New Zealand: Hydrogen from coal

New business: Enkat/Hydrogenics receives order from the automotive industry

Successful: Dynetek tests 12,500psi storage cylinder

On the test range: DaimlerChrysler's natrium vehicle

Inauguration: Mine gas PEM power plant in Oberhausen

New foundation: Fuel cell education center in Ulm

This time with Manfred Stefener, CEO of Smart Fuel Cell GmbH

Expo cinema and n-tv: Hydrogen Expo exhibitors go on screen

Speaking opportunites at Hydrogen Expo

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New Zealand: Hydrogen from coal

The New Zealand Government will be investing 6 milion dollars (NZD, approx. 2,9 milion Euro) in the development of a technology that extracts hydrogen from coal. Researchers from CRL Energy Ltd., the former research arm of state coal company Solid Energy, expect to have the technology up and running under lab conditions within three years. This will be followed with prototype field tests. In addition to the financial support for CRL Energy, the government's Foundation for Research, Science and Technology is said to provide funding for a project by Industrial Reserach Ltd. to use the hydrogen generated from coal in portable, mobile and stationary fuel cells. Rob Whitney, CRL Energy's general manager, explained that hydrogen from local resources could make the nation more energy self-sufficient. It could also provide significant economic benefits such as the creation of a new industry and by reducing impacts from oil price fluctuations. "Not since the motorcar replaced the horse our society seen such a great leap forward in mass-producible energy technology." he added. Recent studies showed that many New Zealand coals were particularly suitable for the production of hydrogen-rich gas.

New business: Enkat/Hydrogenics receives order from the automotive industry

Hydrogenics Corp. from Canada released news that it has received an order from a major European car manufacturer for its FCATS product line. The order is said to total 1 million USD and to include test systems for fuel cells and combined FC/reformer systems. Hydrogenics' wholly-owned European subsidiary Enkat GmbH located in Gelsenkirchen/ Germany, which the company aquired in April, obviously played a key role in securing this contract. The combined equipment order is to be manufactured out of the Ontario-based and the German operations, thus highlighting the synergies between the two organizations. "We are pleased that our new client has recognized the high standard of quality of Hydrogenics' test systems," says Pierre Rivard, President and CEO of Hydrogenics. "Landing a first time FCATS sale is a considerable achievement and we welcome the opportunity to build and support this new client within the framework of our recently acquired European operations." Further, strong after-sales service for new and existing European customers is to come out of the Enkat team. Hydrogenics develops PEM fuel cell systems for transportation, stationary and portable power applications. The fully integrated fuel cell test systems constitute its first commercial product line. Enkat designs and builds catalytic exhaust gas cleaning systems and develops custom-made test stations for quality control of fuel cells and their components. Enkat and Hydrogenics exhibit at Hydrogen Expo from October 10 to 12, 2002.

Successful: Dynetek tests 12,500psi storage cylinder

Dynetek Industries Ltd, also based in Canada, announced the successful completion of tests with the world's first 12,500psi (825bar) storage cylinder. The cylinder is the result of the manufacturer's efforts to introduce a lightweight, cost-efficient and safe high-pressure storage medium to the market. The design features a cylinder with an aluminum liner wrapped with carbon fiber soaked with epoxide resin, which provides stability for the fiber wrap. According to Dynetek, the cylinder was developed for H2 storage for fueling stations that are capable of fast filling FC vehicles. The vehicles will have onboard storage (also designed by Dynetek) of compressed H2 at 10,000psi (700bar). "This is a significant achievement and milestone in the advancement of hydrogen storage for stationary applications", states Heinz Portmann, President and CEO of Dynetek, and adds: "This provides further evidence that compressed hydrogen holds the clearest promise to be the fuel choice for future FCVs." The validation test was performed by an indepent testing agency from British Columbia and is said to comply with ISO, NGV2 abd EIHP standards. In this process the test cylinder had been pressurized to 30,920psi (2,310bar), thereby greatly exceeding the requirements for a cylinder with 12,500psi service pressure. Dynetek currently has 16 onboard vehicle H2 storage projects with nine different OEMs underway. The company from Calgary, which has its European headquarters in Ratingen/Germany, will showcase its technology in October at Hydrogen Expo.

On the test range: DaimlerChrysler's natrium vehicle

DaimlerChrysler's "Natrium Van" which the industry has been looking at in amazement, was recently tested by US magazine "Car and Driver" on public roads. While the Natrium did not go as far as the Necar, which had been put under the magnifiying glass earlier by the manufacturer itself (H2 Report featured an article in the 0702 issue), its performance could obviously more than satisfy the participants in the test. The vehicle did a 30 mile (50km) round trip in the Death Valley, a region where no motorist wants to strand. To everyone's relief the new technology showed no weaknesses. The hydrogen storage system is manufactured by New Jersey-based Millennium Cell Inc. It is based on a mixture of 75% water and 25% natrium boron hydride, a substance similar to soap powder. According to Millennium Cell the liquid is about as easy to handle as gasoline, while it has the advantage of being non-flammable and non-explosive. "The biggest problem with fuel cells is hydrogen storage," says Tom Moore, DaimlerChrysler's natrium van specialist. "This is the only system we've seen that promises to give us the range." According to the car manufacturer, the vehicle has a range of 300 miles (480km) and reaches a maximum speed of 80mph (130kmh). Millennium Cell is optimistic that its system can reach well-to-wheel efficiency in the high teens for FC vehicles, compared with gas-powered internal combustion engine efficiency of 14%. Car and Driver's article also reports that natrium boron hydride manufacturer U.S. Borax is delighted with the prospects of this development. For the company the Natrium Van and its possible successors could open up a completely new market with yet unthought of potential. Millennium Cell presents its technology at Hydrogen Expo in Hamburg.

Inauguration: Mine gas PEM power plant in Oberhausen

On August 27, the official inauguration of a proton-exchange-membrane block heating power station takes place on the site of the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology (UMSICHT) in Oberhausen/Germany. The power plant is designed to provide electricity, heat and air-conditioning to the institute through a combination of fuel cell, micro turbine, conventional gas engine and an absorption chiller. The project includes seven partners cooperatively working on optimizing operations of the aggregates, separate units combined to maintain the flow of electricity and heat. At the same time, the project aims at examining day-to-day performance of the FC plant for decentralized energy supply. Eventually, mine gas will be used as an energy source. The core element of the system is an Alstom/Ballard PEM fuel cell with an electrical performance of 250kW. The micro turbine has a performance of 50kW and will be used in peak hours to provide additional energy. The gas engine is used for back up. Overflow of heat and power can be fed into the public grid. Mine gas, which is available at the site as a free commodity, will be tested as a fuel after a one-year start phase, during which the plant is run on natural gas. UMSICHT contributes its expertise in gas cleaning to the project, which is now a leading project for the Future Energies Initiative of North-Rhine Westfalia, the state where Oberhausen is located, and receives funding. There will be an excursion to this PEMFC plant as part of the German Hydrogen Energy Conference on November 12, 2002. The tour language is German, for more information call +49-211-687858-0 or see www.dh2e.de (DH2E organizer: Freesen & Partner GmbH).

New foundation: Fuel cell education center in Ulm

At the Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research (ZSW) Baden-Wuerttemberg, the "Fuel Cell Education Center Ulm" (WBzU) was founded in July. According to a press release, the center's goal is to offer training programs for trade, industry and education. The so-called "train the trainer" approach targets teachers, instructors and other multipliers. Further, the public, polity, business and press have the opportunity to learn more about fuel cell technology and its applications at the WBzU in a manufacturer-neutral environment. The undertaking is funded with a total amount of 4.8 million Euro by the Baden-Wuerttemberg and the Federal Ministry for Economics. The money is meant to cover the cost for building the center and to secure operations for the first five years. Construction of the building is said to begin in the first quarter of 2003, initial training programs will start as early as year in the ZSW facilities. The board of the foundation includes Prof. Dr. Juergen Garche of the ZSW. Prof. Garche will also speak at the Hydrogen Expo youth conference in Hamburg this year and will hold tutorials for junior engineers and graduate students at the German Hydrogen Energy Conference in November in Essen.

This time with Manfred Stefener, CEO of Smart Fuel Cell GmbH

H2 Report: What does Smart Fuel Cell do?

Stefener: Smart Fuel Cell develops miniaturized direct methanol fuel cell systems for a performance of less than 1kW. Applications are in the industrial sector as well as in consumer electronics as battery substitute resp. battery complement. For this, we use the liquid energy carrier methanol, which has a very high energy density that can be immediately converted into electrical energy.

H2 Report: Your company is one of the few already manufacturing in mini series. For which applications is your system best suited?

Stefener: In the middle of this year we went commercial with our first product. We are talking about the world's first commercial DMFC product. It is applied in telematics, security, environmental measurement technology and the leisure market. These markets are currently served by batteries, solar systems or diesel generators. The Smart Fuel Cell provides several advantages in these fields, such as much longer operation time, reduced weight, shorter maintenance periods and significant cost-saving, compared with conventional technologies.

H2 Report: How does the methanol supply work?

Stefener: The infrastructure for our first product is already today ensured by Smart Fuel Cell. This means that our customers can order cartridges through a hotline and have them delivered within two days. We provide the whole chain from the methanol producers to fuel cartridges to end-users sales. SFC is working with partners to garantuee an infrastructure to supply the wide-spread consumer electronics market.

H2 Report: Do you have to meet particular requirements to sell methanol?

Stefener: Methanol is a liquid which you cannot simply sell to the end-user. It is classified as easily flammable and toxic. To market the product we need to comply with the relevant saftey and transport regulations. Our cartridges are designed to meet these requirements. They are packed and marked appropriately. Further, we are in the process of having the cartridges and our products certified.

H2 Report: Who are your customers?

Stefener: In the industry sector SFC cooperates with the market leaders of the individual segments. The initial product is usually distributed through a larger mid-sized company. We are currently focusing on Germany and Europe but are also looking towards the U.S. and Japan. In the field of consumer electronics, such as laptops, cameras and flexibel external energy supply there are some very interesting prospects to develop and market products in collaboation with international key players.

H2 Report: In your opinion, which application will initiate the breakthough for hydrogen and fuel cell technologies globally?

Stefener: Because of the existing cost structure, fuel cell technology will first find its way into the market for portable and grid-independent applications. There the fuel cell offers significant technical and economical advantages. After this, other markets will be developed, that is stationary cogeneration of heat and power, home energy supply and the mobile sector. However, it will be another decade before we can talk about market penetration for vehicles. In general, FC technology will play an important role in today's industry. A precondition for the commercialization of fuel cells is to gain experience with viable products with regards to mass production and supply chains, which can lead to the necessary cost reduction in other sectors.

H2 Report: What do think can speed up market penetration? Do we need another leap in technology, is government support necessary?

Stefener: The advantages in the portable and grid-independent sector are so obvious that FCs will be successful in any case. Which companies will be ahead of the race also depends on governement funding. If you compare the funding programs in Germany and Europe with those in Japan and particularly in the U.S., you can see that there has been significant and focused support especially for portable applications overseas. It is safe to assume that this support helps to create a number of competitors in the U.S. and in Japan, which together build an industry with a strong voice. In Germany and Europe the apparent facts, that is that FC commercialization will start with portable applications, have not yet had any influence on funding. Here, the major focus is still on stationary and mobile systems. At the same time, the United States created clear advantages for its domestic industry with a more pragmatic funding policy.

H2 Report: Does this mean that Germany is lagging behind?

Stefener: We cannot say this for Germany in general. Here in Bavaria we are very satisfied with the local funding policy – I can only speak highly of this. But if you look at the federal level or at what is happening in other states, you have to come to the conclusion that suitable funding programs often come too late.

H2 Report: What is your vision of the energy supply of the future?

Stefener: I believe that it is very important to move from our traditional energy system to more efficient scenarios. The fuel cell is a good example for this and paves the way for energy carriers such as hydrogen and methanol, which can be produced and used regeneratively. Fuel cell technology will contribute a very significant part to an efficient energy economy in the future.

Expo cinema and n-tv: Hydrogen Expo exhibitors go on screen

Again this year, German business TV channel n-tv again will do a feature for Hydrogen Expo. The station's scientific program goes on screen with the latest on H2 and FC development on October 3, with five subsequent reruns. Exhibitors have the privilege to contribute material to this program. The organizer also offers assistance if new footage has to be produced. In addition, all films will be broadcasted in the expo cinema during Hydrogen Expo from October 10 to 12. Organizations which are already exhibiting or are still interested in securing their participation can contact: H2 Expo GmbH, Ines Freesen, Tel. +49-211-687858-11 or Email: info@H2expo.com

Speaking opportunites at Hydrogen Expo