NEWS

10Fuel Cells Bulletin June 2013

Proton Motor stack passes 10 000 h of start/stop operation

German-based Proton Motor Fuel Cell GmbH reports that its 7 kW

PM200 fuel cell stack has successfully achieved 10 000 h of start/stop operation, confirming the reliability of the company’s hydrogen PEM fuel cell stack.

The PM200 fuel cell has been running in a long-term test with daily start and stop operation since 2008. After 10 000 h of operation, the PM200 stack is performing well and achieving the predicted low power degradation. The current test proves that the Proton Motor stack is a reliable solution for backup power, maritime, and mobile applications.

Fuel cell based backup power systems can provide power with a very long runtime in banks, data centres, hospitals, and other applications. For mobile applications, there is an immediate demand in the bus sector for public transport and for logistic light-duty vehicles.

Proton Motor – a subsidiary of UK-based Proton Power Systems Plc – specialises in industrial fuel cells, offering complete fuel cell and hybrid systems from a single source – from development and production through to implementation of customised solutions. Its focus is on back-to-base applications for mobile, maritime, as well as stationary solutions.

Earlier this year the company supplied a 5 kW PEM fuel cell module for E.ON’s Bachhausen power grid substation in Bavaria [FCB, January 2013, p3], and a year ago it completed the first full integration of its fuel cell power and range extender system into a commercial Newton™ truck for Smith Electric Vehicles [FCB, April 2012, p2].

Proton Power Systems recently acquired SPower GmbH, which supplies power solutions for IT, telecoms, public infrastructure, and healthcare customers in Germany, Europe, and the Middle East [FCB, March 2013, p7]. SPower will be integrated into the Proton Motor division, with its products sold under an SPower product line within Proton Motor.

Proton Motor Fuel Cell GmbH, Puchheim/Munich, Germany. Tel: +49 89 1276 2650, www.proton-motor.de

Proton Power Systems Plc, UK: www.protonpowersystems.com

Florida Institute funds Bing to accelerate component production

The Florida Institute for the Commercialization of Public

Research has finalised a funding agreement with Bing Energy International, which will use the seed funding to create a more commercially viable PEM fuel cell based on its carbon nanotube membrane technology.

Bing Energy has an exclusive commercialisation agreement to use patented breakthrough nanotechnology developed at Florida State University by Professor Jim P. Zheng, who is now also a technical advisor to the company. The ‘buckypaper’ nanotechnology membrane structure incorporates a thin layer composed of carbon nanotubes (buckypaper), enhancing strength and durability while reducing the need for expensive platinum catalyst.

Bing Energy says that its innovation in nanotechnology composite membrane-electrode assemblies (MEAs) will lead to fuel cells with lower cost and higher durability. Its standard MEAs are made with the buckypaper cathode/anode technology in 5- or 7-layer configurations. Fabrication of carbon nanotube buckypaper in a gradient structure improves gas flows and the effectiveness of catalyst utilisation, and provides a more durable structure.

‘This funding through the Institute’s Seed Capital Accelerator Program will enable Bing Energy to accelerate production of core fuel cell components at our manufacturing facility in Tallahassee,’ says Dean Minardi, CFO of Bing Energy. The company also has a Chinese manufacturing facility, located in the city of Rugao, Jiangsu Province.

The Florida Institute works with the state’s research universities and institutions to support new company creation and job growth. Its $10 million Seed Capital Accelerator Program bridges early funding gaps, enabling recipients to reach critical milestones and attract additional private investment capital. The initiative provides ‘repayable on liquidity’ loans to qualifying companies, who must match the funding with private investment capital.

‘This company is solving one of the most difficult challenges we face today – how to provide clean and efficient energy in a cost-effective, reliable manner,’ says Jamie Grooms, CEO of the Florida Institute. ‘Our goal is to support companies at these early stages so they can achieve product commercialisation and

success, and deliver high-skill, high-wage jobs in the state of Florida.’

Bing Energy International, Tallahassee, Florida, USA. Tel: +1 850 597 7431, www.bingenergyinc.com

Florida Institute for the Commercialization of Public Research: www.florida-institute.com

Simon Fraser, Ballard study doubles lifetime of fuel cells in buses

Canadian researchers working to improve fuel cell durability in

hydrogen buses, including a team from Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, have discovered links between electrode degradation processes and the durability of the PEM fuel cell membranes. The team is quantifying the effects of electrode degradation stressors in the operating cycle of the bus on the membrane lifetime.

To improve fuel cell module durability and predict longevity, researchers are studying the degradation mechanisms in the fuel cells that occur under real-world transit bus conditions. The findings of the study, led by SFU graduate student Natalia MaCauley, are the latest in a long-term study at Ballard Power Systems, and funded by Automotive Partnership Canada, that aims to make fuel cell buses competitive with diesel hybrids [FCB, September 2011, p3]. Testing to improve the understanding of membrane failure mechanisms and validate developed predictive models is under way in labs at Ballard, SFU, and the University of Victoria (UVic).

‘Our strong multidisciplinary collaboration between chemistry and mechatronic systems engineering (MSE) is bearing fruit,’ says SFU project lead Erik Kjeang. ‘The fuel cell is a mechatronic device, and the bandwidth of this project allows advances in chemistry to be engineered and implemented into Ballard’s products.’

‘We are pleased with the progress that our multidisciplinary team from SFU and UVic is making to develop improved membrane lifetimes for our next-generation fuel cell bus module, and to understand the details of these complex failure mechanisms,’ adds Ballard project lead, Dr Shanna Knights. ‘With continued work, this research will permit significant product costs savings and improved fuel cell lifetimes, so we can directly compete against incumbent diesel technology.’

RESEARCH

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June 2013 Fuel Cells Bulletin11

The research team – comprising 40 graduate students, undergraduate students, and post-doctoral fellows – is also developing simulation tools that can eventually be used by industry partners in their testing protocols and operations of fuel cell buses.

‘Our algorithms can be used for repair and maintenance, following through something like the ‘check engine’ light in the car,’ explains SFU post-doctoral fellow Amir Niroumand, who heads the research on system-level reliability and lifetime for fuel cell buses. ‘When onboard diagnostics indicate maintenance is required, the check engine light goes on and tells you to take the car to the shop; however, the car would not stop and would continue to operate. This requires the capability to detect potential issues and determine operating capabilities.’

Contact: Dr Erik Kjeang, School of Mechatronic Systems Engineering, Simon Fraser University, Surrey, BC, Canada. Tel: +1 778 782 8791, Email: ekjeang@sfu.ca, Web: http://mse.ensc.sfu.ca or www.sfu.ca/~ekjeang/

Or contact: Dr Shanna Knights, Ballard Power Systems, Burnaby, BC, Canada. Tel: +1 604 454 0900, Email: shanna.knights@ballard.com, Web: www.ballard.com

University of Victoria, Institute for Integrated Energy Systems: www.iesvic.uvic.ca

Automotive Partnership Canada: www.apc-pac.ca/index_eng.asp

Euro project to purify dairy wastewater, use hydrogen in fuel cell

The Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB

in Stuttgart is leading an EU-funded project to develop a modular system to purify dairy wastewater electrochemically. The recovered hydrogen will be used in an integrated fuel cell to supply power to the system.

The wastewater discharged from the production of dairy products typically contains lactose, proteins and milk fats, as well as surfactants and disinfectants from cleaning processes. Disposal of this wastewater is very cost-intensive due to the high chemical and biological oxygen demand. Large dairies typically treat their wastewater in large-scale biological wastewater treatment plants, but for many smaller companies the required investments are prohibitively expensive.

The REWAGEN project consortium – led by Fraunhofer IGB, with industrial and scientific partners from across Europe – is therefore

developing a multistage process for the efficient electrochemical treatment of dairy effluents and whey. The modular design will make it possible to adapt the system to the varying amount of wastewater at smaller dairies.

The hydrogen generated as a by-product from the water electrolysis will be used to supply the plant with electricity. ‘We want to separate and purify the hydrogen so that we can use it in a fuel cell to supply power to the system,’ explains Alexander Karos, project manager at Fraunhofer IGB.

Karos adds that electrochemical processes are preferred to purify the wastewater, because this prevents the addition of chemicals and the related increased salinity of the water. To achieve this, four electrochemical processes will be combined. First, oils and fats are separated using pulsed electrocoalescence. Particulate impurities are then separated by electroflocculation. In a third electrochemical cell, dissolved organic components are degraded by electro-oxidative processes, e.g. using a diamond electrode. In the final stage, capacitive deionisation is used to remove dissolved salts, by concentrating them using a charged electrode and precipitating them out.

The other research partner in the four-year REWAGEN project is the LEITAT Technological Center in Spain. The industrial partners, all small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), are HyGear in the Netherlands, Aqon Water Solutions GmbH and Eilenburger Elektrolyse- und Umwelttechnik in Germany, Idropan Dell’Orto Depuratori in Italy, Productes El Canadell and Knowledge Innovation Market in Spain, C-Tech Innovation in the UK, and ISA Intelligent Sensing Anywhere in Portugal.

The project website says that several kinds of fuel cell short stacks will be analysed and used according to hydrogen purity, although no fuel cell suppliers are identified. But it is worth noting that HyGear, in addition to its hydrogen generation, gas upgrading and biogas products, has a programme to develop fuel cell heat and power systems. The company acquired the European operations of fuel cell manufacturer Plug Power in 2009.

Contact: Dipl.-Ing. Siegfried Egner, Head of Physical Process Technology, Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB, Stuttgart, Germany. Tel: +49 711 970 3643, Email: siegfried.egner@igb.fraunhofer.de, Web: www.igb.fraunhofer.de/en/

Or contact: Alexander Karos, Fraunhofer IGB – Bureau Hamburg. Tel: +49 40 6113 5900, Email: alexander.karos@igb.fraunhofer.de

REWAGEN project: www.rewagen.eu

HyGear BV: www.hygear.nl

I N B R I E F

NEW-IG publishes annual review of 2012The New Energy World Industry Grouping (NEW-IG, www.new-ig.eu) recently published its 2012 Annual Report, highlighting its role as the leading force behind the European Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU, www.fch-ju.eu), and the key force for its continuation under the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 programme.

NEW-IG is the leading industrial association in Europe representing a major grouping of companies – both large and small- and medium enterprises (SMEs) – working in the fuel cell and hydrogen sector. It is working with the European Commission and the research community (through N.ERGHY, the European Research Grouping on Fuel Cells and Hydrogen, www.nerghy.eu) to accelerate the market introduction of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies in the energy and transport sectors.

Download the report (PDF): http://tinyurl.com/new-ig-2012

Fuji Electric for sewage gas power unitsIn Japan, Fuji Electric (www.fujielectric.com) has developed a system that uses methane gas produced at sewage treatment facilities to generate power, which it plans to market to municipalities and factories, according to a Nikkei report. The firm’s new device extracts hydrogen from methane gas, and is being combined with a 100 kW phosphoric acid fuel cell system to create a highly efficient and quiet power plant for industrial applications. Fuji Electric says that this system costs about 40% less than the gas engines typically employed for in-house power generation at sewage treatment plants.

Fuji Electric plans to introduce private power producers to companies and local governments. It has already proposed this business model to Tochigi Prefecture, and anticipates installing systems this year. Until now the company has delivered four or five industrial fuel cell systems a year to factories and offices, but it hopes that marketing the biomass power generation facility in Japan and abroad will grow sales to 20 units this year. Last summer the company installed a 100 kW system to power a Mercedes-Benz dealership in Hamburg, Germany [FCB, September 2012, p7].

DOE hydrogen, fuel cell projects updateThe US Department of Energy’s Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Program recently held a joint peer review meeting with the Vehicle Technologies Program in Arlington, Virginia. The Annual Merit Review and Peer Evaluation Meeting (AMR) showcased more than 200 hydrogen and fuel cell presentations and posters.

DOE 2013 Annual Merit Review Proceedings: http://tinyurl.com/doe-amr2013