PolyFuel Launches “Drop-In” Hydrocarbon Membrane to Substitute for Fluorocarbons MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA - Membrane developer PolyFuel Inc. here has developed a new variant of its hydrocarbon membrane engineered for portable applications that it says makes it possible to substitute them directly for traditional fluorocarbon membranes in manufacturing membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs).
Laminar-Flow Micro Fuel Cell Eliminates Membrane, Can Use Alkaline Chemistry CHAMPAIGN, IL/CARY, NC - A team of scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) has come up with a novel micro fuel cell design that not only does away with the conventional membrane - and problems such as methanol crossover - but that can also function either as an alkaline or acidic system.
Aging PEM Catalysts, Solar Electricity Prospects Described in MIT Publication CAMBRIDGE, MA - Platinum catalyst particles change size and location over time in a PEM fuel cell stack, contributing to the cell’s declining electricity output, says an article in the March issue of "energy & environment", the newsletter of the MIT Laboratory for Energy and the Environment.
Briefly Noted: Rolls-Royce/EnerTek Britain’s Rolls-Royce has signed an agreement with a Singaporean consortium, EnerTek, to invest a total of $100 million to develop a commercially viable fuel cell power system.
Briefly Noted: Prince Edward Wind-Hydrogen Plans Canada’s Prince Edward Island Energy Corp. (PEI) is teaming with Mississauga, Ontario-based Hydrogenics Corp. in a Can $10.3 million wind-to-hydrogen village demonstration project. Hydrogenics announced it has signed an agreement with Japan’s Hitachi Zosen Corporation) to develop hydrogen fuel cell-based power products.
Briefly Noted: IBM/Sanyo Micro FC System IBM and Sanyo Electric have unveiled “initial plans” for a prototype micro direct methanol fuel cell system that would be compatible with most current ThinkPad notebooks.
Briefly Noted: PV Forecast Total shipments of photovoltaics modules are expected to almost triple in the next five years at an average annual growth rate of 23.4 %, from 973.1 MW last year to an estimated 2,783.1 MW by 2009, says a new study.
Briefly Noted: H2 Generation via Radiant Energy Transfer A Palo Alto, CA engineer says he has developed a working prototype system that can produce hydrogen at yields greater than 86% and thermal efficiencies greater than 90%, using only power and heat and proprietary catalysts.
Briefly Noted: Dissing Hydrogen Congressional-Pearls-of-Wisdom Dep’t: As reported April 21 by CNN.com, House Resources Committee Chairman Richard Pombo (R-CA), a key proponent of drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, whispered, “This is bulls--t,”.
Events The “International Conference on Solar Concentrators for the Generation of Electricity or Hydrogen” will be held May 1-6 at the Doubletree Paradise Valley Hotel, Scottsdale, AZ.
CORRECTION: The vehicle Nissan is using to test its in-house designed new fuel cell stack is the X-Trail.
Transitions Briden, Bentley, Marvin, Tettamanti, Slattery, Mai, Shakeshatf, Covey, Karlovich
