Gregoire's CleanTech Blog

Hydra Fuel Cell Begins Production

Une annonce très marketing à prendre avec beaucoup de pincette. Comment font-ils aujourd'hui pour atteindre effectivement ce niveau de 650 k$/kW...Même si c'est encore trop élevé pour certains marchés résidentiels (cogénération), cela semble déjà très bas...

Lien: The Energy Blog: Hydra Fuel Cell Begins Production.

Angstrom Power - Micro Fuel cells

Micro fuel cell manufacturer Angstrom Power announced an $18mm round of financing led by VantagePoint Venture Partners. Existing investors included Ventures West, GrowthWorks Capital, Chrysalix Energy, OPG Ventures, and Micro-Generation Technology Fund.

Lien: Cleantech Investing: Cilion, Angstrom Power, Orb, Crystal IS, and Pangaea.

FuelCell Energy Boost Power Output by 20%

FuelCell Energy, Inc. (NasdaqNM:FCEL - News), manufacturer of molten carbonate fuel cells, has announced an advanced cell stack design that boosts the power output of its Direct FuelCell® (DFC®) power plants by 20 percent. The company is incorporating the enhancement across its entire line of power plants.

The efficiency improvement was achieved by improving the thermal management of electrochemical activity within the stack. The company has increased the power output from each cell and can produce more electricity from the same basic power plant components. The 20 percent increase in electric power output, combined with the company's progress in its value engineering and ongoing cost-reduction programs, are integral to achieving FuelCell Energy's $3,200-3,500/kilowatt (kW) cost target at the end of this calendar year for its DFC3000 power plant.

Lien: The Energy Blog: FuelCell Energy Boost Power Output by 20%.

MicroFuel Cells & marché aérien : avec tous ces problèmes de sécurité...

Un excellent article sur le développement annoncé des micro-piles à combustible pour les appareils mobiles (http://www.fuelcellsworks.com/Supppage4798.html) qui risque d'être évidemment remis en cause par les problèmes actuels autour de la sécurité dans le transport aérien.

Les cartouches à hydrogène sont attendues dès 2010

Le CEA prévoit de commercialiser des micropiles à combustible à hydrogène dans les téléphones portables, pour un coût avoisinant les 1 euro la cartouche rechargeable dès 2010.

Cette technologie présente pour le moment des performances 10 fois supérieures à celle du méthanol. La densité d'énergie stockée en laboratoire est de 200 à 300 mW/cm2 pour le premier contre 20 à 30 mW/cm2 pour le second. L'objectif final étant d'arriver à fournir du 800 Wh/Kg. La micropile serait alors en mesure de délivrer du 2W en continu.

Mais le principal obstacle à franchir pour le CEA reste la conception d'une cartouche jetable innofensive, susceptible de générer "suffisamment" d'hydrogène avant d'être remplacée. La fabrication de l'hydrogène se ferait donc par réaction chimique de l'eau sur du borohydrure de sodium.

Franklin Fuels Direct Oxidation SOFC's

Franklin Fuel Cells Inc. (FFC) is an early stage company that is commercializing a unique solid oxide fuel cell (SOFCs) technology operates directly on today's hydrocarbon fossil fuels as well as future fuels such as, biofuels and hydrogen. This technology will enable (SOFCs) to become price-competitive with existing generation products while having higher energy efficiency and fuel flexibility. The company is a privately held Delaware corporation founded in November 2001 and capitalized in April 2002. FFC intends to address both the stationary and mobile markets.

Fuel cell advocates promise the world cleaner, more efficient and more reliable power, but widespread adoption of existing fuel cell technologies depend on the establishment of a "hydrogen economy." Without the infrastructure to support hydrogen distribution and storage, current fuel cell systems are too inefficient, too large and too expensive for most applications. Franklin Fuel Cell technology, acquired from the University of Pennsylvania through an exclusive licensing agreement, overcomes most of these issues. This technology is designed to:

1. Accelerate the rate of fuel cell commercialization by using conventional fuels and the existing energy infrastructure (such as gasoline, diesel, kerosene, etc).
2. Be competitive now with conventional modular power generating systems in terms of manufacturing cost.
3. Provide a product that can be fuel flexible to facilitate the transition to the hydrogen economy.

Franklin is the only fuel-cell development company to offer patented Copper-Ceria anode technology, a technology that offers several unique benefits over the common Nickel anode, including:

• No need for reformation
• Not prone to Carbon fouling and contaminations that dramatically reduce fuel cell life and efficiency, thus enabling cheaper, smaller and more efficient power generating systems.
• Can achieve conversion efficiencies up to 56% higher than standard SOFCs, up to two times higher than internal combustion engines

Franklin Fuel Cells has reported that it has successfully “tested, demonstrated, and proven” its patented, proprietary SOFC technology on 16 different hydrocarbon fuels: “virtually every current, commercially-available liquid and gaseous hydrocarbon fuel; done without the need for reformers or de-sulfurizers, and without requiring cell modifications from one fuel to the next.”

The tests were performed on all of the following hydrocarbon fuels: BP/Amoco 93-octane pump gasoline, E85, Methanol, Ethanol, Propane, 2006 commercial Diesel (30ppm S), Kerosene, Natural Gas, Butane, Methane, Hexane, Decane, Dodecane, Hexadecane, JP-8, and Heavy Naphtha. Performance graphs of the tests are available from Franklin.

In the traditional SOFC, Nickel is used in the anode to perform two functions: it’s the catalyst that breaks the fuel down, and it’s also the conductor of electrons. The problem with Nickel is that it is such a good catalyst that it catalyzes the carbon in a hydrocarbon fuel and “fouls” – which destroys the cell.

Next, the common Nickel-based anode is very sensitive to Sulfur, which is contained in all of our readily-available hydrocarbon fuels. In fact, Nickel cannot handle the Sulfur levels in our most common fuels like gasoline, diesel and kerosene.

Franklin’s singularly-unique, proven technology solves the problem in several key ways.

First, Franklin’s unique approach was to separate the two functions of Nickel with Copper to handle electronic conductivity and Ceria (CeO2) to act as an oxidation catalyst.

The advantage of Franklin’s proprietary Copper-Ceria anode technology is that it does not “foul” when exposed to hydrocarbon fuels, AND has a Sulfur tolerance as high as 500ppm, resulting in much better system efficiency and fuel flexibility! (Copper is inert to hydrocarbon fuels and does not “foul” like Nickel; Ceria is an excellent catalyst used in automotive applications and has a high Sulfur tolerance.

Next, Franklin’s DOSOFC (Direct Oxidation Solid Oxide Fuel Cell) technology allows direct oxidation of the hydrocarbon fuel by feeding it directly into the fuel cell with no reforming, de-Sulfurization, or addition of steam - resulting in much greater system simplicity which reduces system size, capital costs, complexity and maintenance. (See diagram below)

Under the appropriations bill, $1 million has been directed to Franklin Fuel Cells for Copper-Ceramic Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Technology research.

John Law, Franklin’s CEO, commented on the latest funding. “This is going to fund a Phase-Two program with our first Navy appropriation begun last year. The most important thing for us is that it is a tangible acknowledgment of our success in Phase One – and you had better show measurable successes in order to merit a ‘Phase Two’. Among those successes were our demonstration of 500+ hours of continuous operation on hydrocarbon fuels at high fuel utilization, increase in average single cell power density of more than 50%, and reduction by two-thirds in cell fabrication cost.

Deployment of fuel cells creates the potential for greatly reduced military fuel costs and distribution logistics. However, current fuel-cell technologies must use either hydrogen or zero-/low-sulfur fuels that render them impractical for military deployment. Franklin Fuel Cells’ project will design, fabricate and demonstrate a 2kW copper-ceramic solid-oxide fuel cell (SOFC) auxiliary power unit prototype to be delivered to the Navy before July 2007

Franklin Fuel Cells, Inc., Malvern, PA USA

Franklin Fuel Cells Inc. (FFC) is an early stage company that is commercializing a unique solid oxide fuel cell (SOFCs) technology operates directly on today's hydrocarbon fossil fuels as well as future fuels such as, biofuels and hydrogen. This technology will enable (SOFCs) to become price-competitive with existing generation products while having higher energy efficiency and fuel flexibility. The company is a privately held Delaware corporation founded in November 2001 and capitalized in April 2002. FFC intends to address both the stationary and mobile markets.

Fuel cell advocates promise the world cleaner, more efficient and more reliable power, but widespread adoption of existing fuel cell technologies depend on the establishment of a "hydrogen economy." Without the infrastructure to support hydrogen distribution and storage, current fuel cell systems are too inefficient, too large and too expensive for most applications. Franklin Fuel Cell technology, acquired from the University of Pennsylvania through an exclusive licensing agreement, overcomes most of these issues. This technology is designed to:

1. Accelerate the rate of fuel cell commercialization by using conventional fuels and the existing energy infrastructure (such as gasoline, diesel, kerosene, etc).
2. Be competitive now with conventional modular power generating systems in terms of manufacturing cost.
3. Provide a product that can be fuel flexible to facilitate the transition to the hydrogen economy.

Franklin is the only fuel-cell development company to offer patented Copper-Ceria anode technology, a technology that offers several unique benefits over the common Nickel anode, including:

• No need for reformation
• Not prone to Carbon fouling and contaminations that dramatically reduce fuel cell life and efficiency, thus enabling cheaper, smaller and more efficient power generating systems.
• Can achieve conversion efficiencies up to 56% higher than standard SOFCs, up to two times higher than internal combustion engines

Franklin Fuel Cells has reported that it has successfully “tested, demonstrated, and proven” its patented, proprietary SOFC technology on 16 different hydrocarbon fuels: “virtually every current, commercially-available liquid and gaseous hydrocarbon fuel; done without the need for reformers or de-sulfurizers, and without requiring cell modifications from one fuel to the next.”

The tests were performed on all of the following hydrocarbon fuels: BP/Amoco 93-octane pump gasoline, E85, Methanol, Ethanol, Propane, 2006 commercial Diesel (30ppm S), Kerosene, Natural Gas, Butane, Methane, Hexane, Decane, Dodecane, Hexadecane, JP-8, and Heavy Naphtha. Performance graphs of the tests are available from Franklin.

In the traditional SOFC, Nickel is used in the anode to perform two functions: it’s the catalyst that breaks the fuel down, and it’s also the conductor of electrons. The problem with Nickel is that it is such a good catalyst that it catalyzes the carbon in a hydrocarbon fuel and “fouls” – which destroys the cell.

Next, the common Nickel-based anode is very sensitive to Sulfur, which is contained in all of our readily-available hydrocarbon fuels. In fact, Nickel cannot handle the Sulfur levels in our most common fuels like gasoline, diesel and kerosene.

Franklin’s singularly-unique, proven technology solves the problem in several key ways.

First, Franklin’s unique approach was to separate the two functions of Nickel with Copper to handle electronic conductivity and Ceria (CeO2) to act as an oxidation catalyst.

The advantage of Franklin’s proprietary Copper-Ceria anode technology is that it does not “foul” when exposed to hydrocarbon fuels, AND has a Sulfur tolerance as high as 500ppm, resulting in much better system efficiency and fuel flexibility! (Copper is inert to hydrocarbon fuels and does not “foul” like Nickel; Ceria is an excellent catalyst used in automotive applications and has a high Sulfur tolerance.

Next, Franklin’s DOSOFC (Direct Oxidation Solid Oxide Fuel Cell) technology allows direct oxidation of the hydrocarbon fuel by feeding it directly into the fuel cell with no reforming, de-Sulfurization, or addition of steam - resulting in much greater system simplicity which reduces system size, capital costs, complexity and maintenance. (See diagram below)

Under the appropriations bill, $1 million has been directed to Franklin Fuel Cells for Copper-Ceramic Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Technology research.

John Law, Franklin’s CEO, commented on the latest funding. “This is going to fund a Phase-Two program with our first Navy appropriation begun last year. The most important thing for us is that it is a tangible acknowledgment of our success in Phase One – and you had better show measurable successes in order to merit a ‘Phase Two’. Among those successes were our demonstration of 500+ hours of continuous operation on hydrocarbon fuels at high fuel utilization, increase in average single cell power density of more than 50%, and reduction by two-thirds in cell fabrication cost.

Deployment of fuel cells creates the potential for greatly reduced military fuel costs and distribution logistics. However, current fuel-cell technologies must use either hydrogen or zero-/low-sulfur fuels that render them impractical for military deployment. Franklin Fuel Cells’ project will design, fabricate and demonstrate a 2kW copper-ceramic solid-oxide fuel cell (SOFC) auxiliary power unit prototype to be delivered to the Navy before July 2007

Franklin Fuel Cells, Inc., Malvern, PA USA

Which fuel cell will sell ?

It was interesting to see last week's brief disclosure that highly secretive fuel-cell venture Ion America -- yet another John Doerr/Kleiner investment -- has raised $102 million (U.S.) in a Series D round of financing. Rob Day at Cleantech Investing says that brings Ion's overall VC funding up to $165 million. That's not bad for a company we know little about. What we do know is that Ion is focusing on solid-oxide fuel cell technology for stationary, distributed energy generation. One can imagine the markets would include back-up power for businesses and homes and primary co-generation systems (heat and power) for the same markets.

The size of this investment contrasts with an announcement three weeks ago in which the European Fuel Cell Forum, at its annual international conference in Lucerne, Switzerland, said it would be discontinuing its European PEFC Forum. The PEFC (polymer electrolyte fuel cell) -- also known as the PEMFC (proton exchange membrane fuel cell) -- lays at the core of Ballard Power's and Hydrogenics' fuel cell technologies and is widely believed to be the fuel cell that will eventually drive hydrogen-powered cars.

Or will it?

Ulf Bossel, chair of the highly respected global conference, said it's more efficient and economical to use electricity straight from the grid (say, in a battery-electric vehicle) rather than convert water or a fossil fuel into hydrogen to run a PEFC system. The "hydrogen economy," he said, can never compete with the "electron economy."

"The best sustainable solution is obtained by linking renewable electricity sources directly to the energy needs of consumers by means of efficient power transmission lines," wrote Bossel in announcing the forum's cancellation. "A hydrogen infrastructure is not needed for solving the energy problem."

Then, in thanking the companies and scientists who participated in the PEFC forum, Bossel made this compelling statement: "You and your colleagues have developed a magnificent technology, but the fuel needed to make it work is not offered by nature. The energy problem cannot be solved by creating artificial fuels. The laws of physics speak against a hydrogen economy, and physics cannot be changed by wishful thinking, political initiatives, research programs or venture capital."

Bam! Pow! Uppercut! 10-count... talk about a comment that hurts. An energy analyst who forwarded me Bossel's statement had this to say: "That is why Ballard doesn't matter, nor Chinese collaborations on fuel-cell cars. Glad to see some scientists finally admitting it."

Interesting, of course, is that forums related to solid-oxide, molten carbonate, and phosphoric acid fuel cells for stationary applications remain alive and well. It seems that increasingly, the new "thinking" on fuel cells is that they will help us use existing fuels more efficiently, rather than become a machine whose raison d'etre is to support a hydrogen economy. Solid Oxide Fuel Cells, for example, are high-temperature fuel cells that can use a number of fuel inputs -- including natural gas, propane, paint fumes, etc. -- to generate power and produce waste heat that can be recycled. Two bangs for the fossil-fuel buck.

So this may explain Ion America's ability to raise so much venture capital, while Ballard tries to figure out what it wants to be to the world beyond fuel-cell provider for the forklift industry. I'm not dissing Ballard and Hydrogenics, which are both great companies with great technologies. I'm just questioning whether the "hydrogen economy" we had a vision of 10 years ago has a role in a world where momentum is on the side of hybrid and biofuel technologies that take advantage of existing infrastructure.

Source : Clean Break - tyler.blogware.com

La société en devenir HyBiom développe des «éponges à hydrogène»

Carburant de l’avenir, l’hydrogène n’est pas sans danger. Une société fribourgeoise en devenir, HyBiom, a développé avec l’Empa un procédé de stockage sans risque et à très haute capacité.

Avec ses tuyaux gainés de tresses d'inox, il a tout d'une petite usine à gaz, le générateur électrique autonome mis au point par HyBiom, l'Ecole d'ingénieurs de Bienne et le Laboratoire fédéral d'essai des matériaux (Empa). Et, pour une fois, les apparences ne sont pas trompeuses, car cet appareil qui tient sur une table fonctionne effectivement au gaz. À l'hydrogène, pour être tout à fait précis, qui alimente une pile à combustible. Sur simple pression d'un bouton et dans un silence à peine troublé par le ronronnement de la pompe à air, ce générateur est capable de fournir une puissance continue de 500 watts - ou 1000 watts en pointe - sous 220 volts. De quoi faire fonctionner une perceuse, un frigo ou tout autre appareil électrique pendant une douzaine d'heures, indépendamment du réseau et sans émissions toxiques.

Hydrogène, pile à combustible, pompe à air… pourquoi une telle débauche technologique pour fournir le même service que n'importe quel générateur à essence? «Parce que l'hydrogène est le vecteur d'énergie de l'avenir», répond Rainer Warth, responsable financier et opérationnel chez HyBiom. Car la vocation de cette société en devenir n'est pas de construire des générateurs, aussi sophistiqués soient-ils, mais de développer et de commercialiser des systèmes de stockage d'hydrogène. À ce titre, cette machine est surtout un démonstrateur des performances des hydrates métalliques.

Pierre angulaire d'HyBiom, le professeur Andreas Züttel, qui a rejoint récemment l'Empa, travaille depuis dix ans sur ces «éponges à hydrogène» qui piègent de manière sûre de grandes quantités de gaz. Par rapport aux bombonnes traditionnelles où l'hydrogène est confiné à 250 bars, le stockage dans des hydrites métalliques présente de nombreux avantages. Ainsi, le module HyBiom 300 d'une capacité de 300 grammes d'hydrogène, soit 3,5 m ³ environ à pression ambiante, est composé d'une douzaine de tubes en acier inoxydable occupant un volume de 60 x 40 x 30 centimètres. Même si cela semble défier le bon sens, les hydrites permettent, à volume et poids égaux, de stocker beaucoup plus d'hydrogène que sous forme liquide dans une bouteille.

Surtout, le procédé est sûr par nature, contrairement au stockage sous pression où les risques d'explosion sont très importants en cas de fuite. En effet, les hydrites métalliques doivent être chauffés pour libérer l'hydrogène. La dépression provoquée par une fuite abaissant la température, l'émission de l'hydrogène est automatiquement bloquée. «C'est une sécurité intrinsèque», explique Andreas Borgschulte, qui fait partie de l'équipe du professeur Züttel.

Source : www.24heures.ch

Auteur : Laurent Aubert

Lucerne Fuel Cell Forum : Retirement of the PEM Fuel cells ?

Fuel cells are energy converters, not energy sources. They will be part of a sustainable energy solution only if they can compete with other conversion technologies. This includes system parameters, fuels and applications. Time has come for a critical assessment.

We need fuel cells for available fuels, not synthetic fuels for new fuel cells. Natural gas and oil-derived liquid hydrocarbons will be around for many years. However, their use will be restricted by costs, environmental concerns or even political reasons. Sustainable hydrocarbons like bio-methane, bio-ethanol and bio-methanol from organic waste, wood or farming are already replacing fuels of fossil origin. Hydrocarbon fuels will be important forever and so will fuel cells capable of directly converting these fuels into electricity.

The impressive performance of phosphoric acid, molten carbonate and solid oxide fuel cells clearly indicates that these fuel cell families can meet the challenges of a sustainable future. Some of these fuel cells have reached 65,000 hours of operation with the first stack and natural gas or bio-methane.

It is highly uncertain that synthetic hydrogen can ever be established as a universal energy carries. Electricity from renewable sources will be the source energy in a sustainably organized future. The direct distribution of electricity to the consumer is three to four times more efficient than its conversion to hydrogen by electrolysis of water, packaging and transport of synthetic energy carrier to the consumer and its conversion back to electricity with efficient fuel cells. By laws of physics, hydrogen economy can never compete with an "electron economy".

But the laws of physics cannot be changed with further research, investments or political decisions. A sustainable future energy harvested from renewable sources (nuclear energy is not sustainable!) must be distributed and used with the highest efficiency. A wasteful hydrogen economy does not meet the criteria of sustainability. As a result, a viable free-market hydrogen infrastructure will never be established and fuel cells for hydrogen may not be needed. For all applications electricity from hydrogen fuel cells have to compete with the source electricity used to make hydrogen.

The European Fuel Cell Forum is committed to the establishment of a safe energy future. Therefore, it will continue to promote fuel cells for sustainable fuels, but discontinue supporting the development of fuel cells for hypothetical fuel supplies. Time has come for decisions. Keeping all options open is not an adequate response to mounting energy problems.

Therefore, the schedule of the European SOFC Forum will be continued in 2008 with an extended conference every second year. Beginning 2007 (July 2 to 6) sustainable energy topics will be emphasized in odd years. Despite earlier announcements the European PEFC Forum series will not be continued.

I would like to thank all who have contributed to establish the European PEFC Forum. You and your colleagues have developed a magnificent technology, but the fuel needed to make it work is not offered by nature. We cannot solve the energy problem by wasting energy. The laws of physics speak against a hydrogen economy. Physics cannot be replaced by wishful thinking, or changed by presidential initiatives, research programs and venture capital.

Solutions must be implemented soon as long as resources are available for this most challenging task. I sincerely hope that this announcement will be accepted as a constructive contribution to the ongoing energy debate.

Ulf Bossel, Ph.D.

Intégration réussie d'une pile à combustible avec un système à base de méthanol reformé

Une équipe de chercheurs de l'Institut de chimie et de physique de Dalian (DICP), institut de l'Académie des sciences de Chine (CAS), a effectué d'importants progrès dans l'élaboration d'une pile à combustible 75 kW alimentée par de l'hydrogène provenant du reformage d'une solution concentrée de méthanol.
Ils ont utilisé l'hydrogène extrait du méthanol pour alimenter une pile à combustible de technologie PEMFC (Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell) pour générer un courant électrique pendant trois heures consécutives. La nouveauté vient du fait que ces piles à combustible sont résistantes au monoxyde de carbone contrairement aux PEMFC actuelles.
Ce projet fait partie d'un des programmes clé d'innovation du gouvernement chinois de développer les énergies dites propres et fait du DICP une des seules organisations au monde à posséder une technologie permettant d'intégrer des sources d'hydrogène provenant du reformage catalytique du méthanol.

Source : BE Chine