Energy storage including Fuel cells News for October 2009

Energy storage including Fuel cells News Archive

GE, Whirlpool ++ launch smart green grid initiative

GE, Whirlpool Corporation and a number of other companies are creating a new collaborative effort aimed at demonstrating the role of smart grid technologies and practices in the achievement of climate change goals.

London hydrogen station is step closer to hydrogen fuel cell buses

In the UK, the Olympic Delivery Authority has granted planning permission for a hydrogen refuelling facility to be built in east London. This marks a major milestone in bringing a fleet of five hydrogen fuel cell buses to London.

Silicon-air battery promises power for thousands of hours

Scientists at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology have developed a new, environmentally friendly silicon-air battery capable of supplying non-stop power for thousands of hours without needing to be replaced.

New storage material improves energy density of lithium-ion battery

High-performance energy storage technologies for the automotive industry, or battery technologies providing long run-times for cell phones and notebooks, are being brought one step nearer by scientists at Graz University of Technology in Austria.

FuelCell Energy, POSCO Power to localize fuel cell products for Korean market

US-based FuelCell Energy has signed a licensing agreement with POSCO Power, allowing the South Korean utility to manufacture molten carbonate fuel cell stack modules from cell and module components provided by FuelCell Energy. These fuel cell modules will be combined with balance-of-plant manufactured in Korea, to complete electricity-producing fuel cell power plants for sale in Korea.

SFC Smart Fuel Cell launches most powerful EFOY Pro 2200 on European market

German-based SFC Smart Fuel Cell has unveiled the new EFOY Pro 2200 fuel cell, designed for professional users of off-grid industrial applications. SFC Smart Fuel Cell says the new unit offers increased autonomy for applications with its charging capacity of 2200 Wh per day.

ACAL Energy achieves record output from FlowCath fuel cell

The UK-based fuel cell developer ACAL Energy reports that it has achieved ‘record’ levels of power output from a kilowatt-scale fuel cell system using its patented FlowCath® liquid cathode technology. Peak power levels of 1.5 kW have been achieved from the hydrogen-fueled, laboratory-scale FlowCath system at ACAL Energy.

Intelligent Energy, Suzuki to exhibit Suzuki Burgman fuel cell scooter at Tokyo Motor Show

UK-based PEM fuel cell developer Intelligent Energy and its partner Suzuki Motor Corporation are unveiling their latest joint development in clean fuel transport systems at the 41st Tokyo Motor Show – the Suzuki Burgman Fuel Cell Scooter.

IdaTech partner in Mexico deploys 43 fuel cell backup power systems

MICROM Electrónica, the Latin America partner of US-based IdaTech, has released details of the largest commercial fuel cell backup power deployment using IdaTech ElectraGen™ systems in Mexico. IdaTech is a leading developer and manufacturer of clean and reliable extended-run backup power products featuring PEM fuel cell technology.

Scientists to use artificial photosynthesis and nanotubes to generate hydrogen fuel from sunlight

US Department of Energy awards US$1.7 million to team exploring the generation of hydrogen from sunlight.

b+w supplies IdaTech fuel cell systems to US Army in Germany

German-based b+w Electronic Systems has delivered 22 IdaTech ElectraGen™ fuel cell systems to US Army facilities in Germany. b+w is an OEM partner of US-based IdaTech, a leading developer and manufacturer of extended-run backup power PEM fuel cell products for telecoms applications.

Whole Foods Market to use Plug Power fuel cell power for forklifts

Whole Foods Market, the natural and organic foods supermarket chain, will be using 61 Plug Power GenDrive™ fuel cell powered forklifts in its Landover, Maryland distribution center in 2010. Whole Foods Market is partnering with Plug Power and GENCO Supply Chain Solutions to complete this installation.

AFC Energy fuel cell system passes field testing milestone

AFC Energy, the UK-based alkaline fuel cell developer, has successfully completed an important field test of its first generation, lower-cost, non-platinum electrodes at the AkzoNobel chlor-alkali plant in Bitterfeld, Germany.

Power density up 30% for MTI Micro’s Mobion micro fuel cell technology

MTI MicroFuel Cells has passed a significant power milestone for its Mobion® direct methanol fuel cell engine. The technology has achieved a 30% power density improvement over the performance reported a year ago. This performance level is believed to be the highest power density yet for micro fuel cells for portable electronic devices.

Carbon Trust launches UK challenge for cost reduction breakthrough in polymer fuel cells

The Carbon Trust is launching the ‘Polymer Fuel Cells Challenge’ in the UK, an £8 million (US$12.7 million) initiative to accelerate the commercialization of breakthrough technologies to bring about the cost-effective, mass production of fuel cell cars and buses, as well as providing electricity and heat in homes and businesses.

Intelligent Energy unveils multi-functional fuel cell system for Airbus

The UK-based fuel cell developer Intelligent Energy has provided the European aircraft manufacturer Airbus with a multi-functional fuel cell auxiliary power unit (APU), intended for onboard power and other loads in future commercial airliners. The Intelligent Energy APU system was unveiled at the recent opening of the Aerotec Fuel Cell Test Center in Hamburg, Germany.

3M, Plug Power sign supply agreement for GenSys fuel cell units for India

The US-based companies 3M and Plug Power have entered into an exclusive commercial supply agreement, for 3M membrane-electrode assemblies (MEAs) to be used as a critical component in Plug Power’s GenSys® proton-exchange membrane (PEM) reformate stacks. The continuous-run GenSys prime power fuel cell systems are being deployed into rural India, and will replace diesel generators at remote telecoms sites.

September's top 5 stories

What were the top 5 stories at www.renewableenergyfocus.com during September?

Canada takes delivery of first hydrogen fuel cell bus for Olympic fleet

The first bus of what will become the world’s largest fleet of hydrogen fuel cell buses has been delivered in Vancouver, British Columbia. The 20 hydrogen fuel cell buses will be in operation as part of the BC Transit bus fleet in Whistler during the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and beyond.

Heliocentris wins order for autonomous fuel cell power supply solution

German-based Heliocentris Fuel Cells, a leading system integrator for PEM fuel cells, has won a major order for the delivery of an autonomous power supply solution to the University of Applied Sciences Wildau, near Berlin. The fuel cell power supply will be used to supply energy to selected applications in a building, and will serve as a link between training and applied research. The project has a total value of nearly €500 000.

FuelCell Energy winds US DOD award to develop electrochemical hydrogen separator

The US Department of Defense’s Engineer Research & Development Center – Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (ERDC-CERL) has awarded Connecticut-based FuelCell Energy approximately $1.5 million to continue development of the company’s electrochemical hydrogen separator (EHS). The EHS system separates pure hydrogen from gas internally generated in a fuel cell, that can be used for industrial and transportation applications.

SFC Smart Fuel Cell launches Emily 2200 fuel cell

German-based SFC Smart Fuel Cell has unveiled its Emily 2200 fuel cell. The Emily 2200 direct methanol fuel cell is a long-lasting, reliable power supply for on- and off-vehicle defense applications. Integrated into tactical vehicles or in the field, the fuel cell operates as a ruggedized fuel cell power generator.

Ceramic Fuel Cells opens fuel cell manufacturing plant in Germany

Ceramic Fuel Cells Ltd has officially opened its high-volume manufacturing plant, one of the first in the world for the volume production of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stacks. The manufacturing plant is located in Heinsberg, not far from Düsseldorf in the Nordrhein-Westfalen region of Germany.

Australian utility to install BlueGen generator from Ceramic Fuel Cells

Australian-based Ceramic Fuel Cells Ltd reports that a leading Australian energy utility has agreed to install a BlueGen solid oxide fuel cell generator in a showcase sustainability home.

Coca-Cola to install hydrogen fueled forklifts with Plug Power fuel cell systems

The second largest Coca-Cola bottler in the US will install 40 hydrogen-powered forklifts at its Charlotte, North Carolina production center. Plug Power will provide its Class 1 sit-down counterbalanced GenDrive™ fuel cell solution to Coca-Cola Bottling Co Consolidated early in 2010.

Air Products designs self-service hydrogen fueling station

Air Products will install and operate the first 24-hour self-service hydrogen fueling station in Hürth, Germany. The station, based at the Infraserv-Knapsack Chemical Park, will be in regular operation by March 2010, when it will initially supply hydrogen to two buses run by the local council.

New ceramic material may expand uses for solid oxide fuel cells

A new ceramic material developed at Georgia Tech in the US could help expand the applications for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), by offering improved sulfur tolerance and resistance to carbon build-up. The BZCYYb (barium-zirconium-cerium-yttrium-ytterbium oxide) material could be used in a variety of ways: as a coating on the traditional Ni-YSZ anode, as a replacement for the YSZ in the anode, and even as a replacement for the entire YSZ electrolyte system in SOFCs.