Fuel Cell

Enova Systems Inc (ENOV) announced that its components are currently being used in thirty (30) Ford Focus Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles and six (6) Wrightbus Electrocity hybrid transit buses. The Ford Focus is one of the industry's first hybridized fuel cell vehicles looking to combine the improved range and performance of hybrid technology with the overall benefits of a fuel cell. Enova's 120kW Hybrid Drive System has been installed in six (6) Wrightbus Electrocity vehicles that are now in service in London.

Maryland will lease a fuel cell-powered minivan from General Motors and will pursue plans for a hydrogen refueling station in the state. General Motors has partnered with Shell Hydrogen to open what will be the first hydrogen dispenser at a retail gas station in Washington this fall.

Forbes.com has an article about Mechanical Technology Inc (MKTY) micro fuel cell technology. They are currently providing the power source for Intermec Technologies hand-held RFID reader. There is also news from MKTY on this annoucement from the following press release link.

Vectrix debut their fuel-cell-equipped prototype at the Fuel Cell Seminar in Miami Beach, Fla. in November of this year. They plan to bring this new scooter to market by 2006. Vectrix is 50% owned by Parker Hannifin Corp (PH). Hannifin provides the compressor that is twice as efficient and twice as durable as competing technologies. Parker Hannifin engineers say that it could serve as a cathode air compressor or as a hydrogen recirculation pump on all kinds of fuel cells, both in vehicles and stationary power applications. They are also utilizing battery technology...

Mechanical Technology Inc (MKTY) announced an exclusive alliance with Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., ("Samsung"), a technology innovator in the telecommunications industry, to develop next-generation fuel cell prototypes for Samsung's mobile phone business. Mobion®, MTI Micro's patented direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) technology, has been chosen to power a series of prototypes designed for Samsung's mobile phone and mobile phone accessories. Samsung is going to be committing up to $1 million in development money for the project and it marks a large step forward in the future development of the micro fuel cell marketplace. I also see this...

Stuart Energy Systems Corp (SRNYF) announced that it has secured record year-to-date industrial orders valued in excess of $12 million from its global customers. "During the first 4 and a half months, we exceeded our expected order intake for industrial sales. The increased demand is a result of strong market growth, coupled with continued adoption of our product offering," commented Robert Campbell, Vice President, Sales and Marketing. "With the bulk of these orders scheduled to ship this fiscal year, we remain committed to our aggressive target for revenue growth. Our year-end order backlog - an important metric as...

About 4 or 5 years ago micro fuel cells were quite a hot topic in cleantech. They were going to power our laptops, cell phones, PDAs, blackberries, hand held multimedia devices, etc. The story ran like this: The digital age and increasing customer demand for more power hungry features like bandwidth, multimedia, et al on mobile devices like laptops, PDAs and cellphones mean the increase in power requirements are outstripping the pace of technology of lithium ion battery - therefore the only solutions will be micro fuel cells. And since battery manufacturers are a plodding, unimaginative lot,...

Plug Power Inc (PLUG) announced today a contract award to provide on-site hydrogen generation to The Detroit Edison Company's Saint Clair Power Plant. The hydrogen will be used to provide cooling to six generator units currently in operation at the Saint Clair facility. Under the terms of the contract, Plug Power will install a GenSite(TM) hydrogen generator at the St. Clair Power Plant located in East China, Michigan. The GenSite system has already been shipped to the Saint Clair facility and is expected to be fully operational early next year. The Plant is located on 1,700 acres south...

PolyFuel plans to announce that it has achieved a breakthrough in fuel-cell membranes by using an alternative material: a hydrocarbon that it says costs only about half as much per square meter as the conventional material. Compared with the fluorine compounds that are the most commonly used for membranes in fuel cells now under testing, PolyFuel says that hydrocarbon membranes allow production of more electricity per square centimeter of membrane. That could mean that a fuel cell could produce the same power as a fluorine-membrane version, but would be smaller and lighter, according to the company. ...

Plug Power Inc (PLUG) announced that Interros, a major Russian investment firm, and Norilsk Nickel, the world's largest producer of nickel and palladium, agreed to make a $217 million cash investment in Plug Power. The investment is being made through Smart Hydrogen, a joint venture of the principal Interros investors and Norilsk Nickel, which was formed to participate in the global hydrogen economy. After this investment Plug Power will have approximately $285 million in cash. The shares of PLUG are up over 20% this morning in pre-market trading.

The US Navy officially exercised its two options in the PEM fuel cell demonstration contract with Hoku Scientific, Inc. (HOKU). The total amount of the options is $2.5 million in addition to the $2.1 million already under contract. "Since the initial contract was awarded in March 2005, Hoku Scientific has met the development milestones for its membrane electrode assemblies on-time and as-expected," said Charles Combs, director of renewable energy programs for the U.S. Navy's Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division at China Lake, California, who is the program manager for the U.S. Navy's contract...

United Technologies Corporation (UTX) has renamed the PC25(TM), the industry's foremost 'workhorse' fuel cell power system, to the PureCell(TM) 200. UTC Power has been producing the on-site power plant since 1991. The system generates 200 kW of clean, reliable electricity and 900,000 BTUs of usable heat suitable for co-generation applications. With a five-year continuous duty cell stack durability and 85 percent efficiency, the PureCell(TM) 200 sets the standard for fuel cell reliability and efficiency. The PureCell(TM) 200 technology has been installed in 19 countries on five continents, ranging from a New York City police station to a science center...

Fuelcell Energy Inc (FCEL) announced today that Chevron Energy Solutions, a ChevronTexaco (NYSE: CVX - News) subsidiary and FuelCell Energy distribution partner, has sold a 250-kilowatt Direct FuelCell® (DFC®) power plant to the U.S. Postal Service's (USPS's) San Francisco Processing and Distribution Center (P&DC). Chevron Energy Solutions will develop, engineer and construct the project over the next year and provide a turn-key on-site generation solution to the facility. FuelCell Energy will provide the DFC300A power plant, technical support and system commissioning services.

Millennium Cell Inc (MCEL) announced that they have entered into a joint development program to collaborate on the development and commercialization of portable fuel cell systems for use in consumer electronics and military applications. These energy systems will be based upon Millennium Cell's patented Hydrogen on Demand® technology in conjunction with Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cells.