NEWS

June 2011 Fuel Cells Bulletin11

I N B R I E F

Paranjpe heads Bloom’s international opsCalifornia-based Bloom Energy (www.bloomenergy.com) has appointed Girish Paranjpe as managing director of Bloom Energy International. Paranjpe will report to KR Sridhar, principal co-founder and CEO of the solid oxide fuel cell manufacturer.

Paranjpe will be responsible for developing the global market for Bloom Energy’s presence beyond the US, and lead its initiative in part-nering with energy industry innovators, and leading solution and infrastructure providers. He will also focus on creating new solutions around the Bloom Energy Server™ and the flagship Bloom Electrons™ service.

Paranjpe moves from his role as co-CEO of the IT business of Wipro Ltd, a global IT services company based in India.

Ballard wins award for GDL cost cuttingThe Massachusetts-based Material Products Division of Ballard Power Systems (www.ballard.com) has won a 2011 Annual Merit Review Award (http://ow.ly/5qiVp) from the Department of Energy. This recognizes Ballard’s success in reducing the manufactur-ing cost of gas diffusion layer (GDL) material, a critical component of MEAs.

Improved process control tools and installa-tion of web-handling equipment have facilitat-ed high-volume GDL production at Ballard, cutting the fabrication cost from US$36 to $16 per kW in each fuel cell product. In addi-tion, since 2008 improved production yields and reduced material scrap have increased capacity four-fold at the Lowell plant.

Other award recipients include Nenad Markovic at Argonne National Lab for his work on reducing the content of platinum group metals in PEMFC cathode catalysts; Sandia’s Dr Leonard Klebanoff for spearhead-ing the deployment of fuel cells for mobile lighting; and Joel Rinebold at the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology for advanc-ing fuel cell and hydrogen technologies in Connecticut and the northeastern US.

Eric Denhoff to head up CHFCAThe Canadian Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association (www.chfca.ca) in Vancouver, BC has appointed Eric Denhoff to serve as the organization’s new president and CEO, replac-ing John Tak with effect from 4 July.

Denhoff has served as a chief treaty negotia-tor for both the Canadian federal government and for BC Hydro, and as Deputy Minister assigned to BC Trade. He also served as chair-man and acting CEO of BC Transit, when the corporation was the first in North America to launch a hydrogen fuel cell transit bus demon-stration project, and was on the advisory board at Ballard Power Systems.

USC/Caltech license DMFC technology to SFC Energy Inc

The University of Southern California in Los Angeles and California

Institute of Technology in Pasadena have granted a license to SFC Energy Inc, for an extensive portfolio of US patents for direct methanol fuel cell technology. The non-exclusive license to the patents will facilitate SFC Energy’s expansion of its DMFC products in the US market.

Maryland-based SFC Energy Inc is the US affiliate of the German firm SFC Energy AG. Its product line ranges from portable fuel cells used to power equipment for field personnel, to systems that supply auxiliary power for electri-cal systems on boats, motor homes, and special-purpose vehicles.

The licensed technology was invented by a USC Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute team led by G.K. Surya Prakash and Nobel lau-reate George Olah, and by S. Surampudi, S.R. Narayanan, Eugene Vamos, Harvey Frank, and Gerald Halpert at Caltech/Jet Propulsion Lab. It includes fundamental patents covering the direct conversion of liquid fuels to electricity by specially designed fuel cells. The universities had previously licensed the patent portfolio to other companies (including Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Corporation), but those licenses have terminated.

USC, Caltech, and SFC Energy AG are also in discussions regarding a license to the patents that the universities hold in countries outside of the US. The USC Stevens Institute for Innovation is responsible for managing USC’s intellectual property.

Dr Peter Podesser, CEO of SFC Energy AG, characterizes the license agreement as ‘a key element of our strategic plan for growing the company. With this license in place, we are well positioned to bring our reliable alternative energy sources to US consumers.’

USC researchers worked with JPL scientists in the development and advancement of this technol-ogy for defense and commercial applications. JPL contributions include development of advanced catalyst materials, high-performance fuel cell membrane-electrode assemblies, compact fuel cell stacks, and system designs, says Rao Surampudi, JPL’s power technology program manager.

USC Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute: www.usc.edu/dept/chemistry/loker

USC Stevens Institute for Innovation: http://stevens.usc.edu

Caltech, Office of Technology Transfer: www.ott.caltech.edu

SFC Energy Inc, Rockville, Maryland, USA. Tel: +1 240 328 6688, www.sfc.com/en

Joint Undertaking dedicates E200m for Euro research, demos

The European Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU), which

has a total budget of nearly E1 billion (US$1.4 billion) to be invested by 2013, has issued its fourth annual call for pro-posals for research and demonstration projects. The announcement confirms the clear commitment to make these modular technologies deliver their envi-ronmental and economic benefits across transport, power generation, industrial equipment, and consumer devices.

More than E200 million ($280 million) has been allocated to support research and demonstration projects in the new call for pro-posals, with E109 million from the European Commission matched by in-kind contributions from industrial partners.

‘This is the biggest of all calls planned for the duration of the program,’ says Bert De Colvenaer, executive director of the FCH Joint Undertaking.

‘In parallel to the Call for Proposals 2011 and in support of the wide deployment of the fuel cell and hydrogen technology, we are cur-rently drafting the specifications for a series of studies on further European fuel cells and hydrogen ‘Roll Out’ and commercialization plans for vehicles, stationary applications, buses and material handling vehicles,’ continues De Colvenaer. ‘We intend to launch a public pro-curement for these studies later this year.’

The 36 topics covered by the call address key issues to foster market breakthroughs. As in 2010, they are divided into five application areas: trans-portation and refueling infrastructure; hydrogen production and distribution; stationary power generation; and early markets, such as portable, micro applications or handling vehicles. The fifth application area focuses on cross-cutting issues to address non-technical barriers, such as development of lifecycle assessment, codes and standards, socio-economic research, public awareness, and training.

Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking: www.fch-ju.eu

Industry Grouping, NEW-IG: www.fchindustry-jti.eu

Research Grouping, N.ERGHY: www.nerghy.eu

RESEARCH