FuelCellsWorks

A collaborative agreement has been signed between the UK University of Birmingham’s Fuel Cell Group and Ontario’s Hydrogen Village.  The collaboration will result in the exchange of researchers and academics and will facilitate commercial relationships with the Province of Ontario and West Midlands’ companies.

The Hydrogen Village is based in Toronto with a mandate to create early commercial markets for hydrogen and fuel cell applications and to educate the public, government and media on the benefits of these technologies.  The Village has assisted in the development and execution of a wide range of early deployment projects creating a sector cluster in Ontario.

The University of Birmingham’s Fuel Cell Group based in the School of Chemical Engineering focuses on research around hydrogen as an energy vector and the application of fuel cells.  It houses one of the only two hydrogen fuelling stations in the UK and has its own fleet of five hydrogen powered vehicles which are taking part in a research project to ascertain the feasibility of hydrogen in a transport application. It also runs the newly created Doctoral Training Centre in Hydrogen, Fuel Cell and their applications, the first of its kind in the UK.

The team are also involved in research with the Black Country Housing Association’s hydrogen powered house based in Stourbridge, West Midlands, UK. By remotely monitoring the hydrogen fuel cell system which is powering the house’s electricity, water and central heating the research team are learning more about hydrogen and fuel cells – their efficiency, performance, operation, and durability – in a domestic context.

Dr Bruno Pollet, from the University’s School of Chemical Engineering, says, ‘We are delighted to be collaborating with the Ontario Hydrogen Village as well as the University of Waterloo, Queen’s University and the University of Ontario Institute of  Technology and hope that by pooling our knowledge and sharing information and experience, we will be able to grow our understanding of how hydrogen will play a major part in fuelling our future, both in transport and in a domestic setting.’

Rymal Smith, who leads the Hydrogen Village Program, says, ‘Developing international ties expands networks of innovators, industry and ultimately customers.  This kind of agreement moves us in the right direction.’

1.The agreement was initiated by The Ontario International Marketing Centre and the University of Birmingham’s Fuel Cell Group.  Ontario’s Hydrogen Village will execute the agreement in partnership with AWM.

2.  The Fuel Cell Group was set up in 2000 in the University of Birmingham’s School of Chemical Engineering by Professor Kevin Kendall who jointly, with Dr Waldemar Bujalski and Dr Bruno Pollet is leading the research projects into hydrogen vehicles and combined heat and power systems stemming from a range of Advantage West Midlands funding including Science City.

3. Hydrogen Village is based in Toronto with a mandate to create and promote early commercial markets for hydrogen and fuel cell applications.  The Hydrogen Village Program (administered by the Canadian Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association) has assisted with the development and execution of a wide range of early deployment projects creating a sector cluster in Ontario.  Hydrogen Village is jointly funded by industry members, Natural Resources Canada, and the Province of Ontario’s Ministry of Research and Innovation.

NORTH CANTON, Ohio — Rolls-Royce announced on Monday that it will expand its fuel cell research division in North Canton, a move that public officials said will create 60 jobs and retain 32.

“This type of high-tech investment is exactly what we need to create and expand business opportunities for Ohio companies and position our state as a leader in innovation and technology,” said Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, a Democrat.

The news was announced at Stark State College of Technology, where Rolls-Royce Fuel Cell Systems established its North American headquarters in 2006.

Fuel cells chemically generate electricity by combining hydrogen with oxygen from the air in the presence of a catalyst, releasing water and carbon dioxide — but no combustion products.

The state has targeted fuel cells for development because Ohio has the technological expertise and work force to build them — everything from the fuel cell itself to myriad pumps and compressors and accompanying electronics in a complete fuel cell system.

The expansion of the Rolls-Royce labs at the Stark State College of Technology campus will add a few more engineering jobs, from about 30 currently to about 40 or 50.

The real growth in jobs would be in 2012 when Rolls-Royce completes its design of the utility-scale fuel cells — and if it agrees to build assembly plants in Ohio.

The company said it will invest $3 million in processing and testing equipment, consolidating its research and development activities in North Canton. The chief executive of its U.S. fuel cell division, Mark Fleiner, said Ohio’s commitment to support a fuel cell industry and a strong partnership with Stark State College factored into its expansion decision.

“Today in Canton, Ohio, we show what a strong national energy policy can do to create jobs right here at home,” said Alliance Democratic Rep. John Boccieri.

Boccieri credited his predecessor, retired Navarre GOP Rep. Ralph Regula, for obtaining federal aid that helped make the region a magnet for alternative energy sector jobs.

Ohio Department of Development director Lisa Patt-McDaniel cited the contribution of Ohio’s “Third Frontier” technology grant program, which invested over $11 million in Stark State and helped it establish a Fuel Cell Prototyping Center.

Since 2006, Ohio has awarded $3.5 million directly to Rolls, which three years ago had its pick of a number of states eager to have it. Ohio also has awarded Stark State $7.5 million in fuel cell related grants over the past few years.

In addition to the state-financed labs and offices that Rolls uses, the college has developed a robust training program focused on fuel cell technology.

Patt-McDaniel said the program’s investments at the college “are paying serious dividends, providing students a 21st century skill set and Rolls-Royce a compelling reason to expand in the North Canton community.”

Rolls envisions global production of very large fuel cells — generating hundreds of thousands or millions of watts. The megawatt-sized units would be ideal for electric utilities looking to augment their giant, coal-fired power plants or nuclear plants by distributing the fuel cells on local, neighborhood distribution systems.

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) announced today on a conference call with Connecticut reporters that the Connecticut Department of Transportation (ConnDOT) will receive $7 million in economic recovery funds to pursue cutting-edge environmental technologies to help reduce global warming, lessen America’s dependence on oil and create green jobs. The Department of Transportation received 561 applications for funds, of which only 43 were selected.

“This is a big win for our state, a big win for our environment, and a big win for folks in Connecticut who rely on public transportation,” said Dodd. “Connecticut is ready to be a national leader when it comes to green transit, and the funding awarded today by Secretary LaHood and Administrator Rogoff will go a long way towards achieving that goal.”

ConnDOT will use the funds to purchase diesel-electric hybrid transit buses and stationary fuel cells for use in Connecticut’s statewide bus system. The grant will fund the additional cost of a purchasing hybrid buses compared with the cost of purchasing a conventional bus. It would also fund the installation of stationary fuel cells to provide primary and emergency back-up power for the bus maintenance and storage facilities. A leader in the fuel cell industry, the state of Connecticut is home to several companies that manufacture fuel cells that could benefit from this funding.

“The leadership and vision of Senator Dodd made this program a critical component of the Recovery Act,” said Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff, who joined Dodd on the conference call. “It is no surprise that his state competes so well when it comes to proposing ways to provide citizens with public transportation that reduces pollution and creates a cleaner, safer environment for the nation.”

Senator Dodd, the Chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, was the author of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act’s Transit Investments for Greenhouse Gas and Energy Reduction (TIGGER) program, under which ConnDOT is receiving the $7 million grant.

Oorja, maker of methanol fuel cells used to charge batteries for forklifts, pallet loaders and other industrial vehicles, has landed $500,000 in convertible promissory notes, according to a filing with the SEC. Methanol is an alcohol-based fuel that produces zero greenhouse gas emissions. Based in Fremont, Calif. the company markets primarily to large retailers and manufacturers, aviation companies, and distributors, like truckers.
According to the company, many companies in these sectors have taken note of the surmounting cost of charging their lead-acid batteries with grid power — electricity generated largely by coal-fired power plants) — and then disposing of them as toxic waste. It says its methanol technology is both cheaper and greener than this traditional process, improving its clients’ environmental reputations and bottom line.

The university of Calgary is now the hub of a new national research network studying solid oxide fuel cells–an innovative clean-energy alternative.

More than 60 network university researchers with scientists in government and industry will work together in an effort to accelerate the commercialization of solid oxide fuel technology, bringing it into everyday use.

U of C fuel cells researcher viola birss, the network’s scientific director, explains fuel cells work much like a simple battery, but instead use fuel, like natural gas or propane, along with oxygen to create energy.

But their efficiency is unlike any other energy source, she explains.

Fuel cells use up to 85 per cent of the fuel they burn as compared to a car engine, for instance, which uses only about 15 per cent of the fuel it burns, releasing the rest as carbon emissions.