Fuel Cells Bulletin January 2006

DuPont believes it was selected because of the‘real progress’ it has demonstrated in advancingfuel cell technology. Most recently, it unveiledproduct improvements to fuel cell membranes,dispersions and MEA components for hydrogen-and methanol-based fuel cells [FCB, December].

SFC has been cooperating with the US Army(CERDEC) on soldier-worn fuel cell systemssince 2004, and believes its expertise will bring‘considerable acceleration and additional synergyeffects’ to the DACP project. ‘As a result of thisproject, we expect to see a fully fielded productby the end of 2007,’ says Christian Böhm, SFC’sproduct engineering manager.

In related news, SFC has announced that itsown new Fuel Cell Power System for Soldiers(FCPS) has completed the development phaseand is now ready for field tests. The new portablesystem consists of a fuel cell, fuel cartridge andhybrid battery. During a 72 h mission at 20 Weaverage power, the FCPS achieves a 70% weightreduction over batteries, according to SFC.

The new system is already scheduled for fieldtests in several military programs in the US andEurope. SFC is now approaching military orga-nizations and system integrators for integrationof the FCPS technology into soldier systems,and for its demonstration in field tests now get-ting under way.

Contact: DuPont Fuel Cells, Wilmington, Delaware,USA. Tel: +1 302 774 4249, www.fuelcells.dupont.com

Or contact: SFC Smart Fuel Cell AG, Brunnthal-Nord,Germany. Tel: +49 89 607 45460,www.smartfuelcell.com

ICAO approves methanolcartridges on planes

The International Civil AviationOrganization’s Dangerous Goods

Panel (ICAO DGP) has voted to allowairline passengers and crew to carryand use certain fuel cells and fuel car-tridges while on board to power laptopcomputers and other consumer elec-tronic devices. Once formally adopted,the regulation will go into effect in theICAO Technical Instructions for the SafeTransport of Dangerous Goods by Airon 1 January 2007. The various memberstates will need to revise their ownrules prior to actual implementation.

The ICAO DGP action will allow passengersand crew to carry micro fuel cells in the cabinonly – and not stowed in checked baggage –along with up to two spare fuel cartridges perperson. The regulation covers four types of microfuel cell systems: those using direct methanol

fuel cells, reformed methanol fuel cells, and fuelcells powered by formic acid and butane fuels.The new conditions also require compliancewith the International Electrotechnical Comm-ission Specification for Micro Fuel Cell Safety(IEC PAS 62282-6-1) [FCB, October 2004],which was adopted in October.

The DGP did not act on proposals to includethe use of hydrogen stored in metal hydridesand borohydride compounds. However, the newregulations will permit metal hydride storagesystems – when certified to IEC PAS 62282-6-1– to be transported on cargo aircraft.

In drafting the proposed regulation, theICAO acted in response to lobbying by the USFuel Cell Council, the Methanol Institute andfuel cell industry leaders. According to MethanolInstitute president/CEO John Lynn, the actionis a ‘critical milestone’ in the global commercial-ization of micro methanol fuel cells. ‘In a fewshort years, we expect methanol fuel cartridgesto be as commonplace as AA batteries on storeshelves in every corner of the world,’ says Lynn.

Late last year the UN Sub-Committee on theTransport of Dangerous Goods established modelregulations for cargo shipping of methanol fuelcartridges for micro fuel cell devices in aircraft[FCB, January 2005].

Contact: US Fuel Cell Council, Washington, DC, USA.Tel: +1 202 293 5500, www.usfcc.com

Or contact: Methanol Institute, Arlington, Virginia,USA. Tel: +1 703 248 3636, www.methanol.org

Motorola invests in Tekion

US-based Motorola Ventures,Motorola’s equity investment arm,

has made a strategic investment inTekion Inc, a Canadian-based pre-com-mercial developer of formic acid fuelcells for mobile products, although thefinancial terms were not disclosed.

Tekion’s Formira™ Power Pack product inte-grates advanced battery technology with uniquemicro fuel cell technology exclusively licensedfrom the University of Illinois, to create a ‘per-sonal power source’ that will fit inside mobileproducts, offering consumers a long-durationoff-grid connection with greater flexibility andconvenience. The company’s formic acid-basedproduct technology is claimed to provide acompetitive advantage for portable electronicproducts in the mWe to 50 We power rangeand 10–100 Wh energy range. Several marketsfall within these power and energy levels,including industrial handheld computers, satel-lite communication devices and notebook PCs.

The investment, which will facilitate Tekion’sproduct development, was motivated by the

company’s ‘cutting-edge technology and experi-enced leadership’ in micro fuel cell development,says Warren Holtsberg, corporate VP of equityinvestments and director of Motorola Ventures.

Tekion was founded in March 2003 and hassince grown from four to 65 employees. It hasoperations in both Champaign, Illinois andBurnaby, British Columbia.

Contact: Tekion Inc, Burnaby, BC, Canada. Tel: +1 604656 6610, www.tekion.com

Or contact: Motorola Ventures, Schaumburg, Illinois,USA. www.motorola.com/ventures

Hydrogenics targetsend-user markets withnext-generation HyPM

Canadian-based Hydrogenics hasunveiled its next-generation HyPM®

500 Series Fuel Cell Power Modules, withor without integrated DC power options,and HyPM Fuel Cell Power Packs. Thenew series builds on the success of thecompany’s earlier generations of HyPMpower module products, and offers newcustomer-driven features as standard.

The highly versatile and compact HyPM 500Series of fuel cell power modules is available intwo standard configurations:

• The standard LP model – in power outputsof 8, 12, 16 and 65 kWe – is designed to beintegrated into a wide range of fuel cellpower mobility applications.

• The XR model is designed as a rack-mount-able configuration available in power outputsof 8, 12 and 16 kWe, for a range of stationarypower backup power applications.

The design of the new HyPM Fuel Cell PowerPacks incorporates Hydrogenics’ proven successwith fuel cell hybrid platforms, based on bothultracapacitors and batteries. The company’scost-effective hybrid technology has been provenin all aspects of performance, reliability anddurability for rigorous real-time applications, forexample in recent forklift deployments at GMof Canada and FedEx [see page 2].

‘We must ensure, from the outset, that OEMsand end-users have a positive experience whenintegrating fuel cells into their future products,’comments Pierre Rivard, president/CEO ofHydrogenics. ‘The HyPM 500 Series accom-plishes this by offering a standardized fuel cellsolution that is very close to ‘plug and play’...We are also refining this common HyPM plat-form with the intent to transition it to volumemanufacturing for today’s viable target markets.’

NEWS

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