July 2006, No. 59 Scandinavian
partnership plans for hydrogen vehicles.
The newly formed Scandinavian
Hydrogen Highway Partnership (SHHP) aims to establish a network of
hydrogen refueling stations throughout southwestern Scandinavia, to serve
significant numbers of hydrogen-fueled vehicles on Scandinavian roads by
2012.
July 2006, No. 58 SFC launches
EFOY new-generation fuel cells.
German based SFC Smart Fuel Cell has
unveiled its new EFOY product family of fuel cells, the successor to the
company's successful SFC A50 fuel cell. Now consumers and industrial users
can select between three fuel cell models with various levels of
performance for powering electrical devices: EFOY 1600, EFOY 1200 and EFOY
600, offering 1.6 kWh, 1.2 kWh and 600 Wh per day, respectively.
July 2006, No. 57 Fuel cell
airport vehicle in series production.
A collaboration between the German
Aerospace Center DLR and CARDEC GmbH in Frankfurt has resulted in the
unveiling of a hybrid fuel cell/battery baggage transporter for use on
airport apron areas. The partner have now also signed a contract to move
to series manufacturing.
June 2006, No. 56 MTI Micro,
Samsung link up for portable electronics.
US-based micro fuel cell developer
MTI MicroFuel Cells has announced an exclusive alliance with Samsung
Electronics in Korea - one of the world's largest handset manufacturer -
to develop next-generation fuel cell prototypes for its cell phone
business. MTI Micro's award-winning Mobion® direct methanol fuel cell
technology has been chosen to power a series of prototypes designed for
Samsungs's cell phones and phone accessories.
June 2006, No. 55 Airbus,
Boeing collaborate to study aircraft fuel cell APU.
Aerospace giants Boeing and Airbus
are linking up in a ground-breaking collaborative effort to accelerate the
development of fuel cell technology for auxiliary power units (APUs),
according to Flight International. The firms admitted at the recent
Aviation and the Environment summit in Geneva that talks had begun on
fast-tracking early-stage development of the technologies.
June 2006, No. 54 Japanese
train company to test world's first fuel cell passenger train.
The East Japan Railway Company (JR
East) is set to begin testing what is believed to be the world's first
fully operational fuel cell-powered passenger train.
June 2006, No. 53 Fraunhofer
ISE unveils mini electrolyzer for metal hydride storage.
Researchers at the Fraunhofer
Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE in Germany have developed a
miniature electrolyzing system that enables metal hydride storage units -
for use with micro fuel cell applications - to be filled with high-purity
hydrogen both quickly and away from a central fueling station. In just 12
minutes it generates enough hydrogen from water to power, for example, a
camcorder for 2 h. A prototype of the mini electrolyzer was presented at
the recent Hannover Fair.
May 2006, No. 52 Casio's new
device slashes size of PC fuel cells.
In Japan, Casio Computer Co has
developed a chip-type component that it claims will enable the use of
hydrogen PEM fuel cells for notebook computers that are 90 % smaller than
the direct methanol fuel cells which other firms are developing.
May 2006, No. 51 Antig unveils
production laptop fuel cell.
What is claimed to be the world's
first mass production fuel cells for laptop computers was revealed at the
recent CeBIT computer trade show in Germany, with production expected to
start later this year. Taiwan-based direct methanol fuel cell developer
Antig Technology and AVC Corporation have developed a fully functioning
DMFC that can fit into the DVD drive bay of a standard laptop, according
to vnunet.com report.
May 2006, No. 50 Umicore,
Solvay in JV to develop, supply MEAs.
Materials technology company Umicore
has reached agreement with Solvay, the chemical and pharma group, to
create a new European joint venture for the research, development,
production and sales of membrane electrode assemblies and related
materials for use in fuel cell applications.
April 2006, No. 49 Extension
to bus project in seven European cities.
A new European Commission-funded
project has enabled the extension of the two-year Clean Urban Transport
for Europe (CUTE) fuel cell bus trials. Part of the new HyFLEET:CUTE
demonstration project, funded under the Sixth Framework Programme,
involves extending the CUTE and ECTOS fuel cell bus trials in Amsterdam,
Barcelona, Hamburg, London, Luxemburg, Madrid and Reykjavik. The extension
also involves the development and demonstration of a test vehicle for the
next generation of fuel cell buses.
April 2006, No. 48 FCE to
develop high-temperature PEM for power generation.
Connecticut-based FuelCell Energy
has been selected by the Department of Energy for a five-year, $2.1m
cost-shared project to develop a high-temperature membrane for
low-humidity operation of PEM fuel cells. FCE was awarded one of 12
competitively bid projects that will receive a total of $19m in federal
funding for polymer membrane research, with the overall goal of advancing
membrane durability and extending shelf-life while bringing down the
costs.
April 2006, No. 47 H2-Logic
delivers first batch of H2 trucks.
Last fall the Danish-based companies
H2-Logic and A. Flensborg unveiled the H2 Truck TM, powered by
a 1.5 kWe PEM fuel cell, and the partners say that their hydrogen truck is
now ready for production. The first batch of six vehicles has rolled off
the assembly line and entered service in hospitals and municipal
facilities in Herning, Holsterbro and Aarhus, where they are being used to
tow wagons with food or laundry, or as maintenance vehicles in parks in
the city centers.
March 2006, No. 46 1 MWe DFC®
power plant in Japan.
Marubeni Corporation, the Asian
distributor of US-based FuelCell Energy's Direct FuelCell® molten
carbonate power plants, has sold a 1 MWe DFC® power plant to provide
power and high quality heat for a Sharp Corporation production facility in
Japan that manufactures advanced flat-screen TVs.
March 2006, No. 45 DOE commits
$119m to FCV funding.
The US Department of Energy has
announced a total of $119m in funding to support R&D that will advance
hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, in a speech by energy secretary Samuel W.
Bodman at the recent Washington Auto Show. Bodman also unveiled a research
"roadmap" aimed at overcoming the technical and manufacturing
challenges associated with the further development of commercially
hydrogen FVCs.
March 2006, No. 44 LG Chem and
SFC cooperation to commercialize DMFCs for consumer electronics.
Korean-based chemical company LG
Chem is accelerating the commercialization of innovative fuel cells for
consumer electronics through collaboration with German fuel cell pioneer
SFC Smart Fuel Cell, based on the latter's strong IP position and its
proven track record in a number of existing markets. In a separate
development, SFC has achieved certification according to DIN ISO 9001:2000
for the development, production and marketing of fuel cells and
accessories.