NewNergy

Toyota has announced what it claims is a major breakthrough in fuel cell technology, with a new prototype that is capable of more than doubling the range of previous fuel cell vehicles.

The Fuel Cell Hybrid Vehicle – Advanced (or FCHV-Adv) has a range of 510miles on a single 156-litre tank of Hydrogen – the company’s previous-generation FCHV could only extract 205miles from its 148-litre tank. More important, from the point of view of corporate honour, the FCHV-Adv has double the claim range of the Honda FCX Clarity.

The dramatic extension in range has been achieved by improving the performance of the fuel cell, improving regenerative braking which feeds a battery-hybrid system and reducing the amount of power consumed by auxiliary systems.

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Labels: autos, fuel-cells, hydrogen

Toyota Motor Corp plans to provide, for the third year in a row, home-use fuel cell cogeneration units as part of a government project to verify the practical use of CO2-reducing stationary fuel cells.

The municipal-gas-fueled 1-kW home-use fuel cell cogeneration units—which generate electricity and capture waste heat for household heating—are to play a role in the continuing Large-Scale Stationary Fuel Cell Demonstration Project of Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). Twenty-four of the units will be provided to project participant Toho Gas Co., Ltd. (Toho), which will install them in homes in three central-Japan prefectures (Aichi, Gifu and Mie) to collect data toward commercialization. The government project, which was originally scheduled to conclude on March 31, 2008, is now expected to run until the end of March 2009.

More from here - Home-Use Fuel Cell Cogeneration Project

Labels: co2, electricity, fuel-cells

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for up to $130 million over three years, subject to Congressional appropriations, to advance the development and use of fuel cells for automotive, stationary, and portable power applications.

The DOE is also seeking proposals to demonstrate fuel cells in distributed energy systems and to support market transformation that provide real-world operation data. The Department anticipates making up to 50 awards through this competitive funding opportunity, which is open to industry, universities, and national laboratories.

More from here - Advance Fuel Cell Technology Funding

Labels: fuel-cells

A group of engineers at MIT has developed a new type of membrane for one type of fuel cell which they claim could improve power output by more than 50 per cent.

The new material is considerably less expensive than its conventional industrial counterpart, and could help fuel cells to find a much broader market, particularly in portable electronics.

"Our goal is to replace traditional fuel-cell membranes with these cost-effective, highly tuneable and better-performing materials," said Paula T. Hammond, Bayer Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT, and leader of the research team.

More from here: MIT boffins claim fuel cell breakthrough

Labels: fuel-cells

China’s Automakers, With Beijing’s Prodding, Show Alternative-Fuel Cars

By Keith Bradsher, April 21, 2007

SHANGHAI, April 20 — Chinese automakers, under pressure from the government to produce more fuel-efficient cars, unveiled an unexpectedly broad array of prototypes for fuel-cell cars, gasoline-electric hybrid cars and electric battery cars at the Shanghai auto show recently.

The variety and sophistication of the cars showed a striking improvement not just since the last Shanghai auto show two years ago

Read the full report from here @ NY Times

Labels: autos, electric-cars, events, fuel-cells, hybrids

£4.2 Million Research Programme into Hydrogen as an Alternative Energy Source
20 April 2007

Provider: Fuel Cell Today

It has been announced that Imperial College, London has received £4.2 million in grant money to look at using solar energy to produce cost effective hydrogen.

The programme will develop biological and chemical solar driven processes to develop renewable and cost effective methods of producing hydrogen to operate fuel cells.

The College’s Energy Futures Lab receives the funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

Read the full report from here @ Fuel Cell Today

Labels: fuel-cells, hydrogen

Millennium Cell and Jadoo Power Awarded Program to Develop Mobile Medical Power Source for U.S. Air Force

March 29, 2007, Press release

~ Fuel cell based power source to demonstrate extended military medical airlift capabilities ~

EATONTOWN, N.J. - Millennium Cell Inc. (NASDAQ: MCEL), a leading developer of hydrogen battery technology, today announced that it has been awarded a contract with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (“AFRL”) to develop with its partner Jadoo Power a 300 watt power system that provides 12 hours of runtime for use as a long endurance power supply for U.S. Air Force aeromedical evacuation flights. The combination of Jadoo Power’s fuel cells and N-Stor interface technology with Millennium Cell’s Hydrogen on Demand® fuel technology creates a power system which can address critical power source needs that cannot be achieved with traditional battery technologies. The program will culminate in the fourth quarter of 2007 with a demonstration of a fuel cell system capable of powering the Air Force’s Patient Support Pallet, which is designed to improve the survivability of soldiers being evacuated from the battlefield to advanced medical facilities.

Jadoo Power has been a licensee of Millennium Cell’s technology since February 2006. The two companies are actively developing Hydrogen on Demand® fuel canisters for use with Jadoo Power’s N-Gen Fuel Cell Power units and XRT Extended Runtime accessories for emergency response and other industrial and military uses. The XRT uses six metal hydride canisters for hydrogen fuel storage today, which weigh approximately 30 total pounds. With the new chemical hydride-based fuel canister jointly developed by Millennium Cell, the XRT is expected to deliver the same runtime with approximately half the fuel canister weight.

Millennium Cell is currently engaged on multiple programs with AFRL focused on the development of products which utilize Millennium Cell’s technology for a wide range of applications including soldier power and unmanned aerial vehicles.

“We are very pleased to get the opportunity to work on a system that has the potential to save lives by extending the mobile medical capabilities of the U.S. military,” said Adam Briggs, President. “This mission critical requirement effectively illustrates an application for which fuel cell systems deliver a significant value.”

About Millennium Cell

Millennium Cell develops hydrogen battery technology through a patented chemical process that safely stores and delivers hydrogen energy to power portable devices. The borohydride-based technology can be scaled to fit any application requiring high energy density for a long run time in a compact space. The Company is working with market partners to meet demand for its patented process in four areas: military, medical, industrial and consumer electronics. For more information, visit http://millenniumcell.com.

About Jadoo Power

www.jadoopower.com

Jadoo Power is a market-focused company that develops and sells next-generation, portable energy storage and power generation products. Jadoo Power is a leading commercial supplier of fuel cell products to the portable power space. Jadoo Power is financed by MDV, Venrock Associates and Sinclair Ventures, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements:

This press release may include statements that are not historical facts and are considered ``forward-looking” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements reflect Millennium Cell’s current views about future events and financial performance and are subject to risks. Forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as “believe,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “on target” and similar expressions identifying forward-looking statements. Investors should not rely on forward-looking statements because they are subject to a variety of risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside of our control, that could cause actual results to differ materially from Millennium Cell’s expectations, and Millennium Cell expressly does not undertake any duty to update forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, the following: (i) the cost and timing of development and market acceptance of Millennium Cell’s hydrogen fuel storage and delivery system; (ii) the cost and commercial availability of the quantities of raw materials required by the hydrogen fuel storage and delivery systems; (iii) competition from current, improving and alternative power technologies; (iv) Millennium Cell’s ability to raise capital at the times, in the amounts and at the costs and terms that are acceptable to fund the development and commercialization of its hydrogen fuel storage and delivery system and its business plan; (v) Millennium Cell’s ability to protect its intellectual property; (vi) Millennium Cell’s ability to achieve budgeted revenue and expense amounts; (vii) Millennium Cell’s ability to generate revenues from the sale or license of, or provision of services related to, its technology; (viii) Millennium Cell’s ability to form strategic alliances or partnerships to help promote our technology and achieve market acceptance; (ix) Millennium Cell’s ability to generate design, engineering or management services revenue opportunities in the hydrogen generation or fuel cell markets; (x) Millennium Cell’s ability to secure government funding of its research and development and technology demonstration projects; and (xi) other factors discussed under the caption “Investment Considerations” in Millennium Cell’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005.

Contacts
MBS Value Partners
Betsy Brod, 212-750-5800

Labels: batteries, fuel-cells, hydrogen

Singapore to spend $230 mln on clean energy research

26 Mar 2007, Source: Reuters

By Koh Gui Qing

SINGAPORE - Singapore will spend S$350 million ($230 million) on research into clean forms of energy over the next five years to meet soaring energy demand in the region, the government said on Monday.

Singapore will focus on solar power and fuel cell technologies research, the Economic Development Board (EDB) said, adding that the sector could create some 7,000 jobs and make up 0.6 percent of gross domestic product by 2015

Read the full report from here @ Reuters AlertNet

Labels: fuel-cells