Poster fuel cell made in sendiri cuy.

“ So far we’ve talked about innovations that involve the introduction in production vehicles of ideas already fairly well understood on the technical level. We’ve listed a number of advances of this type in the 1980s, and many more will be available in the 1990s -in particular, the application of electronics to mechanical vehicle systems such as vehicle suspension and the availability of mobile communications at lower cost in a much wider variety of vehicles. But what about epochal innovations- really big leaps in technological know-how such as would be entailed in workable fuel-cell power units or all-plastic body structures or sophisticated navigation and congestion-avoidance systems? As we will see, the 1990s may prove a time for such innovations. Can lean producers respond to these much more daunting challenges?

In fact, the world auto industry has lived during its first century in a benign environment -demand for its products has increased continually, even in the most developed countries; space has been available in most areas to expand road networks greatly; and the earth’s atmosphere has been able to tolerate ever-growing use of motor vehicles, with minor technical fixes in the 1970s and 1980s designed to solve smog problems in congested urban areas. Shortly, the environment for operating motor vehicles may become much more demanding.

Demand for cars is now close so saturation in North America, Japan, and the western half of Europe. A small amount of incremental growth will be possible in the 1990s, but by the end of the century producers in these markets will need to provide consumers with something new if they want to increase theirs sales volume (measured in dollars or marks or yen rather than units). Moreover, the growth of vehicle use and increasing resistance to road building have made the road systems of these regions steadily more congested, gradually stripping motor-vehicle use of its pleasure…” Pp135-137

The Luxury Hybrid machine from Toyota

“ …Our goal is to specify the ideal enterprise in much the way buyers of such a craft-built cars as the Aston Martin used to specify the car of their dreams. Unfortunately, no such dream machine currently exists, so we will create it: Multiregional Motors (MRM).

The management challenge, we believe, is simple in concept: to devise a form of enterprise that functions smoothly on a multiregional basis and gains the advantage of close contact with local markets and the presence as an insider in each of the major regios. At the same time, it must benefit from access to systems for global production, supply, product development, technology acquisition, finance, and distribution…

…The key features of what we call Multiregional Motors are as follows:

An integrated, global personnel system that promotes personnel from any country in the company as if nationality did not exist. Achieving this goal obviously will require great attention to learning languages and socialization and a willingness on the part of younger personnel to work for much of their career outside their home country. However, we already see evidence that younger managers find career paths of this type attractive….

A set of mechanisms for continuous, horizontal information flow among manufacturing, supply systems, product development, technology acquisition, and distribution. The best way to put these mechanisms in place is to develop strong shusa-led teams for product development, which brings these skills together with a clear objective…

Teams would stay together for the life of the product, and team members would then be rotated to other product-development teams, quite possibly in other regions and even in different specialties (for example, product planning, supplier coordination, marketing). In this way the key mechanism of information flow would be employees themselves as they travel among technical specialties and across the regions of the company. Everyone would stay fresh and a broad network of horizontal information channels would develop across the company…

A mechanism for coordinating the development of new products in each region and facilitating their sale as niche products in other regions -without producing lowest-common denominator products. The logical way to accomplish this goal is to authorize each region to develop a full set of products for its regional market. Other regions may order these products for cross shipment as niche products wherever demand warrants…” Pp 223 – 227

Womack P. James,  T. Jones Daniel &  Roos Daniel (1990) The machine that changed the world. How Lean Production revolutionized the Global Car Wars. Ed. Simon & Schuster UK, Ltd. UK.

BASF is realigning its business for the fuel cell market. In the future, competencies for the production of high-temperature membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) will be concentrated in Somerset, New Jersey. Operational activities at the BASF Fuel Cell GmbH site in Frankfurt, Germany, will be discontinued effective December 31, 2009. BASF plans to close the Frankfurt site in the course of 2010.

At the Somerset site, BASF Fuel Cell produces both high-temperature MEAs and important pre-products such as electrodes. Thus, Somerset is the only site that covers the entire production process for MEAs.

BASF

TransDomo,LLC
Klaus Westerwelle
33 Market Point Drive
Greenville, SC 29607
Phone: 864.908.0690
Email: info@transdomo.com
Transdomo
Westerwelle

Die neueste Goggle aus dem Hause Oakley, sehr gute Passform optimal für alle Ski und Snowboardhelme.  Durch das neue Design, lassen sich die Gläser einfach problemlos wechseln. Es gibt wirklich tolle neue Design des Rahmens und natürlich auch Signature Modelle

With gas prices steadily rising, fuel efficiency and alternative fuel are all the rage now, and there’s a special buzz on the UD campus about powering vehicles.

The University of Delaware is a pioneer in vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology which allows plug-in battery operated vehicles to charge from the main power grid and to discharge their stored power to the grid based on demand.  Also UD has a hydrogen powered bus that gives off zero-emissions in its fleet of shuttle buses.

Recently, Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk was on campus to speak about the production of Tesla’s all-electric sports car line and the need for a sustainable energy future.

But all of the above pale in comparison to a student’s effort at hybrid technology. Colin Sweeney ‘11 has converted his ‘86 Mercedes to run on a cooking oil and diesel.

Sweeney travels to campus each day from Townsend (about 30 miles south of Newark) and he tackled the project of converting the car due to the high price of gas. Combining his passion for working on engines and his knowledge of fluid mechanics and heat transfer, Sweeney is now rolling to school everyday in a Benz customized unlike any other.

When the car is started, it runs on diesel because the cooking oil has to reach a temperature of about 120°F before it can power the engine. Sweeney says getting the cooking oil hot enough is the trickiest part.

Now the trunk of the car is outfitted with a 20-gallon tank for the oil and using both sources of fuel, the car has a range of about 1,100 miles. Sweeney estimates that the car gets about 100 miles to the gallon.

No word yet on whether Sweeney has ever rolled up to a tailgate, busted open the trunk and started deep frying all kinds of food (mmm, car fries). These are the questions the UD Alumni Relations Blog demands to know!

Chemical engineering student modifies car to run on cooking oil [udel.edu/udaily]
V2G Home [udel.edu/v2g]
UD unveils hydrogen-powered bus that produces no pollutants [udel.edu/udaily]
Tesla CEO champions sustainable energy, space exploration [udel.edu/udaily]

Development of Polymer electrolytes for PEMFC (IRO project) – KU Leuven
Promoter: Jean-Pierre Locquet

Description: A gas fed battery that never needs recharging!
The fuel cell promises to deliver clean and efficient power by combining hydrogen and oxygen in a simple electrochemical device that directly converts chemical energy to electrical energy. Among various types of fuel cell PEM (proton exchange membrane) fuel cells promise to be an efficient one since it has an immobilized electrolyte membrane there is simplication in the production process that in turn reduces corrosion, provides longer stack life [1]. While many breakthroughs have been made over the past few years, both technical and economic barriers for PEMFC commercialization still exist. The most important materials under development for PEMFC stacks are construction materials for the cell frames, bipolar plates, electrocatalysts for the fuel and air electrode, and the ion conducting membrane [2]. In particular, much effort is being focused on the development of new membranes for PEMFC’s with improved performance and durability.

So the goal of the present work is to find a suitable polymer membrane with high proton conductivity, good mechanical, chemical and thermal strength and low gas permeability. The second approach is to improve the electrical performance of polymer membranes at T>100°C and low relative humidity by preparing new complexes with the ionic liquids. Due to its desirable properties such as high mechanical strength, good chemical stability, and high ionic conductivity under high-humidity conditions Nafion membrane will be focused for this research project. Later polymer electrolytes will be complexed with ionic liquids based on phosphonium cation because of its enhanced chemical stability under varied conditions, more thermal stability than ammonium and imidazolium salts and less expensive.
[1] EG&G Services. Fuel Cell Handbook. Parsons, Inc., Morgantown,West Virginiak, 2000.
[2] Brian C.H. Steele, Angelika heinzel Materials for fuel-cell technologies Nature 414, 345-352 (2001)

Key words: Fuel cells, membrane technology

Start date: 2010-10-01
Application date: 2009-12-31
Publication date: 2009-10-06
Financing: iro-scholarship
Type of Position: scholarship
Source of Funding: IRO scholarship
Duration of the Project: 4 years
Link: http://fys.kuleuven.be/vsm/fn

Application

Fuel cell is a device that directly converts energy in a chemical reaction into electrical energy (in form of DC current). It is currently considered as one of the most promising energy alternatives since it has high efficiency and environmentally friendly (low emissions and noises). It can be applied in several application of engineering fields, including both static and dynamic systems.

From engineering perspective, fuel cell can be considered as a black box that directly converts chemical energy into electrical energy with water and heat as side products. Unlike other energy converter devices that typically require combustion process within an internal combustion engine (ICE), the energy conversion process in fuel cell is carried out directly using oxygen and hydrogen reactants. Therefore, no emission gas, as usually the case in ICE-based energy converter devices, will be produced. Heat and water are the only side products of the energy conversion in fuel cell. Compared to other energy storage devices (battery for instance), fuel cell is also more advantageous since no energy storage process required. In battery for instance, the stored energy can only be used for a certain period of time. When all of the stored energy is used, the battery should be recharged or its storage elements need to be replaced with a new one. It is usually the case that the efficiency of the battery will decrease upon the recharging process. In contrast to battery, fuel cell can be used continuously (no recharging process required) as long as the reactants are supplied continuously. When the reactants in the storage tank are exhausted, the tank can be refilled with new reactants without decreasing its efficiency or performance. Many advantageous exhibited by fuel cell system have been the major reason for the current active research and study on the issues related to fuel cell systems.

Fuel Cell
There are three major components of a fuel cell: cathode electrode, electrolyte membrane, and anode electrode. Depending on the type of the electrolyte membrane, different types of fuel cell can be developed. Our research is particularly focused on the polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell. Compared to other types, PEM fuel cell has several advantages because it can be used for static and dynamic application, have a high energy density, have a solid membrane type, can operate at low temperature, and have low corrosion probability. The electrolyte membrane in PEM fuel cell is made of a special impermeable membrane which has good electric insulator ability but at the same time is also a good proton conductor. Fig. 1 shows the schematic of the PEM fuel cell process.

Fig. 1 Schematic of the fuel cell process

The electro-chemical reaction occurs in fuel cell to change the reactant gases into water and at the same time produces electric current. This reaction exists at each electrode and then combined when the fuel cell is connected to a load. The reaction in anode side is a hydrogen oxidation reaction (1), while the reactions in cathode side are the oxygen reduction (2) and ionic combination to form water (3). The combination of both electrode reactions (4) will then form water as a product. The electrical energy resulted from this reaction combination occurs due to the voltage difference in the hydrogen oxidation and the oxygen reduction. Platinum is usually used as a catalyst to accelerate the reaction.

Fuel Cell stack
To support the electro-chemical reaction described previously, a fuel cell is equipped with an anode compartment that consist of fuel gas (hydrogen) and a cathode compartment that consist of oxidant gas (oxygen). Both compartments are separated by an electrolyte membrane which has the characteristic of electric insulator and also gas impermeable. Platinum is then used as a catalyst layer at the contact surface between each electrode and the membrane. The anode, electrolyte membrane, and the cathode is then combined together to form the so called membrane electrolyte assembly (MEA). The outer sides of MEA are then combined with a gas diffusion layer (GDL) which is an electro-conductive supporting layer made from porous carbon. The porous characteristic of the GDL will enable the diffusion of the reactant gas into the catalyst layer in MEA. The outer side of the combined MEA and GDL is then supported with a reactant manifold plate call known as bipolar plate. The bipolar plate is made from an electro-conductive material and serves as the room for the anode gas flow and the collector of electric currents produced by the electro-chemical reaction of the fuel cell. The whole structure, from MEA to bipolar plate, will then form a fuel cell stack. Depending on the operating condition, the voltage produced by a fuel cell stack can varies from 0-1 volt, and its nominal voltage value is approximately 0.7 volt. To produce a higher output voltage, the fuel stack can be arranged in series so that the total output voltage equals to Nxv (N is the number of fuel cell stacks arranged in series, v is the nominal voltage for each stack).

The characteristic of a fuel cell is usually given in form of a polarization curve that describes a plot between the output voltage of the fuel cell and the current density. The difference between the actual and the ideal voltages of a fuel cell is called voltage loss. When the output current of fuel cell is increasingly drawn, the voltage produced by the fuel cell will decrease due to the electric resistance of the stack structure, inefficient flow of reactant gas, and the relatively slow of the electrical reaction. Different operating conditions (temperature difference, partial pressure differences of reactant gases, humidity of the electrolyte membrane) are also contributing factors to the difference on the fuel cell performance and efficiency. Therefore, the design of good control system for a fuel cell-based electric generator is crucial in order to regulate different operating conditions and to achieve the required operation performance.

References
Pukrushpan, Modeling & “Control of Fuel Cell Systems and Fuel Cell Processor”. PhD thesis, Dept. of Mech. Eng., Univ. of Michigan, 2003.
Grasser, “An Analytical, Control-Oriented State Space Model for a PEM Fuel Cell System”. PhD thesis, Laboratoire d’Electronique Industrielle, EPFL, 2006.

BASF is realigning its business for the fuel cell market. In the future, competencies for the production of high-temperature membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) will be concentrated in Somerset, New Jersey. Operational activities at the BASF Fuel Cell GmbH site in Frankfurt, Germany, will be discontinued effective December 31, 2009. BASF plans to close the Frankfurt site in the course of 2010.

At the Somerset site, BASF Fuel Cell produces both high-temperature MEAs and important pre-products such as electrodes. Thus, Somerset is the only site that covers the entire production process for MEAs.

“In addition to integrated production, the Somerset site offers us the advantage of being closer to our customers and to key future markets, such as fuel cells for residential combined heat and power systems”, said Stefano Pigozzi, head of BASF’s Inorganics division to which BASF Fuel Cell belongs. “We are strengthening our overall competitiveness by concentrating the competencies of the two sites.

The restructuring will result in the loss of 43 positions in Frankfurt. “We will work closely with the employee representatives to find socially responsible solutions for the employees,” said Dr. Horst-Tore Land, CEO of BASF Fuel Cell GmbH in Frankfurt

In addition to the activities in Frankfurt and Somerset, BASF has operated a laboratory in Yokkaichi, Japan, since May 2008. This laboratory is responsible for the application-specific support of local customers.

BASF is one of the leading suppliers for conventional fuel cell components. In an MEA – the heart of the fuel cell – hydrogen and air react to form water, simultaneously generating electrical power and heat. BASF markets MEAs under the brand name Celtec® and enables the fuel cell industry to meet the current and growing challenges of future energy supply.

Celtec® high-temperature MEAs are used in numerous product applications, from private home electricity and heat supply units to backup systems to ensure electricity in the event of a power failure.

Suzuki fuel cell concepts at the Tokyo Motor Show

Suzuki and Intelligent Energy have been working on hydrogen fuel cell-powered two-wheelers for the last few years, with the Crosscage, their first public concept, debuting back in 2007 at the Tokyo Motor Show. Then, earlier this year, we heard rumblings that Suzuki hoped to have its first production hydrogen cycle ready within the next 12 months.

Falling right in line with those expectations, Suzuki unveiled a new concept just last week at the most recent show in Tokyo, and instead of using a pie-in-the-sky motorcycle chassis with single-sided suspension bits that have little chance of actual production, the Japanese company placed its proprietary fuel cell and storage system in a regular old Burgman scooter.

Now, Wired reports that we can expect these hydrogen two-wheelers in production in very short order. Says Dr. Henri Winand, CEO of Intelligent Energy, “These clean fuel cell engine-powered motorcycles are not simply for motor shows, and can be widely available to everyone in the near future.”

If that does indeed take place, as cool as the Crosscage may be, we’d expect the initial offering to take a form similar to the conceptual Burgman scooter. We’ll know for sure soon enough.

####

The following is an interview with an engineer who worked on the Fuel cell technology over at Ballard Power and also had the opportunity to work with engineers at Ohio State University on the Buckeye Bullet, the world record holding, land speed record for a Hydrogen fuel cell vehicle.  We discuss which country is leading in hydrogen fuel cell development and discuss the debate between the hydrogen fuel cell vs. the electric battery and whether the two technologies can work together.

Background: Colin Keddie P. Eng, worked with PetroCan focused on optimizing Natural Gas compression.  Then with Daimler Benz Ballard which through name change became Xcellsis and then through restructuring became a part of Ballard Power Systems.  He spent 10 years in developing hydrogen fuel cell engines for buses and cars.  The last project being the buses that will be at the 2010 Olympics.  There will be a fleet of 20 buses for BC Transit and regular service.

Reg Kao: Some experts say that Japan is far more progressive compared to North America in terms of its Hydrogen fuel cell program and that they are leading North America in terms of technology development.

Colin Keddie: That statement makes a lot of sense.  Japan has no traditional energy resources (such as petroleum) and therefore must import  all of  its energy.  As a result, fossil fuel based energy is very expensive (for them) and until recently, the Japanese government has been heavily subsidizing hydrogen fuel cell research and development.

Reg Kao: Do you feel that the lack for Japanese government funding for Hydrogen technology is due to all the hype related to Battery Technology?  In otherwords, is the Japanese Government putting all of its “eggs” in the Electric Battery “Basket”.

Colin Keddie:

Reg Kao: But, why is North America “behind” in terms of developing its own Hydrogen fuel cell alternatives?

Colin Keddie: Although Fuel cell technology is very clean and efficient, it is very expensive to develop.  It has a very large upfront capital cost from an investment standpoint, and the long term maintenance costs are expensive.  Moreover, the implications related to building an infrastructure to support Fuel cell vehicles are daunting.  The reality is that we (North America) has been spoiled for a very long time.  Our domestic energy costs are very low and as such, there has been no incentive for North America to innovate or research alternative fuel options.

Reg Kao: What are the benefits to Hydrogen technology?

Colin Keddie: The fuel cell provides a much longer range (compared to current battery electric technology), the refuel time is much shorter (minutes rather than 8-10 hours)  and most importantly, you do not have to structure your driving day around energy options.  Battery Electric Technology is completely the opposite.  The range is much shorter, the refueling time is much longer and one needs to plan their driving day around the maximum range of the battery or at least to incorporate charge station considerations.

Reg Kao:  If we look at the future plans of GM’s Voltec Architecture, it is obvious that they are planning their new plug-in hybrid to be energy source agnostic.  Meaning, those countries that support Battery electric can have one version of the volt and those who support hydrogen fuel cells can have a different version.  Can the two technologies ever work in concert?

Colin Keddie:  Yes, the technology still needs to be refined as space considerations are the major sticking points, but the theory makes sense. Fuel cell hybrid vehicles makes a great deal of sense.  Replace the gasoline engine in a plug-in electric vehicle with a hydrogen fuel cell.  Therefore for short trips the car uses the battery electric technology only for short trips or commuting and then for longer trips (when the battery is depleted) the fuel cell powers the vehicle.

Reg Kao: I came across an article that Greg Blencoe, CEO of Hydrogen Discoveries Inc. wrote.  In it he stresses the same sticking point that you do as a major hurdle for fuel cell hybrid technology.  He also suggests that space considerations need to be addressed.  If you have the fuel cell stack and the battery stack in the car, there would be no room for seats or a trunk. I will cross my fingers however that this point will be solved soon.  Given the large amount of research both from Vehicle manufacturers and battery manufacturers, it is only a matter of time before someone delivers a significant solution.

A fuel cell is a device that generates electricity by a chemical reaction. There are several kinds of fuel cells for different kinds of fuel (pure hydrogen, alcohols, hydrocarbons), and each operates a bit differently. But in general terms, hydrogen atoms enter a fuel cell at the anode where a chemical reaction strips them of their electrons. The hydrogen atoms are now “ionized,” and carry a positive electrical charge. The negatively charged electrons provide the current through wires to do work. Since fuel cells create electricity chemically, rather than by combustion, they are not subject to the thermodynamic laws that limit a conventional power plant. Therefore, fuel cells are more efficient in extracting energy from a fuel. Waste heat from some cells can also be harnessed, boosting system efficiency still further. The applications are numerous and versatile. Fuel cells can be used to power simple electronic devices -such as cellphones,mp3-players-, cars and even a whole household or factory.

via:: fuelcells.org

Fuel Cell Pump

│Bldc│Blac│brushless motor manufacturer│brushless DC fan│Fuel cell roots pump│
│Coreless motor/Pancake motor│Cooling fan│Hub motor/E-Bike motor│Wind Turbine│PMSM│

Zougla online – Η Toshiba παρουσιάζει τις «υγρές» μπαταρίες μεθανόλης

Η τεχνολογία που χρησιμοποιήθηκε ονομάζεται DMFC (Direct Methanol Fuel Cell) και βάσει αυτής, η φορητή μπαταρία Dynario για να φορτίσει αρκεί ο χρήστης να την γεμίσει (κυριολεκτικά) με υγρή μεθανόλη. Απευθείας αυτή μετατρέπεται σε ενέργεια, με την οποία η μπαταρία Dynario δύναται να φορτίσει πλήρως δύο «τυπικά» κινητά τηλέφωνα μέσω USB θύρας. Εκτός φυσικά κινητών τηλεφώνων, είναι δυνατό να φορτιστεί πάσα (φορητή φυσικά) συσκευή που διαθέτει USB υποδοχή (και υποστηρίζει βέβαια φόρτιση μέσω αυτής) όπως media players, GPS, κλπ.[next]

What the…?  It looks like the cousin of Star Trek power technology has made it to the little people, if only it came in black. 

This is what the website says about how it works; interesting stuff.   “ClearEdge5 is a combined heat and power (CHP) energy system based on fuel cell technology. This technology has demonstrated superior efficiency for years in industrial plants, universities, hotels and hospitals. ClearEdge Power is now making it available on a small commercial and residential scale. The ClearEdge5 is a compact system which efficiently converts natural gas or propane into both electricity and heat.”

This thing is 5.5′ tall and 3′ wide so I’m guessing you’ll keep it outside in your back yard or on your deck.  Is there anyone out there using one of these?  I would like to know more about how it performs.

-Tom

What the…?  It looks like the cousin of Star Trek power technology has made it to the little people, if only it came in black. 

This is what the website says about how it works; interesting stuff.   “ClearEdge5 is a combined heat and power (CHP) energy system based on fuel cell technology. This technology has demonstrated superior efficiency for years in industrial plants, universities, hotels and hospitals. ClearEdge Power is now making it available on a small commercial and residential scale. The ClearEdge5 is a compact system which efficiently converts natural gas or propane into both electricity and heat.”

This thing is 5.5′ tall and 3′ wide so I’m guessing you’ll keep it outside in your back yard or on your deck.  Is there anyone out there using one of these?  I would like to know more about how it performs.

-Tom

Image via Wikipedia

Le cinque tecnologie che modificheranno tutto in un’inchiesta del Wall Street Journal. Le innovazioni che segneranno il nostro futuro e salveranno il pianeta dal cambiamento climatico.

NEW YORK – Pannelli solari in orbita. Biocarburanti estratti dalle alghe marine. Batterie per auto elettriche con autonomia di 600 km, e capaci di immagazzinare a lungo anche l’energia del vento. CO2 trasformato in metallo per essere catturato e sepolto nelle centrali a carbone. Sono “le cinque tecnologie che cambieranno tutto”. Secondo un’inchiesta del Wall Street Journal queste innovazioni segneranno il nostro futuro. Salveranno il pianeta dal cambiamento climatico; ridurranno l’inquinamento; saranno il motore di un ciclo di sviluppo economico sostenibile, generando milioni di posti di lavoro nelle attività “verdi”.

Ci sono delle condizioni, però. Nessuna di queste tecnologie oggi è disponibile a prezzi competitivi con le vecchie forme di consumo energetico. Perché vincano la corsa contro il tempo dovranno ricevere sostegno dai governi e dal settore privato. Ma non è una scommessa impossibile. In molti paesi la ricerca scientifica e la sperimentazione sono ormai a un passo dal traguardo.

Da Repubblica.it la notizia qui…