FuelCellsWorks

Company Achieves 20% Increase in Power Density for Mobion® Fuel Cell

ALBANY, N.Y.–MTI Micro Fuel Cells Inc. (MTI Micro), the developer of the Mobion^® off-the-grid portable power solution, and a subsidiary of Mechanical Technology, Incorporated (MTI) (OTC: MKTY) announced today that it has initiated a $1.5 million field testing program for the company’s Mobion^® micro fuel cell with support from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).

The program will enable MTI Micro to obtain feedback on Mobion^® products from key stakeholders, including the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), the DOE, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), industry experts, and consumer testers.

In addition, the company announced a 20% improvement in the power density of its Mobion^® technology after demonstrating an increase in performance from 84mW/cm2 to 100mW/cm2 at the company’s Albany, NY-based lab. MTI Micro believes this is the highest performance achieved in a vapor feed, passive water management direct methanol fuel cell which will enable more energy dense micro fuel cells systems.

“This program is putting our Mobion® product in the hands of consumers making it a major milestone for MTI Micro and the entire hand-held DMFC industry,” said Peng Lim, President and CEO of MTI Micro. “These mobile users will finally experience the benefits of a new green energy source, and the freedom of having on-the-go power to match their lifestyle.”

This announcement follows the receipt of a $1.2 million grant from the DOE, and a $295,000 award from NYSERDA to support next-generation power technologies with the potential for advancing New York toward a clean energy economy. Both funding awards are being used to support the company’s field testing program.

About MTI MicroFuel Cells

MTI MicroFuel Cells Inc. (“MTI Micro”) (MKTY), a subsidiary of Mechanical Technology, Incorporated, is the developer of Mobion® off-the-grid portable power solutions. MTI Micro has a team of entrepreneurial business executives, researchers and scientists; a proprietary direct methanol micro fuel cell power system and a number of system prototypes demonstrating size reductions and performance improvements; and related intellectual property. MTI Micro has received government funding and developed strategic partnerships to facilitate efforts to achieve commercialization. More information is available at www.mtimicrofuelcells.com.

Arvind Varma, from left, Purdue University

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — A new process for storing and generating hydrogen to run fuel cells in cars has been invented by chemical engineers at Purdue University.

The process, given the name hydrothermolysis, uses a powdered chemical called ammonia borane, which has one of the highest hydrogen contents of all solid materials, said Arvind Varma, R. Games Slayter Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering and head of the School of Chemical Engineering.

“This is the first process to provide exceptionally high hydrogen yield values at near the fuel-cell operating temperatures without using a catalyst, making it promising for hydrogen-powered vehicles,” he said. “We have a proof of concept.”

The new process combines hydrolysis and thermolysis, two hydrogen-generating processes that are not practical by themselves for vehicle applications. 

Research findings were presented June 15 during the International Symposium on Chemical Reaction Engineering in Philadelphia. The research also is detailed in a paper appearing online in the AIChE Journal, published by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and will be published in an upcoming issue of the journal.

Ammonia borane contains 19.6 percent hydrogen, a high weight percentage that means a relatively small quantity and volume of the material are needed to store large amounts of hydrogen, Varma said.

“The key is how to efficiently release the hydrogen from this compound, and that is what we have discovered,” he said.

The paper was written by former Purdue doctoral student Moiz Diwan, now a senior research engineer at Abbott Laboratories in Chicago; Purdue postdoctoral researcher Hyun Tae Hwang; doctoral student Ahmad Al-Kukhun; and Varma. Purdue has filed a patent application on the technology.

In hydrolysis, water is combined with ammonia borane and the process requires a catalyst to generate hydrogen, while in thermolysis the material must be heated to more than 170 degrees Celsius, or more than 330 degrees Fahrenheit, to release sufficient quantities of hydrogen.

However, fuel cells that will be used in cars operate at about 85 degrees Celsius (185 degrees Fahrenheit). Hydrogen fuel cells generate electricity to run an electric motor.

The new process also promises to harness waste heat from fuel cells to operate the hydrogen generation reactor, Varma said.

The researchers conducted experiments using a reactor vessel operating at the same temperature as fuel cells. The process requires maintaining the reactor at a pressure of less than 200 pounds per square inch, far lower than the 5,000 psi required for current hydrogen-powered test vehicles that use compressed hydrogen gas stored in tanks.

In some experiments, the researchers used water containing a form of hydrogen called deuterium. Using water containing deuterium instead of hydrogen enabled the researchers to trace how much hydrogen is generated from the hydrolysis reaction and how much from the thermolysis reaction, details critical to understanding the process.

At the optimum conditions, hydrogen from the hydrothermolysis approach amounted to about 14 percent of the total weight of the ammonia borane and water used in the process. This is significantly higher than the hydrogen yields from other experimental systems reported in the scientific literature, Varma said.

“This is important because the U.S. Department of Energy has set a 2015 target of 5.5 weight percent hydrogen for hydrogen storage systems, meaning available hydrogen should be at least 5.5 percent of a system’s total weight,” he said. “If you’re only yielding, say, 7 percent hydrogen from the material, you’re not going to make this 5.5 percent requirement once you consider the combined weight of the entire system, which includes the reactor, tubing, the ammonia borane, water, valves and other required equipment.”

The researchers determined that a concentration of 77 percent ammonia borane is ideal for maximum hydrogen yield using the new process.

The research has been funded by the U.S. Department of Energy by a grant through the Energy Center in Purdue’s Discovery Park.

Future work on hydrothermolysis will explore scaling up the reactor to the size required for a vehicle to drive 350 miles before refueling. Additional research also is needed to develop recycling technologies for turning waste residues produced in the process back into ammonia borane.

The technology may also be used to produce hydrogen for fuel cells to recharge batteries in portable electronics, such as notebook computers, cell phones, personal digital assistants, digital cameras, handheld medical diagnostic devices and defibrillators.

“The recycling isn’t important for small-scale applications, such as portable electronics, but is needed before the process becomes practical for cars,” Varma said.

Ilika plc (AIM:IKA), the advanced cleantech materials discovery company, has signed an agreement with Taiwan’s premier not-for-profit R&D organisation, the Industrial Technology Research Institute (“ITRI”), to scale-up and commercialise jointly the next generation fuel cell catalysts. The Company believes this agreement will be a vital component of the energy industry’s efforts to develop consumer-friendly fuel cell technology.

Since initially developing and patenting a lower cost, platinum-free fuel cell catalyst in 2006, Ilika has undertaken further development of the compound and is now confident that it offers cost and availability benefits relative to competing technology.

ITRI possesses state-of-the-art integrated abilities in fuel cell technology, including material and device development, manufacturing, application and evaluation, and has agreed to enter into a non-exclusive collaboration to scale-up Ilika’s catalyst materials.

Under this agreement the parties aim to have samples available to potential customers in approximately 18 months. ITRI will meet the cost of this scale-up work. Thereafter catalyst material should be available for large scale supply during the following 12 months.

The parties have also agreed to co-operate in the commercialisation and marketing of the new catalyst, taking full advantage of their global network of potential users.

Ilika’s Chief Executive, Graeme Purdy, said, “This agreement is a great example of how Ilika develops innovative materials that solve complex industrial challenges together with our partners and shares in the commercial upside that these technological advances make possible. ITRI is a world leader with renowned capability in the field of fuel cell catalysts. We are very pleased it has agreed to enter into this agreement.”

The global market for fuel cells is growing rapidly, with sales in Europe alone expected to grow to €3.6 billion by 2016. Catalysts make up about 40% of the cost of a typical fuel cell.

Dr. Jonq Ming Liu, Vice president and General Director Of Material and Chemical Research Labs, ITRI, concluded, “ITRI hopes to establish more opportunities for international cooperation and technology transfer, and we are delighted to have this opportunity to work with Ilika.”

ITM Power plc, the energy storage and clean fuel company, is pleased to announce its first product sale and field trial – to the University of Birmingham (UoB). The HPac®10 unit will supply hydrogen to the fuel cell laboratory, removing its dependency on bottled gas. Excess electrolytic hydrogen not used by the laboratory, will be used by the UoB’s fleet of fuel cell vehicles.

HPac® is a high gas rate hydrogen generator producing a minimum of 10 litres/min of hydrogen. This product is targeted at the built environment for energy storage and backup power.

The HPac® unit will be delivered in Q4 2010 and installed and commissioned by ITM staff. Training will be given to UoB staff on how to operate the unit and a procedure for product support has already been established. Telemetry is being integrated into the unit so that ITM can monitor its performance and schedule testing from its sites in Sheffield.

The Hydrogen and Fuel Cell group at UoB will work closely with ITM and provide important feedback on the performance of the unit in a variety of modes and performance profiles.

Commenting for ITM Power, Dr Graham Cooley said: “HPac® is a very important product for ITM and we are delighted to partner with the University of Birmingham to trial the first unit. The Hydrogen and Fuel Cell group at Birmingham is world class and is well known for early adoption of new technology – notably installing the UK’s first Hydrogen refueller in 2008. I can think of no better partner for this important assessment.”

Commenting for the University of Birmingham, Prof Kevin Kendall, said: “We are delighted to be working with ITM to make this assessment of their first HPac® unit. Green hydrogen production coupled with high efficiency fuel cells has a wide range of exciting applications and we are pleased to be working with such a prominent company in this field.”