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Technology Stocks : Ballard Power -world leader zero-emission PEM fuel cells -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Michael Winkler who wrote (1846)	3/13/1998 1:42:00 AM
From: Gary105	Respond to of 5827

A.D. Little reformer technology from: arthurdlittle.com Imo key challenges will be cost of reformer technology and energy loss associated with it. When time permits I will do "back of the envelope" calculation on the latter. Article from above site (minus diagram) follows: Using Arthur D. Little's (ADL) proprietary reformer technology, fuel cell vehicles can be powered by gasoline. The technology uses a partial oxidation process by which hydrogen is separated from the gasoline and other transportation fuels within compact, low cost, equipment. ADL's flexible fuel reformer can convert numerous fuels, including ethanol, methanol, and natural gas, into hydrogen which powers fuel cells. 1.Fuel Vaporizer: By applying heat, liquid gasoline is converted to gases to ensure cleaner, soot-free combustion. 2.POX: Vaporized fuel is combined with a small amount of air in a Partial OXidation reactor, producing hydrogen and carbon monoxide. 3.Water-Gas Shift: Steam over carbon monoxide reacts with a catalyst to convert most of the carbon monoxide to harmless carbon dioxide and additional hydrogen. Carbon monoxide is harmful to fuel cells and must be reduced to less than 10 parts per million. 4.PROX: In the PReferential OXidation stage, injected air reacts with remaining carbon monoxide over a catalyst to form carbon dioxide and water vapor, leaving hydrogen-rich gases. 5.Fuel Cell Stack: Hydrogen gas, combined with air, produces electricity to move vehicles with virtually no pollution-emitting primarily water vapor.

To: Michael Winkler who wrote (1846)	3/13/1998 7:54:00 AM
From: Bruce	Respond to of 5827

Michael, Thanks for your comments on the thermoelectric generator. The information at the site indicates a 12% efficiency, and I believe it costs $840 for 5Kw. That is about about $170/Kw capital cost, retail. The weight is about 27 lbs, so it is very light weight for the power output. 5Kw can run about 6 hp electrically. How much hp does an electric hybrid vehicle need to have with a few batteries to handle peak load spike needs (e.g. passing, acceleration, etc.)? I would think that this would be an ideal power source for an electric hybrid car. It would not be as clean burning as a fuel cell powered car, because of the CO2/CO emissions. But it would be very clean burning relative to conventional power systems. Bruce