FuelCellsWorks

Upgrades Target High Volume Production of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.–Optomec announced today that it has received a new contract from the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to deliver high throughput enhancements to its Aerosol Jet^® system. The upgrades will be made to a system that is being used by AFRL to develop and prototype high efficiency solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) based on Aerosol Jet’s unique material mixing capabilities. These advances will significantly increase the output of the system and will demonstrate high volume production feasibility. The new contract brings the total amount of project funding to more than $1.5 million.

The AFRL system and its enhancements will remain housed at the Thermal and Electrochemical Branch-Propulsion Directorate Energy/Power/Thermal Division at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The system will continue to be primarily used to develop deposition processes for SOFCs. Dr. Thomas L. Reitz, Chief of the Thermal and Electrochemical Branch, states, “The Optomec system brings a unique capability to our lab in not only the area of solid oxide fuel cell development, but in thick film material deposition, in general, with a wide range of potential applications.”

Optomec’s systems offer both cost and functional benefits for the production of fuel cells. First of all, the Aerosol Jet process is a “digital” additive manufacturing approach that creates structures and patterns without the cost of screens, masks or other tooling. Plus, the process provides for high material utilization rates, which lowers the consumption of expensive catalysts and other materials. Additionally, the system has the unique capability to dynamically mix multiple materials during deposition, which allows the user to create smooth transitions between the material layers of a fuel cell as opposed to abrupt interfaces. This architecture creates a larger functional zone that results in higher efficiencies and increased power densities. In addition, it produces better mechanical stability at the interface compared with traditional approaches, which can result in delamination due to mismatches in the coefficients of thermal expansion between different materials. Finally, the Aerosol Jet system can also be used for deposition on non-planar supports for producing cylindrical-type SOFCs or ceramic membranes.

Dave Ramahi, Optomec President/CEO, states that “Optomec is proud to be working closely with the AFRL team, a recognized leader in the field of SOFC development. Their guidance has provided a critical understanding of the needs of this industry, and we are confident that the high volume enhancements being developed under this contract will meet with strong demand from the fuel cell and other industries.”

Optomec is the world-leading provider of additive manufacturing systems for high-performance applications in the Photovoltaic, Electronics, Biomedical, and Aerospace & Defense markets. These systems utilize Optomec’s proprietary Aerosol Jet and LENS^® powder-metal fabrication technology. The company has a global customer base of industry-leading manufacturers.

Aerosol Jet and Optomec are registered trademarks of Optomec, Inc.

LENS is a registered trademark of Sandia Corporation.

Overview

Site: Metro Manila

Application: Standby backup power for a mobile base transmission station

Product: ElectraGen™ XTi System

Configuration: 48 Vdc

Fuel: HydroPlus (220 liter tank)

Customer Motivations: Fuel cell solutions are reliable, low maintenance, and environmentallyfriendly.

Background

Smart Communications, Inc. (SMART) is the Philippines’ leading wireless services provider, with 36.9 million subscribers. SMART operates a nationwide cellular network, a fixed wireless broadband service and a satellite phone service. It has the most extensive and modern digital communications GSM network and infrastructure in the country, covering over 99 percent of the population. Making certain that its cell towers operate reliably with no break in service is a critical concern. The company also wants to use alternative power sources like fuel cells, which will allow Smart to conduct its business with minimal impact on the environment.

Challenge

Cellular sites contain critical telecommunication equipment requiring backup power with more than 4 to 6 hours of autonomy. The classic backup power supply consists of a battery bank and a diesel powered generator, both of which are not reliable and are costly to maintain. Smart needed to find a reliable, autonomous, and environmentally friendly solution for its backup power.

Solution

Smart tested the capabilities of the IdaTech ElectraGen™ XTi Fuel Cell System as a source of reliable backup power for its cell site close to Manila. The system was installed in place of a diesel generator outside of the shelter on a concrete pad. Operating on HydroPlus, methanol and water liquid fuel, the ElectraGen™ XTi System generates its own hydrogen onsite and on demand, eliminating the need for delivery and storage of hydrogen bottles.

Results

The ElectraGen™ XTi fuel cell system supported SMART at the cell tower site reliably for over four days. The system ran without interruption for 86 hours, with no faults, and passed the Smartcom Test.

Smartcom will deploy backup power fuel cell technology as part of its “Alternative Power for Cell Sites” program throughout Manila.

By James Jose
New Delhi (IANS)– Britain-based Intelligent Energy, a pioneer in the hydrogen fuel cell technology, is pursuing Indian auto firms to produce vehicles that run on this clean fuel, a senior company official said here Tuesday.

“We are in talks with some car makers and two-wheeler manufacturers here. But the talks are in nascent stages,” Murali Arikara, the company’s executive vice president for emerging markets, told IANS at the ongoing Auto Expo here.

Intelligent Energy is in the advanced stages of developing a hydrogen fuel cell-powered scooter and bike with Suzuki. “This is in the testing phase and the progress has been very satisfactory,” Arikara said.

The bike, the first in the world to be powered by this technology, can attain a top speed of 50 km per hour and has a range of 100 miles on full charge. Refuelling time is short — about three minutes — and there are no emissions.

According to auto experts, the cost of manufacturing is prohibitive with many vehicles still in the testing stage. The cost of making such a car was around $1 million a few years ago, they said.

Nevertheless, they maintained that the cost has been coming down considerably with players like US-based General Motors and Japan’s Toyota planning to sell electric cars powered by hydrogen by 2015.

“What you need is infrastructure. A few years ago, there were no CNG (compressed natural gas) stations in Delhi. Now you have so many vehicles running on it. If you have the infrastructure, costs can come down significantly,” said Arikara.

“So when it eventually happens — which is not very far — the cost will be competitive with conventional vehicles.”

Jerald Lalman, left, works in his lab with Satish Thadikamala on a project to convert agricultural waste and low-value crops into hydrogen.

An international student participating in a scholarship program to help promote Canadian values around the world is quickly learning one of the most important of them: staying warm.~

Sathish Thadikamala, a PhD student in pharmaceutical microbiology from the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, brought two winter jackets with him when he travelled here from Hyderabad, India in early November.

“It’s very cold here,” he said. “The coldest temperature I’ve ever experienced is 21 degrees.”

Thadikamala is the only student at UWindsor to have received the Canadian Commonwealth Exchange Scholarship sponsored by the Canadian Bureau of International Education. He is working in civil and environmental engineering associate professor Jerald Lalman’s lab on a project to convert organic agricultural wastes into hydrogen.

“He comes very highly recommended,” said Dr. Lalman. “He’ll be a good resource because of his background in microbiology and in statistical analysis.”

Lalman’s team of researchers is working on generating hydrogen from low-value crops and wastes such as switchgrass, corn stover, wheat stalks and bagasse rather than valuable food sources. They extract sugars from these materials then convert them to hydrogen by breaking them down through bacterial processes.

One problem with the process, however, is the reduced hydrogen yield that results from the production of carbon-based by-products. Thadikamala’s expertise in microbiology and statistics will help to optimize the process by increasing the hydrogen production.

Another of the scholarship program’s goals is for Canada to help meet the human capital needs of developing countries, and while Thadikamala will return to India to defend his Phd after his six-month placement, he hopes to eventually move here with his wife and three-year-old daughter.

“I’m feeling very happy to come here and see different ways of thinking and working,” he said. “I get to work with some very sophisticated instruments here. It’s all very good.”

New Holland’s NH₂ fuel cell tractor will make its first UK appearance at the LAMMA show, Newark, in January.

Based on the shell of a T6000, this is the first solely hydrogen-powered tractor to be shown by a tractor manufacturer, and had its debut at the  SIMA show in February of this year, where it won a Gold medal for innovation.

Hydrogen, stored at 350 bar in a tank under the bonnet, is passed over one electrode, while oxygen (from the air pump) is passed over the other, after which a catalyst extracts electrons from the hydrogen. The electricity produced then passes to a pair of electric motors, one supplying drive, the other providing power for pto and auxiliary services.

Because it runs purely on hydrogen and oxygen, the only by-product is water, a result of the hydrogen recombining with air at the end of the process.

The fuel cell used in the NH₂ generates 106hp but, according to Christophe Lemaitre, product marketing manager for New Holland, there will be no limit in terms of horsepower available, as long as there’s room for additional stacks in the vehicle (in the NH₂, there’ are three).

Fuel cells are prohibitively expensive, admits NH, but technology in this area is developing quickly. “We could see commercially viable cells coming online as soon as 2018,” reckons Mr Lemaitre.

One limiting factor is where would farmers get the hydrogen from. And this is where NH’s Energy-Independent Farm concept comes in – here’s a video explaining it.

The idea is that farms would generate the electicity needed to produce the hydrogen through renewable sources on-farm like wind, solar or via biogas.

And, if fuel prices start escalating again, it won’t be long before paying nothing for your fuel becomes very attractive.