fuel cell

British fuel cell company ITM power has made a £1.79 million integrated hydrogen system sale to the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Scotland.

At the core of the system is a 0.5 MW polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) with integrated compression and up to 500 kg of storage.

The electrolyser has a hydrogen generation capacity of up to 220kg or 24 hours, and the PEM will be used to absorb excess power from EMEC’s tidal turbines testing, and the gas will be stored in an optional fuel cell to provide backup power for the centre. The remaining hydrogen gas will be used off-site in a separate project.

Massachusetts-based Trenergi has unveiled the prototype of a new fuel cell.

Trenergi’s 1-kilowatt fuel cell is designed with a patented High-Temperature Proton Exchange Membrane-plus (HTPM+), using BASF material for the membrane.

The 1kW unit has capacity to produce 24 kWh of electricity and approximately 160 gallons of water per day, and is said to operate at up to 90% energy efficiency.

The company has also developed a 3kW prototype, which has been sold to a defence contractor for further testing. Trenergi hopes to construct fuel cells up to 100 kW in power.

British fuel cell developer AFC Energy has signed a deal to deploy 300 Mw of fuel cell capacity to Dubai.

Dubai Carbon, backed by major emirati players ENOC, Dubai Electricity and Dubai Aluminium, is set to collaborate with AFC. The companies will initially assess the possibility of using the fuel cells as power supply to Dubai Expo in 2020, as well as The World Development by Nakheel and the Al Maktoum International airport.

The project will be operated trough a joint venture.

AFC and Dubai Carbon also intended to form a joint venture to pitch for additional fuel cell contracts.

This agreement is AFC’s third major international contract since the beginning of March.

Swedish fuel cell company PowerCell Sweden AB launched its new fuel cell stack at the Hannover Fair last week.

Powercell Sweden’s next generation fuel stack S2 is meant to complement its predecessor the PowerCell Fuel Cell S1 (1-5kW), covering larger power ranges up to 25kW.

The fuel cell stack is built to work in an auxiliary power unit environment on reformate gas, as well as systems running on pure hydrogen, and is intended both for automotive and stationary applications.

The S2 uses proton exchange membrane technology, which allows full power output within seconds. The unit is also capable of managing extensive starts and stops keeping battery buffers at a minimum.

Africa’s first 100- kW platinum- natural gas fuel cell was switched on at the Chamber of Mines in Johannesburg, South Africa last week, where it will provide baseload power to the building.

The Platinum Power Fuel Cell is a joint project between South Africa’s Department of Trade and Industry (dti) and Johannesburg-based Mitochondria Energy.

The project is funded through a ZAR 7.5 million (nearly $618 000) injection by the dti, and a loan financing obtained by Mitochondria of ZAR 3.25 million (about $260 000) from the Industrial Development Corporation.

Speaking at the event, South Africa’s Trade and Industry Minister Dr Rob Davis set a target of 1000 MW of platinum fuel cell-generated electricity supply by 2020.

Davis also said that being home to 80% of the world’s known platinum reserves puts South Africa at the forefront of developing fuel cell technology, and that there is no reason why South Africa should not become a major player in the manufacturing of platinum fuel cells.