By Christina Williams

Sustainable Business Oregon

Thirty-eight ClearEdge fuel cell systems will be installed in an effort by the U.S. Department of Energy to encourage fuel cell deployment.

ClearEdge Power announced Tuesday that it landed a $2.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. ClearEdge will work with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to deploy and track 38 of its fuel cell systems in 10 organizations.

Hillsboro-based ClearEdge was tapped by the DOE’s Fuel Cell Technologies Program, which aims to support the development and deployment of hydrogen fuel cells. The grant awarded to ClearEdge supports reduced-cost installations of fuel cells as test cases.

“The feedback they got from the industry was that we need a way to help defray the upfront cost of these systems for the end user,” said Mike Upp, vice president of marketing for ClearEdge.

Venture-backed ClearEdge put together a proposal that included the 10 organizations — including a hotel, a community college, a multi-family housing unit and a grocery store, among others — that the company will work with to install the 38 subsidized fuel cell systems. Upp said the organizations were selected for their leadership in their industry and in sustainability.

The DOE selected ClearEdge’s proposal and the 38 fuel cell systems will be installed by the end of September.

Researchers from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, which is operated by Battelle for the DOE, will monitor each installation and gather performance data for case studies.

“The result will be credible third-party validation that will be worth its weight in gold for us,” Upp said.

The systems installed will be the ClearEdge5 fuel cell, which carry a list price of $56,000 each before incentives. The DOE is covering 45 percent of the cost of the systems under the fuel cell program.

ClearEdge customers can expect to save between 25 percent and 45 percent in utility bills and see a 35 percent to 45 percent reduction in carbon footprint.

For ClearEdge, which is working with Goldman Sachs to raise its Series E round of financing, the program is a significant vote of confidence for its technology.

“Go back to the basic textbook of crossing the chasm,” Upp said. “You need to have proof points for the technology. This will be huge for that.”

ClearEdge has 225 employees and two new East Coast offices. Upp said the northeast United States is proving a strong market for the company due to the combination of strong clean energy incentives and pricey energy rates. Korea, where ClearEdge also has an office, is another hot market for fuel cells.

WASHINGTON DC —Gasket performance is integral to the successful long-term operation of a fuel cell stack. With this in mind, the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association (FCHEA) Gasket Focus Group has published a report addressing industry concerns regarding gasket performance and testing standardization.

The report comes as a culmination of a two-year effort, achieved by identifying, selecting and using test protocols to evaluate various gasket materials and measure property change and material losses over a 2,000 hour time period.

“We hope that this report will help the industry by suggesting suitable means of evaluating gaskets and helping to facilitate gasket choices for improved performance of future fuel cell stacks,” said Robert Wichert, Technical Director of the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association.

Standardization of gasket testing methods should provide a means to evaluate new materials and compare them with materials that have already been benchmarked using the same standard methods. Material selection concerns include out-gassing, degradation and extraction of the gasket’s material components, which may contribute to contaminant migration into the active areas of the fuel cell stack. Another key concern is the potential for internal and/or external leakage of fuel cell reactant gases when gasket materials lose their compression-set capabilities and thus lose their “sealing contact“ with the adjoining substrates.

After significant deliberation, the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association Gasket Focus Group determined that existing ASTM Methods could be used to evaluate material physical properties of gasket material candidates. As an “evaluation exercise“ of the test methods, the group selected and tested candidate materials with physical and material properties believed important for sealing the interface of the Membrane Electrode Assembly and individual cells of a Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell stack.

Rice University lab shows potential of calcium/carbyne lattice to power vehicles
BY MIKE WILLIAMS

Rice News staff

A nanoscale grapevine with hydrogen grapes could someday provide your car’s preferred vintage of fuel.

Rice University researchers have determined that a lattice of calcium-decorated carbyne has the potential to store hydrogen at levels that easily exceed Department of Energy (DOE) goals for use as a “green” alternative fuel for vehicles.

	YAKOBSON LAB/RICE UNIVERSITY
	Rice University theoretical physicist Boris Yakobson and his colleagues found potential for efficient hydrogen storage and retrieval in a calcium-decorated carbyne lattice. The material would meet, and likely exceed, the target set by the Department of Energy for hydrogen-powered vehicles by 2015.

The rise of nanoscale strategies for energy storage has been dramatic in recent years, as evidenced by labs worldwide suggesting various ways to use nanotubes and ribbons as a medium. But they may not be thinking small enough, according to new research by the lab of theoretical physicist Boris Yakobson that was published this week in the online journal Nano Letters. Yakobson is Rice’s Karl F. Hasselmann Chair in Engineering and a professor of materials science and mechanical engineering and of chemistry.

Carbyne is a chain of carbon atoms; it’s what you’d get if you could pull a string from a slice of graphene the same way you’d pull a loose thread from a sweater. “A one-atom rod of carbon is as thin as it can ever get, way thinner than a carbon nanotube,” Yakobson said.

Carbyne is considered an exotic material, but recent experiments show it can be synthesized and stabilized at room temperature, where the storage is mainly of interest. That’s important, Yakobson said, because other nanoscale materials such as carbon nanotubes, graphene and even buckyballs are effective for hydrogen storage only at conditions that are too cold.

It’s the calcium that serves as a bait and makes room-temperature storage possible for carbyne. Formed into a lattice, carbyne alone could theoretically store around 50 percent of its weight in hydrogen, far above the 6.5 percent capacity target set by the DOE for 2015. But the weak binding could work only at very low temperatures, Yakobson said.

Not so with calcium added. It allows the lattice to adsorb hydrogen with a binding energy favorable for effective room-temperature, reversible storage. Because calcium atoms don’t cluster, they can be distributed along the carbyne strands like grapes on a vine and bind as many as six hydrogen atoms each; this would give the network a potential storage capacity of about 8 percent of its weight.

Because a scaffold of single-atom chains would be light and airy, there would be more room for the hydrogen “grapes” to aggregate.

Yakobson and his colleagues suggested several scalable strategies for practical hydrogen storage. In one that resembles the so-called metal organic frames recently studied by Yakobson’s lab, a diamond-like lattice would allow five hydrogen atoms to be adsorbed at each calcium atom; the total capacity would be determined by the number of carbon atoms in each strand.

In the other, they suggested pulling calcium-decorated strands of atoms from graphene, which would serve as a frame for the array.

Yakobson said it is difficult to estimate when either of these or some other realization might happen. “But I am optimistic. From this theoretical concept, and based on experimental evidence of carbyne synthesis and experience with metal organic frame architectures, it may take two to three years to produce carbyne networks and, say, one to two years to tweak the calcium enrichment to obtain a material with good capacity for hydrogen,” he said. “So in three to five years, one can have an industrial sample and then move to scale up — that is, with intense work and some luck.”

Lead authors of the paper are Pavel Sorokin, a former postdoctoral researcher in Yakobson’s lab and now a senior researcher at the Technological Institute for Superhard and Novel Carbon Materials in Moscow, and Hoon Kyung Lee, a Rice postdoctoral research associate. Co-authors are Lyubov Yu Antipina of the Technological Institute for Superhard and Novel Carbon Materials and Abhishek Singh, a former postdoctoral researcher for Yakobson and now an assistant professor at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, India.

The Robert Welch Foundation and the Department of Energy supported the research.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — In the search for superconductors, finding ways to compress hydrogen into a metal has been a point of focus ever since scientists predicted many years ago that electricity would flow, uninhibited, through such a material.

Liquid metallic hydrogen is thought to exist in the high-gravity interiors of Jupiter and Saturn. But so far, on Earth, researchers have been unable to use static compression techniques to squeeze hydrogen under high enough pressures to convert it into a metal. Shock-wave methods have been successful, but as experiments with diamond anvil cells have shown, hydrogen remains an insulator even under pressures equivalent to those found in the Earth’s core.

To circumvent the problem, a pair of University at Buffalo chemists has proposed an alternative solution for metallizing hydrogen: Add sodium to hydrogen, they say, and it just might be possible to convert the compound into a superconducting metal under significantly lower pressures.

The research, published June 10 in Physical Review Letters, details the findings of UB Assistant Professor Eva Zurek and UB postdoctoral associate Pio Baettig.

Using an open-source computer program that UB PhD student David Lonie designed, Zurek and Baettig looked for sodium polyhydrides that, under pressure, would be viable superconductor candidates. The program, XtalOpt, is an evolutionary algorithm that incorporates quantum mechanical calculations to determine the most stable geometries or crystal structures of solids.

In analyzing the results, Baettig and Zurek found that NaH9, which contains one sodium atom for every nine hydrogen atoms, is predicted to become metallic at an experimentally achievable pressure of about 250 gigapascals — about 2.5 million times the Earth’s standard atmospheric pressure, but less than the pressure at the Earth’s core (about 3.5 million atmospheres).

“It is very basic research,” says Zurek, a theoretical chemist. “But if one could potentially metallize hydrogen using the addition of sodium, it could ultimately help us better understand superconductors and lead to new approaches to designing a room-temperature superconductor.”

By permitting electricity to travel freely, without resistance, such a superconductor could dramatically improve the efficiency of power transmission technologies.

Zurek, who joined UB in 2009, conducted research at Cornell University as a postdoctoral associate under Roald Hoffmann, a Nobel Prize-winning theoretical chemist whose research interests include the behavior of matter under high pressure.

In October 2009, Zurek co-authored a paper with Hoffman and other colleagues in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences predicting that LiH6 — a compound containing one lithium atom for every six hydrogen atoms — could form as a stable metal at a pressure of around 1 million atmospheres.

Neither LiH6 and NaH9 exists naturally as stable compounds on Earth, but under high pressures, their structure is predicted to be stable.

“One of the things that I always like to emphasize is that chemistry is very different under high pressures,” Zurek says. “Our chemical intuition is based upon our experience at one atmosphere. Under pressure, elements that do not usually combine on the Earth’s surface may mix, or mix in different proportions. The insulator iodine becomes a metal, and sodium becomes insulating. Our aim is to use the results of computational experiments in order to help develop a chemical intuition under pressure, and to predict new materials with unusual properties.”

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, a flagship institution in the State University of New York system and its largest and most comprehensive campus. UB’s more than 28,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American Universities.

Thousands of people across the nation enjoyed a glimpse into a clean energy future thanks to the renewable-hydrogen-powered bus at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) supported the deployment of NREL’s bus, along with a dozen other hydrogen-fueled buses at federal facilities across the country, to demonstrate market-ready, advanced technology vehicles and showcase hydrogen fuel’s role in our nation’s portfolio of sustainable transportation options.

NREL showcased the bus at a variety of outreach events in the Denver area. The bus reached an extraordinary number of people during its tenure at the laboratory—more than 5,500 people visited NREL’s booth at the Taste of Colorado alone, with 93 media outlets featuring the bus in print, online, and television spots.

NREL also used the bus as the primary shuttle vehicle for visitors, members of the media, and new employees. All told, nearly 750 passengers rode in the bus during its 91 tours around the NREL campus.

One of the things that visitors found most intriguing was the fact that the hydrogen fueling the bus was produced using renewable resources.

The bus filled up at NREL’s on-site hydrogen fueling station, which dispenses hydrogen made with wind and solar energy. The hydrogen at the station is produced via water electrolysis as part of the wind-to-hydrogen project, which uses wind turbines and photovoltaic arrays to power electrolyzer stacks that split water into hydrogen and oxygen.

More about H₂ICE Vehicles
Ford Motor Company was one of the first automakers to develop hydrogen-powered internal combustion engines (H₂ICEs), which use the same basic technology as gasoline-powered engines but run on hydrogen fuel. Only modest design adjustments are needed to switch a gasoline-powered engine to a hydrogen-powered engine, such as specifically designed spark plugs and alternate materials for valve seats and other parts that may become brittle when exposed to hydrogen, so the engine technology is familiar to mechanics and fleet personnel.

The use of hydrogen from renewable resources as an alternative fuel in vehicles with internal combustion engines (ICEs) has the potential to provide significant benefits in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution, and the use of imported oil. Hydrogen contains no carbon, so a hydrogen-powered ICE does not emit carbon dioxide at the point source. In addition, since hydrogen burns cleaner than other fuels, hydrogen-powered ICEs can help improve air quality by reducing emissions of criteria pollutants such as nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and particulate matter. Finally, hydrogen can be produced using domestic resources, so its use could help reduce our dependence on imported oil.

Fast Facts about Hydrogen and Fuel Cells

• Hydrogen can be made from a wide variety of domestic, renewable resources such as solar, wind, biomass, and geothermal energy.
• Enough hydrogen is produced in the United States every year to fuel 34 million fuel cell vehicles. Right now the hydrogen is used primarily for commercial and industrial purposes such as cleaning up petroleum fuels and ammonia.
• Hydrogen is neither more nor less hazardous than more common fuels like natural gas, propane, or gasoline.
• Hydrogen is up to 25 percent more efficient than gasoline in conventional spark ignition engines and more than twice as efficient in fuel cell power trains.
• With very few cost and technical issues limiting commercialization and deployment, H₂ICE vehicles can help create the demand needed to support the build out of a hydrogen fueling infrastructure.

What’s Next?
NREL recently commenced its 6-week lease of a Kia fuel cell electric vehicle for display at an assortment of summer events. Stay tuned to this website for event times and locations.

Learn more about hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles and NREL’s hydrogen and fuel cell research.

EERE’s Fuel Cell Technologies Program conducts comprehensive efforts to overcome the technological, economic, and institutional obstacles to the widespread commercialization of fuel cells and related technologies. The Program works with partners in industry, academia, non-profit institutions, and the national laboratories.

• 58.35 per cent of shareholders accept the offer
• Important milestone in the takeover process of Tognum AG
• Additional acceptance period for the offer expires on June 20, 24.00 hrs (CET)
• Daimler and Rolls-Royce expect further shares to be tendered during additional acceptance period
• Tognum Management and Supervisory Board have tendered their shares
• Combination creates strong foundation for future growth

Stuttgart/London – Following the expiry of the acceptance period for its public takeover offer for Tognum AG, Daimler AG and Rolls-Royce Holdings plc now hold a total of 59.87 per cent of Tognum shares through their Joint Venture Engine Holding GmbH. The bidders received acceptance declarations for an expected equivalent of 58.35 per cent of the share capital of Tognum AG (about 76,657,611 million shares). The current total of 59.87 also includes around 1.5 per cent of the share capital (about 2 million shares) that was acquired by the Joint Venture on the stock market during the acceptance period.

Daimler and Rolls-Royce are very pleased with this convincing result. It represents a milestone in the takeover process of Tognum AG and lays a strong foundation for the future co-operation of the three companies.

Since the 30 per cent threshold required for the takeover offer has been exceeded, an additional acceptance period of two weeks is granted in accordance with German law. Therefore, remaining shareholders can tender their shares into the offer from June 7 to June 20, 24:00 hrs (CET). Daimler and Rolls-Royce expect further shares to be tendered during the additional acceptance period.

By combining the strengths, technology and market access of Daimler, Rolls-Royce and Tognum, the joint venture will establish a leading industrial engine systems and solutions company, offering a broad portfolio of products, services and integrated solutions on a worldwide basis.

On April 6, 2011, Daimler and Rolls-Royce made a public takeover offer to purchase all outstanding shares of Tognum AG through their joint venture. The offer was increased by two Euros to 26 Euro per Tognum share on May 16. The Supervisory and Management Boards of Tognum AG fully support the attractive offer and already have tendered their shares. The Executive and the Supervisory Board recommend the acceptance of the offer to all shareholders of Tognum AG.

Like mutual back-scratching, two common bacteria involved in what was thought to be only a marginally important relationship actually help each other thrive when grown together in bioreactors, Cornell scientists have discovered.

Provided

Bioelectrochemical reactors in the Angenent Lab.

Understanding this symbiotic relationship could lead to, for example, more efficient microbiology-based fuel cells or better methods for preventing such natural processes as rust corrosion.

The research was led by Largus Angenent, associate professor of biological and environmental engineering, and was published online June 2 by Energy and Environmental Science, a publication of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

To study the bacterial interactions, the scientists fed glucose into a bioelectrochemical reactor, which is a reactor in which bacteria on electrodes convert organic material into electricity.

The glucose fed the bacterium Enterobacter aerogenes, which, in turn, produced the product 2,3-butanediol. This became a food source for another bacterium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

In the meantime, the researchers discovered, Pseudomonas activity was upregulated, which in turn increased the presence and activity of Enterobacter. The result was a 14-fold increase in the electric current production from Enterobacter and Pseudomonas combined in the bioelectrochemical reactor, than by either microbe by itself.

The fermentation product 2,3-butanediol was the key stimulator for the mutually beneficial interactions between the two bacteria within a closed system bioelectrochemical reactor.

The work could lead to increased efficiency of microbial fuel cells by better understanding of microbial communities. The two bacteria studied also have wide-reaching implications. For example, Pseudomonas is a well-known human pathogen that resides in the lungs.

The paper’s first author was graduate student Arvind Venkataraman, who was involved in hypothesis development and designed and conducted the experiments. The work was supported by a National Science Foundation CAREER grant.

Fuel cells that use hydrogen or methane to generate electricity in chemical reactions while shedding only harmless byproducts like water are dream products for engineers, environmentalists and business leaders searching for clean, alternative ways to power tomorrow’s vehicles.

While high hurdles stand before the cheap manufacturing of fuel cells, engineers and scientists at the University of Illinois at Chicago and nearby Argonne National Laboratory are starting a tightly focused research project to develop solid oxide fuel cells that may meet this goal.

“Solid oxide fuel cells offer the potential to scale down to very small dimensions,” said Christos Takoudis, professor of bio- and chemical engineering at UIC, and lead investigator in a new $475,000 National Science Foundation grant to investigate ways to synthesize and characterize this type of fuel cell in a temperature range lower than what most currently operate.

SOFCs oxidize fuels by electrochemical conversion to create electricity, using a solid oxide as the electrolyte between an anode and cathode circuit. While their small size and solid state are attractive attributes, the higher operating temperatures that SOFCs’ need — currently as high as 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit — are a big drawback.

Takoudis and his colleagues hope they can lower the operating temperatures to what is considered the “intermediate range” of between 1,100 and 1,500 degrees.

They also want to see if such fuel cells can be created at the “nano” level, measuring thickness in mere single-digit layers of atoms.

“We’re trying to come up with new materials and processes to make these fuel cells very efficient at lower temperatures. Material and design demands for higher temperatures are much more severe and require additional precautionary measures,” Takoudis said.

A key research focus is how well the main elements — the anode, electrolyte and cathode — work at interface junctions and what contamination problems exist, if any.

“As dimensions shrink, it becomes even more important, because the actual contact area is much greater with respect to the total volume than it is in bigger systems,” Takoudis said.

UIC researchers will grow the materials to test as potential solid anodes, cathodes and electrolytes for their SOFCs, and then use Takoudis’ lab and Argonne’s Advanced Photon Source for a close probe of the materials as they generate electricity.

Jeffrey Miller, leader of Argonne’s heterogeneous catalysis group, will oversee that part of the work. Other project investigators working with Takoudis include UIC engineering adjunct professors Gregory Jursich and Alan Zdunek, who will study the process of atomic layer and chemical vapor deposition methods to create fuel cell components and ways to maximize efficiency. Robert Klie, UIC associate professor of physics, will supervise electron microscopy study and analysis of material interfaces.

Creation of microscopic-sized, cooler-operating, highly efficient solid oxide fuel cells may open up a world of possible applications that offer the twin benefits of being ecologically benign and cheap.

“Today’s cost of fuel cells is prohibitive,” Takoudis said. “Our group wants to push the technology envelope to help make the costs reasonable and create a power source that does little harm to the environment.”

The state has convinced an innovative California manufacturer of electricity-producing fuel cells to build its East Coast manufacturing facility on the site of the old Chrysler plant in Newark, bringing as many as 1,500 much-needed jobs to Delaware and boosting the University of Delaware’s vision for a thriving high-tech center.

Bloom Energy of Sunnyvale, Calif., turned down more generous offers from several other states in deciding to base its first East Coast expansion in Delaware, according to Josh Richman, vice president of business development at Bloom, considered a prominent player in the emerging field of fuel cells.

Over the next five years, Bloom expects to hire about 900 workers for a manufacturing facility on the southwestern portion of the Chrysler site and predicts a minimum of 600 more jobs will follow as its suppliers open Delaware bases of operations. State officials anticipate six of those suppliers will set up shop on the Chrysler property, which qualifies as a “brownfield” given its 60-year history of automaking.

Bloom expects to break ground on its 200,000-square-foot facility this fall, and the factory should be up and running in mid-2012. Construction is estimated to create 350 jobs this year. The 900-worker goal should be attainable in just two years, said Alan Levin, Delaware’s economic development director.

The company will receive millions of dollars in incentives from the state, but must reach employment milestones within the next five years. Key aspects of the deal are contingent on regulatory, municipal and legislative approvals, which are expected to be addressed soon.

“This is something that we have been working on for a very long time — 14 months,” Gov. Jack Markell said before disclosing the deal. The deal was born with the help of some established relationships — DNREC Secretary Collin O’Mara already knew Richman, for example.

Working behind the scenes, Markell and his advisers, with some help from Sen. Tom Carper, convinced Bloom that Delaware had the right location, work force and accommodating atmosphere for the company to begin its push for East Coast business.

“Delaware at that time was not anywhere on our map,” Richman said.

“We said, ‘We think it should be on your map,’” Markell added. “We need to show companies that we understand their industries better than any other state ever would.”

Today’s announcement by Markell is a landmark in the state’s efforts to repurpose New Castle County’s two auto assembly plants, which both closed in recent years and added to the job woes of a once-robust manufacturing sector. A builder of electric hybrid vehicles, Fisker Automotive, plans to retrofit the old General Motors plant near Newport to once again churn out cars starting in 2012, utilizing more than $500 million in federal and state loans and grants and even more in private venture capital.

It’s a welcome development for Delaware’s hard-hit manufacturing sector, which lost 13,900 jobs — almost 20 percent — from 1990-2001, even before the recession arrived. In Delaware, manufacturing-sector workers earned an average of $52,500 in 2005, $8,000 more than the average Delaware worker.

It is the third major economic development coup for Markell, coming after the 2009 recruitment of Fisker and last year’s intervention to prevent the permanent closure of the refinery near Delaware City and assist in its sale to PBF Energy. Those two deals are expected to create 2,600 jobs — 2,000 at the Fisker plant, 600 at the refinery.

The Bloom Energy deal also gives a boost to the state’s ongoing efforts to cast Delaware as a center for alternative energy technology. “We’re replacing 20th century jobs with 21st century jobs,” said Richman.

Line workers, electrical engineers and sales specialists are expected to be among the positions created in Delaware.

The fuel-cell operations — including Bloom and its suppliers — are expected take of 50 of the plant’s 272 acres, which UD is working to turn into a high-tech hub for research and medicine. UD has several areas of research — including fuel cell technology, biomass fuel conversion and energy storage technology — that will bolster an ongoing partnership with Bloom, said UD President Patrick Harker.

“This fits into the whole portfolio of work that we have across the whole spectrum of energy and environmental” technology, he said. “It’s not hyperbole. This is real. We can pull this off.”

The deal also has great potential for allowing UD to leverage Bloom’s presence into wider interest in the site, officials believe.

Bloom, which was founded in 2001, builds “blocks” of fuel cells that are used by utilities and corporations as a means of electricity production. Using some type of input fuel — most commonly, natural gas — the blocks use an electrochemical reaction to convert that energy into electricity. It’s a technology that is cleaner, more efficient and less costly than many existing methods of electricity production, Bloom says.

Because there is no combustion involved in the process, 40 percent to 50 percent less carbon dioxide pollution is created, Richman said. Because its high-temperature operating regime is more efficient, it produces twice as much electricity per unit of fuel than conventional plants. The cells can run on any type of fuel, from ethanol to bio-fuels.

The privately held company, which has raised tens of millions in capital through investors, casts itself as a revolutionary in energy production, saying its technology has the potential to change the way power is produced on a truly broad scale. By generating power on a customer’s site, Bloom’s boxy “energy server” units also can offer companies increased reliability, the company says.

“Our customers generate their own electricity for less than they pay the power company,” company documents say. “These savings typically provide a 3- to 5-year payback on their initial capital investment.”

Yet Bloom, unlike Fisker, isn’t a company that is exploring a fledgling technology — fuel cells and their potential have captivated many researchers’ attention globally, and many other well-hyped advancements have failed to catch on. What Bloom seems to have captured is a particular recipe for the cells, along with a lot of attention — from the television new magazine “60 Minutes,” and from top business publications.

ecrecy and caution also has been a hallmark of the firm, which only last year unveiled its technology and goals to the public. Most of its current customers are on the West Coast, where buyers of its on-site energy units are companies at the forefront of modern technologies, and some leaders of old-school commerce, including Google, eBay, Adobe, Walmart, Coca-Cola and Bank of America.

In Delaware, the technology is seen by its proponents as a perfect fit for such big employers as the racetrack casinos, DuPont Co. and even Fisker.

Delmarva Power already has signed on to use Bloom’s fuel cells to generate 30 megawatts of power for its customers, with a goal of 50 megawatts over the next three years. Bloom’s technology will help the company reach its mandate of having 25 percent of its electricity come from “renewable” energy sources, said Gary R. Stockbridge, president of Delmarva Power Region of Pepco Holdings.

In Delmarva’s case, “Bloom Fields” of fuel-cell units located near Red Lion will be operated and maintained by Bloom for 20 years.

The Legislature must first establish a regulatory framework that includes Bloom’s fuel cells as a renewable energy source. A new rate class also must be established by the Public Service Commission so that Delmarva can bring this type of power into its “portfolio” of energy sources and pay a tariff to Bloom. That accommodation is expected to cost its customers less than a dollar a month on average.

“We see this as a starting point for a much bigger relationship,” Stockbridge said.

Bloom was attracted with the help of millions in incentives from the state:

• It eventually will get $11.2 million if it reaches the 900-employee hiring goal, but portions of that money can be “clawed back” by the state if it falls short, Levin said.

• The state also will pay up to 3 percent of Bloom’s expenditures for outfitting the facility, up to a maximum payout of $1.5 million. A minimum of 50 percent of the work on the facilities of Bloom and its suppliers must be done by Delaware contractors and subcontractors.

CHICAGO– JBT Corporation (NYSE: JBT) announced that its JBT AeroTech business has teamed with InnovaTek and EnerFuel in the development of a Fuel Cell Range Extender for battery-powered airport ground support equipment. The multi-phase project is funded by a Department Of Energy grant through their Small Business Innovation Research Program.

JBT AeroTech will collaborate with InnovaTek, a leader in fuel processing technology, and EnerFuel, a fuel cell developer, during Phase I to establish the technology’s feasibility to reduce the emissions and fuel costs of airport ground support equipment. The project’s overall objective is to develop a fuel cell power system capable of converting Bio-Jet fuel to electricity for the on-board recharging of an electric vehicle’s battery.  Upon successful completion of the first phase, the project will be eligible for follow-on grants to develop, demonstrate and commercialize the product.

“JBT AeroTech is excited to team up with InnovaTek and EnerFuel for this innovative project which has the potential to make clean energy available for a wide range of aircraft ground support equipment,” said John Lee, Vice President and Division Manager, JBT AeroTech. “This project aligns well with JBT’s Corporate Social Responsibility commitment to develop efficient solutions for the airlines, ground handling companies and airport authorities to meet their future emission requirements.”

About JBT Corporation

JBT Corporation (NYSE: JBT) is a leading global solutions provider to the food processing and air transportation industries. JBT Corporation designs, manufactures, tests and services technologically sophisticated systems and products for regional and multi-national industrial food processing customers through its JBT FoodTech segment and for domestic and international air transportation customers through its JBT AeroTech segment. JBT Corporation employs approximately 3,300 people worldwide and operates sales, service, manufacturing and sourcing operations located in over 25 countries. For more information please visit www.jbtcorporation.com or www.jbtaerotech.com.

JBT AeroTech, a global leader in high value, motorized airport ground support equipment has been manufacturing electric powered vehicles since 1982.  Current electric powered product offerings include the Commander 15i electric loader, B400e push back tractor, CPT-7e cargo transporter, UES-2  passenger boarding steps and RampSnake® mobile bulk loader.

About InnovaTek, Inc.

InnovaTek, Inc. creates technologies for environmental safety and sustainable power.  InnovaTek is a leader in portable fuel processing technology and advanced catalysts for hydrogen production from petroleum and renewable fuels.  For more information, visit www.innovatek.com.

About EnerFuel

A wholly owned subsidiary of Ener1, Inc., EnerFuel has been developing high temperature PEM fuel cell stack and system technology since 2006.  The Company has demonstrated expertise in developing integrated fuel cell and battery power systems.  For more information, visit www.enerfuel.com.

LONDON–Methanol is increasingly being used for various applications. Among them – the ever broadening new technological advances such as alternative fuels, fuel cells, DME, LPG. Those industrial fields are projected to drive the methanol market vigorously in the foreseeable future. The use of methanol in automobile and construction industries experienced a drastic fall during the recession, however today the signs of reviving of these sectors are widely reported along with the rising indexes of methanol consumption.

Methanol based fuel cells are considered to be the most prominent growth segment for the methanol market. At first steps this technology was aimed at automotive uses, nevertheless the customer electronics needs of transportable power generation (for laptops, cell phones, etc.) are forecast to play an important role in development of this methanol based technology.

Detailed review and forecast on global, regional and country markets of methanol can be found in the new market research report “Methanol: 2011 World Market Outlook And Forecast” that covers present situation, historical background and future forecast and addresses comprehensive data showing methanol capacities, production, consumption, trade statistics, and prices in the recent years are provided (globally, regionally and by country).

Report Details:

Methanol: 2011 World Market Outlook And Forecast
Published: February, 2011
Pages: 192
http://mcgroup.co.uk/researches/methanol

The report indicates a wealth of information on methanol producers and suppliers, covers ethanol production in the respective country, major methanol producers, methanol consumption in the country market, methanol trade in the country, methanol prices. Methanol market forecast for next five years, including market volumes and prices is also provided.

The study on methanol has been completed by Merchant Research & Consulting Ltd, an internationally recognized market research agency, specializing in chemical industry. “Methanol: 2011 World Market Outlook And Forecast” is included into the catalogue “Alcohols, Acids & Esters”, which also highlights Acetic Acid, Acrylic Acid, Acrylonitrile, Ethylene Oxide, Isopropanol, Ethylene Dichloride, Propylene Glycol, Monoethylene Glycol, Sulfuric Acid markets.

Monthly report updates for “Methanol: 2011 World Market Outlook And Forecast” are available at http://mcgroup.co.uk/periodicals/monthly

8^th International Conference and Exhibition on Hydrogen, Fuel Cells and Electric Drives

H2Expo 2011 was opened this morning by Frank Horch, Hamburg’s Minister of Economics, Transport and Innovation. The key subjects of the International Conference and Exhibition on Hydrogen, Fuel Cells and Electric Drives are the applications of these technologies in shipping and aerospace, plus the necessary infrastructure, and electric vehicles. Some 70 speakers from industry, research and government from 11 countries will inform conference participants today and tomorrow on the latest trends and developments.

Leading companies and institutions will present their services and products in parallel to the conference. The “Ride&Drive” area gives visitors a good look at various electric vehicles with fuel cell or battery drive, and hybrid vehicles, and even gives them a chance to take a test drive. Hamburg is currently the first German city to hold the title of European Green Capital, and is internationally a front runner in sustainable projects and events.

Bernd Aufderheide, President and CEO of Hamburg Messe und Congress (HMC): “H2Expo is making an important contribution to further expansion of forward looking energy and mobility technologies. For two days – today and tomorrow – H2Expo is a forum for intensive exchange of knowledge, for dialogue and for networking, with experts from Germany and abroad. We give developers, users and manufacturers a chance to present themselves, to provide information and hold discussions on their projects and products, and to generate new synergies. It has emerged in the past few days and weeks how urgent it is to find rapid solutions to work with the far-reaching decisions made by the Federal Government.”

Frank Horch, Hamburg Minister of Economics, Transport and Innovation: “We believe that renewable energies and environmental technologies are a field of future activity that is not only becoming increasingly relevant, but will also create sustainable, high-quality jobs here in Hamburg. We want to become an innovation capital for Europe. H2Expo is making an important contribution here for knowledge transfer within the research and scientific community, and in particular for exchange between the business community and scientists.”

Andreas Jung, Managing Director German Energy Agency (dena): “The energy turnaround launched by the Federal Government means we need to completely revamp our energy supply system. We have to improve our energy efficiency, to establish smart electricity systems, and to increase the use of renewables. That means we need innovative technologies for power supply and mobility. Hydrogen is an important option on the way to achieving that.”

Dr. Veit Steinle, Head of Department of Environmental Policy and Infrastructure at the Federal Transport Ministry: “The Federal Ministry of Transport promotes the whole bandwidth of electric vehicles. It is important that we take an approach that is open to different technologies for achievement of our goals. That includes hydrogen and fuel cell technology. The use of hydrogen as an alternative fuel in vehicles is a promising option for electric vehicles. Specifically German companies lead the way in this area. We need this technology, among other things as an alternative and complement to battery powered vehicles – for long distance, for large vehicles, and also for shipping and aviation.”

H2Expo – 8^th International Conference and Exhibition on Hydrogen, Fuel Cells and Electric Drives, takes place at the Hamburg Fair site on 8 and 9 June. The principal sponsors are Vattenfall and Germanischer Lloyd. Opening times: from 09:00 to 18:00 daily. Admission to the exhibition (Central Entrance, next to Television Tower) costs EUR 7, concessions for school and university students EUR 3.50; admission is free of charge on advance registration at the website. For information on participation fees and registration for the Conference, and all other information, please visit the website www.h2expo.de

by Euan Sadden

Fuel cell manufacturers and OEMs continue to benefit from an increased military emphasis on energy security and logistical efficiency associated with the complex and challenging operational conditions being encountered in remote wartime environments such as Afghanistan. Reducing the strategic and tactical vulnerabilities associated with powering military equipment and remote installations has emerged as a leading priority for U.S. military leadership.

Fuel cells complement this mission in many ways offering significantly longer runtimes and significant savings in terms of weight and volume when compared to conventional military power sources such as the BA-5590 batteries and diesel generators. Fuel cell generators also offer tactical advantages by achieving significant reductions in the amount of noise, heat, and emissions associated with conventional diesel generators.

At the same time, logistical concerns regarding fuel availability for fuel cells represents one of the key challenges facing the fuel cell industry. The U.S. Department of Defense currently lacks an effective distribution system for conventional fuel cell fuels such as methanol and propane. Instead, the DOD has emphasized the need for achieving fuel compatibility with specialty military fuels where distribution networks already exist.

These specialty fuels are prominent across a wide spread of military applications. For example, JP?8, a fuel that is similar to commercial diesel and aviation fuel, is considered the most prominent fuel on the battlefield powering everything from tactical generators and unmanned vehicles to the military’s mine resistant ambush protected (MRAP) vehicles, helicopters, and fighter aircraft.

The difficulties associated with engineering fuel cells that can run off these fuels are primarily associated with their high sulfur content. The sulfur content of these fuels is extremely high; up to around 3,000 ppmv S for jet fuels (JP-8, JP-5) and 10,000 ppmv S for naval distillate (NATO F-76). By comparison, commercial gasoline contains 30 ppmv S, while diesel power has around 15 ppmv.

The high sulfur content is poisonous to the reformer and electrode catalysts found in a fuel cell stack. Sulfur compounds in the liquid hydrocarbons must be subsequently reduced to less than 0.1 ppmw for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) and at least less than 30 ppmw for the solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC).

According to Xialiang Ma, Altex Technologies Corporation, the development of new deep desulfurization processes for liquid hydrogen fuels has subsequently become one of the major challenges in developing the hydrocarbon processor for military fuel cell applications. As a result, the DOD has been supporting efforts to engineer hydrocarbon compatible fuel cell processors. For example:

- Adaptive Materials Inc., has been heavily involved in developing technologies that enable the use of JP-5 and JP-8 in fuel cells
- Ceramatec has also shown promising results with its GlidArc plasma reformer successfully reforming JP-8 at the 5kW-10kW scale
- In March 2011, Lockheed Martin and Technology Management Inc. (TMI) operated a fuel cell for 1,000 hours using JP-8

These developments suggest a positive outlook for the integration of fuel cells across a wide range of military power generation applications.

Euan Sadden is a research analyst contributing to Pike Research’s fuel cells and smart energy practices.

Gregory Jerkiewicz’s research has answered some questions about platinum’s catalytic properties that have puzzled scientists for nearly 100 years.

Researchers now understand more about why platinum is so efficient at producing power in hydrogen fuel cells.

“Understanding platinum’s properties for speeding up chemical reactions will potentially enable scientists to create significantly cheaper synthetic or metal alloy alternatives for use in sustainable devices like fuel cells,” says Gregory Jerkiewicz, a professor in the Department of Chemistry who led the groundbreaking study.

Dr. Jerkiewicz’s research team has found that when platinum is used in reactions involving hydrogen it develops an embedded layer of hydrogen just one atom thick. This gives the platinum hydrophobic or water-repelling qualities, meaning that stray water molecules inside the fuel cell cannot bond strongly with the surface of the platinum.

The water-repelling nature of the modified platinum means that incoming hydrogen molecules can easily attach to the surface of the platinum and separate into smaller particles without requiring additional energy to displace any water molecules that are in the way.

The reduction in the energy required for hydrogen molecules to attach to the surface of the platinum means that the process is fast and efficient and the fuel cell can deliver a lot of powe

Alsterwasser has been almost completely rebuilt since it was gutted by fire in April of last year.

The world’s first hybrid fuel cell propulsion passenger ship, Alsterwasser, is back in service on Hamburg’s rivers after being out of action for more than a year because of a fire.

Written by

Joseph Spector

ALBANY — Four hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles lined State Street outside the Capitol on Tuesday as a Rochester-area lawmaker sought to build support for making the technology a key economic development effort in New York.

Assemblyman Joseph Morelle, D-Irondequoit, said bringing the cars to Albany would hopefully build support for the technology, which is being developed in part by General Motors Co. in Honeoye Falls.

“New York can be the global leader in the development of fuel cells and also hopefully the manufacturing of fuel cells,” Morelle said.

Hydrogen fuel-cell technology was once heavily touted in New York, and Gov. George Pataki in the early 2000s proposed creating hydrogen fuel stations along the state Thruway.

But the technology has been slow to be embraced, and the state has only eight private fueling stations, with three of them in Monroe County.

Automakers were in Albany this week seeking to get $215 million in state aid over six years to help develop the technology and start manufacturing the vehicles. The companies estimated the state money would lead to $3.2 billion in private investment.

“This is really imperative for New York to figure out how to adopt this,” said Matt Fronk, a Honeoye Falls-based consultant who helped establish the fuel cell program at GM in 1999. He joined Morelle to advocate for the plan. “What you are seeing here are prototype vehicles. The next step is commercialization,” Fronk said. “New York with a relatively small investment can support the rollout of these.”

The vehicles take hydrogen and combine it with oxygen from the air. The process turns the hydrogen and oxygen into water, producing a free electron which is used to power the vehicles. Advocates said the technology is twice as efficient as a gasoline-powered engine.

Whether the effort will gain momentum is unclear, but Gov. Andrew Cuomo has vowed to make regional economic development a key to his administration.

Brunnthal–SFC Energy AG, technology and market leader in mobile and remote power solutions based on fuel cells, and the Canadian Oil & Gas system integration specialist Ensol Systems Inc. have announced their cooperation. Ensol Systems integrates the EFOY Pro fuel cells of SFC into chemical injection, air compression and independent power packages for oil and gas pipelines and facilities isolated from the grid.

Providing reliable off-grid power to instrumentation and electronic devices servicing and monitoring oil and gas pipelines and facilities is a major challenge for the operators. The solutions used up to now – solar modules or generators – both have limitations in these demanding applications, especially in the cold, dark Canadian winters. EFOY Pro fuel cells ensure 100% power availability in a wide temperature range from +45 °C down to   -20 °C, in any weather, season or climate. Integrated into an insulated and specially engineered Ensol enclosure, they will produce reliable power to extremely cold temperatures of -40 °C. All EFOY integrated products manufactured by Ensol Systems have passed CSA and ETL Electrical Equipment Inspections and are engineered for use in the harshest environments.

As a fuel EFOY Pro uses methanol, an alcohol also called wood alcohol. This environmentally friendly technology can even be used in protected areas and natural reserves. EFOY Pro fuel cells are a very sustainable source of energy, supporting the oil and gas industry in its efforts towards diminishing CO2 emissions. They eliminate the propane/methane venting and waste required for pneumatic power or thermal electric generators.

“System outages due to power failures are a severe problem in the oil & gas industry, as they may adversely affect production, cause data loss and negatively impact logistics costs. Just the cost associated with sending operators to remote sites to replace batteries or address a generator failure is very significant,” says Brad Scott of Ensol Systems Inc. “The EFOY Pro fuel cell really is an enabling solution for our customers, as it will produce power independent of the temperature, the weather or the season. Fuel logistics and installation are easy, and the EFOY Pro systems can be used anywhere.”

“The partnership with Ensol Systems is a big step for us in entering the demanding oil and gas markets,” says Dr. Peter Podesser, CEO of SFC Energy AG. “It demonstrates the growing acceptance of our reliable, environmentally friendly systems in applications, where safety and reliability are of utmost importance.”

Interested parties can experience the EFOY Pro off-grid power solution at GO Expo in Calgary from June 7 to 9, 2011, at the joint booth of Ensol Systems Inc. and SFC Energy, booth no. 1464.

About Ensol Systems, Inc
Ensol Systems Inc. (www.ensolsystems.com) is committed to delivering high quality measurement and control products and services to meet the demands of the challenging applications of customers in the oil and gas industry. For them Ensol translates their field problems into fully integrated engineered solutions, from design to execution and from a conceptual vision to an installed manufactured product.

About SFC Energy
SFC Energy AG (www.sfc.com) is market leader in fuel cell technologies for mobile and off-grid power applications serving the leisure, industrial and defense markets. As one of Germany’s technology pioneers, SFC has won numerous innovation awards. SFC has alliances with leading companies in a wide range of industries. Unlike most other fuel cell manufacturers, who are in the research and development phase or run subsidized demonstration projects, SFC has successfully shipped more than 21,000 fully commercial products to industrial and private end users for more than five years, and has created a convenient fuel cartridge supply infrastructure. SFC is DIN ISO 9001:2000 certified. SFC is based in Brunnthal, Germany, and has a U.S. sales and technical service office in the U.S. SFC Energy AG is listed at the Deutsche Boerse Prime Standard (WKN 756857).

Ilika plc (AIM:IKA), the advanced cleantech materials discovery company, and Aldrich Materials Science, a strategic technology initiative of Sigma-Aldrich (NASDAQ:SIAL), today announced that they have signed an agreement that will see the two companies collaborating to work on the scale-up and commercialization of next generation hydrogen-storage materials. Both parties believe that this enterprise will become a vital component of the energy industry’s efforts to develop consumer-friendly hydrogen storage materials for fuel cell and clean combustion technology.

Hydrogen represents an attractive carrier of energy as its combustion or direct conversion to electricity via a fuel cell does not lead to the emission of carbon dioxide. In addition, hydrogen can be seen as an alternative energy carrier to battery technology since the energy density of hydrogen can be substantially higher than that of batteries. The main criteria for hydrogen storage for transport purposes, as outlined by the US Freedom Car Initiative (http://www.afdc.energy.gov/afdc/pdfs/freedomcar_plan.pdf ), are to supply enough hydrogen to enable a driving range of approximately 500 km, charge and recharge at near room temperature and provide hydrogen at rates fast enough for operation in automobiles. Current prototype applications use either very high pressure compressed hydrogen (approx. 700 bar) or cryogenically cooled liquid hydrogen. These methods consume a significant percentage of the energy content in their compression and conversion, 15% and 30% respectively, and both raise safety concerns. By contrast, Ilika’s storage solution is a solid metal hydride, which exists as a powder stored in a cylinder at moderate pressure (10 bar) and stable at room temperature. When warmed to moderate temperatures, hydrogen is released for use as fuel.

The target weight percentage of hydrogen stored in such a material for it to be economically viable has been set at 6% by the US Department of Energy. Current commercially-available hydride materials can achieve up to 2.3 weight % of hydrogen. The hydride materials being verified and scaled-up by Aldrich Materials Science can potentially store up to 10 weight % of hydrogen, reversibly.

Commenting on the collaboration, Ilika’s CEO, Graeme Purdy, said: “This agreement is a great example of how Ilika works with its partners to develop innovative materials that solve complex industrial challenges, allowing us to share in the resulting commercial upside. Sigma-Aldrich is a world leader with renowned capability in the field of materials science. The scale-up of our materials will benefit from the expertise the Aldrich Materials Science initiative brings to us. In particular, Sigma-Aldrich’s mechano-chemistry know-how and processing is a proven tool for the preparation of novel materials for industrial purposes. We are very pleased to be working with them.”

R&D Manager for Aldrich Materials Science, Viktor Balema, added: “We have been very impressed by Ilika’s unique high-throughput discovery capabilities, which are very complementary to our scale-up facilities at Sigma-Aldrich. The collaboration, done as part of our custom research services, creates the unique opportunity to rapidly move from discovery to first commercialization, making innovative energy storage materials available to end users in a short period of time. Through collaborative custom research projects, we enable materials innovation in the alternative energy, electronics and biomedical markets.”

LATHAM, N.Y.– Plug Power Inc. (Nasdaq:PLUGD), a leader in providing clean, reliable energy solutions, announced today that it has received a letter from The NASDAQ Stock Market advising that the Company has regained compliance with NASDAQ’s minimum bid price listing requirement.

The Company has satisfied the terms of the NASDAQ Listing Qualifications Panel’s February 1, 2011 decision by complying with the minimum bid price requirement of $1.00 per share under NASDAQ Listing Rule 5550(a)(2), and all other criteria for continued listing on The NASDAQ Capital Market. Accordingly, NASDAQ has advised that the matter is now closed.

Proton Power (AIM: PPS), the designer, developer and producer of fuel cells and fuel cell electric hybrid systems, announces that it has agreed with Roundstone Properties Ltd (”Roundstone Properties”) to increase by a further €1.62 million the amount of the convertible loan facility announced on 29 April 2009 (the “Convertible Loan”). All other terms of the Convertible Loan, including the exercise price of 2p (at the exchange rate of 1.08 € per GBP) per Proton Power ordinary share of 1p (”Ordinary Share”), are unchanged and as announced on 29 April 2009.

The outstanding Convertible Loan facility is now up to approximately €9.18 million of which €7.56 million have been drawn down and which would be convertible into 425,000,000 new Ordinary Shares. If issued these 425,000,000 new Ordinary Shares would represent approximately 70 per cent. of the Company’s enlarged share capital.

Related party Transaction

Roundstone Properties is a company connected to Dr. Faiz Nahab, a non-executive director of the Company, and is also a substantial shareholder (as defined in the AIM Rules) of the Company. The extension of the Convertible Loan from Roundstone Properties is therefore classified as a transaction with a related party for the purposes of the AIM Rules. In accordance, therefore, with the AIM Rules, the directors of the Company, with the exclusion of Dr. Faiz Nahab, having consulted with the Company’s nominated adviser, Arbuthnot Securities Limited, consider that the terms of the transaction are fair and reasonable insofar as the Company’s shareholders are concerned.

BERLIN AND VANCOUVER–Daimler has announced that it will outfit its hydrogen fleet with fuel cells produced in Canada. Global engagement in this industry is steadily increasing. In Germany, initiatives like the Clean Energy Partnership (CEP) already have the biggest automakers worldwide onboard. Both Toyota and Honda recently joined the likes of BMW, Daimler, Volkswagen, GM and Ford in the CEP. Chemical companies involved in hydrogen production and other stakeholders are also involved. Germany Trade & Invest is holding an investor event on June 7 in Vancouver to highlight business opportunities for international companies in Germany’s budding fuel cell industry, especially in the growth regions of eastern Germany.

“Germany’s economy is booming and the fuel cell industry is on the verge of a major breakthrough. International companies and government initiatives have created the optimal conditions for companies to prosper, especially in Germany’s high-tech eastern regions,” said Dr. Juergen Friedrich, Chief Executive of Germany Trade & Invest in Berlin.

Daimler, in a joint venture with Ford and Ballard Power Systems, has created a subsidiary called the Automotive Fuel Cell Cooperation (AFCC). At its site in Burnaby near Vancouver, fuel cells for the B-Class F-CELL and the Citaro FuelCell Hybrid city bus will be made. Dr. Andreas Truckenbrodt, CEO of AFCC, along with Geoff Budd of Ballard Power Systems, will highlight the latest developments and business opportunities in Germany at the June 7 event.

Alongside some of the auto industry’s top players, Germany has simultaneously created an excellent framework for investors with generous public programs to support the further development and implementation of fuel cell technology. Funding of EUR 700 million has been made available so far – the biggest program of its kind in Europe. Last month the federal government announced a further EUR 200 million for research in storage technologies including fuel cells. Germany already features over 300 companies and 65 research institutes specializing in fuel cell technology as well as 70 percent of Europe’s fuel cell fleet.

Germany Trade & Invest is the foreign trade and inward investment promotion agency of the Federal Republic of Germany. The organization advises foreign companies looking to expand their business activities in the German market. It provides information on foreign trade to German companies that seek to enter foreign markets.

Havana, Cuba, Jun 3.- Studies for the use of hydrogen as an alternative energy source are underway in Cuba, Director of the Center for Studies on Renewable Energy Technologies (CETER, Spanish) Tania Carbonel Morales said this Thursday.

Carbonel Morales told ACN during the 7th International Conference of Renewable Energy, Energy Saving and Education, that CETER, which is part of the Jose Antonio Echevarria Higher Polytechnic Institute, has a bank to lead assays with mixtures of methane, biofuel and alcohol.

According to the specialist, students of the Institute are actively participating in the study as they are expected to become experts on this matter that will likely revolutionize important branches of the world economy such as ground transportation.

Hydrogen is considered as a potential fuel for the future, faced with the gradual exhaustion of fossil reserves like oil which scientists have predicted to be fully depleted should excessive exploitation continues.

Carbonel Morales said Cuba’s National Hydrogen Group is currently leading pilot tests in ground transportation.

Meanwhile, Iraysa Oviedo Rivero, of Cubaenergia Information Management and Energy Development Center, also participating in the Conference, said the negative impact of renewable sources like hydrogen, carbon or biomass is smaller than that caused by the use of fossil fuels.

Figures provided by CETER indicate that hydrogen has been successfully employed in the transportation of students in the Spanish city of Aragon.

Cuba uses hydrogen in the process of oil extraction and refining,and in the petrochemical and metal processing industries. (acn).

Vehicle electrification is all the rage. In March 2009, President Obama pledged to have 1 million plug-in hybrid electric vehicles on US roads by 2015. Through the Recovery Act and other grants, billions of dollars are being spent to support the introduction of electric vehicles (EVs) into mainstream markets. The goals are to reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil, reduce pollution, and reduce the US carbon footprint.

EnerFuel, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ener1 (NASDAQ: HEV), has been developing electric vehicle range extenders using its proprietary high temperature PEM (HT-PEM) fuel cell system. The range extender assists the vehicle battery power for additional propulsion and acts as an onboard battery charger while the vehicle is parked or idling. The result is increased electric vehicle range without toxic pollutant emissions.

Electric Vehicle Adoption

Widespread market adoption of EVs is anything but assured. The migration of vehicle powering technology from the traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) to the battery requires accepting a difference in vehicle performance along with a change in consumer behavior.

In May 2010, Deloitte Consulting LLP published a study, Gaining Traction: A customer view of electric vehicle mass adoption in the U.S. automotive market, reporting that in a survey of potential EV customers the most important barriers to the purchase of an EV are price, range and vehicle size. The same study states that while an EV with a 50 mile range would meet the daily needs of most drivers, 70% of drivers expect an EV to travel 300 miles. Most EVs are being designed with a driving range of 100 miles or less.

The Deloitte study also assessed potential consumer attitudes towards EV charging. Most consumers want to charge their EVs at home; however 61% of those surveyed do not have access to a garage with an electric power source. The report finds that charging time (i.e. the amount of time the vehicle must be plugged-in to go from its minimum to maximum state of charge) is a major contributor to vehicle adoption. Only 17% of those surveyed were willing to charge at home for a period of 8 hours. A reduction in this requirement from 8 to 4 hours doubled consumer willingness to purchase the EV.

The differences between EVs and ICE vehicles (e.g. no vehicle emissions, no engine noise) are an important selling point. However, these differences must not assume users are willing to accept abrupt lifestyle changes.

The Fuel Cell Range Extender Solution

A high energy density power generator is one way to eliminate the EV range issue. The typical plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) and extended range electric vehicle (EREV) uses an ICE as the generator. Yet, the ICE has many detriments with respect to fuel cells. Most importantly, ICEs produce toxic emissions (NOx, SOx, CO, particulate matter, etc.), operate at relatively low efficiencies, and require an alternator to convert mechanical power to electrical power at the voltage required by the vehicle battery. They also introduce noise and vibration to the vehicle.

The fuel cell is another technology that can serve as a high energy density power generator, however, fuel cells also have limitations. They are expensive and they require hydrogen. EnerFuel is developing a solution that eliminates these barriers. The company’s approach consists of using a relatively low power fuel cell (3kW to 5kW) in conjunction with a reformer to create a low cost fuel cell system that can be fueled with conventional fuels (e.g. gasoline, diesel, biodiesel, ethanol, natural gas, or others).

There have been many failed attempts at commercializing vehicle fuel cell systems with an integrated on board reformer. EnerFuel’s solution has significant distinctions over these attempts. For one, the fuel cell operates between 120°C to 180°C allowing much greater tolerance to contaminants in reformer-produced hydrogen. Also, the fuel cell system operates at discrete power conditions with minimal transients and the system is smaller (and less complex) than previously attempted onboard reformation systems.

These key attributes dramatically simplify overall system design, reducing cost and increasing energy density. Fuel cell operation at high temperatures reduces the need for pure hydrogen from the reformer; a primary technical barrier for the use of reformers with low temperature (60°C to 80°C) PEM fuel cells. The hybridization with batteries reduces the requirement for immediate fuel cell start-up, which allows EnerFuel to use HT-PEM fuel cells.

EnerFuel designed its HT-PEM fuel cell systems with minimal balance of plant. For example, reactant humidification is eliminated, an air cooled design eliminates the need for a coolant loop and radiator, and low pressure operation reduces the need for compressor-expander systems. Balance of plant elimination helps to reduce the cost and increase the reliability of the fuel cell. While the fuel cell stack cost drops almost linearly as its nominal power output drops, the balance of plant of plant costs do not scale down in the same manner. Thus, the EnerFuel HT-PEM fuel cell system can have a cost advantage over more complex systems in this application.

The Customer Experience

Perhaps the most important difference between a fuel cell and an ICE range extender is that the fuel cell can charge the battery while the vehicle is parked. This is possible because the fuel cell does not produce toxic emissions, so its operation is not detrimental to the immediate environment. Moreover, fuel cell efficiency increases at partial loads, whereas ICE efficiency decreases at partial loads. Depending on the rate of charging required, the efficiency of fuel cells is many times higher than that of ICE and on occasion is higher than the grid efficiency. This translates to higher gas mileage, lower well-to-wheel carbon emissions, and lower toxic emissions, all which enhance the green credentials of the vehicle.

The EV market would be able to grow without a dependence on a charging infrastructure. Imagine your level of satisfaction when upon commuting to work and parking your EV at a battery state of charge of 60% in the morning, you find it at full state of charge when getting ready to fetch some lunch. In essence the fuel cell is a high efficiency, zero pollution portable-charger for your vehicle.

More complex battery-fuel cell interactions can also occur. For example, the heat generated by the fuel cell can be used to keep lithium ion batteries warm in cold environments, increasing the life of the batteries. The fuel cell can also help support battery and vehicle air conditioning loads.

To keep the cost, size, and weight of the fuel cell down, EnerFuel is developing lower power fuel cell systems than those traditionally placed in vehicles. Typical previous fuel cell vehicles use a fuel cell system that provides 60kW to 100kW. EnerFuel is developing 3kW and 5kW systems.

At these power levels, the fuel cell would be unable to meet the average power (rate of electrical energy) demand from vehicles under normal driving conditions. Although the fuel cell is running while the vehicle is operating, the battery state of charge would still decrease (albeit slower) under most conditions.

However, 3-5kW would produce enough energy throughout the day to meet the average daily power consumption. The increase in range provided by the fuel cell would be a result of battery recharging when the vehicle is parked and defrayment of battery energy when the vehicle is driven.

As an example, take a vehicle with a 200Wh/mi average driving energy consumption (equivalent to a 25 to 33 mile per gallon gasoline ICE vehicle). To travel 100 miles throughout the day, the vehicle would require 20kWh batteries. If a 5kW fuel cell system were added and allowed to charge the vehicle batteries without limit throughout an 8 hour day, it would be able to add 40kWh of energy to the vehicle. The daily range of the vehicle would be 200 miles from the fuel cell and 100 miles from the battery, a total of 300 miles. In this scenario, the vehicle efficiency would range between 75 to 100 miles per gallon depending on how the fuel cell is operated.

Few people engage in such a long daily driving cycle, which opens up the possibility of eliminating a portion of the batteries. In this way, the overall cost and weight of the vehicle power plant can be significantly reduced.

The Demonstration

In 2008 EnerFuel developed a test platform vehicle that demonstrated the advantages that the fuel cell EV range extender could provide. EnerFuel used an EV with a 20kWh lithium ion battery pack. The vehicle was outfitted with a 3kW fuel cell range extender. The fuel was compressed hydrogen. The range extender increased average vehicle range by more than 50% from the battery only base case. The overall weight of the fuel cell system was 160lbs. The weight of a lithium ion battery pack with similar energy content would have been double that of the fuel cell. EnerFuel is currently integrating its next generation, reformer-based fuel cell into an EV to demonstrate its onboard reforming application.

A Final Word

The addition of a fuel cell range extender to an EV offers tremendous benefits. This technology represents a new way to implement an old way of thinking. In the end, customers will decide if electric vehicles are a niche toy for the environmentally-friendly drivers or a worthwhile product suitable for the masses. EnerFuel believes that the option of a fuel cell range extender will encourage adoption for the latter.

Copyright AZoCleantech.com, Dr. Daniel A. Betts (EnerFuel)

HELSINKI & LITTLETON, Colo.—Wärtsilä, the leading provider of power solutions to both the marine and energy markets, and Versa Power Systems (VPS), a leading developer of environmentally friendly, high-power solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC), today announced a cooperative agreement to develop and integrate Versa Power’s SOFC technology into Wärtsilä products.

“Combining the expertise of our two companies will help meet the growing commercial demand for compact, high-efficiency products.”

A key target of the agreement is to develop commercial Wärtsilä fuel cell products that generate power and heat for various applications in the distributed energy and marine markets. The agreement allows Wärtsilä to integrate VPS fuel cell stack modules, especially for larger power range products. For VPS, the agreement provides a dedicated partner with the ability to commercialize fuel cell products in large markets around the globe.

“VPS is leading the development of large SOFC stacks, and the company’s capabilities support Wärtsilä’s strategy of developing large SOFC systems for the distributed power and marine markets. The agreement with VPS strengthens Wärtsilä’s ability to provide its customers with clean and highly efficient power solutions. Demand is developing rapidly and the commercial potential for such products is very promising,” said Erkko Fontell, Director, Fuel Cells, Wärtsilä.

“Solid oxide fuel cells have low emissions, yet they produce relatively large amounts of electricity for their size,” said Robert Stokes, CEO of Versa Power Systems. “Combining the expertise of our two companies will help meet the growing commercial demand for compact, high-efficiency products.”

An essential element in Wärtsilä’s strategy

Advancing and commercializing fuel cell products is part of Wärtsilä’s long-term development strategy. Offering customers environmentally sound and sustainable energy production technologies is an essential part of the company’s strategy. This co-operation with VPS supports the commercialization of fuel cell products by strengthening the development and supply partnerships.

Wärtsilä has already launched successful pilot projects using fuel cell technology supplied by Topsoe Fuel Cell A/S headquartered in Denmark, and this co-operation will continue as planned. In 2008, Wärtsilä delivered a unique fuel cell unit that operates on landfill gas and produces electricity and heat for the city of Vaasa in Finland. In the summer of 2010, a WFC20 fuel cell unit was installed onboard the Undine, a car carrier owned by Sweden’s Wallenius Lines, for tests associated with the METHAPU project. Additionally, Wärtsilä has developed 50 kilowatt WFC50 power units for internal validation.

Fuel cells are electrochemical devices that combine a fuel source gas with oxygen to produce electricity, heat, and water. The absence of combustion processes significantly reduces harmful emissions of nitrogen and sulfur oxides (NOx and SOx) and particulate emissions are essentially zero. As electricity is generated directly and involves no intermediate mechanical or thermal processes, fuel cells can also be more efficient than conventional combustion-based technologies.

Fuel cells are considered to be one of the most exciting energy technologies for the future. Power solutions based on fuel cell technology are expected to offer significant benefits in power generation applications as well as in the shipping industry, where international emission regulations are becoming increasingly stringent.

About Wärtsilä

Wärtsilä is a global leader in complete lifecycle power solutions for the marine and energy markets. By emphasising technological innovation and total efficiency, Wärtsilä maximises the environmental and economic performance of the vessels and power plants of its customers. In 2010, Wärtsilä’s net sales totalled € 4.6 billion with more than 17,500 employees. The company has operations in 160 locations in 70 countries around the world. Wärtsilä is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki, Finland.
www.wartsila.com

About VPS

Versa Power Systems is a premier developer of environmentally friendly solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC), a clean-tech source of power to generate electricity in an array of applications. SOFC systems operate at very high efficiency with virtually no emissions, making them valuable in conserving natural resources and mitigating energy production’s impact on the ecosystem. Versa Power’s successes in scaling up SOFC technology have been funded under the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solid State Energy Conversion Alliance (SECA) program and through financial support of its corporate investors. The company’s technology is integrated in projects by partners ranging from government agencies (the U.S. Departments of Energy and Defense) and private sector aerospace and energy concerns to organizations focused on energy (EPRI and GTI). Headquartered in Littleton, Colo., the firm maintains development facilities in Calgary, Alberta.
www.versa-power.com