FuelCellsWorks

WASHINGTON, DC ­- To expand the use of clean and renewable energy sources and reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil, Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced $41.9 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding for fuel cell technology.

These efforts will accelerate the commercialization and deployment of fuel cells and will create jobs in fuel cell manufacturing, installation, maintenance, and support services.  The new funding will improve the potential of fuel cells to provide power in stationary, portable and specialty vehicle applications, while cutting carbon emissions and broadening our nation’s clean energy technology portfolio.

“The investments we’re making today will help us build a robust fuel cell manufacturing industry in the United States,” said Secretary Chu.  “Developing and deploying the next generation of fuel cells will not only create jobs – it will help our businesses become more energy efficient and productive.  We are laying the foundation for a green energy economy.”

The $41.9 million will support immediate deployment of nearly 1,000 fuel cell systems for emergency backup power and material handling applications (e.g., forklifts) that have emerged as key early markets in which fuel cells can compete with conventional power technologies.  Additional systems will be used to accelerate the demonstration of stationary fuel cells for combined heat and power in the larger residential and commercial markets.

The increase in manufacturing volume in key early markets will also bring costs down and encourage the growth of a domestic supplier base. A variety of technologies will be developed and deployed, including polymer electrolyte, solid oxide and direct-methanol fuel cells.

The funding includes:

• $41.9 million from President Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to fund 13 projects to deploy fuel cells – helping to build a consumer base for U.S. fuel cell manufacturers.
• Approximately $72.4 million in cost-share funding from industry participants—for a total of nearly $114.3 million. This cost share demonstrates private sector commitment to developing and deploying these clean, energy efficient technologies.

Fuel Cell Market Transformation Projects

Arkansas

FedEx Freight East (Harrison, AR)

This project will deploy 35 fuel cell systems as battery replacements for a complete fleet of electric lift trucks at FedEx’s existing service center in Springfield, Missouri. Success at this service center will lead to further fleet conversions at some or all of FedEx’s other 470 service centers. $1.3 million

California

Jadoo Power (Folsom, CA)

Jadoo, together with Acumentrics Corporation, NASCAR Media Group, Lynch Diversified Vehicles, California’s Police and Fire Departments of the City of Folsom, and Airgas, Inc., will establish the environmental and cost benefits of using a 1-kW fuel cell power system to generate electricity, as opposed to traditional gas/diesel generators and lead acid battery power sources.  This demonstration will provide operating data from each field unit at customer sites, as well as degradation analysis and projected system lifetime. $1.8 million

PolyFuel, Inc. (Mountain View, CA)

The objective of this project is to further integrate and miniaturize the components of PolyFuel’s portable power system for use in mobile computing, and analyze failure modes to increase durability.  Polyfuel will also conduct a design for manufacturability and assembly review to ensure that the systems meet the cost targets for commercialization. $2.5 million

Colorado

Anheuser-Busch (St. Louis, MO)

Anheuser-Busch will deploy 23 fuel cell systems as battery replacements for a complete fleet of electric lift trucks at their facility in Fort Collins, Colorado, demonstrating the economic benefits of large fleet conversions of forklifts from lead-acid batteries to fuel cell power units. Success in this project will lead to further fleet conversions at some or all of Anheuser-Busch’s other 11 U.S. facilities. $1.1 million

Massachusetts

Nuvera Fuel Cells (Billerica, MA)

To accelerate market penetration of fuel cells, East Penn Manufacturing (an industrial and automotive battery manufacturer) and Nuvera will deploy 10 fuel cell forklifts in East Penn’s facility in Topton, PA.  Fuel will be supplied by Nuvera’s natural gas reformer, storage, and dispensing system. $1.1 million

Michigan

Delphi Automotive (Troy, MI)

Delphi will develop, test and demonstrate a 3- to 5-kW solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) auxiliary power unit (APU) for heavy duty commercial class 8 trucks. The demonstration will improve upon Delphi’s current generation SOFC technology by increasing net output power and fuel processing efficiency, decreasing heat loss and parasitic power loss, and establishing diesel fuel compatibility. $2.4 million

New York

MTI MicroFuel Cells (Albany, NY)

To accelerate fuel cell use in consumer markets, MTI will demonstrate a one-watt consumer electronics power pack.  The project will focus on improving reliability to meet the standards required by the electronics market and will include testing of individual components, subsystems and complete direct methanol fuel cell systems.  MTI will also develop manufacturing processes to improve product yields and reduce overall costs. $2.4 million

Plug Power, Inc. (Latham, NY)

This demonstration project will validate the durability of Plug Power’s 5-kW stationary combined heat and power fuel cell system and verify its commercial readiness. Plug Power will carry out a three-year project to test its units in residential and light commercial applications in California. $3.4 million

Plug Power Inc. (Latham, NY)

This project will demonstrate the market viability of the GenCore® rack-mounted fuel cell product that provides clean and highly reliable emergency backup power. Plug Power will install and operate new systems in real-world applications at geographically-diverse sites, providing for as much as 275 kW of backup power. $2.7 million

Pennsylvania

GENCO (Pittsburgh, PA)

This project will deploy 156 fuel cell systems as battery replacements for fleets of electric lift trucks at six of GENCO’s existing distribution centers (South Carolina, Pennsylvania – 3 locations, and Ohio – 2 locations).&nbssp; Success at these distribution centers will lead to further fleet conversions at some or all of GENCO’s other 109 distribution centers. $6.1 million (six awards)

Texas

Sysco of Houston (West Houston, TX)

Sysco will deploy 90 fuel cell systems as battery replacements for a fleet of pallet trucks at Sysco’s new distribution center in Houston, Texas, due to open in August 2009. This installation will be the first ever green field installation in the world without battery infrastructure for a pallet truck fleet. Success at this distribution center will lead to further fleet conversions at some or all of Sysco’s other 169 distribution centers. $1.2 million

Virginia

Sprint Communications (Reston, VA)

Sprint Nextel will demonstrate the viability of packaged 1-kW to 10-kW fuel cell systems with 72 hours of on-site fuel storage for backup power to communication infrastructure used by state and local first responders and by public safety answering points (911 centers). Sprint will address siting and permitting issues, and will benchmark the lifecycle costs, performance, and operational characteristics against the incumbent technologies (batteries, generators, and diesel fuel). $7.3 million

Washington

ReliOn Inc. (Spokane, WA)

ReliOn will add reliability to a utility communications network where no backup power was previously available at 25 sites throughout central and northern California. They will deploy 180 fuel cells with a new refillable 72-hour fuel system to locations across the AT&T Mobility Network. This project will provide DOE with installation, fueling logistics, and operating data for fuel cells in voice and data communications networks in mountain, desert, and urban locations. $8.6 million (two awards)

A second BMW Hydrogen 7 has been loaned to The Petersen Automotive Museum and is now on display in the section of the Streetscape called, “What Will They Think of Next?” Come to the Petersen and learn about this interesting technology and its impact on the world.

One car has been in  service as an on-the-road demonstration vehicle. The other is now on display inside the museum.

The Petersen’s Alternative Power Exhibit also features a hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle, a coal- and wood-burning truck, a steam-powered car from the 1970s, a General Motors EV-1 and a 1963 Chrysler Turbine car.

Today sees the release of the new Fuel Cell Today Portable Survey 2009

Fuel Cell Today, the leading organisation for market based intelligence on the fuel cell industry, has published its latest Survey on portable fuel cells.

The new Survey reveals that 2008 saw around 9,000 portable units manufactured and shipped, mainly in the form of fuel cell toys and demonstration kits, with an increasing number of small units for remote monitoring and display lighting. Most of these units were PEM fuel cells fuelled by hydrogen.

Fuel Cell Today anticipates shipments will increase markedly over the next year as one or more electronics manufacturers and fuel cell companies working in partnership with electronics developers are likely to release a commercial DMFC battery charger in the next year, for either laptops or mobile phones. Over the next few years, significant increases in unit shipments are expected as niche applications such as battery chargers give way to consumer electronic devices with integrated fuel cells and consumer uptake reaches the millions of units per year.

Fuel Cell Today also introduces the idea of a ‘long peak’ of growing portable fuel cell shipments, mainly in the consumer electronics sector. As the report says: ‘We anticipate that these niche applications will add up to a long peak of fuel cell adoption eventually cumulating in the conventional short peak of demand for mass market fuel cell powered consumer electronics, of the type envisaged by Sony, Toshiba and the other electronics OEMs’.

The Survey includes unique analysis of the prospects for portable fuel cells over the next ten years, including forecasts of units shipped by application, by electrolyte type and by hydrogen fuel source.

There is a full review of financial developments, the supply chain, infrastructure and legislation issues affecting portable fuel cells, as well as in-depth case studies on portable battery chargers and the Taiwanese portable fuel cell sector.

How to obtain the Survey

The Fuel Cell Today Portable Survey is the only analytical report to cover developments in the portable fuel cell sector over the last year as well as market forecasts for the next ten years. This is essential reading for anyone with an interest in the outlook for successful commercial development of fuel cells.

The Survey is available at a price of £1,000 and can be purchased now from http://www.fuelcelltoday.com/online/surveys or ordered from review@fuelcelltoday.com

The full list of contents and the Executive Summary are free to preview at http://www.fuelcelltoday.com/online/surveys