Fuel Cells Bulletin February 2006

‘The metal ammine complexes have theremarkable property that they can be compactedinto a solid storage with a very high hydrogencontent,’ explains physics professor Jens Nørskov.At 9.1% hydrogen, the pellets have a much high-er storage capacity than other reversible systemsfound so far. They are stable up to about 80°C,and very easy to handle at room temperature.

Nørskov adds that their rate of ammonia leak-age is so low that ‘one cannot smell ammonia atroom temperature, even if one holds a pellet rightunder the nose,’ which should make for simpledesign of containers for storage and transport.

‘The down-side is that you need a catalyst tomake hydrogen, and this requires some energy,’says Nørskov. ‘It will be interesting to see howwell one can use the heat generated in a fuel cellto help the hydrogen release along.’

The technology is being commercialized byAmminex A/S, a start-up founded by DTUresearchers, which is jointly owned by AmminexHolding, DTU and Seed Capital Denmark. Theresearch was reported recently in the Journal ofMaterials Chemistry (DOI: 10.1039/b511589b).

Contact: Amminex A/S, DTU Campus, Lyngby, Denmark.Email: tj@amminex.com, www.amminex.com

Or contact: Professor Jens K. Nørskov, Institut forFysik, Danmarks Tekniske Universitet, Lyngby, Denmark.Tel: +45 4525 3175, Email: Jens.Norskov@fysik.dtu.dk,www.fys.dtu.dk

NRC grant for Palcan tocommercialize system

BC-based Palcan Power Systems hasreached an agreement with the

Canadian Industrial Research AssistanceProgram (IRAP) whereby it will receiveup to C$300 000 (US$260 000) from theNational Research Council of Canada(NRC) over the next 14 months, to com-plete its development of a commercial,portable fuel cell power system.

Palcan has developed a successful 300 We air-cooled fuel cell module prototype on which pro-duction will be based. The company has threefuel cell stack designs: the PC3 and PC5 are air-cooled, while the PC6 is water-cooled. Whilethese stacks are successful prototypes, their oper-ating systems are not transferable or compatiblewith one another. The IRAP/NRC assisted pro-ject will identify architecture commonalitybetween operating systems, identify commoncomponents representing the common architec-ture subsets, and develop a new architecture sys-tem subset that can be applied to Palcan’s rangeof fuel cell stacks across all power levels.

The project’s overall goal is to develop a 300We portable fuel cell system ready for consumer

use. Applications include rapid rechargers forsmall appliances, uninterruptible power supplies,and e-commerce or telecom facilities. The unitwill incorporate Palcan’s rare-earth, metal-hydride, hydrogen storage canisters as well as a‘pop on/off ’ mechanism for ease of use. A hydro-gen volumetric reading mechanism will also bedeveloped as part of the project.

Contact: Palcan Power Systems, Burnaby, Vancouver,BC, Canada. Tel: +1 604 422 8868, www.palcan.com

Sanyo Electric, Hokuextend material transfer,collaborative testing

Hawaii-based Hoku Scientific hasentered into a new agreement with

its long-standing partner Sanyo Electric,under which it will supply samples of itsnext-generation non-fluorinated mem-brane and membrane-electrode assem-bly products for testing at Sanyo’s R&Dfacility in Japan. The two companies willcontinue to collaborate on testing ofthe Hoku Membrane and Hoku MEA.

In spring 2003 Hoku and Sanyo entered intoa contract to jointly develop an MEA assemblyprocess using the Hoku Membrane for integra-tion into Sanyo’s residential fuel cell systems[FCB, September 2003]. In early 2005 Sanyoagreed that Hoku had satisfied all of the con-tracted performance milestones. The companieshave continued to work together, each bearingtheir own costs, to conduct testing of the HokuMembrane and Hoku MEA.

The new agreement will allow Sanyo to evalu-ate newer versions of Hoku’s membrane andMEA products developed since completion ofthe collaboration portion of the prior agreement,and formalizes the next step towards the integra-tion of the Hoku Membrane and Hoku MEAinto Sanyo’s fuel cells.

Contact: Hoku Scientific Inc, Kapolei, Hawaii, USA.Tel: +1 808 682 7800, www.hokuscientific.com

Federal grant boostsfuel cell research in SC

Following the recent launch of SouthCarolina’s fuel cell strategy [FCB,

December], the state’s efforts to becomea center for the hydrogen/fuel cellindustry have received a boost in theform of a $1m federal grant. Accordingto The State newspaper in Columbia,funding has been awarded to regional

strategic leadership council EngenuitySCto help create the National Institute ofHydrogen Fuel Cell Commercialization, anon-profit organization that will workto find commercial opportunities for theUniversity of South Carolina (USC) andother state research institutions doingfuel cell research.

EngenuitySC will spend the next 6–12 monthsdetermining how to spend the money. It plans tospend the majority on facilities, according toexecutive director Neil McLean; none will beused to pay Engenuity’s operating budget. ‘Wewant to invest in infrastructure that will serve thearea for a long time,’ says McLean.

Initially, Engenuity will concentrate on creat-ing a regional organization that will help makeColumbia ‘a fuel cell city’. Some of the moneycould be used for specially outfitted space, suchas wet labs, in a new building in the HorizonCenter, part of USC’s Innovista research campus.Resources will be needed to attract the best fuelcell scientists and entrepreneurs to the region.

The new SC Hydrogen and Fuel CellEconomy Strategy [FCB, December], drawn upby the SC Next Energy Initiative, projects that atleast 8000–12 000 primary jobs can be created inthe state in the hydrogen and fuel cell industrywithin 20 years.

For more on the SC Hydrogen and Fuel CellEconomy Strategy, go to: www.engenuitysc.com/nextenergy.aspx

German road certificationfor Hydrogenics fuel cellMidi Bus

TÜV Rheinland Group, a leading inter-national technical service provider,

has certified Hydrogenics’ fuel cell ‘MidiBus’ for road use, allowing it to go intofull public transit service in Germany.The certification means the bus meetsall required safety requirements, andoperates in line with all regulationsapplicable to public transit authorities.

The hybrid power architecture was developedby Hydrogenics, on a Technobus Gulliver MidiBus platform, with financial support from theEuropean Union and the German Land ofNordrhein-Westfalen. This government-initiatedproject was undertaken to address the need foremissions-free, light-duty transit vehicles able tooperate in urban and other environmentally sen-sitive areas without the limitations associatedwith battery-powered buses.

The fuel cell hybrid system uses an integrated10 kWe HyPM® 10 power module to effectively

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