FuelCellsWorks

London–AFC Energy plc, the world’s leading developer of low cost alkaline fuel cells, won the Clean Energy Award at the Rushlight Gala dinner in London last week. The category is designed to celebrate and publicise significant achievements in developing clean fuels and hopes to encourage further development and investment in clean technology, as well as the wider adoption of clean fuels by consumers and commerce.

The Rushlight Awards are a celebration and promotion of leading organizations throughout the UK and Ireland which have furthered environmental technology and innovation. The winners were chosen by a panel of expert judges, which included representatives from the British Geological Survey, DECC, WWF, the Carbon Trust and DEFRA. As a consequence of their win, AFC Energy is now eligible to go forward and represent the UK in the European Business Awards for the Environment.

“This is great recognition for the dedicated team behind AFC Energy’s technology. Development is moving at a staggering pace and we have created a technology which has the capacity to make major changes to the energy sector as we know it. It’s an extremely exciting process to be a part of and I am very proud of the company tonight”, commented Gene Lewis, Technical Director at AFC Energy.

AFC Energy is the world’s leading developer of a low cost, fully scalable alkaline fuel cell. Focused on large-scale power generation, the technology produces electricity from hydrogen at up to 60% efficiency and has demonstrated its suitability to a large range of industrial applications and global markets. Current applications include combining fuel cells with coal gasification, a revolutionary approach to clean energy generation; waste to energy, which could see the end of landfills; and industries such as the chlor alkaline sector, where hydrogen is produced as a by-product.

•    Quality “Made in Germany”: Successful EFOY fuel cell generators now also available in Canada
•    Canadian recreation vehicle owners now benefit from quiet, light-weight and emission-free energy supply with EFOY fuel cell generators
•    Partnership with RV Care to pave the way for a successful market launch in Canada by means of a nation-wide distribution network

Brunnthal/Munich and Toronto–SFC Energy AG, the global market leader of portable power supply by fuel cell generators, and the RV Care Network of dealers announce their collaboration at the Toronto RV Show & Extravaganza. Starting immediately, RV owners can purchase the EFOY fuel cell generators from all RV Care retailers network throughout Canada as a quiet, light-weight and eco-friendly portable energy source for recreation vehicles. The convenient EFOY fuel cell cartridges required for operating the fuel cell can also be obtained through RV Care dealers.

EFOY fuel cell generators are fully automated battery chargers, which start up when the battery voltage is low, charge, and then go back into standby when the battery is fully charged. This portable energy source supplies enough electricity to operate the electric appliances off-grid in the recreation vehicle for several weeks. Unlike solar energy or conventional generators, the EFOY fuel cells are constantly available: they work in all weather conditions and are not limited to specified operating hours in national parks or campsites, as they are extremely quiet and environmentally friendly.

“We are pleased to be able to provide our customers with an ideal energy supply for their RVs, which is environmentally friendly and available 24 hours a day,” says Earl Mannings, Vice President of RV Care. “They are now able to self-sufficiently stay in the great outdoors for several weeks, without having to worry about a sufficient energy supply. This is an exciting enhancement for the Canadian RV market.”

“We are very proud to introduce our EFOY fuel cell generator, a standard in European RV industry, in Canada,” says Dr Peter Podesser, CEO of SFC Energy AG. “Enjoying the great nature of Canada with silent and emission-free electricity on board – this is how the EFOY fuel cell generator enhances the travel experience. We are particularly pleased about our collaboration with RV Care, an excellent partner with a nation-wide retail network, to cover the high demand in the Canadian market.”

Having already sold 20,000 fuel cells in Europe, SFC stands for eco-friendly and constantly available off-grid energy supply in leisure, industry and defense applications. SFC Energy AG is a member of the Canadian recreational vehicle asso-ciation (CRVA) and EFOY fuel cell generators are certified according to CSA standards. 50 leading European RV manufacturers have successfully provided the EFOY as an energy source for years. In Canada, the EFOY fuel cell generator is available in two models with a loading capacity of up to 2.2 kWh per day. The EFOY fuel cartridges, with five litres (1.32 gallons) or ten litres (2.64 gallons) of fuel, are also offered by RV Care retailers.

WASHINGTON, DC– The Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association (FCHEA) responded today to President Obama’s State of the Union challenge for Americans to lead in clean energy technology.

Fuel cells and hydrogen energy helped America to victory in its first Sputnik moment by providing clean, efficient, reliable power to space missions from the Apollo program to the Space Shuttle. President Obama called present energy challenges our new Sputnik moment, and once again, fuel cells and hydrogen energy are ready to answer the call. Right now, fuel cells and hydrogen are being commercially deployed by companies like Coca-Cola, Google, Walmart and FedEx to meet mission-critical power needs for 7/24 materials handling, grocery store refrigeration, and data center operations.

“We commend President Obama for making clean energy technology a national imperative,” said Ruth Cox, President and Executive Director of the FCHEA. ”A portfolio approach is essential to satisfy an increasing demand for power while lowering our dependence on oil, and to reach our pollution reduction goals. Fuel cell and hydrogen energy is always clean energy, and their inclusion in the portfolio will create American jobs and strengthen our national security.

“We thank the President for acknowledging the need for all portfolio options to meet the challenge of generating 80-percent of America’s electricity from clean energy sources by 2035.”

Fuel cells and hydrogen technologies are transforming the energy network through distributed generation of clean, efficient and reliable power. They enhance all energy alternatives:

• Optimize the performance of renewable and nuclear power;
• Turn biogas from agricultural and other waste products into clean, efficient power; and
• Use fossil fuels more efficiently — so we can value them as the ultimately limited resources they are — and far more cleanly than is possible with combustion technology.

Federal and state governments have partnered with private industry and invested billions of dollars to position America as the leading supplier and consumer of fuel cell and hydrogen energy technologies. Research and development funding, tax credits and other progressive policies have already created thousands of jobs, and the fuel cell and hydrogen energy industry is poised to transform the way energy is generated and used.

“The Information Age resulted in the largest American economic expansion since the end of World War II, and that is because the U.S. was the leading supplier and consumer of computing and communications technologies,” said Cox. ”As we enter the Energy Age, nations around the world are recognizing the strategic importance of fuel cell and hydrogen technologies and are investing heavily in their development and deployment. We must continue supporting such efforts in the United States to ensure America’s competitiveness and economic growth, or we risk ceding leadership and jobs to other parts of the world.”

About the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association

The Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association (FCHEA) is the world’s premier advocacy organization dedicated to the commercialization of fuel cells and hydrogen energy technologies. FCHEA and its membership are at the forefront of efforts to transform the energy network, fundamentally altering the way energy is generated and used. Fuel cells and hydrogen technologies are being commercially deployed today to solve critical problems in our energy infrastructure and deliver clean, reliable power to leading edge corporate, academic and public sector users. FCHEA’s membership represents the full spectrum of the supply chain from universities, government laboratories and agencies, trade associations, fuel cell materials, components and systems manufacturers, hydrogen producers and fuel distributors, utilities and other end users.

DANBURY, Conn. — FuelCell Energy, Inc. (Nasdaq:FCEL) a leading manufacturer of ultra-clean, efficient and reliable power plants using renewable and other fuels for commercial, industrial, government, and utility customers today announced that Southern California Edison Company (SCE) has ordered a 1.4 megawatt (MW) DFC1500 fuel cell power plant to install as a utility-owned fuel cell on the campus of California State University, San Bernardino. The ultra-clean electricity generated by the power plant will interconnect into the existing SCE distribution grid. The distributed generation attribute of fuel cells enables SCE to add power generating capacity at the point of use without a commensurate investment in the transmission and distribution grid.

“Southern California Edison is committed to environmental protection, and our power generation includes more alternate and renewable energy than nearly any other utility,” said Mark Nelson, director of Generation Planning and Strategy for Southern California Edison. “Ultra-clean and reliable power generation from this fuel cell power plant will help us meet the needs of our customers while also illustrating our efforts at improving the air quality in our service territory.”

Distributed generation provides power at the point of use, lessening reliance on the electrical transmission grid and represents incremental capacity that avoids or reduces investment in the transmission and distribution system. Actions taken by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to promote the adoption of clean distributed generation power sources are intended to improve power quality and reliability, increase energy efficiency and enhance energy independence. In the spring of 2010, the CPUC authorized Southern California Edison and another California utility to pursue utility owned fuel cell installations at California universities, recognizing fuel cells as preferred resources due to clean fossil fuel generation and distributed generation.

This DFC1500 installation will use natural gas as the fuel source to generate ultra-clean electricity utilizing an electrochemical reaction. Due to the absence of combustion, virtually zero pollutants are emitted such as NOx, SOx or particulate matter. Additionally, the fuel cell power generation process is highly efficient, generating more power from a given unit of fuel and lower greenhouse gas emissions compared to combustion based power sources in a similar size range.

The Direct FuelCell (DFC) power plant will utilize the high quality heat from the power generation process in a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) configuration that will connect to the campus hot water system, supplementing an existing combustion-based boiler. This CHP configuration will assist Cal State San Bernardino in reducing its carbon footprint by lessening the reliance on the less efficient boiler. CHP applications improve energy efficiency, leading to lower costs and a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and provide enhanced energy security and increased resiliency of the energy infrastructure by reducing the need for power used to generate heat, easing congestion of the transmission grid. In a CHP configuration, DFC power plants can achieve efficiencies up to 90 percent, depending on the application.

“This project demonstrates two distinct end markets that value the attributes of fuel cells,” said Chip Bottone, Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, FuelCell Energy, Inc. “Ultra-clean distributed generation delivered in an economically compelling manner is an attractive proposition for utilities while universities value the energy security attained from reliable baseload power generated on campus in a manner that helps them reach their sustainability goals.”

Cal State San Bernardino will be the fifth California university with a DFC installation, representing eight megawatts in total power generation capacity. In conjunction with the installation of the power plant, the University is expected to incorporate fuel cell technology into its curriculum to teach students and the public about the benefits of fuel cell power generation. The unit is expected to be operational in early 2012.

California State University, San Bernardino has an enrollment of more than 17,000 students and employs more than 2,100 faculty and staff. Founded in 1965, the University is located in San Bernardino County, equidistant between Los Angeles and Palm Springs.

About FuelCell Energy

DFC(R) fuel cells are generating power at over 50 locations worldwide. The Company’s power plants have generated over 650 million kWh of power using a variety of fuels including renewable wastewater gas, biogas from beer and food processing, as well as natural gas and other hydrocarbon fuels. FuelCell Energy has partnerships with major power plant developers and power companies around the world. The Company also receives funding from the U.S. Department of Energy and other government agencies for the development of leading edge technologies such as fuel cells. For more information please visit our website at www.fuelcellenergy.com

Tadaaki Inoue / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

FUKUOKA–In what is believed to be a world first, the industrial city of Kitakyushu has embarked on a pilot project to power fuel cells using excess hydrogen produced via the steelmaking process.

Scientists around the country are focusing on how much greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide can be reduced under the prefecture’s two pilot projects.

The Fukuoka prefectural and Kitakyushu municipal governments have partnered with 13 private companies including JX Nippon Oil & Energy and four major utility gas firms to conduct the hydrogen-powered fuel cell experiment, project officials said.

They laid a hydrogen pipeline 5 to 10 centimeters in diameter between Nippon Steel’s Yawata Works and a residential area in the Yahata Higashi district of Kitakyushu, which is dubbed Kitakyushu Suiso Town or Kitakyushu hydrogen town. The pipeline extends a total distance of 1.2 kilometers.

Supply destinations, including an apartment building with seven households, a museum and a hardware shop, are equipped with a total of 14 next-generation fuel cells. Each cell can generate 1 to 100 kilowatts, the project officials said.

The cells can generate both heat and power and do not emit any CO2. The project officials said the cells fulfill 20 to 60 percent of electricity needs at each location.

Kitakyushu Mayor Kenji Kitahashi said he wants the city to be a global forerunner in realizing a low-carbon society. In support of the test project, he will have city workers ensure hydrogen supply technology, check the durability of fuel cells and measure CO2 reduction effects for its duration.

However, Kitakyushu is not the only city in Fukuoka Prefecture experimenting with hydrogen-related technology. Another test project to equip residences with fuel cells powered by liquefied petroleum gas is underway in Itoshima, Fukuoka Prefecture.

In 2004, the prefectural government established the nation’s first industry-government-academia council on hydrogen energy. Hydrogen researchers at Kyushu University also are able to use the excess hydrogen generated during the steel-making process at Yawata Works steelworks.

The council began a trial project in 2008 to equip 150 households in Itoshima with fuel cells using LPG. The project succeeded in cutting 59 tons of CO2, equivalent to the amount 4,200 cedar trees can absorb in one year.

Major automakers are said to be interested in the prefecture’s test projects, while the prefecture hopes to develop further hydrogen-related enterprises and use them to attract more firms to the area. Since hydrogen is related to various industries, many business opportunities await if the technology to use it is properly established, observers said.

LATHAM, N.Y. — Plug Power Inc. (Nasdaq:PLUG) a leader in providing clean, reliable energy solutions announced that Central Grocers, Inc. has purchased an additional eleven GenDrive(TM) fuel cell units for its electric lift truck fleet in Joliet, Illinois. This increases Central Grocers grand total of fuel cell-powered lift trucks to 231. In addition to its impressive size and distribution network, the Central Grocers facility remains the largest grocery warehouse of its kind in the world, where all goods are handled with fuel cell-powered lift trucks.

Central Grocers purchased 220 GenDrive units in 2008 for its brand new $90 million distribution center. Joining the fleet are eight class-2 stand up reach truck units and three class-1 three wheel sit down counterbalanced truck units.

Central Grocers chose Plug Power’s GenDrive fuel cell units, rather than traditional lead-acid batteries, as a cost effective solution to power its entire lift truck fleet. This decision was made prior to building the new distribution center. The need to build battery charging and changing infrastructure was eliminated, therefore reducing capital investment and opening up valuable floor space for the distribution business.

Since the trucks began operations in 2009, Central Grocers has only seen productivity flourish at its facility, as operators spend more time moving product and less time dealing with a depleted battery. A boost in productivity is a result of trucks running at full speed for an entire shift and operators refueling equipment in as little as 60 seconds.

At the same time, the company has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions as a result of the elimination of lead-acid battery charging and changing equipment. GenDrive is fueled with hydrogen; therefore, heat and water are the only byproducts of the electrochemical reaction. Plug Power customers have witnessed up to an 80 percent decrease in greenhouse gas emissions.

“The promise of the GenDrive products has lived up to all of our expectations since the initial deployment,” said John Coari, VP Operations at Central Grocers. “Purchasing additional GenDrive units for our Joliet fleet was an easy decision because we knew it would drive productivity and keep our carbon footprint at a minimal. It’s the right thing to do for our business, our employees and our community.”

“Central Grocers is a perfect example of a customer who built their facility with an expanding hydrogen fuel cell-powered lift truck fleet in mind,” said Andy Marsh, CEO at Plug Power. “Because Central Grocers implemented GenDrive from the start, adding trucks to its fleet became a simple matter of purchasing the truck and the GenDrive unit. There was no need to be concerned with available battery charging infrastructure or additional batteries.”

About Plug Power Inc.

The architects of modern fuel cell technology, Plug Power revolutionized the industry with cost-effective power solutions that increase productivity, lower operating costs and reduce carbon footprints. Long-standing relationships with industry leaders forged the path for our key accounts, including Wegmans, Whole Foods, and FedEx Freight. With more than 1,000 units in the field and over 2 million hours of runtime, Plug Power manufactures tomorrow’s incumbent power solutions today. Visit us at www.plugpower.com.

High Power Density Fuel Cells Test Update

ITM Power (AIM: ITM), the energy storage and clean fuel company, is pleased to announce an early technical result from the initial phase of the high power density fuel cell membrane testing, an ambitious technology development project supported with £108,000 of research funding from the Carbon Trust.

ITM Power has demonstrated exceptionally high power densities by developing its proprietary hydrocarbon membrane materials for hydrogen/oxygen fuel cells. A step change from the current state of the art has been achieved, with what is believed to be the highest power density ever recorded for a PEM fuel cell (5.5W/cm2 and 10A/cm2) using pure oxygen. ITM Power has now successfully demonstrated the performance of the membrane in a hydrogen/air fuel cell developing over 2.1W/cm2 and 4A/cm2, more than doubling the power density performance presently available on the market.

While the Company’s initial investigations focused on hydrogen and oxygen fed fuel cells, a commercial fuel cell system for deployment in a vehicle requires air to be used as the oxidant. This early result with air exceeds the ambitious target of 1.5W/cm2 which was defined as part of the Carbon Trust project and is further evidence of the potential for ITM Power’s materials to offer a step change in performance.

The project continues to progress well. ITM Power will disclose further information to the market upon project completion. The summary of the power density performance achieved by ITM’s patented membrane technology has been updated today on the Company’s website:

http://www.itm-power.com/cmsFiles/investors/CarbonTrust_GrantAward.pdf

Commenting for ITM Power, CEO Graham Cooley said: “I am very pleased with the rate of technical progress.  Exceeding our power density target for the fuel cell during the initial phase of the Carbon Trust project shows the huge potential of our materials and enthusiasm with which we are attaching this development.  I look forward to reporting further progress on completion of the project.”

Pierre Gaudillat, Research and Development Manager, Carbon Trust added: “We are delighted with how the fuel cell project with ITM is progressing.  It is clear that ITM’s technology has a great deal to offer and we continue to facilitate introductions to potential commercial end users interested in these exciting developments.”

Bac2 Ltd
Bac2 is the developer of ElectroPhen®, an electrically conductive plastic that will make a significant contribution to the early adoption of clean energy from fuel cell stacks. Fuel cells are technically proven sources of clean energy for our planet, but adoption is presently limited by cost. Bac2 is in the process of developing ElectroPhen® commercially and has patents pending in Europe, America and Japan. ElectroPhen® is made from readily available low-cost constituents, can be pressed or moulded to complex shapes, and is robust enough for harsh environments. By comparison, competitors produce composite plates using electrically insulating resins to bind together conductive particles such as graphite. In addition to its role in fuel cells, Bac2 will find an increasingly wide range of applications for ElectroPhen in electrical and electronic industries.