Issue
1001 
Content:
Market News:
A quantum leap in fuel cell technology: microtubular FC
Sven Geitmann reports:
Students at work: fuel cell tricycle
Catching up I: competence center Niedersachsen (Germany)
Catching up II: Great Britain's first fuel cell power plant
Market penetration: Sulzer Hexis ready to deliver fuel cells
"Harvesting" energy: under water FC development
Interviews of the month:
"Hydrogen is safe, how safe is hydrogen?"
Event News:
Hydrogen Expo: Don't miss out on it!
Vote on it: Best Product Award
*********************************************************
Market News:
A quantum leap in fuel cell technology: microtubular FC
The size and cost of fuel cell systems currently available have prevented a widespread breakthrough so far. Now, a new type of engineering called microtubular technology has been developled to dramatically increase possible applications. In conventional fuel cell engineering, bipolar plates of least two millimeters in diameter, which serve to bring in the gas, are put together, alternating with membranes. Contrary to this, in the system developed by Fuel Cell AG from Munich (Germany) gas is brought in directly via microtubular membranes. Through this the bipolar plates are reduced in size, while at the same time it is possible to incorporate a much larger membrane surface into the given dimensions of the aggregate. Says Dr. Norbert Bendzko, VP Technology: " We are currently working on diameters of less than three millimeters. Our goal is to achieve sizes of less than 0.2 mm for PEM and SOFC fuel cells." The latest prototype of Fuel Cell AG has a performance density of 3kW per volume liter. The next step aims at mimimizing the tubes with hollow fibre to achieve around 15kW/l. Conventional systems can currently reach 1.0 to 1.6 kW/l. According to Bendzko, another advantage of the microtubular structure lies in reducing production costs. In contrast to the conventional systems which are put together by hand, the tube concept allows mass production. Fuel cells can practically be manufactured by the meter. This is why the Munich company sees a great market potential for this new method. "This construction principle implies a simple miniaturization of the system. It becomes easy to build small fuel cells, and by combining these we can also manufacture large ones without any difficulties." adds Bendzko. Thereby, the whole range of power and heat generation opens itself as a market. Further, battery substituation in low performance applications, such as for stand-alone outdoor devices, and on-board energy supply in the automotive sector become a possible line of business.
Sven Geitmann reports:
Students at work: fuel cell tricycle
Two students from the Berlin University of Applied Sciences are soon going to present their concept of the fuel cell powered "twike". A first introduction of their project is planned to take place at Hydrogen Expo in Hamburg. A twike is a tricyclic light electric vehicle for two passengers, which combines an electric engine with a foot pedal. Muscle power is directly transformed into kinetic energy. The three-phase currency asynchronous engine (3kW) reaches a high speed of 85km/h. A recuperation brake makes utilizing braking energy possible, using the engine as a generator and the energy which is produced to reload the battery. The vehicle is nagivated by a joy stick steering system, providing a new driving experience. Originally, the twike is powered by three nickel cadmium batteries. As part of the project, two of these (84kg) were substituted by a Sachsenring AG fuel cell stack. The stack made up by a 2kw PEM fuel cell which permantly reloads the NiCd battery. According to Peter Engelmann, one of the students, the only remaining problems lies in getting hold of a suitable hydrogen storage tank. When in the middle of October 18 battery powered twikes will drive from Hamburg to Berlin, the fuel cell model is planned to be part of the convoy.
Catching up I: competence center Niedersachsen (Germany)
Envy must be what several German Bundeslaender feel when looking at the existing hydrogen and fuel cell networks already established in Bavaria, Baden-Wuerttemberg and Northrhine Westfalia. In order to catch up scientists and companies from Niedersachsen now want to found a fuel cell competence center, too. "It is not too late to catch up yet", says Prof. Hans-Peter Beck, Head of the Institute for Electric Energy Technology at the University of Applied Sciences (Technische Universitaet = TU) Clausthal. Beck campaigns for more support by the state of Niedersachsen for research facilities and companies in this field. By close cooperation between the TU Braunschweig, the universities of Hannover and Oldenburg, the Clausthal Institute for Environmental Technology (Cutec), and the Hameln Institute for Solar Energy Research, research projects should be coordinated and new financial resources be opened up. At least ten commercial enterprises from Niedersachsen want to join this initiative, however, the Ministry of Education remains restrained. In other states suchs as Schleswig-Holstein (North Germany) and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (East Germany) efforts for similar missions can be observed.
Catching up II: Great Britain's first fuel cell power plant
Shortly, the first fuel cell power plant will be installed in Great Britain. In Woking (England), a town with 93.000 inhabitants in the south west of London, a 200 kW system is going to deliver power and heat for the swimming pool of a leisure and recreation facility. The system is a PC25 manufactured by US corporation International Fuel Cell (IFC). Says IFC president William Miller: "The Woking installation is another milestone for IFC. PC25s now provide energy in a clean, efficient and reliable way in 17 countries on five continents, which is another demonstration of their capabilities and IFC's market leadership in the fuel cell sector." At the end of the year the power plant is to go into operation along with a solar system as part of a co-generation heat and power plant with a total performance of 1.35 MW. The site is going to be open for the public and to provide background information about fuel cells. At the same time, criticism about the lack of UK government support for new technologies came up. London-based fuel cell developer ZeTek Power recently announced that they could manufacture about 100.000 fuel cells by the year 2003, provided there was sufficient public funding.
Market penetration: Sulzer Hexis ready to deliver fuel cells
Sulzer Hexis anticipates to deliver the first five fuel cells to south Germany this fall. In 2002, 15 further pieces will follow. A total of 55, possibly even up to 200 systems are to be provided to EnBW AG (Energie Baden-Wuerttemberg) over the next years. Also, together EWE AG (Energie-Versorgung Weser-Ems), who have been working with the Swiss corporation since 1998, Sulzer Hexis plans to put several hundred home fuel cell appliances into operation. After successful field testing during the last couple of years, the integration density was increased while the construction effort was reduced at the same time. This made smaller sizes of the field test systems possible. Already in the fall of 1998 four systems were installed for a three-year test phase. In 1999 and 2000 two additional systems for shorter trial periods followed. Previously, between 1997 and 1998 a test stack using hydrogen as fuel had finished 12.000 operation hours under controlled lab conditions without any problems. The loss of performance due to aging was only minor (electrical performance ratio 35%). First prototypes of the new "Hexis 2001" pre-series went through extensive lab testing. They are to substitute convential natural gas home heating. An appropriate device was developed with manufacturer Hoval, who is responsible for integrating state-of-the-art heating technology. A single case, which can be put up in any home cellar, provides room for the fuel cell (1 kW electrical, 3kW thermal), a heat storer (200 l) and and additional gas heating device (16 kW thermal). Series production of this system is currently being prepared in Switzerland. From 2004 worldwide commercialization is anticipated to begin, the price per item ranging at approx. 5.000 Euros. Sulzer Hexis CEO Roland Diethelm, refering to an external study, said at a discussion with 100 mayors from South Germany: "We have a development advantage of about two years."
"Harvesting" energy: under water FC development
Plankton from the ocean could be a new energy carrier for the fuel cell of the future. The US Office for Naval Research is examining the possibility of "harvesting" energy stored in plankton in order to run its OSCAR (ocean sediment carbon aerobic reactor). Organic parts of this suspended matter from the sea could practically be used as a fuel, reacting with oxygen from salt water like in a fuel cell. The first types of such a plant are installed at the coasts of New Jersey and Oregon/USA and produce around 50 milli-watt per square meter electrode surface at 0.7 volt. According to the scientists, this equals the performance of a small calculator. One of the possible application scenarios is the energy supply of ocean measurement devices.
Interviews of the month:
This time: Expert opinions about safety: "Hydrogen is safe, how safe is hydrogen?"
Dr. Ulrich Schmidtchen, Board Member German Hydrogen Association, Berlin: With hydrogen you go up into the air, if you use it as aircraft fuel. Using hydrogen does not bear greater safety risks than using gasoline, natural gas or other established fuels or energy carriers. In traffic accidents or other incidients in particular hydrogen even offers certain saftey advantages.
Dr. Georg Buchholz, CEO H2 Energie, Moenchengladbach: We asked ourselves too: "Can we accept the responsibility for designing projects for energy supply with hydrogen technology for our fellow men?" Many discussions with experts confirmed that responsible, expert handling of the flammable gas hydrogen is less dangerours than dealing with other fuels such as natural gas or gasoline.
Holger Grubel, Project Manager Energy Concept Future HEW AG, Hamburg: Hydrogen is an energy carrier and has to be treated with the same care as any other energy carrier. Hydrogen stands apart because it is exceptionally environmentally benign. While the use of energy carriers such as oil, gas, uranium, and others bears the risks of oil slicks, ground contamination, air pollution, and radiation, or bring with them the problem of permanent depository, hydrogen is ecologically perfectly harmless.
Stratis Karamanolis, Author of "Hydrogen, Energy Carrier of the Future": Each technology has its risks. However, compared to other fuels hydrogen is associated with less dangers. Hydrogen is 14 times lighter than air, it therefore evoporates quickly. This means that if hydrogen is poured out in an uncontrolled manner, the danger of ignition only remains for a very short time. On the contrary, gasoline which is almost as heavy as water, stays on the ground and burns resp. explodes there completely.
Please note: Air Products will introduce a new saftey training course for hydrogen under the brand name "KnowH2ow" at Hydrogen Expo in Hamburg. The presentation takes place on 11 October 2001, 2.30 pm, in the Opening Forum in hall 4.
Event News:
Hydrogen Expo: Don't miss out on it!
Shortly, Europe's leading marketplace for hydrogen and fuel cell technologies will open its doors. The exhibition on October 11 to 13 in Hamburg proves: The future is now! Hydrogen Expo wants to make pathbreaking developments for H2 production, storage, and building the infrastructure, fuel cell systems and their applications tangible for everyone interested. Among the event's highlights are the outdoor demonstration site for hydrogen production from wind power and the testdriving route for alternative propulsion vehicles. The exhibition is open to trade and general visitors on all three days. For further details, exhibitor list and seminar forum program go to: www.h2expo.com
Vote on it: Best Product Award
At the H2 Report booth at Hydrogen Expo visitors can vote on the most innovative product showcased in Hamburg from October 11 to 13, 2001. Participants have the chance to win a DYI fuel cell worth Euros 200. More information is available at the H2 Report booth no. 4155 in hall 4.
