During lunch, the first “Round Table” discussion took place on the stage of the forum of the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Group Exhibit. Mr Daggett (Boeing), Mr Rothammer (Airbus) and Dr Henne (DLR ­ German Centre for Aerospace) were discussing the use of “Fuel Cells in Commercial Airplanes”.

Both manufacturers have started to work on various possibilities to implement the technology into planes. The main advantage of using fuel cells in this case are not just ecological. Conventional jet engines are designed to keep the plane in the air, they are not very efficient in supplying energy for additional devices, such as light, air condition, heating facilities for food, video and stereo equipment which are now much more common in commercial aviation. While PEM fuel cells are preferred, mainly due to the low operating temperature, they need pure hydrogen which either has to be reformed from kerosene or has to be stored additionally to the aviation fuel.

On the booth of the DLR (F53-1), an example of future fuel cell application on planes can be seen. The DLR demonstrates a fuel cell powered overhead reading light, mounted to two plane seats. The light is powered by DLR’s xcellenTT.1 portable power unit.

US manufacturer Plug Power shares its booth (D52-2) with German heating partner Vaillant this year. The two companies demonstrate the 4.6kW GenCore PEM unit, which has been supplied to many sites in the USA and worldwide and which is also in use in a Vaillant demonstration project in Europe.

German heating appliance manufacturer Viessmann (D46-1) showcases its compact 2kW PEM fuel cell for small stationary home applications. Together with its partners Umicore, Sued Chemie, SGL Carbon, ZSW and the University of Dortmund, Viessmann plans to launch a small scale demonstration project in 2006 and is confident to launch a commercial product within 5-6 years.

The “Zentrum fuer Sonnenenergie- und Wasserstoff-Forschung Baden Wuerttemberg (Centre for Solar- and Hydrogen Research - ZSW, booth F53-4) announced today that it has launched a subsidiary, the “Brennstoffzellen Manufaktur Ulm” which will start to distribute the fuel cell stacks and units developed by the ZSW. One of the research centre’s latest development is a 300W (500W peak) PEM fuel cell hybrid system back-up unit. The so-called “Power Bag 300h” is fitted in three modular cases which allow great flexibility in terms of changing the storage unit and the power electronics module. The 30kg Power Bag is fitted in a rugged container and fixed on a small trolley which allows manoeuvrability.

Swiss electric and fuel cell component manufacturer MES-DEA (D64-4) is showcasing its latest fuel cell scooter. The advanced model is equipped with a 6kW PEM fuel cell which is fitted, together with the hydrogen storage, in the normal engine compartment of the scooter, making it different to last years exhibit which needed an extra storage box. A top speed of around 85km/h can be achieved and the driving range is up to 140km.

Next to MES-DEA, the Chinese Fuyuan Century Fuel Cell Power Company (D64-3) exhibits various smaller units. On display is a 170W PEM portable power system, of which the company has sold around 20-30 products, mainly to customers in the USA. Although the system looks very smart already, Fuyuan will showcase an advanced and smaller version in a couple of weeks time during a show in China. Other newly developed systems include a 2kW, 50kg small stationary fuel cell unit (PEM) for household power supply.

On the both of British Intelligent Energy (E58-1), visitors can find a new 2kW PEM portable power supply unit in a rugged version, developed for the US military. The system is currently in a test phase at a sub-organisation of the US Army CECOM. Additionally, a very neat and compact 50kW PEM unit is on display, which was designed with support from the UK Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to be eventually fitted in transport applications (small vehicles).
 

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