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BOTHELL, Wash. — Neah Power Systems, Inc., (OTCBB:NPWZ), , the Company developing fuel cell based renewable energy solutions, announced today that it has formed an industrial partnership with GEMSEC (Genetically Engineered Materials Science and Engineering Center), located at the University of Washington in Seattle. GEMSEC constitutes an interdisciplinary team of scientists and engineers who work together to marry science and technology of the two fields, biology and materials sciences and engineering, at the fundamental level. The center focuses on research to adapt and develop molecular biology and genetics protocols to engineer peptides and proteins as a utility to synthesize, assemble, and manufacture functional hierarchical structures for use in various renewable energy and nano-technologies and medicine.

“We are pleased to be involved with the innovative nanomaterials research and development sought at GEMSEC. The expertise, facilities, and caliber of research performed here will, we expect, lead to development of new technologies, and significant cost-reduction and research breakthroughs made available to Neah. We look forward to working on new products together,” commented Dr. Tsali Cross, Vice President of Engineering at Neah Power. Dr. Mehmet Sarikaya, GEMSEC Director, Professor, Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Washington further noted, “The collaborative research with GEMSEC can lead to biology inspired and bio-enabled renewable energy solutions that build on the differentiated and patent protected technology of Neah Power Systems.”

More information regarding GEMSEC can be found at: http://depts.washington.edu/gemsec/index.html

About Neah Power

Neah Power Systems, Inc. (OTCBB:NPWZ) is renewable energy solutions, including direct current air conditioning, and long-lasting, efficient and safe power solutions for the military and for portable electronic devices. Neah uses a unique, patented, silicon-based design for its micro fuel cells that enable higher power densities, lower cost and compact form-factors. The company’s micro fuel cell system can run in aerobic and anaerobic modes.

Further company information can be found at www.neahpower.com.

U.S., China team convince platinum and gold particles to come together and form nanocatalysts

Gold particles (colored in blue) will surround themselves with even smaller platinum particles (colored in orange), creating a structure that could turn a common preservative into electricity in a fuel cell, a study by according to scientists at China’s Harbin Institute of Technology and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

Results: Tiny gold particles will surround themselves with even smaller platinum bits, creating a complex structure that could turn a common preservative, formic acid, into electricity in a fuel cell, according to scientists from China’s Harbin Institute of Technology and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The team used a novel electrostatic self-assembly method to create platinum-surrounded gold nanomaterial. This method relies on the attraction between positive and negative charges to inspire nanoparticles to form new structures on their own.

“To our knowledge, this is the first time that this method has been used to create such catalysts,” said Dr. Yuehe Lin, a chemist at PNNL and a co-corresponding author of the paper. This paper was named a Very Important Paper by Angewandte Chemie International Edition. Less than 5% of the journal’s manuscripts receive such a positive recommendation, and this was the only one in the current issue.

Why It Matters: Replacing today’s batteries in laptop computers and other portable devices with liquid fuel-powered fuel cells could ease consumer frustrations. The fuel cells would last 2 to 10 times as long as today’s batteries. Further, the laptop computer could be recharged instantly, because it relies on formic acid, not electricity. In addition, this kind of fuel cell can be used as a battery-electric vehicle range extender if assembled into a stack. But, such fuel cells must have efficient catalysts to create the needed power. This research provides fundamental insights into designing such catalysts.

Methods: Designing this catalyst began with two solutions. The first held tiny, positively charged platinum spheres, about 2.8 nanometers wide. The second solution held negatively charged gold particles, about twice as wide as the platinum. The scientists mixed an excess of the platinum solution with the gold solution. The particles formed into a flower-like structure, with the platinum in the center surrounded by gold petals. The self-assembly was driven by the attraction between the positive and negative particles and the repulsion between nanoparticles with same charge.

After creating the particles, the researchers examined them using x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy. These capabilities were all found at EMSL, Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory.

The team tested the catalytic efficiency of the platinum-surrounded-gold particles. They applied the particles to formic acid. The particles catalyzed the removal of the two hydrogen atoms, producing carbon dioxide and electrons to drive the fuel cells. The new catalyst generated 5.7 times the current density of platinum nanocatalysts alone, a significant improvement over today’s catalysts.

Scientists mixed an excess of a solution containing positively charged platinum spheres with negatively charged gold particles. The particles formed into a flower-like structure, with the gold in the center surrounded by platinum. The self-assembly was driven by the attraction between the positive and negative particles and the repulsion between nanoparticles with same charge.

What’s Next: The scientists are studying how the atoms and electrons from the catalyst and formic acid interact to understand why this innovative catalyst is more active than they expected.

Acknowledgments: The work was funded by PNNL’s Laboratory Directed Research and Development program, the China Scholarship Council, and the Natural Science Foundation of China.

The team includes Sheng Zhang and Geping Yin of Harbin Institute of Technology in China and Yuyan Shao and Yuehe Lin of PNNL. Sheng Zhang and Yuyan Shao contributed equally to this research.  The work was done at PNNL and DOE’s EMSL, a national scientific user facility.

Reference: Zhang S, Y Shao, G Yin, and Y Lin. 2010. “Electrostatic Self-Assembly of a Pt-around-Au Nanocomposite with High Activity towards Formic Acid Oxidation.” Angewandte Chemie International Edition 49:2211-2214. DOI: 10.1002/anie.200906987.

Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited (AIM/ASX: CFU) – a leading developer of high efficiency and low emission electricity generation units for homes and other buildings – has begun generating low emission electricity from its BlueGen unit installed at Aurora, in Epping North, Victoria, developed by VicUrban, the Victoria Government’s sustainable urban land development agency.

The BlueGen unit at Aurora was powered up on 29 April and is performing as expected:

• Current electrical efficiency of 58%, compared to about 25% efficiency for coal-derived electricity.
• Constant output of 1.5 kilowatts of electricity.
• Cumulative power exported to the grid of 876 kilowatt hours of electricity – equivalent to approximately 12,500 kilowatt hours of electricity over the course of a year, which is about twice the amount used by the average home in Melbourne..
• Cumulative carbon dioxide savings compared to the Victorian grid of 823 kilograms – equivalent to 12 tonnes over the course of a year.1 This is equal to 240,000 “black balloons”. These carbon savings would effectively make the average Victorian home ‘carbon neutral’: the average Victorian household produces around 10.7 tonnes (213,000 black balloons) of greenhouse gas emissions each year from energy used in t2
• Creating enough heat for 200 litres of hot water each day.
• Origin Energy is buying the power that BlueGen is exporting to the grid.

* NOTE. The unit is available for viewing on site. Please see bottom of announcement for details.

BlueGen units generate electricity in the home at more than double the efficiency of current Victorian coal-fired electricity generators, cutting energy bills and reducing carbon emissions by up to two-thirds.

About the size of a dishwasher, BlueGen uses fuel cell technology to convert natural gas into electricity. Over a year, each BlueGen can produce twice the electricity needed to power an average Victorian home – the excess power can be exported to the power grid. BlueGen also produces enough heat to meet the average home’s daily needs for hot water.

Ceramic Fuel Cells has achieved electrical efficiency of 60 percent, far higher than any other technology in the rapidly expanding global market for small scale power and heating generators. When heat is recovered from the electricity production process, total efficiency is up to 85 percent – more than twice as efficient as the average among current Australian power stations.

Ceramic Fuel Cells is continuing to build its order book for BlueGen units from major utilities and other foundation customers in Germany, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Japan and Australia.

The Victorian Government recently placed a conditional order for thirty BlueGen units to be installed in social housing units in Melbourne and regional Victoria.

Using the same fuel cell technology, Ceramic Fuel Cells is also developing fully integrated power and heating products with leading energy companies E.ON UK in the United Kingdom, GdF Suez in France and EWE in Germany.