Cellex completes forklift field trials

NEWS

Cellex completes forkliftfield trials

Vancouver-based Cellex PowerProducts has successfully complet-

ed its third set of field trial demonstra-tions at customer locations across theUS and Canada. These field trials – con-ducted during the third quarter of2003 – represent months of cumulativeruntime at selected customers’ opera-tions, providing enhanced fuel cellpowered forklift performance, includ-ing indoor refueling and compliancewith all safety codes and regulations.

Cellex’s power units are designed to replaceindustrial lead-acid battery and charger systemsin forklifts, which typically last only 4–8 hbefore the depleted battery needs to be removedand replaced with a freshly charged battery. Theuse of hydrogen fuel cells addresses this cus-tomer problem by running longer, and offeringfast refueling.

‘Our field trials program has been a tremen-dous success, as we have validated that industri-al lift trucks will be the early adaptors of fuelcells due to a strong customer value proposi-tion,’ comments Chris Reid, president andCEO of Cellex. ‘We have been focused on lift trucks since our inception in 1998, and the results of the most recent field trialsreinforce this.’

Toronto-based Hydrogenics is leading aCanadian consortium to develop, demonstrateand pre-commercialize fuel cell powered forklifts,while Proton Motor in Germany recentlyunveiled a fuel cell forklift developed in partner-ship with Linde and Still GmbH [FCB,December]. General Hydrogen in Vancouver isalso developing systems to replace forklift batter-ies with its hydrogen fuel cell Hydricity™ Packs.

Contact: Cellex Power Products Inc, Richmond, BC,Canada. Tel: +1 604 270 4300, www.cellexpower.com

Neah Power, Montecito topursue military opportunities

Washington state-based micro fuelcell developer Neah Power

Systems is partnering with TheMontecito Group in California, a consul-tancy specializing in new military pro-grams and technologies, to pursue rele-vant research and product developmentopportunities within the US Departmentof Defense and its key suppliers.

Micro fuel cells offer the potential to contin-uously power portable communications andcomputing gear, increasing the effectiveness andlikelihood of mission success. Highly mobileand electronically connected ‘network-centric’forces are the future of defense and combat,according to Peter Schwartz, a director at NeahPower, adding that new power technologies andapproaches are required to build this capability.

Neah Power is a micro fuel cell developerusing an innovative silicon-based design to pro-vide longer-lasting, efficient and safe powersolutions for portable electronic devices, includ-ing notebook PCs and other power-hungrycomputer, entertainment and communicationsproducts. Investors include Alta Partners,Frazier Technology Ventures and Intel Capital.

Contact: Neah Power Systems Inc, Bothell, Washington,USA. Tel: +1 425 424 3324, www.neahpower.com

Greenlight unveils latesttest equipment platform

Greenlight Power Technologies – thewholly-owned subsidiary of

Hydrogenics in Toronto – presented thefirst product in its next generation offuel cell automated test systems (FCATS)at the Fuel Cell Seminar in Miami Beach,Florida. The FCATS™ G500 PEM test sta-tion is the result of an intensive periodof product integration, bringing togetherthe best attributes from Greenlight’s andHydrogenics’ previous testing systems.

The primary objectives for the new productwere increased reliability, superior performanceand improved manufacturability, which have beenachieved by sourcing and selecting the most reli-able components on the market, and by reducingthe number of parts through process flow simplifi-cation. The internal layout of the G500 has alsobeen designed to give easier access for mainte-nance, and the unit has a reduced footprint.

The FCATS G500 is the first Greenlight prod-uct to incorporate the new proprietary HyWAREII™ software, which combines the best attributesof Hydrogenics’ and Greenlight’s previous soft-ware platforms. Enhanced with proprietary HyALautomation language and load-following capabili-ties, the software can comprehensively manage thefull range of test system parameters, includingtesting and control, rapid data acquisition, diag-nostics and safety subsystems.

Contact: Greenlight Power Technologies, Burnaby,BC, Canada. Tel: +1 604 676 4000, www.greenlight-power.com. Or Hydrogenics Corporation, Mississauga,Ontario, Canada. Tel: +1 905 361 3660, www.hydro-genics.com

9January 2004 Fuel Cells Bulletin

I n B r i e f

US fuel cell industry jobs rise by 19%Fuel cell related jobs in the US increased by19% in 2002, according to the first membersurvey conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopersfor the Washington-based US Fuel CellCouncil (www.usfcc.com). The results of thesurvey, with responses from more than 85% ofUSFCC member companies, show an increasein US-based fuel cell activity in sales, R&Dexpenditures and numbers of employeesbetween 2001 and 2002.

The survey found that reported sales of fuelcell products, parts and services in the US formembers participating in this survey increasedby 11%, from $151m in 2001 to $167m in2002, while fuel cell related R&D expendituresrose by 16%, from $248m in 2001 to $288min 2002. The survey also reported that therewere 2745 employees conducting fuel cell relat-ed work in 2001, which increased by 19% in2002 to 3273 people.

Japan Eco develops efficient home-usefuel cellTokyo-based energy-efficiency company NewJapan Eco System Co has developed an effi-cient, compact fuel cell system for residentialuse, working in collaboration with precisionmachine maker QM Soft Co, which is alreadyimporting Chinese-made, 200 We PEMFCsystems and selling them in Japan.

The EX-21 system uses a unique mechanismto accelerate the chemical reaction of oxygenand hydrogen, according to a Nihon KeizaiShimbun report. With a high generation effi-ciency of about 45%, the system generates a maximum output of 2.6 kWe, sufficient to meet power demand for a single-familyhousehold.

Japan Eco was aiming to sell 30 units to localgovernments, gas companies and universitieson a trial basis by the end of 2003. The com-pany will initially sell the systems for ¥5 mil-lion (US$46 000), aiming to cut the price toless than ¥1m ($9300) within two years.

Fuel cell membrane research at SurreyIn the UK, Professor Bob Slade and Dr JohnVarcoe in the Materials Chemistry Lab at theDepartment of Chemistry, University ofSurrey have been awarded £248 000(US$440 000) by the Engineering & PhysicalSciences Research Council to develop MEAsfor alkaline and DMFCs containing radiation-grafted alkaline anion-exchange membranes.

The project will include optimization of pre-viously developed alkaline anion-exchangemembranes, and development of MEAs usingthese membranes and commercial electrodematerials. As a further investigation, electrodematerials containing non-noble metal catalysts(such as silver, gold, nickel) will also be investigated.