Industry headlines

Plans are in place to use hydrogen fuel cells to increase energy efficiency at carbon capture and storage plants. A consortium led by British firm B9 Coal hopes to build the UK's first underground coal gasification (UCG) plant that uses alkaline fuel cells to convert hydrogen into electricity. This process would allow up to 90 per cent of the carbon dioxide (CO2) produced from the coal to be captured, while generating electricity with 60 per cent efficiency at a cost as low as pound 0.04 per kWh. This compares with between 37 and 44 per cent efficiency for typical coal-fired power stations, according to the US National Petroleum Council. Click here for full story

Amazing technology at Wright Patterson Air Force Base is giving our soldiers a fighting chance in the war on terror. "They have a pretty daring job. They jump behind enemy lines setting-up air force bases or airports, landing strips, or landing zones," said Reggie Daniels, the Batman program engineer. Their lives depend on powerful, high-tech equipment whose weight of 150 lbs. or more can slow them down and jeopardize their mission. To lighten their load, the team has developed the Batman suit, which is an acronym for Battlefield Air Targeting Man-Aided Knowledge. The suit holds new fuel cell batteries that are 25% lighter, and brings the whole package together. Click here for full story

Britain could find itself in the dark by the end of the decade. This is the stark reality facing the energy sector and the country, according to Dr Graham Cooley, the chief executive of one of the few enterprise in Britain that is trying to commercialise clean hydrogen fuel. His imagery becomes gruesome: If Britain's energy situation were "like a Disney movie, we are at the point where Bambi's mother is dead". Dr Cooley is not some lone doomsayer. The Energy minister, Charles Hendry, warned last week that the sector needed £200bn of investment to avoid future problems. Click here for full story

A group of researchers just presented their findings at the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS) about a fuel-cell battery that runs on sugar! The battery can be juiced up with soda-pop or even vegetable oil and recharges electronics the way we recharge ourselves — with glucose.
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Fuel cells could play a huge role in improving the UK's infrastructure, it was suggested yesterday (25th August). Sir John Banham, Chairman of Johnson Matthey, explained that fuel cell systems are already being used in buildings and homes in the US at a cost of just 4.5p per kilowatt hour. Speaking to INSEAD Knowledge, he explained that the UK should follow suit and could even run an entire fleet of buses on the technology for the London Olympics in 2012. By using methane from sewage, Sir John also noted that fuel cells could help to reduce the country's affordable housing shortage by playing a central role in new feed-in tariffs. Click here for full story

Work has started on Green Highland Renewables’ 807 kW hydropower station at Roroyere, Glen Lyion, Scotland. It is the first of three small run-of-river hydropower schemes in Glen Lyon to be developed by Green Highland Renewables. Click here for full story

The sound of squeaking plastic parts is a minor irritant as the black cab surges into a sharp corner, its body leaning heavily. Normally, at high speed, the rattling would have been drowned out by a rumbling, whining diesel engine. But this taxi is different. This is the first hydrogen-powered London cab, developed to showcase zero exhaust emission vehicles during the 2012 London Olympics. Click here for full story

Ioannis Ieropoulos and other researchers at Bristol Robotics Laboratory in the U.K. have created a marvel of modern science--a robot that can feed on biomass and excrete waste. The EcoBot III has an artificial gut that allows it to survive on fluid food and water for seven days without human intervention. The robot is powered by 48 small microbial fuel cells (MFCs) and moves along a steel track between sources of liquid food and water. Click here for full story

Battery-powered cars may be on the cusp of the mainstream auto market, but scientists and car makers still have high hopes for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, which should refuel faster and travel longer distances between fill-ups. Hydrogen fuel cells have their own Achilles' heel, however: They are easily poisoned by carbon monoxide (CO). Now, researchers report that they've created novel catalysts for fuel cell cars that strongly resist carbon monoxide contamination, potentially solving a problem that has vexed the industry for years. Click here for full story

Britain's B9 Gas is exploring hydrogen fuel cells as an alternative cheap, low-carbon way to generate electricity instead of burning gas, the clean fossil-fuel company said. Click here for full story

Provider of power solutions for the marine and energy industries Wärtsilä has installed a Wärtsilä Fuel Cell (WFC) 20 unit on board the Undine, a car carrier owned by Swedish maritime transport company Wallenius Lines and managed by Wallenius Marine, with the aim of testing a fuel cell in a marine environment. Click here for full story

A project is underway in the Shetland Islands of the North Coast of Scotland to build small hydrogen power units, according to an article in the Shetland News. The scheme will aim to generate, store and supply hydrogen. The project involves a company called Pure Energy on the island of Unst; and Lews Castle College in Stornaway. Vincenzo Ortisi, an electronic engineer, will develop the fuel cell. Click here for full story

Renewable energy sources accounted for 62 per cent (17GW) of the new electricity generation capacity installed across the 27 member states of the European Union in 2009, an increase from 57 per cent in 2008, according to a European Commission report.According to the "Renewable Energy Snapshots" report, published on July 5 2010 by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC), for the second year running, wind energy accounted for the largest share of the new capacity: 10.2 GW out of the 27.5 GW built, representing 38 per cent of the total. Click here for full story

A grant to the Danish company Topsoe Fuel Cell A/S and Risoe DTU will ensure that the current efforts within solid oxide fuel cells will lead to prototypes in 2012 which meet market demands for efficiency, lifetime and price.
A technology meeting energy and climate challenges
The solid oxide fuel cell is a technology for more efficient power production. Compared to traditionel technologies SOFCs have a higher efficiency, lower noise and lower emissions of, e.g., CO2. They work by transforming the chemical energy of a fuel directly into electricity.
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The new UK Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Association (UK HCFA) launched this week as the result of the merger of Fuel Cells UK and the UK Hydrogen Association. The new industry body aims to provide a common voice for the sector, advocating a positive social, political and economic environment for the development of hydrogen energy and fuel cells in the UK. Click here for full story

Business Secretary Vince Cable witnessed a series of ‘firsts’ today (28 June) as he toured Toyota’s Burnaston plant in Derby and officially launched production of the first Auris Hybrid cars.The Auris Hybrid is the first mass-produced fully hybrid vehicle in Europe and has the first hybrid engine to be made outside of Japan, which is manufactured at Toyota’s Deeside plant in North Wales.It’s further demonstration that vehicle manufacturers in the UK are making the transition to low carbon transport a reality. Production of the Auris Hybrid will safeguard 400 jobs at the two plants. body Click here for full story

Hydrogen fuel cell cars, despite the vast weight of technology sitting in their boots, are remarkably unremarkable to drive compared to other electric powered cars. Instead of getting their power from batteries charged up by plugging the car into the mains – as with the G-Wiz, say, or a milk float or the forthcoming Nissan Leaf – the electricity is generated on the move from a chemical reaction in the aforementioned "fuel cell". This takes hydrogen from a pressurised tank in the car, adds air scooped in from the atmosphere and creates electrical energy and some water. Click here for full story

Now this is good news – provided there isn’t a fuel cell hydrogen spill somewhere off the coast of Nova Scotia tomorrow. Horizon has been promising their liquid fuel cell for years but now they’re actually selling them. It costs $100, comes with two fuel cartridges, and offers as much power as “1,000 AA batteries,” allowing you to charge almost anything using add-on adapters. Click here for full story

Wärtsilä’s WFC20 fuel cell unit has been installed onboard the ’Undine’, a car carrier, owned by Swedish Wallenius Lines and managed by Wallenius Marine. This unique power unit is the first of its kind in the world, and will during the test period provide auxiliary power to the vessel while producing close to zero emissions. This project is an important step towards more environmentally sound shipping and cleaner seaborne transportation.
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Leicester has been chosen as the first city in the UK to trial a fleet of truly green cars. A deal signed today between Leicester City Council and sustainable car company Riversimple will see 30 hydrogen-powered cars brought into the city in 2012. Motorists will be to hire the 30 trial cars out to drive for up to a year and give designers vital feedback. If they prove a hit, Riversimple will look to build a factory in Leicester capable of producing 5,000 cars a year. Click here for full story

Visitors to London’s 2012 Olympics may travel to the games in taxis powered by hydrogen following the unveiling of a new prototype fuel cell black cab at City Hall. London’s Deputy Mayor for Policing Kit Malthouse, who chairs the London Hydrogen Partnership, announced that a fleet of up to 20 of these cabs will be on the streets by 2012. This falls into line with Mayor Boris Johnson’s call for zero emissions from all London taxis by 2020. Click here for full story

Hitachi Zosen Corp. and Finland’s Wartsila OYJ will jointly develop fuel cells for sale to companies seeking to cut carbon-dioxide emissions, the Nikkei newspaper reported today, without saying where it obtained the information. Click here for full story

UPS Systems has announced that 67% of delegates have changed their opinion of fuel cells because of its seminar - Fuel cells...real world applications for business – and warn that there are very exciting times ahead for the UK fuel cell industry. UPS Systems seminar was a unique event providing organisations with an insight into the commercial applications for fuel cell technology, featuring case studies to highlight the business benefits of fuel cells. Click here for full story

All-Energy saw the launch of a new online business, European Fuel Cell Online – it is striking up relationships with product suppliers from all over the world with an online facility and adding products in the portfolio over the next year. The company will also introduce a new service creating a market for surplus or unused equipment.[release not yet online] Click here for full story

The launch of two new community hydro share offers - for a total of £1M - gives social and green investors the chance to support climate change solutions and save for the future. Click here for full story

Fuel cell pioneer Ballard Power Systems will put a one-million watt mobile power plant somewhere in FirstEnergy Corp.'s Ohio territory before summer, a top Ballard executive said Friday.
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Toyota says that the recent advancement in fuel-cell technology has enabled it to cut the price of building fuel-cell vehicles by 90 percent, which can allow the company to sell its first hydrogen vehicle for $50,000 by 2015. The company is also hoping that it can cut the cost of fuel cells by another 50 percent to make the vehicle even more affordable.
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Long hampered by high manufacturing costs and durability issues, fuel cell technology could overcome those obstacles and take a significant step towards mainstream adoption thanks to a finding by a Texas A&M University chemical engineering professor. Click here for full story

A new catalyst that generates hydrogen from sea water has been developed by scientists in the US. This new metal-oxo complex displays high catalytic activity and stability, whilst being low cost, the researchers say.
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Hydrogen fuel cell developer AFC Energy has revealed it is developing a 50kW hydrogen fuel cell which it claims will improve the base load of power coming from waste to energy plants and carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects. Click here for full story

UPS Systems plc has signed a unique partnership agreement with BOC, a member of the Linde Group, to distribute, their new low cost Hymera 150w hydrogen fuel cell generator in the UK. Click here for full story

Researchers are looking for more and more ways to create hydrogen in a cheaper way in terms of energy expenditure than existing methods and the latest is an effort by a team in MIT. It is basically artificial photosynthesis using a modified virus and sunlight to split water into hydrogen and oxygen atoms. An engineered bacterial virus called M13 binds with the molecules of a catalyst (iridium oxide) and a biological pigment (zing porphyrins). They become wire-like devices that can efficiently split oxygen and hydrogen from water. The virii are encapsulated in a microgel matrix to maintain a uniform arrangement, keeping them stable. Click here for full story

The new fuel-cell powered electricity generator from BOC brings the benefits of hydrogen fuel to small-scale, energy-efficient technologies like lighting and cordless power tools, especially in locations where there is no access to grid-supplied electricity. Fuel-cells have been talked about for many years as a power source of the future: the new Hymera makes it available for today’s off-grid tasks. Click here for full story

The National Hydrogen Association has issued a report, US Market Report examining how hydrogen and fuel cells are being used in the US. Some of the highlights from the report show the increase of this alternative energy technology being used.
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ITM Power, the energy storage and green fuel company, is pleased to announce the specification for its products to be show-cased at the Hannover Messe, in Germany and the NHA at Long Beach, California in April and May 2010. The suite of electrolyser products are designed for a range of applications from laboratory-based analytical systems, through soldering and joining, to clean fuel provision for hydrogen powered vehicles. Each product has been designed to be simple to use and to require a minimum of maintenance. Click here for full story

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation announced the launch of its new "PV Series" intelligent power modules (IPM), mainly for use in residential photovoltaic (PV) inverters. The six models, which can also be used in inverters for fuel cell systems, each measure 90 mm × 50 mm, contributing greatly to PV inverter miniaturization. Shipments will begin in May 2010 through Mitsubishi Electric sales sites in the Americas, Europe, China and Korea. Click here for full story

A ferry powered by hydrogen could soon be making waves in Bristol's Floating Harbour. Bristol City Council wants to trial the environmentally friendly fuel and has appealed for companies to take part in the project. The authority believes using hydrogen, rather than diesel, can cut pollution and make for quieter and fume-free ferry journeys. Click here for full story

The UK Technology Strategy board will pour £1.1million into efforts to create a new platinum-based catalyst layer design for hydrogen fuel cells. The project, which will be led by Johnson Matthey Fuel Cells Ltd along with Qudos Technology Ltd, Teer Coatings Ltd and Thomas & Swan Co Ltd, involves the development of micro- and nano-structured materials with the aim of significantly increasing oxygen reduction mass activity of platinum within the fuel cell catalyst layers. Click here for full story

Following the success of a half-price subsidy for CO2-busting fuel-cell heat and energy generators for homes, Japan is now poised to ship its attention to supplying the UK and Germany with this hi-tech next-generation energy source. With over 5,000 fuel cells providing heat and energy for conventional homes up and down Japan, the BBC has learnt that companies such as electronics giant Panasonic are in talks with EU governments about the possibility of bringing these proven energy and carbon-saving devices to market in Europe and elsewhere.
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Coming not so soon and probably not to a house near you is the home solar hydrogen refueling station -- Honda Motor Co's latest idea in its drive to make hydrogen the fuel of choice for zero emission cars. The Japanese auto giant believes hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles offer the best long-term alternative to fossil fuels and the company showed on Friday a refueling breakthrough that it says points to a home version down the road. Click here for full story