fuel cell

Fuel cell giant takes control of European JV

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Fuel cell firm Plug Power has entered into a definitive agreement to take full control of a joint venture to develop, manufacture and market fuel cells in Europe.

Plug Power bought the remaining 80% of joint venture HyPulsion from Axane, SA, a subsidiary of Air Liquide SA, for $11.47 million in common stock, subject to certain post-closing adjustments.

Plug Power and Air Liquide founded HyPulsion in 2012 to bring fuel cells for forklift trucks to the European market.

The transaction is subject to certain customary closing conditions and is expected to close no later than August 2015.

Plug Power debuts dispensing system in Canada

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North American fuel cell manufacturer Plug Power is set to debut its hydrogen dispensing system in the Canadian market.

It follows an expansion of a contract to deliver another 124 of its GenDrive fuel cells to Walmart Canada’s distribution centre in Alberta, Canada.

The latest delivery means the site now hosts over 230 fuel cell units since taking its first delivery in 2010.

The contract also includes the installation of one of Plug Power’s GenFuel systems, a full-service hydrogen dispensing system which includes a hydrogen molecule supply, infrastructure such as pipes and cabinets and fuel dispensers.

Plug Power GenDrive fuel cells, intended for trucks and forklifts, come in 24, 36 and 48 V capacities and are designed to be drop-in replacements to batteries.

The company, which recently completed a marketing tour across North America, also landed large retail contracts last month.

Ballard and Anglo American to power rural Africa

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anglo american platinum

Ballard

fuel cell

methanol

South Africa-based Anglo American Platinum has teamed up with Ballard Power Systems to develop a methanol fuel cell to power rural South African communities.

The South African primary producer of platinum is developing a cell which replaces hydrogen gas with methanol, which is cheaper and more energy efficient to produce.

Ballard and Anglo American Platinum plan to use these fuel cells in micro-grids serving rural communities of less than 200 households.

In August 2014 the companies launched a 12-month field test of a 15 kW off-grid methanol-fuelled home generator in a Naledi Trust village with 34 households.

New British – Korean fuel cell partnership

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British fuel cell company AFC Energy is set to enter into a joint venture with two Korean companies to develop a 50 Mw fuel cell plant.

AFC will own 40% of the project, in partnership with the Korean companies Samyoung (45%) and Changsin (15%).

The first phrase will see 5MW come on stream by 2016, with a second 45MW phase set for commission in 2019. The companies claim the project will generate $1billion in its first 10 years of operation.

AFC is due to sell alkaline fuel cell equipment into the joint venture, as well as give technical and operational advice on the project in Korea.

Samyoung will be in charge of the engineering work, while Changsin will supply hydrogen, land and logistics.

Earlier this year AFC Energy signed several large international contracts, including a 300Mw project in Dubai.

Korean researchers develop reusable graphene fuel cell catalyst

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Korean researchers have developed a technique to make the first reusable fuel cell electrode material.

By selectively coating the metalloid antimony with graphene in a mechanochemical process, the scientists at the Ulsan National Institute for Science and Technology managed to maximise the electrode’s electrochemical activities.

Due to the costs of platinum, commonly used in fuel cells, graphene has long been talked about as a replacement. But until now the electrochemical activities in the material has been too low.

The development process of the electrode has been transferred to a Korean company and is expected to be commercialised, reports Business Korea.

The findings of the study were first published in the scientific journal Nature Communications’ May issue.

Beacon Falls Energy Park supplier announced

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Beacon Falls Energy Park

fuel cell

Fuel Cel Energy

O&G Industries

CT Energy & Technology

Plans for the world’s biggest fuel cell plant are gathering pace after American firm FuelCell Energy was named as supplier of the 63.3MW facility’s fuel cells.

If the park gets the go ahead by local authorities in Connecticut, the fuel cell manufacturer is due to operate and maintain the plant under a long-term service agreement.

The announcement follows a letter of intent from Beacon Falls Energy Park project owners O&G Industries and its subsidiary CT Energy & Technology LLC.

The project’s electric grid interconnection study is being carried out, and site engineering is under way. The next steps will be to finalise the off-taker and prepare contracts.

The 23.8 acres of land the facility is due to be built on is owned by O&G Industries, while CT Energy & Technology LLC will develop the project.

Plug Power wins big contracts

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Fuel cell manufacturer Plug Power will distribute more than 300 of its GenDrive fuel cells across the U.S following two deals this month.

An unnamed big box retailer will take delivery of 177 fuel cells with distributer Uline receiving 130 units after ordering the New York firm’s GenKey hydrogen and fuel cell system.

The Genkey system will supply power to lift and reach trucks at the customer’s recently opened distribution centres in Ohio and Wisconsin, respectively.

Since Plug Power launched the GenKey fuel cell solution in 2014, systems have been deployed to North American businesses including Walmart, Kroger and Ace Hardware.

The company, which is currently touring the States in a “PowerTrip Roadshow”, experienced a drop in share prices earlier this month as Q1 results were announced. These contracts gave Plug Power shares a boost on the NASDAQ exchange.

Toyota hopes fuel cell research will lead to increased efficiency

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Automotive manufacturer Toyota has made a breakthrough in its research that could result in more efficient fuel cell stacks.

The company claims to have developed an observation technique

which allows researchers to monitor the behaviour of nanometer-sized platinum particles during the chemical reaction in fuel cells.

This will allow the processes leading to reduced catalytic reactivity to be observed.

By observing the coarsening of platinum particles – when nanoparticles increase in size and decrease in surface area –researchers hope to find the starting point of the process.

Scientists will also measure voltage output during the coarsening process with the aim of improving the performance of the platinum catalyst and the fuel cell stack as a whole.

The breakthrough was made in partnership with Japan Fine Ceramics Center (JFCC).

Researchers with new method for catalyst platinum extraction

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Delft University of Technology

fuel cell

research

Researchers from Delft University of Technology have developed an environmentally friendly method of recycling fuel cell catalysts.

The scientists claim to have discovered how to recover platinum through a selective electrochemical dissolution method.

The team applied a 0.5 to 1.1 V with a voltage scan rate of 50 mV/s to the carbon substrate resulting in only the platinum being dissolved.

The researchers used a solution of perchloric acid (HClO₄, 0.1 M) and hydrochloric acid (HCl) - with three different concentrations of HCI testing at 0.1, 0.25 and 0.5 M.

Even with the lowest concentration of HCl the researchers managed to extract 90% of the platinum.

The separation method was tested at 22.35 and 60 degrees Celsius.

Platinum is currently recovered by dissolving the substrate material in acid or through oxidation, and then separating the platinum from the solution.

The researchers at Delft University of Technology claim their method could be more environmentally friendly, as it avoids the use of concentrated acid mixtures.

The findings were published in the May issue of the journal ChemSusChem titled Environmentally Friendly Carbon-Preserving Recovery of Noble Metals From Supported Fuel Cell Catalysts.

Half a dozen Doosan fuel cells go live

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Doosan Fuel Cell has announced that six fuel cell power plants went live in Korean South East Power Co. (KOSEP) facility in a suburb outside of Seoul in South Korea this week.

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Doosan Fuel Cell has announced that six fuel cell power plants went live in Korean South East Power Co. (KOSEP) facility in a suburb outside of Seoul in South Korea this week.

This is the second project Doosan executes in partnership with KOSEP in the region surrounding Seoul.

The six Doosan PureCell Model 400 provide 2.6 MW of power to the local electrical grid and KOSEP customers.

Doosan currently has six on-going projects in South Korea, totaling in 35 active fuel cells generating over 15 MW of power.

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