Hydrogenics Sets Mideast Links, Starts "Midi Bus" Marketing, Wins Big Military Order MISSISSAUGA, ON/DUBAI, UAE - Fuel cell developer Hydrogenics Corp. here is expanding its reach to the oil-producing Middle East. It has signed what appears to be the first, so far low-key, cautious business link with an energy company in the United Arab Emirates, the International Energy Group (IEG).
Plug Power to Deliver 400 Fuel Cells to S. Africa, Aided by World Bank Funding LATHAM, NY - Fuel cell manufacturer Plug Power Inc., here has won a major order for 80 of its GenCore® backup fuel cells from South Africa - the largest purchase to date from one of its international distributors and the first such project anywhere part-financed by a World Bank arm.
Opinion The 'Green' Hydrogen Economy: Can The Energy Policy Act Get Us There? Richard W. Smith Editor's Note: This is another in a series of occasional columns intended as a forum for readers. Contributions are welcome. The editor reserves the right to reject suggestions and edit material to fit our format without, of course, changing the author's basic views. This essay appeared first in a longer version Nov. 21, 2005 in the InsideEPA.com newsletter.
..... And Fuel Cell Bike Helps Artist Simon Starling Win Prestigious Turner Prize LONDON - High-tech fuel cell technology is part and parcel of an avant-garde architectural installation by English artist Simon Starling that, together with other works, last month won him Britain's prestigious - and in some people's view, controversial - £25,000 Turner Prize.
Nuvera Signs Fuel Cell Development Pact with 2 Fiat Divisions, Targets Other OEMs MILAN/CAMBRIDGE, MA - After years of collaboration, Nuvera Fuel Cells, the American-Italian fuel cell developer and manufacturer, last month signed a multi-year agreement with two Fiat divisions, Fiat Powertrain Technologies and Centro Ricerche Fiat, to develop a hydrogen fuel cell power system for vehicles.
Briefly Noted: EC Bio-Energy Action Plan The European Commission has released what's described as a detailed action plan to increase the use of energy from biological materials, according to a Dec. 8 report by the online Environmental News Service.
Briefly Noted: World Renewable Energy Assembly Following its late-November meeting in Bonn, Germany, the World Renewable Energy Assembly (AREA) last month adopted its final communique, "The Human Right to Renewable Energy."
Briefly Noted: Penn State Subsurface Hydride Sites A team of scientists at Pennsylvania State University have, for the first time, manipulated hydrogen atoms underneath the surface of a palladium crystal, creating subsurface hydride sites that are believed to play important roles in catalysis, metal embrittlement, hydrogen storage and fuel cells.
Briefly Noted: RPI's PBI Membrane Advances Researchers at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), Troy, NY have launched a research project to develop a better high-temperature PEM-type membrane based on polybenzimidzole (PBI).
Briefly Noted: Hythane Co. in China The Denver, CO-based Hythane Co. LLC says it has signed Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with five major Chinese cities to begin demonstrating low-emission i.c. engine technologies using Hythane™.
Briefly Noted: European Young Investigators Award A 29-year-old Irishman, Angelos Michaelides, is one of 25 winners of the 2005 European Young Investigators Awards for his investigation of how water interacts with solid surfaces. Interactions "play a crucial role in the activity of fuel cells, the chemistry of the troposphere, global warming, corrosion, catalysis.
Briefly Noted: Polyfuel Membrane PolyFuel Inc., the Mountain View, CA-based developer of advanced fuel cell membranes, says it has developed a new 45-micron-thin membrane that delivers the highest power levels yet for passive direct methanol fuel cells.
Briefly Noted: ITM's Composite Membranes A small UK-based fuel cell developer, ITM Power, says it has developed two entirely new fuel cell technologies that "may be fundamental" to advancing fuel cell commercialization. irect electronic control of the fuel cell by incorporating a control grid into the junction between the two layers of such a composite membrane.
Briefly Noted: Ballard-Ebara Kerosene Fuel Cells Vancouver-headquartered Ballard Power Systems reports that its Japanese partner, EBARA BALLARD Corp. (EBC), Tokyo, plans to deliver up to 100 1 kW kerosene-fueled fuel cell cogeneration units for homes in the Tokyo, Hokkaido, Tohoku and Hokuriku regions.
Briefly Noted: S. Korea-U.S. Nuclear Center A joint South Korea-U.S. Nuclear Hydrogen Joint Development Center in Daejeon, South Korea, was formally opened in early December.
Briefly Noted: Hypersonic Scramjet A hypersonic scramjet-powered small test vehicle made a successful test flight zooming along at more than five times the speed of sound before dawn in early December.
Briefly Noted: Green Coast Foundation Blog The Green Coast Foundation, a non-profit group seeking to accelerate clean, renewable energy in California, has launched the Green Coast Post, the state's first online blog-type forum for what it hopes will be constructive debate on green energy.
Opportunities The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) in collaboration with the New York Power Authority (NYPA) invite proposals to advance the hydrogen economy in New York State. Proposals are due January 30, 2006, 5 p.m.
Events The "European Biomass CHP Conference" will be held January 23 at the Brussels Marriott Hotel, Brussels, Belgium.
Transitions Acker, Bentley, Nagy, Batt, Bose, Kimmel, Ringo, Argabright, Ramsbottom
