A RUNCORN company has been given a grant to develop a part
that could make mass produced electric cars a reality.
Ionotec has been awarded pounds 75,000 by the Department of Trade and
Industry to look at fuel cells.
The energy source of the future, the cells convert gas into electricity
without burning.
The grant will be used to study the manufacture of a critical part of
the solid- oxide fuel cell.
Ionotec will be looking into making a 0.1mm thick ceramic wafer.
In the future it is hoped that the cell could be used as an alternative
source of energy to fossil fuels or nuclear power.
It is cleaner, efficient and more environmentally friendly than what
is used at present.
For the past 30 years fuel cells have remained a laboratory curiosity
with limited commercial application.
But now -due to the increased need to find a replacement to the present-day
vehicle engine, commercial fuel cell research is undergoing rapid growth,
particularly in theUSAand Japan.
Ionotec is a technology company which manufactures electrically conductive
ceramic components and carries out research for clients in the chemical
and power generating industries.
The type of fuel cell it is working on operates at a temperature of
between 500 and 1,000 C. The aim is also to make the ceramic wafer have
a high power output by having a low electrical resistance.
Dr SteveHeavens, one of the directors of the company, said: ``We are
very excited by the grant we have been given.
``There is a lot of money being piled into fuel cells at the moment
in the USA,Japan and continental Europe and in Britain there needs to be
more spent on the development.
``If you are careful with the type of gas that you use then you can
significantly reduce the amount of greenhouse gases.''
The company won a Department of Trade and Industry Research and Development
grant.
