FuelCellsWorks

LOUGHBOROUGH, England–Leading clean power systems company Intelligent Energy today announced that it has raised $30 million (USD) at a material uplift in price received per ordinary share compared to previous funding rounds. The money raised from both existing and new investors will be used to provide for the next stage of Intelligent Energy’s growth, as it accelerates the commercialisation of its fuel cell power systems into its targeted mass markets.

Intelligent Energy’s range of clean power system platforms based on its proprietary fuel cell technology has enabled it to target global mass markets through strong partnerships with blue chip customers that include Scottish & Southern Energy Plc and The Suzuki Motor Corporation.

“There now exists a stronger sense of realism within the clean energy sector, with major players now expected to produce tangible results,” explained Intelligent Energy’s Chief Executive, Henri Winand. “Only companies with solid execution and scalable businesses with clear pathways to commercialisation have been able to attract financing in such a challenging environment. The investment is a testament to the continued excellence in product development and very real commercial progress that Intelligent Energy has demonstrated with its partners.”

“All our target markets offer very significant growth opportunities on a global scale and with these funds we will continue to accelerate the commercialisation phase of our business plan by driving the delivery of our blue chip partners’ clean fuel and power products to their consumer markets,” continued Dr. Winand.

The recent round of fundraising will be followed by an open offer to all existing shareholders later in the year.

About Intelligent Energy
Intelligent Energy is a clean power systems company, with a range of leading fuel cell and hydrogen generation technologies. The company is focused on the provision of cleaner power and low carbon technologies. Intelligent Energy partners with leading companies globally, in the transportation, oil and gas, aerospace, defence, distributed generation and portable power markets. Current partners and customers include Scottish & Southern Energy plc with whom the company has formed a joint venture to commercialise fuel cell combined heat and power (CHP) systems, and The Suzuki Motor Corporation. Intelligent Energy’s successes in recent years include the development of the world’s first hydrogen fuel cell motorbike and supplying the fuel cell system to Boeing which powered the world’s first manned fuel cell aircraft.

www.intelligent-energy.com

Rome–An Italian research team has developed a technique that could eventually be used to make clean fuel from nothing more than water, air and sunlight. The method discovered by the team from Florence University, which uses lasers to produce hydrogen from water under high pressure, could eventually be used to produce hydrogen fuel. ”There is no other chemical agent involved in the process – not solvents, catalysts or radial initiators,” said Roberto Bini, who headed the team.

”This is extremely important because it means that at the end of the process there are no substances left to separate, treat or dispose of. ”In effect, the costs are reduced and there is zero-impact on the environment”. The starting point for the technique is irradiating the water with a laser, explained Bini. ”The light excites the water molecules, which produce hydroxyl radicals and hydrogen atoms,” he said. This separation usually only lasts only a few quadrillionths of a second before the parts recombine but the Florence team found a way round this problem. They realized that by applying the laser in high-pressure conditions – around 1,000 atmospheres – the separation lasts far longer. This means that large-volume pressurized irradiation reactors could be used for a number of chemical processes, including the generation of hydrogen for use as fuel.

And according to Bini, because the laser uses near-ultraviolet radiation, sunlight could in theory eventually be used to obtain the same result. ”Currently, about 96% of hydrogen comes from non-renewable sources, such as carbon and hydrocarbon, and just 4% from water,” continued Bini. He admitted the process still needed work but said he was optimistic about future developments.

”A great many more studies will be needed to verify the system but there is the real prospect that one day we will be able to produce clean fuel, hydrogen, using nothing more than sunlight and damp air as raw materials,” he said.

Iwatani Corporation has held an inauguration ceremony for its second liquid hydrogen plant in Japan.

The plant, which was officially opened on July 7, 2009, is the first in eastern Japan.

Together with Hydro-Edge (3000 l/h x 2), which started its operation in April 2006, Iwatani now has two plants, one in the Osaka area and one in the Tokyo area.

The two plants will serve existing and potential customers with a more efficient and stable supply of liquid hydrogen.

The new plant is located in the chemical industrial park in Chiba Prefecture and uses by-product hydrogen produced by the adjacent factory. Liquefaction capacity of the plant is 3000 litres per hour and the product tank can store 300 kilolitres.

Iwatani has been a pioneer for the production and marketing of gaseous and liquid hydrogen in Japan. It said that unlike North America, where delivery and use of liquid hydrogen is very common, use of liquid hydrogen has been very limited in Europe and Japan.

With the start-up of the Hydro-Edge in 2006, Iwatani has been successful in changing many users of gaseous hydrogen to use liquid hydrogen, due to its high purity, large volume transportation and storage, resulting in less space at the customer site and less frequent delivery.

The University of Connecticut is getting $2.5 million for fuel cell research and development under legislation passed today in Washington, two Connecticut congressmen said today.

Congressmen John Larson and Joe Courtney said the House measure, the Energy and Water Appropriations Act, directs funds to UConn’s Global Fuel Cell Center.

The money, they said, will help create local jobs in the short term and help power technological innovation that will drive our long term economic recovery.

The fuel cell center has worked on the technology since 2001, and is recognized as one of the largest university-based fuel cell centers in the nation. It serves as a research, development and training nexus for more than 40 UConn faculty and regional fuel cell developers.

A New Mexico-based energy technology company has chosen Molokai for one of four sites on which it plans to build what it calls the world’s first utility-scale, zero-emissions hydrogen power plants.

The Molokai plant, proposed by Jetstream Wind Inc., would use electricity from wind or solar or a combination of the two to separate water into hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen would then be burned in a turbine – similar to what is used in a natural-gas-fired power plant – and would generate enough electricity to power 6,000 homes and businesses, the company said.

The company cannot disclose the exact location on Molokai for the plant because negotiations for the site are still under way, said Xavier Marquez, Jetstream Wind Inc. chief networking officer.

The company hopes to break ground in 30 to 60 days, Marquez said.

Yet, Hawaiian Electric Co. has not had any contact with the company about selling the power generated by its proposed new plant, said Peter Rosegg, HECO spokesman.

If Jetstream Wind is going to sell power to the utility on Molokai, it will need a Power Purchase Agreement with Maui Electric Co., said Maria Tome, Hawaii State Energy Office renewable transportation energy program manager. Maui Electric is a subsidiary of HECO.

Jetstream Wind began exploring the islands to launch its new energy venture about 16 months ago, Marquez said.

“There are numerous reasons for Hawaii,” Marquez said. “The topography of the island works well for us to get peak production.”

The company outlined its plans yesterday in New Mexico, the site of its first plant. That facility is expected to cost $219 million and be funded by private sources, said Henry Herman, company CEO.

Herman said Hawaii was chosen because of 2006 legislation encouraging the development of renewable hydrogen-based businesses by offering tax credits through the Hawaii Renewable Hydrogen Program backed by a $10 million Hydrogen Investment Capital Special Fund.

Jetstream Wind believes it can provide consistent power to the grid using renewable sources without any of the emissions that come with generating hydrogen from fossil fuels.

The potential of renewable-to-hydrogen power plants is being proved through tests, but it wasn’t until recently that the technologies needed to make it work were even available, Herman said.

“We’re the first company that had the foresight to jump on creating a combinatory system and putting the pieces together to make it viable for the public and for electrical generation,” he said.

“Basically it’s 8th-grade science scaled up very, very large,” Herman said. “We need to go green to free us from our dependence on foreign oil.”

Citing proprietary concerns, Herman provided few technical details about the inner workings of Jetsteam Wind’s proposed plant in New Mexico.

The facility, which broke ground July 4 in Truth or Consequences, N.M., is the company’s first power plant, and is expected to generate 150 construction jobs and 30 permanent jobs.

A New Mexico-based energy technology company has chosen Molokai for one of four sites on which it plans to build what it calls the world’s first utility-scale, zero-emissions hydrogen power plants.

The Molokai plant, proposed by Jetstream Wind Inc., would use electricity from wind or solar or a combination of the two to separate water into hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen would then be burned in a turbine – similar to what is used in a natural-gas-fired power plant – and would generate enough electricity to power 6,000 homes and businesses, the company said.

The company cannot disclose the exact location on Molokai for the plant because negotiations for the site are still under way, said Xavier Marquez, Jetstream Wind Inc. chief networking officer.

The company hopes to break ground in 30 to 60 days, Marquez said.

Yet, Hawaiian Electric Co. has not had any contact with the company about selling the power generated by its proposed new plant, said Peter Rosegg, HECO spokesman.

If Jetstream Wind is going to sell power to the utility on Molokai, it will need a Power Purchase Agreement with Maui Electric Co., said Maria Tome, Hawaii State Energy Office renewable transportation energy program manager. Maui Electric is a subsidiary of HECO.

Jetstream Wind began exploring the islands to launch its new energy venture about 16 months ago, Marquez said.

“There are numerous reasons for Hawaii,” Marquez said. “The topography of the island works well for us to get peak production.”

The company outlined its plans yesterday in New Mexico, the site of its first plant. That facility is expected to cost $219 million and be funded by private sources, said Henry Herman, company CEO.

Herman said Hawaii was chosen because of 2006 legislation encouraging the development of renewable hydrogen-based businesses by offering tax credits through the Hawaii Renewable Hydrogen Program backed by a $10 million Hydrogen Investment Capital Special Fund.

Jetstream Wind believes it can provide consistent power to the grid using renewable sources without any of the emissions that come with generating hydrogen from fossil fuels.

The potential of renewable-to-hydrogen power plants is being proved through tests, but it wasn’t until recently that the technologies needed to make it work were even available, Herman said.

“We’re the first company that had the foresight to jump on creating a combinatory system and putting the pieces together to make it viable for the public and for electrical generation,” he said.

“Basically it’s 8th-grade science scaled up very, very large,” Herman said. “We need to go green to free us from our dependence on foreign oil.”

Citing proprietary concerns, Herman provided few technical details about the inner workings of Jetsteam Wind’s proposed plant in New Mexico.

The facility, which broke ground July 4 in Truth or Consequences, N.M., is the company’s first power plant, and is expected to generate 150 construction jobs and 30 permanent jobs.

http://www.thestate.com/local/v-print/story/869568.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8154721.stm

http://www.detnews.com/article/20090717/AUTO01/907170437/1148/rss25

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/markets/article6718693.ece

Conceptual drawing of a polymer electrolyte fuel cell

Showa Denko K.K. (SDK) has developed new platinum-substitute catalysts for polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) under the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization’s (NEDO) project led by Professor Kenichiro Ota of Yokohama National University.

These new catalysts comprise a niobium-oxide-based catalyst and a titanium-oxide-based catalyst, each containing carbon and nitrogen atoms. They exhibit the world’s highest levels of efficiency in terms of open circuit voltage and durability among platinum-substitute catalysts so far announced in the world, as follows:

1. Open circuit voltage (Note 1) :1.00V or more
2. Durability (Note 2) : 500 hours or more
(The performance test is continuing and the record is being renewed.)
3. Production cost : ¥500/KW or less (Note 3)

Notes:

1. Open circuit voltage refers to the potential difference between anode (along which the hydrogen gas flows) and cathode (along which the oxygen gas flows) at the time of the start of power generation. The higher the difference, the higher the cell’s output. In the case of platinum-based catalyst, open circuit voltage is 1.03-1.05V.

2. Durability must exceed 5,000 hours for practical use. However, durability of 100 hours has been the tentative goal for the development of non-precious-metal catalysts.

3. The cost is 1/20 or less when compared with the present cost of platinum-based catalyst.

PEFC catalysts are used at both anode and cathode, encouraging chemical reactions of hydrogen and oxygen. While platinum is now mainly used as catalyst, the metal’s high price and low levels of reserves tend to restrict the spread of PEFCs. Furthermore, a platinum-based catalyst used at a point close to cathode has a possibility of melting.

PEFCs generate power through chemical reactions of hydrogen and oxygen, contributing to the reduction of CO2 emissions and enabling the production of compact and light-weight cells. Thus, PEFCs are expected to be widely used as power sources for vehicles, mobile devices and homes.

As the newly developed Nb- and Ti-based catalysts have lower solubility than platinum, they will enable substantial cost reductions and longer life of PEFCs. Based on very-fine-particle manufacturing technologies and high-conductivity carbon materials, SDK will further improve the catalyst performance and establish volume production technologies to encourage the use of the new catalysts in fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), mobile devices and homes.

Vietnamese people will soon be able to use methanol fuel cells for lighting, cell phones, computers, bicycles and even cars.

Based on his successful research on manufacturing direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC), using Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology being conducted in 2004, Dr Nguyen Manh Tuan from the Vietnamese Academy of Science and Technology’s Ho Chi Minh City Institute of Physics has unveiled different types of fuel cells that use methanol.

A fuel cell can light one 20mW LED bulb for four hours with only 3ml of methanol, said the experiment, adding that this is equal to other cells that are currently being used in developed nations.

The fuel cells have been recognised worldwide as having a long life-span, are easily recycled and using nanotechnology and materials, they cause no harm to the environment, said Tuan, adding that Vietnam could supply up to 80 percent of the materials needed to produce the cell.

At present, Tuan and his colleagues are finalising their study to commercialise this product, to use in mobile phones and laptops, buses and taxis.

Meanwhile, globally famous electronic companies such as NEC, Toshiba, LG, IBM, Motorola, Ford and General Motors have successfully used fuel cells in their products.

The world will spend around 3 billion USD on fuel cells in 2011 as they will help to counter the exhaustion of fuels and help combat global environmental pollution, said scientists. (VNA)

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico-based energy technology company says it plans to develop what it calls the world’s first utility-scale, zero-emissions hydrogen power plant.

Jetstream Wind Inc. officials said Wednesday that the plant would use wind, solar and other renewable energy sources to produce hydrogen through an electrification process. That hydrogen would be burned in a turbine to generate enough electricity to power about 6,000 homes.

The plant also would be able to capture and store oxygen and hydrogen in liquid and gaseous forms for secondary markets.

The company broke ground on the $219 million project earlier this month in Truth or Consequences in southern New Mexico.

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

HIROSHIMA —A group of hydrogen-powered motor vehicles will be taken on a rare 540-kilometer road test in western Japan later this month without an accompanying refueling vehicle, an organizer of the project said Wednesday. The prototype green vehicles will be refueled with hydrogen at roadside chemical plants in the test run starting in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on July 27.

The vehicles will be refueled at plants including those in Okayama, Hiroshima and Yamaguchi prefectures before arriving in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, on July 30. The vehicles will also be run on highways. The vehicles to be road-tested include three minivans that can run only with hydrogen—two Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid minivans produced by Mazda and an FCHV-adv fuel-cell hydrogen hybrid minivan by Toyota Motor Corp. The other is Mazda’s hydrogen-gas hybrid car RX-8 Hydrogen RE.

The continued growth of mobile phones in areas without access to the electric grid is putting pressure on companies to find new ways to provide base-load power to cell phone towers.

The market for alternative energy solutions is estimated to be 130,000 towers a year, growing at a rate of more than 6 percent, according to mobile industry group GSMA and ABI Research. The $9.2 billion annual market is concentrated in Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Middle East.

The current standard is diesel generators, which can be noisy, costly, polluting, and ripe for theft (see Plug Power tests fuel cells in India). But West Sussex, UK-based Diverse Energy thinks it has just the technology to cost-effectively address all of those problems. The startup has raised €4.25 million ($5.9 million) from angel investors for its proton exchange membrane fuel-cell systems, and the company is now seeking €12.5 million ($17.5 million) to move into commercial production as it sets up multiple customer acceptance trials for clusters of 10 units to produce revenue.

Operations Director Alastair Livesey told the Cleantech Group that customers who switch from a diesel generator would break even in two years, so the company plans to initially price the unit to be equivalent to two years of using a diesel generator, including fuel, maintenance and replacement. The system has an estimated lifespan of five years, resulting in an overall cost savings of 25 percent versus diesel generators.

“Our expertise is cost reduction, in particular part-count reduction. A lot of fuel cell developers try to make a fuel cell be completely universal, and so they start adding more and more components so they can do anything,” Livesey said. “We’ve taken out a lot of components, giving us a less expensive fuel cell with less parts to go wrong.”

Diverse Energy was able to remove components from its fuel cell systems by eliminating features such as quick startup. Though a desired feature for other applications, quick startup isn’t necessary because cell phone towers don’t have sudden power demands, Livesey said.

“We are not the fastest to start up, not the smallest, or the lightest. We like to think of ourselves as the Model T Ford. We get the job done, and it goes on and on under these particular conditions.”

Diverse Energy’s system, known as the PowerCube, runs off an ammonia storage tank, which needs to be refueled about once a month. Ammonia is the fifth-most traded commodity worldwide, making it a more-easily obtained fuel than hydrogen, the typical choice to run fuel cells, Livesey said.

Diverse developed an “Ammonia Cracker” to convert the anhydrous ammonia gas intro hydrogen with 90 percent thermal efficiency, Livesey said. Ammonia crackers are widely used in the semiconductors industry, but Livesey said those devices typically run off grid power and have a conversion efficiency of about 50 percent.

Diverse also developed the high-efficiency DC-to-DC converter, and is working on its own remote monitoring and control system that uses the cell phone towers for communication. Diverse purchases the fuel cell stacks for the systems, which need to be replaced about once a year. The system as a whole, available to run at 1.2-kilowatts or 3-kilowatts, reduces carbon emissions by 80 percent, Livesey said.

All the components are fully enclosed in a standard 8-foot shipping container. The enclosure adds a layer of security to the units, but it also serves to make the PowerCube easily deployable around the globe, Livesey said. The structure provides a stable atmosphere for the equipment by protecting it from harsh weather in developing regions.

“It doesn’t matter whether it’s in Tanzania, or the Namibian desert, the Chilean mountains, or the monsoon in India,” Livesey said. “This is very much a global technology. We’re providing a power plant that can work anywhere in the world.”

The system has additional benefits when compared with diesel and solar panels, which have value on the black market, Livesey said. Potential thieves would have difficulty selling the ammonia tanks, and wouldn’t be able to siphon from the tanks as they could with diesel. Livesey said between 15 percent and 22 percent of diesel in Africa is lost to theft.

The PowerCube has the byproduct of about one liter an hour of highly purified water, which can be used for medical purposes, and 30 kilograms of fertilizer every three months. Livesey said those quantities are too small for operators to sell, so the byproducts can be used to help the surrounding community.

The company will likely build its manufacturing facilities in the UK, Livesey said. He expects to begin production by mid-2010, with peak production capacity of about 5,000 units a year by early 2011. Final assembly would likely be done in regional hubs. The company plans to contract with local companies for installation and maintenance.

Diverse is currently in talks for a deal with Afrox, an Africa-based division of the Linde Group, to supply ammonia to the PowerCubes. Diverse is also beginning laboratory tests of system with Motorola, Livesey said.

Diverse Energy was formed in April 2007 as a merger of two companies that designed and manufactured demonstration systems on behalf of other fuel cell companies: Alternative Fuel Systems and Fuel Cell Controls. Much of the angel funding came from Paul Young, one of the co-founders of Celtel, and Rodney White, founder and majority shareholder of Cordek, a manufacturer of specialist expanded polystyrene. Diverse Energy currently has 15 fulltime employees.

Proton Power Systems plc (AIM: PPS), a leading designer, developer and producer of fuel cells and fuel cell electric hybrid systems, is pleased to announce that the world’s first fuel-cell driven street cleaning vehicle, equipped with a fuel cell system from the Group’s wholly owned subsidiary Proton Motor Fuel Cell GmbH (“Proton Motor”), has been delivered to the city of Basle, Switzerland. This innovative municipal vehicle has been developed as part of a Swiss consortium, hy.muve (hydrogen-driven municipal vehicle).

The vehicle was delivered for testing to its first operator, the Civil Engineering Office in Basle, which is responsible for street cleaning across the city. In the next phase, the vehicle will undergo extensive field testing, both in Basle and in a range of other Swiss cities.

The compact sweeper vehicle has been supported by funds from Switzerland and is the result of a cooperation agreement between Proton Motor Fuel Cell GmbH and consortium companies including: Bucher Schörling; the Swiss materials testing and research institution Empa; Messer Schweiz AG; and Brusa Elektronik AG; along with the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI). Bucher Schörling, a globally renowned manufacturer of municipal street cleaning vehicles, was responsible for the vehicle and system integration, while the project was headed by Empa, which also provided designs for the electrical propulsion system.

Under the project, Proton Motor’s system has been integrated into a compact street sweeper measuring 3.78 metres in length and 1.28 metres in width, with a maximum permitted laden weight of 4.5 tonnes. The fuel cell’s nominal output is 20 kW (27 HP), providing a maximum speed of 40 km/hour, with an operational range of more than seven hours on a full tank (6.5 kg of gaseous hydrogen at 350 bar). It takes less than 10 minutes to fill the tank, which consists of pressure vessels stowed behind the driver’s cab.

The propulsion concept entails replacing the conventional diesel engine with a fuel cell / battery system, and the hydraulic power train with electric drives. The hybrid fuel cell propulsion system combines a fuel cell with a lithium polymer battery. At the application’s core is Proton Motor’s 20 kW PM Basic A 20 fuel cell system. This emission-free and highly efficient hybrid technology enables energy savings of around 50 per cent compared to the conventional diesel propulsion system.

Commenting on Proton Motor’s significant project involvement, Thomas Melczer, CEO of Proton Power Systems plc, says: “Our involvement in the hy.muve project is a testament to the strong relationships we have grown with our project partners, in particular with Bucher Schörling whom we have known since 2006. We are especially delighted to be playing a leading role in this project so shortly after the recent launch of the CityBus with Skoda Electric, which is running on our triple hybrid system.

“The hy.muve project is an excellent platform for Proton Power to showcase our technology leadership in fuel cell and hybrid systems. Our participation also demonstrates the Group’s leading role in the implementation of customised solutions for all manner of applications, including both vehicle power and stationary back-up solutions.”

As a typical back-to-base application, municipal vehicles can be refuelled effectively with just a single local hydrogen filling station.

Calculations show that fuel-cell- powered municipal vehicles require only half as much energy as current diesel-powered ones. Their operation is also completely emission-free. Unlike conventionally powered vehicles the fuel cell vehicle emits absolutely no harmful substances, making it ideal for use in sensitive areas such as pedestrian zones or in enclosed spaces such as in train stations, airports or trade fair halls.

The hy.muve joint project aims to take fuel cell technology from the laboratory to the street. During the field trials in Switzerland, the vehicle’s operating performance, range and robustness will be tested under everyday conditions. The project is intended to make the new technology a reality and to encourage the planning and implementation of further hydrogen-fuelled applications.

London– The board of Waste2Tricity is pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Ian Arbon, CEng, CEnv as Chairman. Professor Arbon’s appointment coincides with the news of a proposed joint venture to bring together the most efficient technology to convert coal into electricity combining new generation fuel cells with underground coal gasification (UCG).

Professor Arbon previously served as Chairman of the Energy, Environment & Sustainability Group at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE). He is also a Visiting Professor in Alternative Energy at Newcastle University.

Peter Jones, Director of Waste2Tricity says: “The appointment is further acknowledgement of the potential of Waste2Tricity’s technologies, in attracting a person of his experience and gravitas in the energy from waste arena.”

In a bid to bring to market an ultra low carbon emission technology to convert coal into electricity, Thornton New Energy Ltd and Waste2Tricity Ltd have signed a memorandum of understanding. Also allowing for the capture of carbon dioxide as part of the process, the proposed joint venture is the UK’s first commercial application to generate clean electricity from coal, combining new generation AFC Energy fuel cells with UCG and other proven technologies. The gasification of coal underground generates a fuel with a low emissions profile and the potential for complete carbon capture and storage (CCS) at low energy and financial costs.

Thornton New Energy, a subsidiary of BCG Energy Ltd, was in January 2009 awarded the first UK licence to carry out UCG and develop deep, previously un-mineable coal reserves under the Firth of Forth, Scotland. Waste2Tricity has exclusive rights for the application of AFC Energy fuel cells with any gasification technology within the UK, including energy from waste.

Thornton New Energy’s director of surface facilities, Alan Borrowman, says: “When combined with UCG, the hydrogen fuel cells enable a higher efficiency conversion of the energy in coal to electricity. We were very keen to partner with Waste2Tricity in order to utilise AFC Energy’s new generation fuel cells and create the first clean coal electricity model that outperforms conventional coal power stations in terms of net energy generated from coal, the low cost opportunity to eliminate CO2 emissions, and even the potential to eliminate the need for conventional coal mining activities.

“We are highly impressed with AFC’s fuel cell system which has successfully completed initial field trials in the Chlor-alkali industry. Furthermore, the technology is anticipated for full scale roll out on a timescale compatible with the Firth of Forth UCG opportunity.”

Professor Ian Arbon, chairman of Waste2Tricity comments: “This is a major breakthrough in the future utilisation of coal for electricity generation and could have a significant impact worldwide in eliminating greenhouse gasses produced from coal. In the UK and abroad, fossil fuels such as coal will continue to play a significant role in the foreseeable future. The benefits of ultra-low carbon technologies, such as UCG, combined with high efficiency AFC Energy fuel cells, not only help with energy security but also in substantially reducing emissions from fossil fuels. This is one of the few technologies available to us which will actually help us to meet the UK’s ambitious 2020 emissions commitments.”

The production of hydrogen from UCG, combined with efficient conversion of hydrogen into electricity through the fuel cells, will offer significant environmental and business benefits. Other CCS systems have the unfortunate side-effect of reducing the overall efficiency of conventional coal-fired power stations, whereas this technology significantly increases the ‘fuel-to-busbar’ efficiency while also maximising carbon capture.

In contrast to conventional coal-fired power stations, lower capital and operating costs per megawatt are required. Because UCG takes place underground, normal coal extraction processes are eliminated, reducing noise and visual impact and the technology can be incorporated on existing coal mines. The technology also lends itself ideally to Decentralised Energy production which minimises transmission losses via a centralised grid.

The process:
The technology can revolutionise the whole approach to generating electricity from coal, especially from brown coal, which has a lower energy content than black coal and is less economic to mine in poorly accessible sites. The process minimises environmental impact as gasification takes place underground and there is no coal extraction or transport process. The inherent cleanup process of the technology results in elimination or control of traditional environmentally-impacting by-products of electricity generation from coal.

Once the coal is gasified, it is maintained by continuous oxidant flow which converts it into syngas, a combustible hydrogen-rich synthetic gas. The syngas is piped to the surface and undergoes a number of cleaning processes before going through a water gas shift reaction to enrich the hydrogen content of the gas stream. The hydrogen is then extracted from the resultant gas by pressure swing absorption (PSA), separating the gas into two streams, one pure hydrogen and the other pure CO2. The hydrogen stream will feed the high efficiency AFC Energy fuel cells, generating electricity with water as a by-product. By requiring the output energy gases to be converted to obtain hydrogen, a by-product of this process is the free capture of CO2, usually the most expensive component of CCS. At least 99% of the carbon present in the syngas can be captured in this process and is then available for storage.

In terms of market size, well over 600 billion tons of coal suitable for UCG production is available globally. Relative to global reserves, the main UCG markets include the US (27%), China (13%) and India (10%). In the UK, the British Geological Survey found that the coal resource potentially suitable for UCG was an extra 17 billion tonnes or 300 years at current consumption.

Generation by this system will also make a significant contribution to UK electricity supply. The UK is entering into a period of criticality for electrical energy supply. With 35% of baseload generation capacity coming off line by 2015, due to emissions regulations and nuclear de-commissioning and the inability of renewable resources to make up the shortfall in time, more sustainable ways of using existing fossil fuel reserves will be essential over the next few years.

About Waste2Tricity
Waste2Tricity is a new British venture established to make energy conversion viable, efficient and economical – by implementing a unique combination of new generation alkaline fuel cells with plasma gasification and other existing proven technologies. The system will therefore have significant environmental and cost benefits over other methods of electricity generation. For more information, visit Waste2Tricity at http://waste2tricity.com

For enquiries, please contact:
Claudia Kellermann/Sheila Gimson
Portfolio Communications Ltd.
Tel: 020 7240 6959
waste2tricity@portfoliocomms.com

About Thornton New Energy
Thornton New Energy Ltd, a subsidiary of BCG Energy Ltd, brings together skills from the oil and gas, petrochemical and coal industries to achieve an environmentally sustainable fuel source from untapped coal resources. Earlier this year Thornton New Energy was awarded the UK’s first underground coal gasification license to develop a major coal resource located deep beneath the Firth of Forth. Applying cutting edge oil and gas technology to the coal field allows the company to exploit coal resources that otherwise would be to deep, difficult or expensive to recover. The company is focused on energy generation with minimal environmental impact, and is working with international partners to speed the introduction of low emission power, fuels and chemicals together with carbon capture and sequestration. For more information, visit http://www.bcgenergy.co.uk

For enquiries, please contact:
Alan Borrowman
Thornton New Energy Ltd
Tel: 01224 620000
Mob: 07736 921069
aborrowman@bcgenergy.co.uk

Jamica, New York : Shell today opened its second hydrogen filling station in the greater New York City area, providing improved access to hydrogen for drivers of fuel cell Chevrolet Equinoxes participating in Project Driveway.

Project Driveway selects consumers who sign up on the Internet in the greater New York City, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. to participate for two months at a time in the demonstration. Chevy.com/fuelsolutions

Shell will open a third third station this summer in the Bronx in conjunction with the New York City Department of Sanitation.

Shell hydrogen station in White Plains has been operating there for more than a year, making up Shell’s first cluster of hydrogen filling stations.

The station opening Tuesday at JFK International Airport is a partnership between Shell, General Motors Co., the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and the US Department of Energy.

“These partnerships are critical to building the infrastructure that will make hydrogen a relevant alternative fuel in the future as well as a key to the ongoing success of Project Driveway,” said Larry Burns, GM vice president of R&D and Strategic Planning.

The cluster of stations that will provide New York drivers of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles with greater flexibility and convenience is a significant step on from stand-alone, demonstration stations and is part of Shell’s strategy to build expertise in the distribution and dispensing of hydrogen.

“The prospects for hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles are strong in the longer-term”, said Duncan Macleod, Shell vice president of Hydrogen. “This first cluster is an important step as we continue to build capability in retailing hydrogen fuel, in line with the auto makers’ plans to develop hydrogen vehicles.”

About General Motors: General Motors Company, one of the world’s largest automakers, traces its roots back to 1908. With its global headquarters in Detroit, GM employs 235,000 people in every major region of the world and does business in some 140 countries. GM and its strategic partners produce cars and trucks in 34 countries, and sell and service these vehicles through the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling. GM’s largest national market is the United States, followed by China, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Canada, Russia and Germany. GM’s OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services. General Motors Company acquired operations from General Motors Corporation on July 10, 2009, and references to prior periods in this and other press materials refer to operations of the old General Motors Corporation. More information on the new General Motors Company can be found at www.gm.com.

Many countries around the world are working to build a clean and secure energy future. Stakeholders of a global hydrogen economy need to understand the developments related to hydrogen energy and current events that are shaping the process. The Partnership for Advancing the Transition to Hydrogen (PATH) has begun to facilitate such an understanding by producing “PATHways: Assessing Progress in the Global Hydrogen Industry.”

A report by the Stockholm Environment Institute, entitled ‘A European Eco-efficient Economy’, will provide a basis for discussions during an informal meeting of energy and environment ministers in Åre on 23-25 July. Thus, Sweden, which took over the EU’s rotating Presidency on July 1^st, has pledged to put energy efficiency high on its agenda. One of its priorities is to lead a shift to an eco-efficient economy where economic growth and climate-friendly policies go hand-in-hand.

The report argues that Europe’s leadership is “primarily evident” in its climate change commitments, but in order to continue attracting investment and businesses, greater efforts must be made to promote innovation and energy efficiency. Crucially, the report urges the EU to step up programmed interventions, alongside more generic policies, to induce development and diffusion of eco-efficient technologies such as hydrogen. Due to the lack of support system, EU has so far lagged behind main competitors such as the US and Japan. The importance of a strong domestic market to nurture the growth of new industries is well known but the potential of Europe becoming a lead market for new technologies is partly unfulfilled today. The report suggests that one example to learn from is the approach in renewable electricity: supporting early-stage technologies through fixing prices and guaranteeing market access, and letting more mature technologies compete with each other under a quota system or other pricing mechanism.

To download the report please click here

LIVERMORE, CA– UltraCell Corporation, a leading producer of fuel cells for mobile power applications, today announced it has received a U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center (CERDEC) contract to build fuel cell systems based on the company’s XX55™ reformed methanol fuel cell (RMFC) technology.

The contract with CERDEC will extend through March 2010 with its goal being to produce working fuel cell systems capable of delivering greater than 50 watts of continuous power for a 72-hour off-grid mission. The systems will be capable of powering portable electronics equipment such as radio and satellite communications devices, remote and mobile surveillance systems, and laptop computers, as well as recharging batteries in the field. UltraCell will initially build five units to be used by U.S. ground forces in both the Army and Air Force.

“Reliable, lightweight and portable power continues to be a vital need for the soldier,” said JJ Kowal, CERDEC Fuel Cell Technology Team. “This award will allow UltraCell to design a reliable, next-generation system capable of delivering extended power for soldiers during off-grid missions throughout the world.”

“This latest contract with CERDEC will further the advancement of UltraCell’s system design and provide units for additional military field testing,” said Keith Scott, CEO of UltraCell. “We look forward to continuing to supply fuel cell systems to meet the portable power needs of today’s warfighters.”

The XX55 is the industry’s first and only ultra-compact, rugged portable fuel cell equipped with a hybrid battery system capable of delivering 55 watts of continuous power and 80 watts peak power. The XX55’s breakthrough technology offers fully optimized battery integration, allowing for complete functionality using an industry first clip-on and clip-off battery module system. The technology enables a wide range of off-the-shelf batteries to be utilized and tailored to the end-user’s requirements.

About UltraCell

UltraCell is a leading producer of fuel cell systems for mobile devices. With an exclusive license with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories for micro fuel cell technology, the company has developed new technologies and intellectual property in the field of methanol-based fuel cells. Its patented, award-winning portable fuel cell, the XX25™, achieved Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 7 status, a significant U.S. Army milestone and certification for military use and commercial production. For more information about UltraCell, please visit http://www.ultracellpower.com/.

Shell today opens its second hydrogen filling station in the greater New York City area. With a third due to open in the area later this month and one already operating there for more than a year, this is Shell’s first cluster of hydrogen filling stations.

The station opening today – at JFK international airport – is the result of a partnership between Shell, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the US Department of Energy and General Motors. A third station in the Bronx, due to open late in July, has been developed with the New York City Department of Sanitation. A station has been operating in the City of White Plains, New York, since April 2008.

The cluster of stations will provide New York drivers of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles with greater flexibility and convenience. It is a significant step on from stand-alone, demonstration stations and is part of Shell’s strategy to build expertise in the distribution and dispensing of hydrogen.

“The prospects for hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles are strong in the longer-term”, said Duncan Macleod, Shell Vice President of Hydrogen. “This first cluster is an important step as we continue to build capability in retailing hydrogen fuel, in line with the auto makers’ plans to develop hydrogen vehicles.”

Port Authority Executive Director Chris Ward said: “Through efforts with governmental and corporate partners, the Port Authority leads by example towards the goal of sustainability. The opening of this hydrogen pumping facility is another positive step for the region and the globe. I want to personally thank everyone at Shell for helping to bring this project to fruition.”

NYC Sanitation Commissioner John J. Doherty said: “As all city agencies strive to reach the goals of Mayor Bloomberg’s PlaNYC initiative and bring a sustainable future to all New Yorkers, public-private partnerships like the hydrogen cluster project announced today will be critical to our success.”

The average range of a hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle is between 150 and 200 miles (240-320 km). The three hydrogen stations in New York are within approximately 30 miles (50 km) of each other.