport.
Planning, design and construction
The Phileas busses are manufactured by the Dutch company APTS (Advanced Public Transport Systems), the know-how inside is German to a great extent, though. The fuel cell system has an electric capacity of 150 kilowatts. The busses are equipped with an innovative hybrid traction system supplied by Vossloh Kiepe GmbH in Düsseldorf. The self-adaptive energy management system controls the energy streams between the consumers and the dual energy storage system which consists of a combined double-layer capacitor plus battery.
The battery system is supplied by Hoppecke Batterien GmbH & Co. KG in Brilon near Paderborn, the fuel cells are produced by the Canadian supplier Ballard Power Systems Inc. All in all four busses were built as prototypes, two of which are operated by RVK and the Dutch public transport provider of Amsterdam GVB respectively.
HyCologne – Wasserstoff Region Rheinland e. V.
On an international level the Phileas project is represented by HyCologne – Wasserstoff Region Rheinland e.V., the hydrogen promotion initiative for the Rheinland region based in Hürth near Cologne. Scientific support is provided by institutes of the Cologne University of Applied Sciences (FH Köln) and the RWTH Aachen University. Financial support comes from the European Regional Development Fund, the NRW government, the Rhein-Erft county as well as from the cities of Hürth and Brühl.
Cologne is a phase 0 city of the Clean Hydrogen In European Cities (CHIC) project.
Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited (AIM/ASX: CFU), a leading developer of high efficiency and low emission power products for homes and other buildings, has received an order for 100 BlueGen gas-to-electricity generators from its distributor in The Netherlands, Zestiq B.V., for delivery over the next 12 months.
Ceramic Fuel Cells appointed Zestiq as a BlueGen distributor in July 2011.
Zestiq will market and sell the BlueGen units to small commercial and residential customers in The Netherlands. The units will be installed and maintained by Eneco Installatie Bedrijven, the service company of Dutch energy company Eneco. Eneco already provides services for a range of heating and cooling technologies, including other small scale combined heating and power products.
Zestiq is part of the consortium of innovative companies which in March 2011 bought and installed a BlueGen in a 17th century canal house “De Groene Bocht” in the centre of Amsterdam. The other members of the consortium include several leading energy companies in The Netherlands: Liander is a distribution company with 2.9 million electricity customers and 2.1 million gas customers; GasTerra is an international natural gas trading company owned by Royal Dutch Shell, Exxon Mobil and the Dutch Government; and Eneco is active in the North West European market with operations in Belgium, France, Germany and the United Kingdom. Eneco is mission partner of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the world’s first energy company to participate in the international Climate Saver programme.
Brendan Dow, Managing Director of Ceramic Fuel Cells said “We are very pleased to have received this large order from Zestiq, which complements the recent order for 100 units from our German distributor sanevo. We look forward to Zestiq and their utility partners installing these BlueGen generators with early customers and then driving further BlueGen sales in The Netherlands market.”
BlueGen uses ceramic fuel cells to turn natural gas into electricity and heat for hot water, with each unit capable of producing more than three times the electricity needed to power the average Dutch home. (In The Netherlands an average home consumes an estimated 3,700 kilowatt hours of electricity per year.)
Surplus electricity can be sold back to the grid or used in supplementary applications such as charging an electric car, as well as having the additional benefit of providing heat for domestic hot water use. BlueGen units generate electricity with the highest electrical efficiency of any small scale generating technology in the world, reducing energy bills and cutting carbon emissions.
BlueGen customers in The Netherlands are eligible to receive a feed in tariff for up to 5,000 kilowatt hours of electricity exported back to the grid per year.
UK-based specialist vehicle manufacturer Microcab, which was spun out from Coventry University, is launching a new hydrogen fuel cell car.
The H2EV, which is the brainchild of John Jostins, professor of sustainable transport design at the University and managing director of Microcab, includes a chassis designed by Microcab and Delta Motorsport and engineered by Lotus.
The four-seat car, which also comes in van and taxi options, is powered by a 3 kW fuel cell, which uses hydrogen as a fuel combined with oxygen, to produce electricity to drive the vehicle and produces only water as a byproduct.
The H2EV can be refuelled with hydrogen just like a convention petrol car and can run for up to 120 miles between refuelling.
A fleet of the new vehicles will take part in the West Midlands’ Coventry and Birmingham Low Emission Demonstrator (CALEB) trial, which is showcasing and testing low-carbon vehicles in the region.
Last week, Japanese carmaker Honda announced the opening of a public hydrogen refuelling station at its headquarters in Swindon.
“The H2EV represents a significant step in the development of hydrogen as an alternative energy source of the future for cars, and the launch of the new filling station in Swindon alongside the existing private stations at Coventry University and in Birmingham is another milestone for the low carbon industry,” says Jostins.
The Netherlands Ministry of Defence has signed a three-year contract with Fokker Aerostructures for the further development of a portable lightweight fuel cell intended to supply energy for all the equipment carried by soldiers.
Fokker presented a first design for the E-Lighter cell to the Dutch MoD in 2007. Under the new three-year contract, this prototype will be developed into a piece of equipment that will meet the requirements of military practice. Furthermore, the contract contains an option for the production of 2000 units.
Due to the lower weight and smaller volume of the equipment, the E-Lighter will improve the mobility of military personnel. Military personnel also experience an increased need for this kind of portable energy source due to the growing use of electronic communications and information equipment. Another logistic improvement is that the battery packs currently used will no longer be necessary.
Mechanical Technology, Incorporated (”MTI”) (OTC: MKTY.PK), a company engaged in the design, manufacture and sale of test and measurement instruments and systems through its subsidiary MTI Instruments, Inc. (”MTI Instruments”), and in the development and commercialization of Mobion® off-the-grid portable power solutions through MTI MicroFuel Cells Inc. (”MTI Micro”), announced the appointment of Mr. Rick Jones as its Chief Financial Officer.
Since joining MTI in 1993, Mr. Jones has served in a number of senior positions throughout the organization including Vice-President of Finance of Operations and, since June 2009, Corporate Secretary and Acting Chief Financial Officer.
In his tenure with the Company, Mr. Jones has overseen the Company´s financial reporting, internal control compliance, manufacturing and production operations, treasury, human resources and risk management, and quality control departments.
“Through out his career at MTI and MTI Instruments, Rick has demonstrated the ability to lead the business and as time progressed to take on more responsibilities; his proven track record at MTI and other companies made him the ideal selection for this position.” said Mr. Peng Lim, Chairman and CEO of MTI. “Rick is a well-rounded professional with excellent analytical and communication skills. I personally look forward to working with him in his new capacity as CFO.”
Prior to his employment with MTI, Mr. Jones served as Controller for both Hobbs Management Corporation and Galesi Management Corporation. Mr. Jones received a Bachelors degree in Business Administration and Accounting from Siena College.
About MTI
MTI is engaged in the design, manufacture, and sale of test and measurement instruments and systems through its subsidiary MTI Instruments, Inc. MTI Instrument´s products use a comprehensive array of technologies to solve complex, real world applications in numerous industries including manufacturing, semiconductor, solar, commercial and military aviation, automotive and data storage. MTI is also engaged in the development and commercialization of Mobion® off-the-grid portable power solutions through MTI MicroFuel Cells Inc. MTI Micro has a team of entrepreneurial business executives, researchers and scientists; a proprietary direct methanol micro fuel cell power system and a number of system prototypes demonstrating size reductions and performance improvements; and related intellectual property. MTI Micro has received government funding and developed strategic partnerships to facilitate efforts to achieve commercialization. For more information about the Company please visit www.mechtech.com.
Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus has been awarded research and development resources from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to conduct research that will help identify ways to drive down production costs of manufacturing, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown announced this week. Battelle will provide cost assessments for fuel cell applications used in forklifts, combined heat and power systems, and other energy sources used in manufacturing. The five-year project is expected to generate new cost estimates for manufacturing equipment, labor, energy, and raw materials that will eventually help improve efficiency in advanced manufacturing.
“In Ohio, we know how to make things. Manufacturing is as important as ever to our state’s economic recovery,” Sen. Brown said. “Battelle’s research will help maximize cost-effectiveness for manufacturers in Ohio and across the country, helping to provide research and development for businesses that create 21st-century jobs.”
The DOE will provide up to $2 million in research and development resources for Battelle. According to DOE, the project will also provide cost analyses of large-scale fuel cell applications ranging from 100 to 250 kW, such as auxiliary power, primary power, and large-scale combined heat and power systems. The analyses conducted under this project will provide a better understanding of performance, design and manufacturing options, and life-cycle costs, which will help optimize fuel cell designs, manufacturing methods, and target applications. Ohio is one of three selected states awarded the funding to participate in this research. The other projects are in Virginia and California. Sen. Brown has introduced a package of key legislative proposals aimed at bolstering the competitiveness of U.S. manufacturers. He is the author of the Investments for Manufacturing Progress and Clean Technology (IMPACT) Act, legislation that would help small- to medium-sized manufacturers become more energy-efficient or transition to the clean energy supply chain. Brown is also a coauthor of the Security in Energy and Manufacturing (SEAM) Act, legislation that would expand and improve the Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit (48C) program.
Sen. Brown is working with the Obama Administration on the creation of a national manufacturing policy and has outlined five key areas of focus to invest in the manufacturing industry:
Creating a business climate, through tax and health care policies, favorable to investment in manufacturing;
Investing in the manufacturing capacity for national priorities such as clean energy and critical military equipment;
Strengthening our component supply chains through the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP);
Matching dislocated workers with emerging industries through sector-based workforce training strategies;
Making the research and development tax credit permanent to lend predictability to this crucial incentive for manufacturing innovation;
Promoting exports and defending against unfair trade.
The San Ramon Planning Commission has approved some new technology that promises some long-term reduction in pollution.
On Tuesday, the commission voted unanimously to allow AT&T to install five fuel cells at its offices near Bishop Drive. While some commissioners recalled older, noisier fuel cell designs from the past, Louis Hinton of Bloom Energy explained that current designs operate without burning natural gas. Instead, they rely on chemical reactions to convert gas into electricity and any noise generated would be from fans that circulate air through the cells.
Documentation from Bloom Energy explains that the cells run natural gas along ceramic membranes that are coated with special inks that converts the gas to electricity, water, heat and carbon dioxide. Steam generated by the fuel cells is recycled through the system, heating the gas to make it work more efficiently.
Because AT&T operates its facility around the clock, one obvious benefit is that the cells don’t need sunlight to operate.
The fuels cells are capable of producing about 200 kilowatts apiece, but would only run at about 80 percent of capacity, allowing the others to run at full power in the event that one should need to be shut down for repairs, although Hinton said, that was unlikely, given his experience with other fuel cells the company has elsewhere.
Each of the cells is seven feet tall, seven feet wide and 26 feet long, and would stand on a concrete pad. They generate more carbon dioxide than PG&E, 773 pounds per megawatt hour (MWH), compared to 523 per MWH for PG&E. However, when combined with solar panels already in use by AT&T — standard practice, according to Hinton — the combined output would cut the company’s carbon footprint to about 27 percent of PG&E’s carbon dioxide emission rate, and emit virtually no other pollutants.
Although AT&T hoped to showcase the fuel cells, like other large companies using them, including Google and eBay, the Planning Commission asked the company and Bloom Energy to work with city staff to consider shrubbery that could hide them from view from passersby.
At the same meeting, the Planning Commission also approved a plan to allow the day care provider, Lil Genius Kid, to take over a space that was previously occupied by P3 Party Place at 1021 Market Place, an activity center for youngsters. The operator already runs four similar facilities in Fremont.
A study published by researchers at the RIKEN Advanced Science Institute (ASI) has shed first-ever light on a class of heterometallic molecular structures whose unique features point the way to breakthroughs in the development of lightweight fuel cell technology. The structures contain a previously-unexplored combination of rare-earth and d-transition metals ideally suited to the compact storage of hydrogen.
Reversible hydrogen addition and release of heterometallic polyhydride clusters
The most abundant element in the universe, hydrogen holds great promise as a source of clean, renewable energy, producing nothing but water as a byproduct and thus avoiding the environmental dangers associated with existing mainstream energy sources. Broad adoption of hydrogen, however, has stalled because in its natural gaseous state, the element simply takes up too much space to store and transport efficiently.
One way to solve this problem is to use metal hydrides, metallic compounds that incorporate hydrogen atoms, as a storage medium for hydrogen. In this technique, the metal hydrides bind to hydrogen to produce a solid one thousand times or more smaller than the original hydrogen gas. The hydrogen can then later be released from the solid by heating it to a given temperature.
The new heterometallic hydride clusters synthesized by the RIKEN researchers use rare-earth and d-transition metals as building blocks and exploit the advantages of both. Rare earth metal hydrides remove one major obstacle by enabling analysis using X-ray diffraction, a technique which is infeasible for most other metal hydrides – offering unique insights into underlying reaction processes involved. Rare earth metal hydrides on their own, however, do not undergo reversible hydrogen addition and release, the cornerstone of hydrogen storage. This becomes possible through the addition of a d-transition metal, in this case tungsten (W) or molybdenum (Mo).
While rare-earth / d-transition metal-type metallic hydride complexes have been studied in the past, the current research is the first to explore complexes with multiple rare earth atoms of the form Ln4MHn and with well-defined structures (Ln = a rare-earth metal such as yttrium, M = a d-transition metal, either tungsten or molybdenum, and H = hydrogen). In a paper in Nature Chemistry, the researchers show that these complexes exhibit unique reactivity properties, pointing the way to new hydrogen storage techniques and promising environmentally-friendly solutions to today’s pressing energy needs.
The Eel pass site at Woolston
The Netherlands Ministry of Defence has signed a three-year contract with Fokker Aerostructures for the further development of a portable lightweight fuel cell intended to supply energy for all the equipment carried by soldiers.
