FuelCon team welcomes new employee
Since January 2008, Martin Tröger has joined the FuelCon AG team. A mechanical engineer, Tröger has more than 15 years experience in technical sales, marketing, and the distribution of industrial goods to the specialty engine development, automation and power train engineering industries. Prior to joining FuelCon, he was the test system business development manager of Europe for the company Hydrogenics GmbH. With the move to FuelCon, Tröger holds the title sales manager for Europe. This addition will not only enhance FuelCon’s position as a leading global supplier of test and diagnostic systems, but will also further strengthen the company’s dedication to customer service and support.
“We are very pleased to have won with Mr. Tröger such a versed and high qualified employee,” said Mathias Bode, managing board FuelCon AG. “For the continuation of our successful course of expansion in supplying our sophisticated test and diagnostic systems for fuel cells, batteries and super capacitors, Mr. Tröger will bring valuable expertise and new impulses.”
In response to the growing demand for test systems particularly in the Asian region, FuelCon plans further recruitment in this regard over the coming months.
“With the anticipated growth in sales figures for 2008, the extension of our team will enable us to better manage the sales growth while maintaining our reliable support program to our worldwide customer base.” said Dr. Ingo Benecke, managing board FuelCon AG.
Fuel cell at German Hospital tops 10 million kilowatt hours of operation
UTC Power, a United Technologies Corp. announced that its PureCell Model 200 stationary fuel cell system at St. Agnes Hospital in Bocholt, Germany, has attained a major milestone: 10 million kilowatt-hours of generated power and more than 52,000 operating hours with its original fuel cell stack. The stack is the heart of any fuel cell power unit and key to its durability.
St. Agnes Hospital, with close to 500 beds, has been an early adopter of new, environmentally responsible energy solutions. It installed the fuel cell in 2000 to meet increased demand for on-site power due to new medical equipment. The fuel cell provides the hospital with baseload electric power, heating in winter and air conditioning in summer as well as domestic hot water. The availability of the fuel cell has been as high as 97 percent in most years.
UTC Power has installed more than 260 stationary fuel cell power plants for customers in 19 countries on five continents and its fleet has accumulated more than 8 million hours of field operation. The current UTC Power PureCell unit produces 200 kilowatts of electric power plus about 870,000 Btu/hour of heat for combined heat and power applications.
The company is now finalizing development of its next-generation phosphoric acid fuel cell system for commercial on-site power applications. It will have a 20-year operating life and provide 400 kilowatts of power and more than 1.6 million Btu/hr of thermal output – twice the power and heat output of the company’s current model.
Millennium Cell reports fourth quarter and full year results
Millennium Cell Inc., a developer of hydrogen battery technology today reported a net loss for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2007 of $1.6 million, or $0.02 per share, as compared to $2.8 million, or $0.06 per share in the same period of 2006. The improvement in net loss in the fourth quarter of 2007 was directly attributable to revenues and cost absorption from a multi-year system development contract with the U.S. Army which will continue into 2008 and from services provided to our licensing partners.
The company reported a net loss for the year ended Dec. 31, 2007 of $10.1 million, or $0.17 per share, as compared to $12.3 million, or $0.25 per share for the year ended Dec. 31, 2006. The improvement in net loss year over year was primarily attributable to the decline in non-cash charges associated with our joint development program with The Dow Chemical Company and an increase of approximately $0.5 million in revenues in 2007 from 2006. Despite the increased revenues, cash used in operating activities increased slightly to $7.5 million in 2007 from $7.3 million in 2006 due to increased spending on development of the Company’s Solid State HOD architecture development.
U.S. Army conducts military field tests with fuel cell for portable power
The Communications-Electronics Research, Development, and Engineering Center’s (CERDEC) Army Power Division has recently completed prototype field tests at the Joint Readiness Training Center with the Ultracell XX25 Reformed Methanol Fuel Cell. This is the first experiment and training mission of its kind and demonstrates a huge step forward for fuel cell technology.
The U.S. Army Power Division’s Fuel Cell Technology Team at Fort Belvoir, VA is examining fuel cells and other alternative power technologies to provide a power solution that supports the digitized battlefield and growing power demands. Fuel cells offer high efficiency, low acoustic and thermal signatures, and low emissions. These incentives call for the Army to explore these technologies as a potential solution to the current power problem.
van Raam, Veloform start serial equipment of vehicles with EFOY fuel cells
Two manufacturers of electrically powered vehicles have opted simultaneously to integrate the EFOY fuel cell as serial equipment in their vehicles. With immediate effect, the Dutch bicycle expert van Raam and Veloform GmbH, the German manufacturer of the CityCruiser Velotaxi, will start manufacturing particular product lines with the EFOY power supply as standard equipment. In both cases the EFOY fuel cell offers decisive advantages: it recharges the batteries off-grid during vehicle operation. The driver does not have to park his vehicle for recharging anymore.
MTI MicroFuel Cells receives additional $500k from U.S. DOE
MTI MicroFuel Cells Inc. (MTI Micro), developer of Mobion micro fuel cell technology for handheld electronic devices and a subsidiary of Mechanical Technology Inc., announced the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Hydrogen, Fuel Cells, and Infrastructure Technologies released an additional $500,000 of funding to its program with MTI Micro for the development of manufacturing techniques and the optimization of MTI Micro’s Mobion technology platform. With this most recent authorization, the DOE has committed $1.5 million dollars to this program in less than a year.
“With DOE’s support, we have begun our manufacturing readiness phase and the establishment of a developmental pilot production line to advance Mobion manufacturing techniques, increase the number of units produced to satisfy potential and existing customers, and allow for more expansive testing with the delivery of larger quantities of consistent Mobion systems,” said Peng Lim, CEO of MTI. “This additional funding will help to provide us with resources to continue working on our manufacturing readiness plan in 2008, ramping up to product launch in 2009.”
Ceramic Fuel Cells partners with H.C. Starck
Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited has signed agreements with H.C. Starck of Germany to secure a high volume supply of fuel cell components.
Under a co-operation agreement, CFCL and HC Starck will collaborate to develop advanced SOFC components, in particular anode supported cells. CFCL is prepared to license its relevant IP in order to optimize the performance of the cell. H.C. Starck will collaborate to continually improve manufacturing processes and reduce unit costs.
Under a supply agreement, H.C. Starck will supply fuel cells at agreed prices until December 2011, securing long-term costs for CFCL. Supply of the fuel cells is expected to commence in mid 2008, with further increases in forecast volumes, and reductions in unit prices, from 2009.
H.C. Starck has commissioned two lines for manufacturing solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC), specifically for anode-supported cells and for electrolyte-supported cells, with an annual capacity of about 700,000 cells each. The SOFC manufacturing lines are located at its subsidiary company H.C. Starck Ceramics in Selb, Germany. H.C. Starck’s manufacturing facility is dedicated and fully equipped to produce anode supported fuel cells in accordance with CFCL’s rigorous specifications. H.C. Starck’s manufacturing processes are certified to ISO standards 9001 and 14000. |
