Fuel Cell Technology Update - September 2001
TRANSPORTATION
Toyota Introduces Fuel Cell Hybrid Vehicle. Toyota has demonstrated its new fuel cell hybrid vehicle, the FCHV-4, based on the new Highlander SUV. The vehicle, which Toyota says will be launched on a limited basis in 2003, will be demonstrated through the automaker's participation in the California Fuel Cell Partnership. Toyota says the vehicle, with a cruising range of more than 155 miles, has "three times the vehicle efficiency of an ordinary gasoline-powered car." <http://pressroom.toyota.com/presstxt/showlive?20010822>
Ford Introduces Hydrogen ICE Vehicle. Ford Motor Company has introduced H2ICE, a P2000 vehicle with an internal combustion engine that uses hydrogen instead of gasoline. Ford said hydrogen improves the internal-combustion engine's efficiency by 25 percent to 30 percent. Engineers said they hoped using hydrogen instead of gasoline could be a near-term, "greener" technology until hydrogen-powered fuel cells become practical. <http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=9284>
Mars Rover to be Powered by AFCs. The Mars Society Convention featured the first generation of Mars Manned Rover called the EVEREST. The vehicle will be powered by an alkaline fuel cell system and lead-cobalt batteries designed by Apollo Energy Systems (AES).
CARB Funds Demo of DCH Water Taxi. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is funding the implementation and demonstrations of an electric water taxi powered by DCH's Enable fuel cells. Duffy Electric Boat Co. is hosting the first of several public demonstrations planned for the water taxi at its harbor facilities in Newport Beach, California. <http://www.dcht.com/press_releases/press_release.asp?release=216&caller=new s>
Astris and ACE Golf Cars Sign LOI for Fuel Cell Joint Venture. Astris Energi has signed a letter of intent (LOI) with ACE Golf Cars for the establishment of a joint venture (JV) on small, electric powered vehicles. Under the LOI, ACE will finance the JV and will be responsible for marketing and sales direct to the electric golf car industry. Astris will provide all of its alkaline fuel cell technology and will assume major responsibility for the continued development of electric energy systems. <http://www.astrisfuelcell.com>
STATIONARY POWER
BP and Siemens to Test Fuel Cell in Nikiski. BP will install a Siemens Westinghouse natural gas fuel cell at its gas-to-liquids demonstration plant in Nikiski, Alaska in 2003. The fuel cell will generate 250kW of electricity to power the plant's offices and warehouse. <http://www.adn.com/alaska/v-printer/story/661305p-704107c.html>
Ballard Completes 60 kW Engineering Prototype, Expands Relationship With GPU. Ballard Generation Systems has completed construction and commenced in-house testing of its 60 kW hydrogen fueled engineering prototype stationary fuel cell power generator. The unit incorporates the Mark 900 automotive architecture and is being designed for backup and standby applications. Also, Ballard Generation Systems and GPU Diversified Holdings have restructured their relationship to allow for increased focus on the market and distribution aspects of commercializing fuel cell products for stationary applications. <http://www.ballard.com/viewpressrelease.asp?sPrID=229> ballard.com
Osaka Gas Joins Sanyo on Residential PEFC. Osaka Gas Company recently announced that it has entered into an agreement with Sanyo Electric to develop a 1kW residential polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC). The companies said the fuel cell will be fueled by natural gas. Under the joint development deal, Osaka Gas will transfer its fuel reforming technologies to Sanyo in order to develop the natural gas-fueled PEFC. <http://www.osakagas.co.jp/indexe.htm>.
FuelCell Energy Gets UCONN Contract. FuelCell Energy received a $1.25 million contract to build a fuel cell unit that will be installed next year at a University of Connecticut campus, most likely in Storrs. enn.com >
Siemens and RW Begin Successful Fuel Cell Operation. Siemens Westinghouse Power Corporation (SWPC) and RWE announced that the world's longest operating high temperature fuel cell system - the 100kW solid oxide fuel cell co-generation system - has successfully begun a new period of operation at a new site in Essen, Germany. The system is currently delivering 110kW to the grid and will soon be connected to a hot water heat recovery system to make use of the system's exhaust heat.
PORTABLE POWER
Giner Demonstrates LFDMFC. Giner Electrochemical Systems successfully demonstrated a liquid feed direct methanol fuel cell (LFDMFC) providing over 1.4 kW of power while operating on ambient pressure air. This stack is the successful scale up of the company's 0.5 kW LFDMFC. The stack is part of a complete system being developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) that will provide 1 kW of net power output. <http://www.ginerinc.com>
DCH Joint Venture Sells First Fuel Cells in Japan. NeWave(tm) Fuel Cell Corporation, a joint venture between DCH Technology and Daido Metal, Ltd., has sold its first 12W/12V portable fuel cells to targeted customers in the Japanese automotive, electronics manufacturing, and highway sign industries. Nearly two dozen prototype units were sold. <http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010808/dcw035.html>
Sony Develops Fuel Cell. Sony Corporation will enter the fuel cell market with its newly-developed credit-card sized fuel cell. The company has succeeded in generating 1.2 volts with the fuel cell and aims to put fuel cells into wide use for home appliances.
Army Research Lab Awards $49 Million to Consortium. A Power and Energy Alliance Consortium formed by Motorola Labs, Honeywell International, Engines and Systems, SAIC, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and others has been awarded an eight-year, $49 million cooperative agreement by the U.S. Army Research Laboratory for research and development of miniature fuel cells. <http://www.corporate-ir.net/ireye/ir_site.zhtml?ticker=mot&script=410&layou t=-6&item_id=200575>
Mechanical Technology Receives $4.6 Million to Develop Micro Fuel Cell System. Mechanical Technology has received an award of more than $4.6 million by the Advanced Technology Program (ATP) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). This award is to carry out a two-and-a-half-year, $9.3 million cost-shared program to research and develop a micro fuel cell for use in portable electronics. <http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010801/nyw060.html>
DuPont Teams With H Power on DMFCs. DuPont has formed a joint development agreement with H Power aimed at developing DMFCs for portable and mobile applications. The two companies will work together to develop DMFCs in the range of 100 to 1000 watts. <http://www.mechtech.com/news/Display.cfm?A_ID=2299> <http://www.hpower.com/NEWS_08292001.html>
FUELS/REFORMERS/STORAGE
GM Unveils Gasoline Fuel Processor. General Motors today unveiled the world's first gasoline fuel processor for fuel cell propulsion. The Gen III processor, packaged in a Chevrolet S-10 pickup, reforms "clean" gasoline onboard, extracting a stream of hydrogen to send to the fuel cell stack. <http://www.gm.com/cgi-bin/pr_display.pl?2400>
METI to Test Hydrogen Gas Stations. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) of Japan plans to launch a three-year program next April to demonstrate hydrogen gas stations for fuel cell powered vehicles. METI will set up at least three of the stations in the Tokyo and Yokohama areas to support the recently launched test drives of fuel cell vehicles. <http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=4&id=50229>
ORNL Develops Membrane for Separating Hydrogen from Coal-Derived Gas, Generates Hydrogen Using Spinach Plants. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) researchers who have been working with inorganic membranes have developed a process to manufacture a super-efficient, defect-free separation system that can effectively separate and isolate hydrogen from other gases in coal-derived synthesis gas. ORNL also is working with the University of Tennessee and has developed a method of hydrogen generation using photosynthesis of spinach plants. Researchers extracted intact photosynthetic complexes from the spinach plants and coated one side of each isolated complex with platinum atoms. In the presence of an added electron donor, visible light was able to be used to produce hydrogen. <http://www.fossil.energy.gov/techline/tl_membrane_ornl.shtml> <http://research.utk.edu/ora/rag/goodnews/>
QUANTUM to Supply Tanks for NASA's Helios Project, Awarded Additional Contracts by GM. QUANTUM Technologies has been awarded a major contract by NASA and AeroVironment for the design, fabrication, testing and supply of large advanced hydrogen and oxygen tanks for the next generation Helios fuel cell prototype aircraft. The Helios is a remotely piloted flying wing prototype for NASA's Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology project. QUANTUM has also received multiple contracts from General Motors' Global Alternative Propulsion Center to perform optimization studies for efficiently packaging advanced fuel storage systems within the chassis of vehicles. <http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010821/latu062.html> <http://www.qtww.com/press_releases/pr_aug_08_2001.shtml>
FUEL CELL COMPONENTS
Teledyne Introduces Automated PEM Fuel Cell Test Stations. Teledyne Energy Systems delivered its first three Teledyne Medusa RD automated fuel cell test stations, used in testing and evaluating proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell products. <http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010822/220321.html>
Hydrogenics Signs Distribution Agreement with Toyota Tsusho. Hydrogenics Corporation has signed signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Toyota Tsusho Corporation to market and sell Hydrogenics' FCATS(tm) products in the Japanese market. FCATS is Hydrogenics' line of automated, industrial systems for testing and controlling fuel cells and fuel cell stacks. <http://www.hydrogenics.com>
IdaTech Receives Fifth Patent. IdaTech has received its fifth fuel cell system patent for its system to optimize purging of excess water from the fuel cell stack. This purge system helps maximize the fuel cell's use of hydrogen fuel. <http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010808/sfw031.html>
Sensor Products Introduces New Film. Sensor Products has introduced Pressurex Pressure Points®, tactile force indicating films used to monitor and ensure proper force distribution in any situation where two objects are pressed or formed together. Pressure Points aid in ensuring accurate interfacial spacing and membrane placement in a fuel cell stack. <http://www.sensorprod.com>
REPORTS/MARKET STUDIES
Report Says Britain Trails in FC Development. A new report released by the Institute for Public Policy entitled "H2: Driving the Future" criticizes the British government for not providing appropriate leadership and incentives for developing British hydrogen fuel cell industry. The report calls for new corporate and personal tax incentives, government subsidies for hydrogen fueling stations and the mandatory conversion of the country's buses to hydrogen.
MISCELLANEOUS
SECA Awardees Named for 10-Year, $500 Million Fuel Cell Effort. DOE's Solid-State Energy Conversion Alliance (SECA) has awarded four industry teams with contracts for a 10-year, $500 million effort to produce low-cost solid oxide fuel cells. The four teams are: Honeywell, Inc. (Torrance, CA); the team of Siemens Westinghouse (Pittsburgh, PA) and Blasch Precision Ceramics (Albany, NY) ; the team of Delphi Automotive Systems (Flint, MI) and Battelle (Columbus, OH); and the team of Cummins Power Generation (Minneapolis, MN) and McDermott Technology Inc. (Alliance, OH). <http://www.fossil.energy.gov/techline/tl_seca_sel1.shtml>
TechSys Takes Over Fuel Cell Businesses. TechSys, Inc. has acquired a majority interest in SOFC Energy, Inc., and Micro Fuel Cell Systems, Inc. (MFCS) and will continue to focus on developing and advancing fuel cell products.
OM Group Completes Acquisition of dmc2. OM Group, Inc. (OMG) has completed the acquisition of dmc2, a subsidiary of Degussa AG. <http://www.omgi.com>
CFCL Opens New Facility. Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited opened a new 35,000-square-foot engineering facility that will be used to assemble prototypes and carry out tests on a 40 kW fuel cell based electricity generator. <http://www.cfcl.com.au>
ECD Moves to New Headquarters. Energy Conversion Devices is moving to a new, larger facility located in Rochester Hills, Michigan due to increased activity. <http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010820/dem028.html>
REQUESTS FOR PROPOSALS
ARB to Fund Pilot Demonstrations of Air Pollution Control Technologies. Approximately one million dollars are available for qualified demonstration projects involving innovative air pollution control technologies through California Air Resource Board's Innovative Clean Air Technologies (ICAT) grant program. ICAT funding is limited to pilot projects (preferably located in the field), prototype creation and deployment, and field demonstrations of market-ready systems. Solicitations for the program are being accepted through October 10, 2001. A public workshop will be held in Sacramento on September 5, 2001, to answer questions that potential ICAT grant applicants might have. <http://www.arb.ca.gov/research/icat/solicit.htm>.
SunLine Seeks APUs, Hydrogen Storage Tanks. SunLine Service Group is seeking proposals for procuring a Fuel Cell Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) and Hydrogen storage Systems. SunLine will be accepting in-kind services. Contact Kevin L. Hewitt at 760-343-3456, ext. 167 or at <mailto:khewittcng@aol.com> for more details.
CONFERENCES/CALL FOR PAPERS
ABI's Fuel Cell Dynamics 2001. Allied Business Intelligence (ABI) is sponsoring "Fuel Cell Dynamics 2001: Reality, Not Hype," October 10-11, 2001, at the Marriott Marquis in New York City, New York. Leading fuel cell companies will be presenting their views on the fuel cell industry, including future directions and opportunities. For more information, go to <http://www.alliedworld.com/energy/home.html>.
PV and Fuel Cells. The Solar Energy Society presents "Photovoltaics and Fuel Cells" on October 10, 2001, in London, England. For more information, go to <http://www.thesolarline.co.uk>.
Investing in Energy-Tech. "Investing in Energy-Tech: Winning Technologies and Investment Outlook for the 'New Energy Economy'" will be October 16-17, 2001, at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas. For more information, go to <http://www.srinstitute.com>.
2nd Annual Fuel Cell 2001. The 2nd Annual "Fuel Cell 2001: Research and Development" conference will be October 18-19, 2001, at the Westin Innisbrook Hotel in Tampa, Florida. For details, go to <http://www.srinstitute.com/cr207>.
F-Cells Week. F-Cells Week will be October 30-November 2, 2001, at the Millennium Knightsbridge in London, England. For more information, go to <http://www.f-cellsnetwork.com>.
3rd Annual International Symposium on Distributed Energy Resources. The 3rd Annual International Symposium on Distributed Energy Resources will be November 1-2, 2001, at the Catamaran Resort Hotel in San Diego, California. For more information, go to <http://www.cader.org>.
World Congress for a Hydrogen Economy. The World Congress for a Hydrogen Economy will meet November 1-4, 2001, at the DIA Holiday Inn Convention Center in Denver, Colorado. <http://www.hydrogennow.org>.
Empire Energy & Environment Exposition. The Empire Energy & Environment Exposition will be held at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center on November 6-7, 2001, in Albany, New York. For more information, email Walt Darbin at <mailto:walt@eba-nys.org>.
Ohio Fuel Cell Technology Symposium. The Ohio Fuel Cell Technology Symposium will be November 7, 2001, at the Radisson Cleveland Southwest in Middleburg Heights, Ohio. For details, go to <http://www.cesnet.org>.
5th Annual DG Conference. "Distributed Generation and On-Site Power Applications for Fuel Cells" will be held November 8-9, 2001, at the Marriott Mid-Town in Atlanta, Georgia. Check out <http://www.dist-gen.com> for details.
Hart's World Fuels Conference. "Refinery Planning & Strategy for Europe" will be November 15, 2001, at the Melia Castilla Hotel in Madrid, Spain. For more information, go to <http://www.chemweek.com>.
4th Business Case for Opportunity and Investment in Fuel Cells. The Center for Business Intelligence (CBI) presents the "4th Business Case for Opportunity and Investment in Fuel Cells: Emerging Fuel Cell Technologies, Applications and Markets," to be held December 3-4, 2001, at the Omni Colonnade in Miami, Florida. <http://www.cbinet.com/>
5th European Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Forum. The 5th European Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Forum will be July 1-5, 2002 at the Kultur-und Kongresszentrum Luzern in Lucerne, Switzerland. For more information, go to <http://www.efcf.com>.
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