Fuel Cells Today articles from December 2006

Fuel Cells Today archives from December 2006

Ceres offers fuel cell progress report.(Industry Report)
December 1, 2006... Fuel cell group Ceres Power last week provided a progress report on the development of its fuel cell technology. Ceres said that rigorous testing of its fuel cell stacks demonstrated that the required levels of durability and performance...

Electro Power Systems receives CE certification.(Industry Report)
December 1, 2006... Fuel cell systems developer Electro Power Systems has obtained CE certification for its Electro7 fuel cell system. Electro7 is the first fuel cell system designed and produced in Italy, and one of the first in the world to obtain CE...

Study reveals fuel cell industry growth.(Editorials, Asides & Reviews)
December 1, 2006... According to research recently carried out by the US Fuel Cell Council, total sales of fuel cell products rose by 7% during 2005 to reach $353 million. Spending on research and development over the 12-month period totaled $796 million, an...

BP receives tax credits for hydrogen plant.(Industry Report)
December 4, 2006... The US Department of Energy and the Internal Revenue Service will provide approximately $90 million in tax credits to fuel company BP to help build a hydrogen-fired power plant in California. Petroleum coke--a byproduct of petroleum...

LG creates fuel cell-powered laptop.(Industry Report)
December 4, 2006... LG, the second largest electronics manufacturer in Korea after Samsung, has developed a futuristic prototype fuel cell-powered laptop. The laptop features a transparent cylindrical hinge that stores clean fuels such as methanol, used to...

Scientists engineer hydrogen-producing molecule.(Industry Report)
December 4, 2006... Japanese scientists claim to have engineered a new molecule capable of using solar energy to turn water into hydrogen and oxygen. Researchers from Japan's Waseda University, working in conjunction with Imperial College London, say that they...

New material could advance hydrogen storage and release.(International Report)
December 5, 2006... Scientists from the University of Bath recently announced they have developed a material capable of storing and releasing hydrogen at room temperature at the flick of a switch. According to the researchers, the new material works because it...

ITM and ABRO ink deal.(International Report)
December 5, 2006... ITM Power announces Tuesday it has signed a memorandum of understanding with ABRO, a trading fund of the UK's Ministry of Defense that maintains vehicles and equipments owned and operated by the British Armed Forces. The objective of the...

EU invests in marine fuel cell project.(International Report)
December 5, 2006... The European Union has chosen a research consortium coordinated by Finland-based Wartsila to receive a $1.3 million grant to develop the use of methanol-consuming fuel cells to provide electrical power to marine vessels. The Validation of...

Researchers explore inorganic liquids for fuel cells.(Industry Report)
December 6, 2006... Inorganic liquids could be used to improve the performance of fuel cells, according to researchers from Arizona State University. Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Austen Angell and colleagues from the university have used inorganic...

Neah tests new cell stack.(Industry Report)
December 6, 2006... Neah Power Systems has announced initial testing of its 16 cell stack architecture. The architecture features a porous silicon electrode and closed-loop fluid system that Neah hopes will be included in its fuel cell prototype. The...

Pure Energy Visions teams with Indian Institute of Technology on fuel cells.(International Report)
December 6, 2006... Canada's Pure Energy Visions Corporation recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur to cooperatively develop direct methanol fuel cell technology. Pure Energy will provide its existing...

SFC and DuPont Fuel-Cell project passes DoD review.(Industry Report)
December 7, 2006... SFC Smart Fuel Cell and DuPont Fuel Cells announced Thursday the US Department of Defense has completed a successful initial review of its program to introduce a lightweight, portable power system for soldiers in the field. The program was...

Acumentrics receives Navy grant.(Industry Report)
December 7, 2006... Acumentrics Corporation, a developer of solid-oxide fuel cells and uninterruptible power supplies for the distributed generation market, announced Thursday that it has been awarded a grant from the US Navy. The grant will help Acumentrics...

Sierra Nevada purchases fuel cell power plants.(Industry Report)
December 7, 2006... Sierra Nevada Brewing Company recently announced it will purchase four fuel cell power generation plants from FuelCell Energy. The 250 kilowatt power plants are currently providing base load electricity to the brewing company's California...

Quantum outranks Ballard in annual survey.(Industry Report)
December 8, 2006... Quantum Fuel Systems of California has replaced Ballard Power Systems of Burnaby, BC, as the number one revenue generator in the global fuel-cell sector, according to an annual survey from PricewaterhouseCoopers. Ballard remains the...

EPA funded projects promote hydrogen production.(Industry Report)
December 8, 2006... The Department of Energy last week announced funding for six research and development projects that will promote the production of hydrogen from coal at large-scale facilities. The projects will combat climate change by allowing for the...

ALC to participate in Canadian hydrogen project.(International Report)
December 8, 2006... Air Liquide Canada will supply hydrogen fuel and refueling facilities to Canada's Hydrogen on the Hill project, according to an announcement made last week. ALC will provide a hydrogen refueling station to support three hydrogen-powered...

EU funding to support fuel cell project.(International Report)
December 11, 2006... The European Union has awarded $1.3 million to a research consortium in Switzerland focused on developing renewable-fuel-based technology onboard a marine cargo vessel. The group will develop methanol-consuming fuel cells to provide electrical...

New fuel cell system fits on single chip.(Industry Report)
December 11, 2006... A US inventor has developed an integrated fuel cell power system that fits on a single chip, according to filings with the US patent office. Donald Desbiens of Maine has developed a power system with a fuel cell array and is integrated...

Ardica plans new fuel cell facility for Mississippi.(Industry Report)
December 11, 2006... Hydrogen cartridge and fuel cell manufacturer Ardica Technology plans to open a new facility in Mississippi. The location of the new facility has not been chosen. Ardica will work with Mississippi State University on the new site, designed...

H2 Logic and TH!NK to demo hydrogen city cars in Scandanavia.(International Report)
December 12, 2006... H2 Logic has won a bid to deliver fuel cell systems for up to seven TH!NK hydrogen city cars due for a demonstration in Scandinavia. The collaborative agreement will have H2 Logic develop hydrogen-powered fuel cell city cars for future...

Ceramic Fuel Cells receives grant for fuel cell facility.(International Report)
December 12, 2006... The State of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, has awarded roughly $4.25 million to Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited to develop a large-scale manufacturing facility at the Oberbruch industrial park in Heinsberg, Germany. Brendan Dow, Ceramic Fuel...

Congress extends fuel cell tax credits.(Legislative)
December 12, 2006... Congress has voted to extend tax credits for fuel cells. Congress extended the 30% tax credit for individuals purchasing fuel cell property until Dec. 31, 2008. Businesses will continue to receive tax credits of 30% in line with the...

Horizon developing fuel cell unit for remote control cars.(Industry Report)
December 13, 2006... Chinese fuel cell supplier Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies is developing a hydrogen-powered fuel-cell unit to replace a standard battery pack for remote-control cars. The 30-watt H-cell would replace a conventional 7.2-volt battery. The...

Hitachi to commercialize small fuel cells.(Industry Report)
December 13, 2006... Hitachi plans to commercialize next year a small fuel cell that runs on methanol for electronic devices. The fuel cells are expected to be used as external power supplies or rechargers for notebook computers and cellular phones. ...

Hydrogen Corporation completes test facility.(Industry Report)
December 13, 2006... Fuel cell systems manufacturer HydroGen Corporation recently announced completion of its 2.5-kilowatt test facility and successful operation of a 2.5-kilowatt fuel cell stack. The recently commissioned test facility duplicates the operating...

EC awards grant for fuel cell system prototypes.(International Report)
December 14, 2006... The European Commission has awarded a $3.3 million grant to fuel cell manufacturer Plug Power and German company Vaillant Group to develop three fuel cell system prototypes. The systems will be high-temperature, combined heat and power...

SatCon to use navy grant to develop converter.(Industry Report)
December 14, 2006... The US Navy has awarded power management developer SatCon Technology Corporation a contract to develop a bi-directional universal input/output converter. Boston-based SatCon's converter builds on technology developed for the Army Research...

New Flyer receives grant for fuel cell bus development.(Industry Report)
December 14, 2006... The US government will grant Winnipeg-based New Flyer Industries $9 million to develop hydrogen fuel cell buses for the Federal Transit Administration. The funding will allow New Flyer to develop a hydrogen fuel-cell bus for Washington, DC...

Hydra to complete prototype fuel cells.(Industry Report)
December 15, 2006... Hydra Fuel Cell last week announced it is in the final stages of producing prototype fuel cells for certification. The company expects to complete assembly and testing by the beginning of next week, adding that it would use the units for...

JAMA weighs in on EC draft law.(International Report)
December 15, 2006... The Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association has published its input for the European Commission's draft law concerning hydrogen-powered vehicles. Next year the European Commission is set to propose a new law regarding motor vehicles...

Neah moves forward on fuel cell development.(International Report)
December 15, 2006... Micro fuel cell developer Neah Power Systems, Inc. last week announced completion of phase two of its contract with Danfoss of Denmark, focused on development of plant and cartridge components for fuel cells. In this phase, Danfoss...

Samsung considers fuel cells for handsets.(Industry Report)
December 18, 2006... Handsets must move to more efficient sources such as fuel cells, Samsung said last week. Samsung Vice President of Product Management Muzibuly Khan said the company is exploring fuel-cell options and predicted that it will likely have fuel...

Power Air and H-Plus Eco form H-Plus PAC.(International Report)
December 18, 2006... Power Air has signed an agreement with H-Plus Eco to establish a Korean-based firm to develop and manufacture back-up power systems. The two companies will manufacture and commercialize the systems, which will use zinc air fuel cell stacks...

Project looks to power ships with fuel cells.(International Report)
December 18, 2006... Providing hydrogen power for ships may be a viable option, according to the EU-funded New H Ship project. There are no major barriers to the development of a hydrogen-powered ship which could run off a fuel cell, project partners said. ...

Innovatek and Chevron to develop hydrogen generation technology.(International Report)
December 19, 2006... Technology developer Innovatek of Germany has signed an agreement to develop hydrogen fuel generation technology in partnership with Chevron Technology Ventures. The joint effort will involve development of Innovatek's existing InnovaGen...

BASF buys fuel cell startup Pemeas.(International Report)
December 19, 2006... BASF Future Business agreed this week to buy Pemeas, a German fuel cell startup company. Pemeas operates manufacturing and research and development facilities in Germany and the US. The company is working on projects to use fuel cells in...

HydroGen Corporation PAFC test successful.(Industry Report)
December 19, 2006... HydroGen Corporation announced this week successful operation of a 2.5 kilowatt phosphoric acid fuel cell stack. According to the company, the operation of the fuel cell is a "key milestone" in the development of its fuel cell solutions....

MTI receives first order for new fuel cell.(Industry Report)
December 20, 2006... MTI MicroFuel Cells Inc. has received the first order for its Mobion 30M fuel cell. MTI Micro didn't identify the buyer but previously said the first customer would likely be the Army or Air Force. One Mobion 30M unit, including one...

UltraCell receives grant for fuel cell plant.(Industry Report)
December 20, 2006... Ohio has awarded California-based UItraCell state incentives worth $300,000 to open a high-volume fuel cell manufacturing plant in Dayton. The state funding comes from the Ohio Roadwork Development Account. UltraCell will invest $21.5...

Battelle to market fuel cell power generator.(Industry Report)
December 20, 2006... Battelle has announced it will begin marketing a new multi-purpose fuel cell power generator it calls a "major advance in applied fuel cell technology." The Multipurpose Electric Power System generates upwards of five kilowatts of power...

South Carolina legislation encourages hydrogen businesses.(Legislative)
December 21, 2006... South Carolina is considering legislation that would create a $15 million fund to draw hydrogen technology companies to the state. The South Carolina Hydrogen Infrastructure Development Fund would be available to private companies that work...

Proton Power to deliver fuel cell system to L-3.(International Report)
December 21, 2006... Fuel cell systems developer Proton Power Systems of Germany will provide L-3 Communications Corporation with a $99,000 fuel cell system to be delivered in 2007. PPS subsidiary Proton Motor Fuel Cell will develop the fuel cell system, to be...

Japan's Idemitsu advances fuel cell catalysts.(International Report)
December 21, 2006... Japan's Idemitsu Kosan Co. has announced development of a longer-lasting catalyst for fuel cells that use hydrogen derived from kerosene. Idemitsu's new catalyst can operate for 40,000 continuous hours, five times longer than existing...

HyPower fuel orders test equipment for hydrogen reactor.(Industry Report)
December 22, 2006... Hydrogen technology producer HyPower Fuel has ordered high-tech test equipment from Asia for use in the development of its hydrogen-producing H2 Reactor product. The test equipment will help HyPower monitor the performance of reactor...

Wind-to-hydrogen project dedicated.(Industry Report)
December 22, 2006... Hydrogen Energy Center, Inc., Xcel Energy and the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory dedicated their 50 kilowatt wind-to-hydrogen demonstration project last week. "Until recently, wind energy had to be used immediately," Xcel Energy...

Millennium Cell unveils new fuel cell cartridge.(Industry Report)
December 22, 2006... Hydrogen battery developer Millennium Cell Inc. last week announced demonstration of its next generation hydrogen fuel cell cartridge technology to its US military market partners. The prototype cartridge was linked to a fuel cell system...

Air Products begins hydrogen distribution from Texas plant.(Industry Report)
December 22, 2006... Air Products announced last week it has begun supplying customers with hydrogen fuel from its newest hydrogen production facility in Port Arthur, Texas. The plant is designed to produce cleaner transport fuels, and is one of six production...

EPA expands zero-emission vehicle program to include fuel cells.(Industry Report)
December 22, 2006... The US Environmental Protection Agency last week approved regulation amendments adopted by the California Air Resources Board in 2003 that will allow manufacturers to produce fuel cell vehicles to meet zero-emission vehicle requirements in...

Medis Power Pack completes UL testing.(Industry Report)
December 22, 2006... Medis Technologies has announced that its 24/7 Power Pack fuel cell product has successfully completed Underwriter Laboratories' engineering test program. The UL test program included temperature, drop and vibration tests designed to...

Millennium cell presents fuel cell technology to US military.(Industry Report)
December 27, 2006... Millennium Cell recently announced it presented next generation hydrogen fuel cell technology to the US military. The company developed a prototype battery cartridge using a P2 fuel cell system from Protonex Technology. The companies said...

Researchers investigate enzyme-powered fuel cells.(Industry Report)
December 27, 2006... Enzymes could replace expensive platinum catalysts in hydrogen fuel cells, according to scientists at the UK's University of Oxford. The researchers used an enzyme to catalyze the oxidation of hydrogen to water in a safe, non-flammable...

FuelCell Energy makes proposals to Connecticut clean energy fund.(Industry Report)
December 27, 2006... FuelCell Energy, Inc. announced this week it has submitted bids for 98.6 megawatts of fuel cell power projects to the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund for Project 100. The proposed projects range in size from 2.4 megawatts to 28 megawatts. ...

Neah completes phase two of Danfoss fuel cell contract.(Industry Report)
December 28, 2006... Neah Power Systems has completed phase two of its contract with Denmark's Danfoss. In this latest phase Danfoss demonstrated miniaturized pump and valve components for Neah's forthcoming fuel cell systems and a cartridge disconnect system...

Samsung fuel cell powers notebook for one month.(Industry Report)
December 28, 2006... Samsung Electronics announced this week successful development of a 1,200-watt-hour fuel cell for notebook computers. The company worked with Samsung SDI and the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology on a fuel cell installed in its Sense...

Alchemy Enterprises becomes Ecotality.(Industry Report)
December 28, 2006... Hydrogen generation technology developer Alchemy Enterprises has announced that it has changed its name to Ecotality. The new name better reflect the goals of the company in the development of renewable energy solutions, the company said....

New York facilities to use fuel cells for backup power.(Industry Report)
December 29, 2006... The New York State Police and New York Power Authority will deploy Plug Power Inc. fuel cells at 22 state police public safety communications facilities as part of a $434,000 Fuel Cells for Emergency Communications program. The fuel cells...

Honda says mass production of fuel cell vehicles possible by 2018.(Industry Report)
December 29, 2006... Honda Motor Co. said last week it expects to mass produce fuel-cell vehicles by 2018. The company had already planned to begin leasing a hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle based on its FCX Concept in Japan and the United States in 2008. "By...

Fuelcells.org launches fuel cell database.(Industry Report)
December 29, 2006... Fuelcells.org has launches a database cataloging fuel cell and hydrogen policies and partnerships. Included in the database are US stationary fuel cell installations, hydrogen fueling stations and vehicle demonstrations. According to...