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"First they laugh at you,
then they ignore you, then they fight with you, then you win." -- Ghandi
"Mankind's future depends
on America's energy choices. Let's clean house and abandon the
phony solutions that result in war, environmental ruin,
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We must lead. We must set the example and Build A World That
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Fuel Cells
Part
1
2
INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH EFFORTS ARE RAISING EFFICIENCIES
AND LOWERING COSTS. SOON
FUEL CELLS WILL BECOME EVERYDAY COMMODITIES THAT WILL CHANGE OUR WORLD.
|
|
HYDROGEN IS
THE BEST REVENGE
Smithsonian
Institution
Fuel Cell History Project |
CALIFORNIA
SIERRA NEVADA BREWING
FUELCELL ENERGY
PG&E
CA PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION SELF-GENERATION
INCENTIVE PROGRAM ALLIANCE POWER CALIFORNIA AIR
RESOURCES BOARD
May 5, 2004 |
 |
AWARD-WINNING BEER GOES GREEN
Beer Business Buys Into Fuel Cells
John Gartner Wired
The Chico, California-based company is taking advantage of government incentives to
install fuel cells from FuelCell Energy that are powered by hydrogen converted from
natural gas. The four 250-kilowatt fuel cells will supply electric power and heat for the
brewery's production processes. Steve Harrison, vice president of Sierra Nevada, said the
rolling blackouts during California's 2000 energy crisis hampered the brewery's
operations.
|
AUSTRALIA
CERAMIC FUEL CELLS
May 22, 2004
COMMONWEALTH SCIENTIFIC & INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH ORGANZATION |
Radical
Cell to Turn Balance of Power in Europe
Ian Potter
Ceramic Fuel Cells has opened a $15 million prospectus to prepare for
the launch of its radical electricity generation technology in Europe. Ceramic has spent
$128 million over 11 years perfecting its CSIRO-inspired technology, which has created a
lot of interest among major power utilities at home and abroad. The company's fuel cell
uses natural gas to generate electricity and heat and is almost three times more efficient
than a gas-fired power station. |
| JAPAN CASIO
KOGAKUIN UNIVERSITY |
Nikkei Electronics Asia May 10, 2004 |
Casio Develops
World's Smallest Fuel Cell for Laptop PCs
Its capacity is nearly four times higher than that of a conventional
battery, and it can power a typical laptop computer for eight to 16 hours. The unit
features a device that extracts hydrogen from methanol and sends the hydrogen to the main
fuel cell. Casio, working jointly with Akira Igarashi, an engineering professor at
Kogakuin University, succeeded in making the device as small as a 500 yen coin so that the
entire unit would fit in a laptop PC. The device that extracts hydrogen reaches very high
temperatures, but Casio solved this problem by wrapping it in a heatproof case, among
other methods. |
NEW
MEXICO SANDIA
NATIONAL LABORATORY
Sandia May 5, 2004 |
 |
WILL NAFION LOSE RACE TO
H2 HIGHWAY?
NEW PEM MAY BECOME CHOICE FOR FUEL CELL CARS
Sandia Labs
Develops Potentially Superior Alternative to Nafion PEM
Cy Fujimoto, left, and Chris
Cornelius hold a test
micro fuel cell with the Sandia membrane.
(Click to enlarge) |
| Recently the membrane research team
headed by Sandia researcher Chris Cornelius demonstrated that the new SPEA could operate
as high as 140 degrees C and produce a peak power of 1.1 watts per square centimeter at 2
amps per square centimeter at 80 degrees C. Under identical operating conditions, the SPEA
material can deliver higher power outputs with methanol and hydrogen than Nafion. Nafion
is recognized as the state-of-art PEM material for fuel cells. Because the SPEA material
can operate at elevated temperatures, it enables several key benefits that Nafion cannot
provide. These advances include smaller fuel cell stacks because of better heat rejection,
enhanced water management, and significant resistance to carbon monoxide poisoning. These
performance properties suggest that the SPEA material may be a potential alternative to
Nafion. |
| US NATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY LABORATORY |
May 2004 |
 Performance of
Residential Fuel Cells Final Report
E. Torrero Cooperative Research Network
National Rural Electric Cooperative Association
Arlington, Virginia
R. McClelland Energy Signature Associates Inc.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Evaluation of the Field |
U.S. Department
of Energy Awards $5.77-Million Grant to Atofina and its Development Partners for Fuel Cell
Project
Autofina Chemicals May 12, 2004
Development
of a Low-Cost, Durable Development of a Low-Cost, Durable Membrane and MEA for Stationary
Membrane and MEA for Stationary and Mobile Fuel Cell Applications
Scott Gaboury Atofina
Chemicals May 2004
| CANADA JAPAN EBARA BALLARD TOKYO GAS
Ballard/BW |
April 23, 2004 |
EBARA
BALLARD Delivers Advanced 1 kW Stationary Fuel Cell
Generator
for Field Trials
The advanced generation pre-commercial Ebara Ballard 1 kW combined heat and power
fuel cell generator, utilizing a reformer based on technology licensed from Tokyo Gas, has
an electrical efficiency of 35 percent and a strong combined overall efficiency (heat and
electricity) of 93 percent (lower heating value, or LHV). |
Fuel Cells: State of the
Industry Bernadette Geyer
International Association of Electrical Inspectors March/April 2004
| MASSACHUSETTS FUELCELL ENERGY NSTAR ELECTRIC |
March 10, 2004 |
SHOW-STOPPER!
CANCELLATION OF MASSACHUSETTS' LARGEST FUEL CELL PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS WIDESPREAD PROBLEM OF
UTILITIES' FEAR OF "DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGY"
NStar Electric
Hit for Waving Boston University Off Fuel Cell Plan
Peter J. Howe Boston Globe
When Boston University began a $300 million campus renovation last
year, the university planned to install one of the largest "fuel cell" electric
generating units in the nation, a tennis-court sized device that would produce enough
power for 4,000 homes but with only a tiny fraction of power-plant pollution. But NStar
Electric warned BU that the university would still have to pay big fees to maintain a
connection to the NStar grid. That led BU to quietly shelve the plans -- and fueled
contentions by several environmentalists that the big Westwood utility, fearing it could
lose high-revenue customers, is trying to strangle what could be a crucial new source of
clean, reliable, economic energy for Greater Boston. more |
JAPAN MASSACHUSETTS NUVERA JGA TAKAGI March 10, 2004
Nuvera, Takagi
Deliver CHP FC System to Japan Gas Assoc.
| ILLINOIS
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS, URBANA-CHAMPAIGN |
NOVEL FUEL CELL DESIGN
FUNCTIONS WITHOUT MEMBRANE
Laminar flow in microfluidic channel prevents fuel/oxidizer from mixing
Fuel Cells
Minus Membranes Mitch Jacoby
Chemical & Engineering News |
 |
A key component of common fuel
cells—the membrane that isolates the fuel from the oxidizer—has been eliminated
in a new fuel-cell design that uses microfluidic effects to separate the reagents. The
design simplifies the electrochemical devices and may lead to new types of fuel cells that
are free from the problems that typically bedevil membrane-based power systems.
more |
 "Never has there been
such a great need
with so little funding."
U.S. Congressman John Larson
Official Defends
Fuel Cell Study Funds
AP/Yahoo
March 3, 2004
ALASKA
CANADA GERMANY FUEL CELL
TECHNOLOGIES
UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA, FAIRBANKS SEIMENS WESTINGHOUSE POWER |
SUCCESSFUL TEST SHOWS PROMISE FOR MORE
EFFICIENT SOFC
Solid Oxide Fuel Cell
Reaches 5,000 Hours @ 4 kW
Carla Browning (image & article) University of
Alaska, Fairbanks Mar 2, 2004 |
 |
A five-kilowatt solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC)
undergoing testing in Fairbanks has reached the 5,000-hour milestone since its start-up
eight months ago. During each hour of operation the fuel cell produces approximately four
kilowatts of electricity totaling 20,000 kilowatt hours for the duration, enough to power
two average houses for a full year. "Since the biggest questions surrounding fuel
cells have been longevity and reliability, this is an exciting achievement in fuel cell
technology and testing," said Dennis Witmer, director of the University of Alaska
Fairbanks Arctic Energy Technology Development Laboratory which is conducting the tests.
The fuel cell was manufactured by Fuel Cell Technologies in
collaboration with Siemens Westinghouse Power Corp. Siemens manufactures the core fuel
cell stack technology and FCT supplies the critical balance of plant subsystems required
to keep the fuel cell stack operating. more |
- UAF Fuel Cell Exceeds Expectations March 22, 2004
The U.S. Department of Energy, through its Arctic Energy Office, provided a large
part of funding for the $383,000 project. Patricia Jones
Alaska Journal
- Fuel Cell Arrives in
Fairbanks: Start Up Scheduled July
28, 2003
- Double World Record with a Solid
Oxide Fuel Cell June 6, 2002
Scientists at Research Centre Jülich
(Germany) report an important step forward in the international race to develop efficient
high-temperature fuel cells. A fuel cell stack put into operation in mid April consisting
of just 40 single planar cells delivered a power of 9.2 kilowatts at an average operating
temperature of 850°C with hydrogen as the fuel gas. Operated with methane the stack still
managed to achieve 5.4 kilowatts. This is a new world record for a planar system both with
respect to power and also to the cell size of 20 x 20 centimetres.
more
|
 Fuel Cells: From Prototype to
Market Leader
by California Hydrogen Business Council director and
Optiworks president John Addison, author of REVENUE ROCKET
- New Strategies
for Selling with Partners
OHIO GM FIRST ENERGY SOFCO February 19,
2004
Fuel Cell
Researchers Look to Successes, Challenges Ahead
Bob Downing Akron Beacon
Journal/Knight Ridder
| TEXAS GM DOW U.S. DEPT OF ENERGY |
Secretary
Abraham Applauds Dow/GM Milestone
Hydrogen Fuel Cell Test in Texas
U.S. Department of Energy/U.S. Newswire
February 10. 2003
Successful installation of hydrogen fuel cells will
give Dow, an energy-intensive manufacturer, an additional supply of electricity while
reducing emissions. The arrangement will also inevitably drive technological progress in
GM's pursuit of cost- competitive fuel cell systems. The initial test will convert
hydrogen into 75 kilowatts of electricity, or enough power for sixty homes per year.
Ultimately, fuel cells from GM could generate 35 megawatts of power from hydrogen for Dow,
equivalent to electricity for 25,000 homes.
Dow, GM:
World's First Significant Fuel Cell Application Reality
ChemPoint February
10, 2004
The initial GM fuel cell will generate 75 kilowatts of
power. This is enough electricity for fifty average homes. Dow and GM plan to ultimately
install up to 400 fuel cells to generate 35 megawatts of electricity. That would be enough
power for 25,000 average sized American homes. While this is a lot of electrical capacity,
it represents two percent of the total Dow needs at its Texas Operations site.
A Small but Significant Step for the Hydrogen Economy
John McCormick Detroit News eFebruary 23, 2004
|
CALIFORNIA January
25, 2004
This Is Your Car on Hydrogen
and Fuel Cells Aren't Energy of the
Future; Some Are Already for Sale Akron Beacon Journal
Anuvu Inc., a California
firm, is selling a Nissan pickup truck with two fuel cells and a battery that power an
electric motor. The fuel cells are powered by gaseous hydrogen. Priced at $99,995, the
pickup can go from zero to 60 mph in 10 seconds, hit speeds up to 75 miles an hour and
travel up to 250 miles without refueling.
TIAX Report Released to Department of Energy
Platinum Supplies Are Sufficient
to Meet Fuel Cell Demand
Platinum Today/JohnsonMathey January 28, 2004
Singapore-designed
FC Costs Half the Price of Existing Ones
Channel News Asia
December 12, 2003
"We really need to develop fuel
cells that use metals cheaper than platinum..."
Glenn L. Schrader, National Science
Foundation
 |
"I
expect growth in demand to accelerate so much that it will be higher in the next 10 years
than the previous 10 years, which for any commodity is a pretty good growth rate."
Barry Davidson
Anglo American Platinum
Platinum Soars
BBC Dec 9, 2003 |
Platinum
Hits New 23-Year High
Reuters December 9, 2003
Platinum has risen about 3.5 percent since South Africa's Anglo
American Platinum, the world's largest producer, last week cut output targets for the
metal and warned it might cut them further if the rand remained at its current strong
levels.
Record Number of Fuel Cells
Made in 2003
Reuters Foundation November 5, 2003
Fuel-Cell Stocks Not Powered Up
David Snow
Wired November 5, 2003
Leading Fuel
Cell Organizations Reach Cooperation Agreement
U.S. Fuel Cell Council/Business Wire
November 4, 2003
Fuel Cells
in China
A Survey of Current Developments
Stefan Geiger Fuel Cell
Today October
15, 2003
Tokyo Institute
of Technology uses Silicon Electrodes for Fuel Cells
Asia Pulse/Fuel Cell Today December 16, 2003
The new device is a direct methanol-type fuel cell made from an electrolyte film
sandwiched between two sheets of silicon. The entire structure is 0.25mm thick. The
surface of each sheet of silicon is processed with trenches that serve as pathways for
hydrogen, methanol and oxygen, and the underside is etched to create a multiporous
structure, which is then plated with platinum and ruthenium catalysts. When hydrogen and
oxygen are supplied to this fuel cell, it can generate 1.5mw per square centimeter. When
methanol is supplied, it can put out 50mw.
 |
MTU Friedrichshafen and RWE
Set Up Fuel-Cell Joint Venture
MTU (Munich, Germany) July 15, 2003
MTU and RWE have joined forces to
advance their future fuel-cell operations through a joint venture agreement signed by MTU
Friedrichshafen GmbH and RWE Fuel Cells GmbH, Essen, effective July 2003 pending approval
by the EU cartel authority. The joint venture is called MTU CFC Solutions GmbH. Its main
purpose is to introduce carbonate fuel-cell systems on a broad market base and to give the
company a leading market position in the field of high-temperature fuel cells. |
| On its way to series
production: Until 2002 ten fuel-cell systems of MTU were taken into service. Further
HotModules will go into operation in 2003. |
“This new order from
Ballard shows that fuel cells are leaving the development phase and entering traditional
production phase.”
Roland Ärlebäck, Managing Director, Opcon Autorotor AB
Opcon Autorotor
Receives Order from Ballard
Opcon AB (Sweden) June 25, 2003
FuelCell Energy
Announces Projects Totaling $1.45M
FuelCell Energy
June 27, 2003
Mitsubishi fuel cell with integrated reformer |
Japan
Firms Vie to Release First Home-use Fuel-cell System Japan Times July
3, 2003
At least a dozen companies, among them electronics and machinery makers and
fuel suppliers, have entered the race. Six of these firms, including Matsushita Electric
Industrial Co. and Nippon Oil Corp., have participated in an annual field-test that the
government has been sponsoring since October. Most developers are using natural gas as a
source of hydrogen, but Nippon Oil, which is developing its system alone, is utilizing
liquefied petroleum gas. Tokyo Gas Co. and Osaka Gas Co. lead the natural gas camp. |
NEC Unveils Notebook PC with
Built-in Fuel Cell
NEC June 30, 2003
The compact, high-powered prototype fuel cell boasts the world's best output density of
40mW/cm2, and achieves an average output of 14W and a maximum output of 24W.
NEC aims to release a notebook PC with a built-in fuel cell on the market by end of 2004,
and to make a notebook PC equipped with an internal fuel cell that has a battery life of
40 hours available within two years. The development of the prototype was aided by
the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's project for developing technologies and
products applying nano-carbon technology.
| Details of the fuel cell include
the following. |
| Average output (maximum output) |
: |
14W (24W) |
| Voltage |
: |
12V |
| Weight (weight of fuel) |
: |
900g (300g) |
| Weight of PC with fuel cell |
: |
2 kg |
| PC Dimensions |
: |
288 x 280 x 40 (mm) |
| Operating time |
: |
Approximately 5 hours
(using 300cc of methanol fuel that has concentration of approx. 10%) |
Energy
Conversion Devices Acquires Texaco Energy Systems' Interest in Fuel Cell Joint Venture
- ECD
June 24, 2003
DOE Hydrogen and Fuel Cells
Merit Review Meeting
May 19-22, 2003
Mayor Hahn,
LADWP Dedicate North America's Largest, Most Efficient Commercial Design Fuel Cell Power
Plant
Los Angeles Department of Water & Power
March 14, 2003
"Considering this very
column ridiculed the fuel cell community for excessive hoopla just a year ago, Motor Mouth
reaches this conclusion with some embarrassment: The fuel cell may be benefiting from
something of a perfect storm. Very smart people are working to develop them. Investors are
still pouring money into the projects. And car companies have gone beyond merely talking
about gasoline alternatives to silence environmentalists in Congress."
"Motor Mouth" Columnist Eric Convey
Filling Up on
Fuel Cell Vehicle Technology Boston
Herald January 11, 2003
 |
An enzyme-catalysed battery has been created that could one day run
cell phones and laptop computers on shots of vodka. The key to the device is a new polymer
that protects the fragile enzymes used to break down the ethanol fuel, scientists told the
American Chemical Society's annual meeting in New Orleans on Monday. Enzyme-based
batteries have the potential to be cheaper than fuel cells that rely on expensive platinum
or ruthenium catalysts. "It sounds great," says Bob Hockaday, founder of the
company Energy Related Devices and designer of a methanol-powered battery.
Bio-battery Runs on Shots of
Vodka
New Scientist March 3, 2003 |
Fourteen
Organizations Sponsor 2003 Fuel Cell Effort
at the Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC)
HARC/Business Wire April
22, 2003
DOE Continues
Implementing President's Hydrogen Initiative
with Addition of Two New Fuel Cell Projects
U.S. Department of Energy April 23,
2003
Hydrogen
Build-up: Is Fuel-cell Technology Poised to Displace Oil?
Tyler Hamilton Toronto Star (Canada)
March 3, 2003
FUEL
CELL REPORT TO CONGRESS
(ESECS EE-1973)
February 2003 |
"The longer-term strategy, however, is to
derive an increasing portion of the hydrogen needed for fuel cells from renewable sources,
such as converting water by electrolysis using wind or solar power, producing hydrogen
from bio-mass or photo-catalytically using sunlight. Production of hydrogen from coal
(with carbon sequestration) and nuclear power (by thermo-chemical process or electrolysis)
is also feasible, and can improve energy security by increasing energy diversity. Many of
the technologies developed for a near-term fossil-based hydrogen infrastructure would be
applicable to a renewable hydrogen infrastructure, easing the transition to a sustainable
hydrogen economy." -- page 14 |
Report on Fuel
Cells Released to Congress
Cathy Gregoire Padro National Renewable Energy Lab February
28, 2003
Congress asked the Department of
Energy (DOE) to prepare two reports describing the status of fuel cells. The Interior
& Related Agencies Appropriations Conference Report (House Report 107-234) that
accompanies Public Law 107-63, enacted in November 2001, requested that the Department
report within 12 months to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations on the
technical and economic barriers to the use of fuel cells in transportation, portable
power, stationary, and distributed power generation applications.
|
Solar, Wind, and
Fuel Cells to Fuel Economic Growth,
Expanding from $9.5 Billion Today to $89 Billion by 2012
Clean Edge/Business Wire February 20, 2003
Plan Moves Fuel Cells Out of Lab
by Jeff Plungis Detroit News
REPORT: Auto Companies on Fuel Cells
Brian Walsh Fuel Cells 2000
January 3, 2003
Fuel
Cell Vehicle Commercialization Ramping Up
"I'd be
surprised if, a bunch of years down the road, we aren't into businesses that
require new names."
Jeffrey R. Immelt, CEO General Electric
...G.E. is "incubating" service-heavy businesses in security, water treatment,
oil and gas and other areas that cannot be bolted onto existing G.E. units. It is even
doing research into hydrogen energy, which some see as a way, first, to turn fossil fuels
into clean energy and ultimately as a means to replace petroleum.
G.E. Research
Returns to Roots
Claudia H. Deutsch
New York Times December 26, 2002
-- Ohio Prepares an Assault on California
FC Leadership --
Detroit Research Center for
Alternative Energy is Dedicated
Alejandro Bodip-Memba Detroit Free Press
December 11, 2002
Michigan Alternative Energy Zone
Earns Tax-Free Status November
21, 2002
Stainless Steel Frames for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells
Fuel Cell Improvements Maximize
Power Output
by Joji Maekawa Daily Californian
November 27, 2002
 Cellular Connection
Jonathan Rauch Reason (USA) December 6, 2003
 U.S.
Dept. of Energy's Hydrogen, Fuel Cells, and Infrastructure Technologies Program Forum
Washington D.C.
October 22-23, 2002
Welcome
by Steve Chalk, Program Manager, U.S Department of Energy
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
DRAFT DOE Integrated
Hydrogen Plan by Valri Lightner, EERE
EERE
Multi-year Program Planning Initiative by Arlene Anderson, EERE
Hydrogen Production
Priorities by Peter Devlin, EERE
Summary of Hydrogen Storage
Workshop by JoAnn Milliken, EERE
Summary of Safety,
Codes & Standards Initiatives by Neil Rossmeissl, EERE
Education and
Outreach by Christy Cooper, EERE
Regional Infrastructure
Forums by Jim Ohi, NREL
Midwest Hydrogen
Infrastructure Forum by Louis Clark, CRO
EERE Fuel Cell Development
Activities by Patrick Davis, EERE
Stationary Fuel
Cells by Kathi Epping, EERE
U.S. Fuel Cell Council
Activities by A. Androsky, U.S. Fuel Council
Fuel Cells and Hydrogen:
The Path Forward by Bob Rose,
Breakthrough Technologies Institute
National Hydrogen
Association Activities, Karen Miller, NHA |
|
|
Fuel Cell Systems: A Survey of Worldwide Activity
Mark Cropper & David Jollie, Fuel Cell Today
November 14, 2002
 Nuvera
Cuts ADL Ties
Boston Business Journal
November 18, 2002
Nuvera Fuel Cells Inc. of Cambridge said the ownership
interest held by Dehon Inc. — the surviving entity of the former Arthur D. Little
Inc. — has been purchased by Amerada Hess Corp., the New York City-based oil and gas
company. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, although the company did report
that the ownership stake now held by Amerada Hess amounts to 53 percent of Nuvera's
outstanding shares. The remaining Nuvera shares are held by Gruppo DeNora, a technology
licensing, engineering and manufacturing company headquartered in Milan, Italy. |
Hydrogen Hero |
"Fuel
cells are the future. The federal government needs to take appropriate steps to speed
commercialization in order to reap the energy security, efficiency and environmental
benefits fuel cells offer." |
Bob Rose, author of "Fuel Cells
and Hydrogen: The Path Forward" |
FUEL CELL INDUSTRY CHALLENGES CONGRESS TO TAKE "PATH FORWARD"
"Our need for greater
energy self-sufficiency is clear; fuel cells are an important component of that
security. Industry must be our partner in providing more environmentally sound and
sustainable sources of power, and this plan is an example of that partnership."
U.S. Senator Thomas Carper
"The pieces of the
House energy bill that emerged from the Science Committee are very much in keeping with
the recommendations of the report."
U.S. Representative Sherwood Boehlert
Lawmakers
Applaud Fuel-Cell Strategy by Scott R. Burnell
- UPI
|
|
| Washington, DC – September 5, 2002 -- A
coalition of 26 leading fuel cell companies spanning 17 states and a leading environmental
organization presented the Bush Administration and Congress with a report today answering
the Congressional call for a national fuel cell and hydrogen strategy. The report, titled
“Fuel Cells and Hydrogen: The Path Forward,” presents a comprehensive strategy
for federal investment in fuel cell technology and fuel infrastructure. The full report
may be viewed at www.fuelcellpath.org In a press conference held on Capitol Hill in
Washington, D.C., Congressional leaders and the CEOs of six leading fuel cell technology
companies discussed the report, and the need for federal investment in fuel cell
technology. Following the press conference, the CEOs boarded a fuel cell-powered bus
operated by Georgetown University and traveled to meetings with senior White House and
U.S. Department of Energy officials to discuss the need for a strong federal government
role in accelerating the commercial introduction of fuel cell technologies in the United
States.
In the “Path Forward”
report, the fuel cell industry coalition lays out a 10-year cost-shared program that will
bring fuel cells, and their economic, environmental and energy security benefits, to the
American marketplace. The federal share of the program over 10 years would be $5.5
billion, a commitment comparable to the current federal investment in conventional fuels
and other advanced energy technologies. The report also offers specific recommendations in
several program areas, including: research and development; demonstration programs;
federal purchases; investment in fuel infrastructure; market entry support; removal of
barriers; and education and outreach.
With members of the House and Senate
in conference on future energy policy, and heightened concerns about energy security, the
‘Path Forward’ report, is a timely contribution to energy policy deliberations.
Fuel cell technologies hold the
promise of an unparalleled combination of energy security, energy efficiency and
environmental benefits that justify a much more intensive public investment than the
current U.S. Department of Energy annual fuel cell budget of $150 million. Estimates of
annual private sector investment in fuel cell technology range from $1 billion to $3
billion.
The report was prepared by Robert Rose
of the Breakthrough Technologies Institute (BTI) for an ad hoc coalition of fuel cell
advocates from throughout North America. BTI is a private, non-profit corporation formed
in 1993 to promote advanced energy and environmental technologies from the perspective of
the public benefit.
-- Breakthrough
Technologies Institute/PRNewswire |
Stationary Fuel
Cell Market Commercialization At The Door,
Says Allied Business Intelligence August
1, 2002 |
Bekaert &
Nuvera Combine Strengths to Improve Functionality of FC Stacks October 3, 2002
| WASHINGTON NEAH POWER |
PBS
October 20,
2003 |
Hydrogen Power
If development goes as planned, the company's
fuel cells could provide up to eight hours of power for a laptop computer within the next
three years. |
South Windsor
Fuel Cell Unveiled October 18, 2002
New Hydrogen
'Trap' Spells Promise for FCs - October 11, 2002
The Latest Fuel Cell News from Japan T. Homma - October
2003
DOE Backing Automotive, Stationary
Fuel Cell Research
EarthVision September 26, 2002
The Department of Energy has announced a $70 million solicitation program
for the research and development of stationary and automotive fuel cell technology. This
move also marks the largest Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) fuel cell solicitation to
focus on stationary applications the Energy Department said. The research will be key to
the development of FreedomCAR technology, which is an Energy Department program that helps
fund the high-risk research needed to provide a full range of affordable cars and light
trucks that are free of foreign oil and harmful emissions.
...The solicitation seeks applications addressing stationary specific
research, development, and demonstration activities that include: fuel cell systems; fuel
cells for back up power; and fuel processing.
The solicitation also includes topics that address cross-cutting
barriers to both stationary and automotive fuel cells, including: improved materials for
high temperature membranes; fuel cell component durability; water & thermal
management; and cost and availability of catalysts through platinum recycling and
non-precious metal catalyst development.
In addition, DOE is seeking applications for an economic analysis of
PEM fuel cell systems for various stationary market applications. Fuel cell demonstrations
that have strategic value in terms of energy and environmental benefits will also be
considered. |
"Producing low-cost
MEAs is a challenge because the catalyst on the electrode is platinum, which typically
costs $600 an ounce. We've designed a facility that allows us to deposit a very thin layer
of platinum on the electrode, which should meet or exceed the DOE cost target."
Dr. James Arps
manager of SwRI's Surface Engineering Section
SwRI Opens Pilot
Plant for Producing Fuel Cell Components
September 25, 2002
Micro Fuel Cells
May Replace Rechargeable Batteries
September 21, 2002
 "ECD's fuel cell
technology is a fundamentally new approach that rectifies the problems that have plagued
this field for so many decades and plays an important role in our total hydrogen systems
approach that makes the hydrogen economy a realistic one."
Stanford R. Ovshinsky, ECD President and CEO
ECD is Issued a Basic U.S.
Patent on Fuel Cell
September 19, 2002
____________________________________________
Presentation by Nancy Bacon, ECD Senior Vice President,
to 5th Annual Electric Utilities Industry Conference, NYC
September 12, 2002 |
U.S.
Navy Contracts Nine Plug Power Fuel Cell Systems: $1.5 Million Program Represents First
Sale Of Plug Power Fuel Cells in California August 29, 2002
Ballard Receives
Fuel Cell Bus Engine Order
for California Market
Ballard Power Systems/Business Wire August
29, 2002
FuelCell Energy
and PPL Energy Services to Install 250 Kilowatt Direct FuelCell Power Plant
August 14, 2002
The Coleman Powermate AirGen portable power generator is built around
Ballard's 1.2-kilowatt Nexa fuel-cell power module. |
Ballard
Power: Coleman Product Delayed By Component Supplier Dow Jones July
30, 2002
Coleman Powermate's
AirGen product launch is delayed because a supplier has failed to deliver a key component,
Ballard Power Systems Inc. chairman Firoz Rasul said on a conference call Tuesday.
...Rasul said he hopes that some of the other 27 original equipment manufacturers
looking at using Ballard's Nexa power module for back-up power, industrial equipment,
golf-cart-type vehicles and other applications won't face the same supply problems as
Coleman Powermate. |
UTC Fuel Cells'
PC25 Power Plant to Provide
Distributed Power For Austin Energy July
25, 2002
| Fuel Cell Powers
Lighthouse In Virginia |
 |
Earth Vision
July 17, 2002
The fuel cell, developed and built by Fuel Cell Energy, Inc. of
Danbury, Connecticut, was installed by the U.S. Coast Guard, which is responsible for the
technology's maintenance and analyzing its performance. Traditionally, the Coast Guard
uses diesel-electric and gas-turbines for electrical generation in lighthouses. It has
started to explore fuel cells because conventional generators have high maintenance costs
and environmental risks, especially the potential for spilling petroleum fuel.
...The fuel cell, which uses a methanol-based fuel mixed with water, uses close to 16
gallons of fuel daily. Conventional generators will use the same amount of fuel in roughly
one hour. |
GM to
Sell Emergency Backup Fuel Cells
by Michael Ellis
- iWon/Reuters July 29, 2002
How Fuel
Cells Stack Up
by Steven Milunovich - Red Herring July 23, 2002
New York State Becomes the Proving Ground
As Fuel Cells Move Into the Residential Market
July 3, 2002
 "By the second decade of this century, mass production of
automotive fuel cells will result in first, a glut in the world oil supply and then, in a
total rejection of oil as a vehicle fuel."
K. Atakan Ozbek,
VP Energy Research, Allied Business Intelligence |
9.2
kW
ON
HYDROGEN
FUEL
SOFC stack at
Research Center Julich |
 |
5.4 kW
ON
METHANE
FUEL
8-inch square
fuel cell plates! |
New Milestone in Fuel Cell Development
Double World Record with the
Solid Oxide Fuel Cell
June 6, 2002 |
Scientists at Research Centre Jülich
(Germany) report an important step forward in the international race to develop efficient
high-temperature fuel cells. A fuel cell stack put into operation in mid April consisting
of just 40 single planar cells delivered a power of 9.2 kilowatts at an average operating
temperature of 850°C with hydrogen as the fuel gas. Operated with methane the stack still
managed to achieve 5.4 kilowatts. This is a new world record for a planar system both with
respect to power and also to the cell size of 20 x 20 centimetres.
Fuel cells convert the chemical energy of hydrogen directly into
electricity. Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are of major interest for stationary
electricity and heat generation in power stations or buildings. However, they also attract
increasing attention for mobile applications. SOFCs promise very high efficiencies for
electricity generation and thus an economical and environmentally friendly fuel
utilization. Scientists at Research Centre Jülich are working on advanced SOFCs with
planar cells and thin electrolytes. Many experts predict that this design will have a
great market potential since systems with planar SOFCs already achieve high efficiencies
with small volumes and low operating temperatures. SOFC research at Jülich is also being
supported by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi).
Scientists from the Jülich Institute for Materials and Processes in
Energy Systems (IWV) and the Central Department of Technology (ZAT) first directly
operated the record-breaking stack of 40 single cells with hydrogen at an average
temperature of 850°C. This stack delivered a power of 9.2 kilowatts - more than twice
that of the best performance in the previous year. Furthermore, temperatures of less than
900°C are regarded as low in the world of high-temperature fuel cells. This is beneficial
for the lifetime of all materials and allows relatively cheap metallic materials to be
used. The scientists then adapted the stack to use methane as fuel gas, which is directly
converted into hydrogen in the cell. There is thus no need for a prior conversion step
which would cost extra energy and natural gas can be used as a fuel without elaborate gas
processing. "In comparison to last year we have been able to increase performance in
methane operation more than fivefold", Dr Robert Steinberger-Wilckens, who has been
head of the fuel cell project at Research Centre Jülich since February 2002, is delighted
with the progress made. "This is above all thanks to the ingenious design and the
very efficient materials development at Jülich."
At the moment, the major barrier to commercialization of the SOFC is
the high cost of materials, components and manufacturing. However, the Jülich scientists
are well equipped to take these hurdles in their stride. They are already working
intensively on new materials in order to further increase the power and longevity of their
cells whilst at the same time lowering costs. Their declared goal is a 20-kilowatt system.
This power range is interesting because it opens up a wide field of possible applications.
"Starting from a 20-kilowatt SOFC system you can operate in all directions, so to
speak. This performance is at the upper limit of what is required to supply a multiple
dwelling estate with electricity and heat, and is at the lower limit of a combined heat
and power station for a residential area", Robert Steinberger-Wilckens explains the
significance of the development and adds: "For 2004 we have set our sights on a
complete 20-kilowatt SOFC system for use in buildings."
Dr. Renée Dillinger
Public relations office
Research Centre Juelich
52425 Juelich, Germany |
Tel. ++ 49 2461/614771
Fax ++ 49 2461/614666
mailto:r.dillinger@fz-juelich.de
|
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DCH Enable 5kW
Fuel Cell Chosen for
The R&D 100
Awards
May 20. 2002
For the past 24 years, Los Alamos National Laboratory
has submitted descriptions of its most innovative technologies to R& D Magazine’s
annual R& D 100 Awards competition. This competition is designed to honor significant
commercial promise in products, materials, or processes developed by the international
research and development community. Technologies are nominated in open competition and
judged by technical experts selected by the Illinois- based R&D Magazine . The
magazine uses technical criteria to select the 100 most significant, unique, or promising
entries from the nominations received.
According to the selection panel, “The sole criterion for making
the grade is demonstrable ‘technological significance’ compared with competing
products and technologies. Issues such as smaller size, faster speed, greater efficiency,
and higher environmental consciousness have continued to gain importance in successful
award submissions.” Los Alamos has been competing successfully for more than two
decades with many of its winning technologies developed in collaboration with
private-sector companies and other scientific institutions. The Laboratory won three
awards in 2001 and has received more than 75 awards since it began competing in 1978. |
 |
Yellowstone National Park
Installs H Power Fuel Cell
June 4, 2002
Texas Races to Become
A Fuel Cell Leader
May 7, 2002
FUEL
CELL APPLICATIONS AND CASE STUDIES (DRAFT)
SECO Advisory
Board; Applications Committee, Texas
Additional documents submitted
to Fuel Cell Initiative Advisory Committee
Fuel Cell Incentive
Programs for Mobile Applications
(Fuel Cells Texas)
Net
Metering as an Incentive for Fuel Cell Applications
(Fuel Cell Texas)
Incentive Program for Stationary
Fuel Cells (Fuel Cells Texas)
Barriers to Fuel Cell
Commercialization and Development Draft
May 2002
Fuel Cell Demonstration Team
Presentation March 2002
Funding Team Presentation March 2002
Incentive Team Report March 2002
PUC White Paper On Fuel Cells
Public Education & Outreach
Team Presentation March 2002
Presentation on FCIAC ,TNRCC
Environmental Trade Fair May 8, 2002
H2
Conference in DC Produces Energetic Response to Notion of Worldwide Hydrogen-based Energy
Economy
by Richard W. Smith, Esq., President,
The Hydrogen Center
CryoGas
International |
Fuel cell companies who promised
home-sized power and heating units for delivery to the general public in 2002, made those
promises based in part on expectations about other parts of the industry. Their fuel cells
were fine, but their fuel reformers did not work, or their manufacturing method could not
be scaled up.
They have not fared well on Wall Street. Nevertheless, the companies
that supported them - those companies with a much narrower focus such as the catalyst
suppliers, and load management device makers - did quite well.
A second important insight from the Forum deals somewhat more
specifically with reformer technology.
At the heart of this early stage of the hydrogen energy economy is a
debate over whether to develop a hydrogen infrastructure designed to deliver pure hydrogen
nearly everywhere, or support reformer technologies which make hydrogen from another fuel
at the "gas" station, on board the vehicle or in your basement.
As the debate raged, more and more optimistic claims were seen
regarding the effectiveness of reformers to take hydrogen from ethanol, methanol, natural
gas, propane, and even gasoline and diesel. That, in turn, gave fuel cell developers who
promised to use reformers an advantage in the capital markets because they could project
sales much sooner to a much larger market. Companies promising fuel cells that require
pure hydrogen could only project sales to markets where pure hydrogen would be available.
With a ubiquitous hydrogen infrastructure many years away at best, the
large consumer markets were eliminated from the projections. As a result, the
reformer-users were funded, the pure hydrogen fuel cells manufacturers were not.
Then, truth struck.
Reformers for smaller fuel cells didn't materialize as projected, and
the capital markets frowned. The reformer fuel cell companies needed another round of
funding, but found it hard to get and new pure hydrogen fuel cell companies hadn't been
well funded at all.
The result is that the "hottest" area in the hydrogen energy
economy - fuel cells - fizzled in the market. The important exceptions are those
fuel cell developers within, or under contract with, the automobile industry or the U.S.
Defense Department.
Interestingly, this artificially created market scolding of the
reformer developers, has given the pure hydrogen infrastructure side of the argument
renewed life.
There is general agreement among manufacturers of present and future
fuel cell products that consumers ultimately will have universal access to pure hydrogen.
The question is when. more |
Harry Braun on
Hydrogen Part 1
Part 2
by Bill Moore EV
World March 16, 2002 |
 Father of the 1996 Hydrogen Act
Congressman Bob Walker (Ret.)
Keynote Address to the Department
of Energy
Hydrogen Technical Advisory Panel/HTAP
January 1999 Vienna, Virginia Quicktime by VIMS |
Putting Fuel
Cells To the Test
by Stuart F. Brown
FORTUNE April 15, 2002
Power Play
Over Fuel Cells
Government and industry have joined forces in
California to thrust stationary fuel cells into the public eye and on to the grid
The Economist (UK) March
14, 2002 |
Shortly after
a wave of power cuts rolled through California in 2000, Scott Samuelsen, an engineering
professor at the University of California in Irvine, and director of the National Fuel Cell Research
Center, started getting frantic telephone calls from all round the state. ...In June
2001, Dr Samuelsen and a group of state representatives formed the California Stationary Fuel Cell
Collaborative. Their goal: to encourage fuel-cell manufacturers to speed up
developments. The incentive offered: a $400m pledge from the California Consumer Power and
Conservation Financing Authority (now known simply as the California Power Authority,
or CPA for short) to invest in stationary fuel cells, aggregating purchases on behalf of
all government agencies and integrating the technology into the state's power grid.
... A group of 18
state and federal agencies is now pooling resources, money and brainpower to hasten
the commercialisation of stationary fuel cells. Their support led to the publication in
January of CPA's first “bidder's list”, a
register of 15 fuel-cell firms—including Plug Power, Siemens Westinghouse, and FuelCell Energy—that
will be asked to draw up formal proposals to install stationary fuel cells throughout
California. CPA will then award its first round of contracts later this spring. With
continued funding over the next three years, Alan Lloyd, chairman of the California Air Resources Board
(and a co-chairman of the collaborative with Dr Samuelsen), expects fuel cells to be
generating at least 500 megawatts of power across the state. more
CLEAN GROWTH:
CLEAN ENERGY FOR CALIFORNIA’S ECONOMIC FUTURE
Energy Resource Investment Plan of the
CALIFORNIA CONSUMER POWER AND
CONSERVATION FINANCING AUTHORITY
Released February 15, 2002 |
Casio Announces
Success in Developing Small Scale Fuel Cells
March 18, 2002
"We happen to believe that fuel cells are the
wave of the future; that fuel cells offer incredible opportunity."
U.S. President George Bush
President
Promotes Energy Efficiency Through Technology
The White House
February 25, 2002
|
 |
President Bush talks with William
T. Miller, president of UTC Fuel Cells, right, during an energy policy event on the South
Lawn of the White House in Washington, Monday, Feb. 25. - AP
|
Fuel
Cells by
William T. Miller, UTC Fuel Cells Proceedings
Hydrogen Vision Meeting Proceedings
November 15 - 16, 2001 Washington, D.C.
U.S. Department of Energy
Hydrogen Program |
"By 2031, 99 percent of the
homes in the United States won't need to be hooked up to the electric grid."
Peter B. Bos, CEO of Polydyne
Dreams
of the New Power Grid - Popular Science February 12, 2002
Fuel-Cell
Partners Win $500,000 Grant
San Antonio Business Journal March 4, 2002
The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded $500,000 to a
public-private partnership led by the Texas Railroad Commission, the state's oil and gas
regulator, to help in the development of fuel cells powered by propane gas. ...Others in
the group working on the clean-fuel technology are Southwest Research Institute of San
Antonio; the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission; the Texas Department of
Transportation; DCH Technology/Enable Fuel Cell
Corp.; and UOP LLC.
Also see Railroad Commission To Research
Propane Fuel Cell
Railroad Commission of Texas March 6, 2002
Fuel Cells
Part
1
2
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THE ICHC SHORT LIST
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1)
The Riversimple Open Source Car Design
Are Our Designs Free?
Patrick's blog
40 Fires Foundation June 19, 2009
How does open source car design work?
The honest answer is that we won't know until we have done
it. But we have plenty of ideas, which will develop over the coming months
as we share the designs for the Riversimple technology demonstrator and
start to produce collaboratively a production prototype.
There are lots of inspiring examples from open source
software, and we are being advised by people with experience in this area.
But there are many differences between open source hardware and software
design.
Differences between open source hardware and software
There are some major differences between open source software
and hardware design:
- There is a "gap" between the on-line design work and the finished
product delivered to the consumer. Not only is there substantial physical
testing to be done, but also there is significant work to be done to turn
the designs into an actual functioning product (we like the analogy of a
food recipe – a recipe is not a meal, you need a chef to turn it into a
meal). The answer we believe lies in establishing the right relationship
between 40 Fires and the manufacturers (the first of which is Riversimple),
where each party has its needs met.
- There’s a technical challenge to share ideas on-line, where there is
no satisfactory open source CAD (Computer-Aided Design) application. Our
solution is to use a low tech approach at first, using a wiki-based
website and freely available 3-D viewers to show the 3-D drawings. In time
we may get involved in developing a OS CAD program.
- Licensing. We cannot simply take the standard OS software license
(the GPL is the most common), since we are dealing with hardware, which is
not so well protected by copyright. See further down for some thoughts on
the licensing issues.
We'd like to hear from you!
As in Open Source software projects, we are not attempting to
do everything at once and we don’t have to. The designs that Riversimple
is licensing to 40 Fires resemble in many ways the code base which a
complex software project starts with.
However, because a car is different to software and requires
different development stages and processes, we will be asking for input
into specific areas, as well as procedural matters.
That's why we would like to hear from you, not only from
engineers or designers, but also if you have contributed to large scale
open source software projects and can help set up our project management
structure. Lawyers with an understanding of copyright and patents would
also be useful as we review the most appropriate license to use and if and
how we should be using patents for some new inventions which emerge.
To get involved, send an e-mail to
participate@40fires.org explaining your interest and skills.
The stages
We envisage different stages:
Stage 1 Over the coming months, starting this month (July
2009), we will make available design schematics from the Riversimple
technology demonstrator vehicle, together with a description of each
component's function in the whole system, and a vehicle design brief for
the production prototype. We will provide a mailing list or discussion
forum to enable comments and discussions. At this stage we expect
Riversimple, as the creator of the original designs, to be leading the
discussions.
Stage 2 As the detailed discussions develop, we expect a
broad consensus to emerge amongst the participants as to which is the best
solution to pursue for each design . By this stage, we expect the
conversations to be more democratic, with a broad cross-section of
collaborators participate, sharing their knowledge and insights.
Stage 3 We start creating detailed designs collaboratively
and publishing them on-line. Eventually an entire vehicle will be created,
and tested, on-line. We are aiming to complete the design of the
production prototype by the summer of 2010.
Stage 4 Riversimple and other entrepreneurs, under license
from 40 Fires, can start downloading the schematics and building and
testing the vehicles. With the lessons from this, work can start on an
improved production prototype.
Are our designs free (as in beer)?
Richard Stallman famously said that free software is "free as
in speech not free as in beer."
Are our designs free?
We consider that the designs themselves will be free in the
sense of free speech, with one exception. Currently we have chosen a
Creative Commons, non-commercial license. So the designs can be used,
modified, distributed under the same license terms but not for commercial
purposes.
We have chosen to be conservative at this stage and not
allowed commercial use. This may change - we intend to set up a discussion
group to debate this. The issue is that we don't want a large,
profit-focused organisation taking the designs and starting manufacturing
with them yet. We intend that when we grant a manufacturing license, this
will be for a small fee (say $10 per car) to cover 40 Fires running costs.
We are also keen on collaborating so if a commercial
organisation wants to use the designs, we'd like to chat with them first
before allowing them to use the designs for commercial purposes.
The licensing issues are very complex (patent law is not
copyright law; cars are not software) and we don't pretend to have all the
answers. It is quite possible that our license may in the end not meet the
strict requirements of the Free Software Foundation. But all we really
care about is that the license works to ensure that the cars can be built
in hundreds of different variations around the world, by local companies
and entrepreneurs as well as big multinationals if they like, and that no
one company (whether Ford or Riversimple) can dominate the market and keep
the ideas to itself. |
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