NEWS

January 2013 Fuel Cells Bulletin9

Acta signs electrolyser distribution deal with MVS for India market

Italian-based Acta SpA has signed a Letter of Intent with MVS

Engineering Ltd, India’s largest supplier of industrial gas equipment and solutions, for the distribution of Acta’s electrolysers in India through MVS Energy Solutions.

MVS specialises in onsite gas solutions for nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen, with gas generation equipment supplied to more than 56 countries. The company is forming a new division, MVS Energy Solutions, to address the growing need in the Indian market for backup power solutions. India is one of the world’s largest markets for backup power systems, including the telecoms market, because of the limited and fragile nature of the country’s electricity grid.

‘We see great opportunities in the Indian backup power market,’ says Siddharth Rastogi, executive director of MVS. ‘MVS Energy Solutions has been formed to offer complete end-to-end solutions for hydrogen-centric backup power, and Acta’s innovative and low-cost hydrogen generators range will be a core component at the heart of our solutions.’

Acta and MVS Energy intend to sign a distribution contract early in 2013, when local administrative procedures have been completed, for the distribution of Acta’s electrolysers and related products into the Indian market. The objective of the partnership is to allow the introduction of on- and offgrid integrated fuel cell backup power solutions based on onsite hydrogen generation.

In other news, Acta has recently raised £2.1 million (US$3.4 million, before expenses) via an institutional placing, which will be used to finance the working capital requirements of the company’s current commercial expansion with existing customers and new commercial partners around the world.

Acta’s product line includes compact electrolysers which produce pure, dry, compressed hydrogen, targetting markets with high-volume demand for high-value environmental solutions, such as transport, backup power, energy, and leisure [see the Acta feature in FCB, September 2012]. It recently signed deals to supply electrolysers to FutureE Fuel Cell Solutions [FCB, December 2012, p3] and Heliocentris Energy Solutions in Germany, as well as additional orders from M-Field Energy in Taiwan for electrolysers for the telecoms market [FCB, November 2012, p7].

MVS Engineering is India’s largest manufacturer of gaseous nitrogen and hydrogen generators, utilising technologies including water electrolysis, ammonia cracking, steam methane reforming, methanol cracking, and biogas purification. The company has tie-ups with PEM electrolyser manufacturer Proton Onsite and hydrogen purifier specialist Hy9 in the US.

Acta SpA, Crespina, Pisa, Italy. Tel: +39 050 644281, www.actagroup.it

MVS Engineering Ltd: www.mvsengg.com

AFC wins funding for Alkammonia project, gains Diverse Energy

UK-based AFC Energy has been awarded a European Union grant

of up to E1.96 million (US$2.6 million) for the launch of the Alkammonia project, to develop ammonia-fed alkaline fuel cell systems. AFC has also acquired certain assets of near-neighbour Diverse Energy Ltd, which has been developing a telecom power system that combines a fuel cell with an ammonia cracker.

The EU grant is being funded by the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU), and will provide project coordinator AFC Energy and its European project partners with three years’ financial support for the development of ammonia-fed alkaline fuel cells. The grant is expected to be in place to enable the project to commence in March.

The key to the wide deployment of AFC Energy’s systems will be their ability to use many different energy feedstocks [see the feature on AFC Energy in FCB, November 2011]. Ammonia has a high energy density, and can be easily converted to hydrogen to power AFC’s fuel cells by heating it in the presence of a catalyst (known as ‘cracking’).

Lab-based trials at AFC Energy have recently confirmed that alkaline fuel cells can tolerate ammonia traces in the fuel stream. These tests showed that power systems which integrate ammonia with alkaline fuel cells do not require an expensive cleanup process. Ammonia-fuelled systems are suitable for industrial and small-scale backup and offgrid power solutions.

The project partners include Italian-based electrolyser manufacturer Acta SpA, which will provide an ammonia cracking reactor and non-precious metal catalysts. Acta has previously been engaged in grant-funded and joint development projects to develop ammonia-cracking catalysts for automotive applications.

AFC Energy has also announced the acquisition of certain assets from Diverse Energy Ltd, including equipment and intellectual property. Diverse Energy has been developing small-scale, ammonia-fed PEM fuel cell systems for the cellphone mast power market, specifically in Africa [FCB, September 2012, p3]. AFC expects to use the equipment, knowledge, and systems understanding developed by Diverse Energy to accelerate its own market introduction of ammonia-fed alkaline fuel cell systems.

‘These developments will extend our technology portfolio, expand our product offering, and help to broaden our addressable market,’ says Ian Williamson, CEO of AFC. ‘We believe the ammonia tolerance we have will put our fuel cell system in a very favourable position to be more commercial using this feedstock than its competitors.’

AFC Energy was recently awarded an EU grant of up to E6 million (US$7.8 million) – also through the FCH JU – for the installation of the world’s largest alkaline fuel cell power generation system, at the Industrial Chemicals Ltd chlor-alkali chemical plant in Essex [FCB, December 2012, p5]. And last summer AFC inaugurated an alkaline fuel cell pilot production plant at its base in Surrey, able to produce up to 20 000 fuel cell electrodes per annum [FCB, September 2012, p9].

AFC Energy, Cranleigh, Surrey, UK. Tel: +44 1483 276726, www.afcenergy.com

European Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking: www.fch-ju.eu

Acta SpA: www.actagroup.it

Diverse Energy Ltd: www.diverse-energy.com

FuelCell Energy takes full control of Versa Power Systems

Connecticut-based FuelCell Energy has acquired the remaining

shares of Versa Power Systems, the solid oxide fuel cell developer with research facilities in Colorado, USA and Calgary, Canada. The addition of SOFC technology strengthens the global leadership position of FuelCell Energy, whose main focus is on large-scale molten carbonate fuel cell power plants.

‘We view solid oxide fuel cell technology as complementary to our carbonate fuel cell product line as we target MW and multi-MW applications with our Direct FuelCell® power plants, and are attracted to solid oxide for future sub-MW power generation and storage

NEWS

10Fuel Cells Bulletin January 2013

applications,’ says Chip Bottone, president and CEO of FuelCell Energy. ‘By acquiring Versa, we can leverage our current infrastructure, expertise, and experience to accelerate the commercialisation of this solid oxide fuel cell technology to expand our market opportunities.’

Bottone continues: ‘We will continue to develop the Versa technology under the existing US Department of Energy SECA programme, and are in advanced discussions with multiple partners for collaboration in commercialising the technology.’

Versa development activities include participation with FuelCell Energy in DOE’s Solid State Energy Conversion Alliance (SECA) coal-based systems programme [FCB, November 2012, p11]. Versa technology is also being used in FuelCell Energy’s unmanned submarine project, funded by the US Office of Naval Research, in which a high power density SOFC power plant system is used for large-displacement undersea vehicle propulsion [FCB, August 2012, p4].

In addition, Versa is a supplier to Boeing under a US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) programme to develop long-endurance unmanned aircraft [FCB, January 2011, p4]. Versa’s specialised SOFC technology is paired with solar equipment to provide an onboard power source for propulsion and communication equipment. This system includes an energy storage mode, where the SOFC produces hydrogen by electrolysis from solar power during daylight charging periods, and produces power by consuming stored hydrogen in fuel cell mode during night-time discharge periods.

‘Using the Versa technology and our expertise with fuel cell stacking and balance-of-plant, we are currently testing a 60 kW solid oxide fuel cell stack that has exhibited performance providing approximately 60% electrical efficiency in a power plant system, and still provide usable exhaust heat for combined heat and power applications,’ says Tony Leo, VP of application engineering & advanced technology development at FuelCell Energy. ‘This is an unprecedented performance potential.’

Versa Power’s engineering and testing facilities are located in Littleton, Colorado, with the research and production facilities in Calgary. FuelCell Energy exchanged approximately 3.5 million shares of its common stock, worth $3.3 million, as the total consideration for the remaining 61% of Versa Power shares held by other Versa shareholders. The deal will boost FuelCell Energy’s total R&D contract backlog by approximately $6.0 million in the first quarter of 2013.

FuelCell Energy, Danbury, Connecticut, USA.

Tel: +1 203 825 6000, www.fuelcellenergy.com

Versa Power Systems, Littleton, Colorado, USA. Tel: +1 303 226 0761, www.versa-power.com

Solid State Energy Conversion Alliance: www.seca.doe.gov

Nedstack, Hy9 to push reformer-based fuel cell power systems

Massachusetts-based Hy9 Corporation, which provides

high-purity hydrogen generation products for use with fuel cells, has announced an agreement with the Dutch fuel cell manufacturer Nedstack to collaborate on developing the market for reformer-based PEM fuel cell power systems.

The collaboration joins Nedstack’s leadership position in long-life, water-cooled PEM fuel cell stacks with Hy9’s capabilities in point-of-use hydrogen generation and purification products. The companies say that combining their products will ensure reliable uninterrupted power at low operating costs to critical infrastructure systems, even in the most remote locations. Replacing diesel gensets by these systems will not only save fuel costs, but also make them a green alternative as the systems emit no particles or noise.

‘Our collaboration with Nedstack will help expand the market for both Nedstack and Hy9, by offering a robust, scalable alternative to compressed hydrogen,’ says Gary Clarke, president and CEO of Hy9. ‘Using a commodity liquid fuel such as methanol in combination with a Hy9 reformer that produces 99.9999% pure hydrogen onsite, makes fuel cell power systems suitable for sites where compressed hydrogen is impractical.’

‘We are particularly excited to work with Nedstack on delivering reformer-based systems to meet the continuous power demands of our customers operating in remote areas,’ continues Clarke. ‘We believe Nedstack’s unique long-life stacks combined with Hy9’s HGS™ product offers mobile telecom operators a robust solution for their continuous power demands.’

Nedstack has a decade of experience in producing PEM fuel cell stacks that combine proprietary bipolar plate technology and design with the best available long-life MEAs. The design and composition of its proprietary cell plates results in high fuel efficiency and low parasitic losses. Its stacks are suitable for stationary and mobile applications, right up to its showcase 1 MW fuel cell installation at the Solvay chlorine plant in Antwerp, Belgium [FCB, February 2012, p6].

Hy9 is a leading developer of hydrogen purification membranes and point-of-use pure hydrogen generation for clients who require high-performance solutions to their critical power needs. In the autumn the company announced it is working with California-based Altergy Systems to develop and market an integrated methanol fuel processor for use in Altergy’s Freedom Power™ PEM fuel cell systems [FCB, December 2012, p10], and last spring it announced a collaboration with ReliOn in Spokane to develop an integrated fuel processor for fuel cell products [FCB, May 2012, p9].

Hy9 Corporation, Hopkinton, Massachusetts, USA. Tel: +1 508 435 3789, www.hy9.com

Nedstack fuel cell technology BV, Arnhem, The Netherlands. Tel: +31 26 319 7600, www.nedstack.com

HITTEC project to boost power from heat in ‘turbo’ SOFC

A Swiss partnership is developing a thermoelectric converter to convert

‘waste’ heat from solid oxide fuel cells into electricity, to boost efficiency. The HITTEC project – in which researchers from the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) are working with SOFC developer Hexis – aims to generate possibly an extra 10% energy output.

Although SOFCs can achieve an overall efficiency above 95% at an operating temperature of nearly 900°C, they still produce ‘waste’ heat that can currently only be used for domestic hot water supply or heating purposes. But Andre Heel, research coordinator of the strategic partnership between Empa and Hexis, wants to convert this into electricity using thermoelectric converters (TECs).

Commercially available TECs can be stuck to the walls of motors, industrial ovens, and other heat sources. They comprise two semiconducting materials on either side. If there is a temperature gradient between the two sides, electrons transfer from one side to the other, i.e. an electric current is induced, which can be ‘harvested’.

Empa kicked-off the four-year HITTEC (High Temperature Thermoelectric Converters) project last summer, to develop and optimise TEC materials that can withstand elevated temperatures; current TECs can only be operated below 300°C. HITTEC materials also have to combine seemingly contradictory

RESEARCH