Fuel cells and hydrogen

Startup Oorja Protonics has dodged some of the traditional barriers to fuel cell vehicles, at least with forklifts. In the future, its hybrid approach could be used on cars and trucks, too.

The Fremont, Calif.-based company is in the process of raising funding from corporate partners to ramp up production of its product. The venture-backed company is also profitable, something that few other fuel cell companies can claim.

Rather than use hydrogen as a fuel, Oorja Protonics converts the liquid fuel methanol into electricity in fuel cells. And its onboard fuel cells are designed only to provide a trickle … Read more

An energy project in Austria will use biogas-powered fuel cells at homes and businesses to pump power into the grid.

ClearEdge Power today announced a deal with Austrian energy company Gussing Renewable Energy to supply 50 megawatts worth of fuel cells between now and 2020 for installation in Austria. The deal will be worth $500 million over that time, making it one of the biggest contracts for stationary fuel cells.

In the first phase, ClearEdge Power's large refrigerator-size fuel cells, which each can generate five kilowatts of electric power and heat from gas, will be installed to power groups … Read more

Navy researchers are exploring whether lowly bacteria found in soil can help survey the outer reaches of space.

The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory yesterday detailed a project to design a "microrover" robot that would be able to explore planetary bodies for long periods of time without human intervention.

To overcome the limitations of today's batteries, researchers intend to use a microbial fuel cell to generate power for a small robot that would weigh about two pounds.

The idea is to have an advanced microbial fuel cell that would generate enough power to maintain the electronics on … Read more

To get the benefits of fuel cells in portable electronics, Apple engineers think they need to work well with batteries.

In newly published patent applications today, Apple describes a way for fuel cell power sources to be designed into electronics, such as a laptop, and controlled to optimize their performance without adding a lot of extra weight.

In one patent application titled simply a Fuel Cell System to Power a Portable Computing Device, Apple says there is "increasing awareness and desire" among consumers to use renewable-energy sources. Fuel cells are compelling technically because of their energy density, or … Read more

ClearEdge Power has created a distributed power source that will keep working in a blackout.

The company today announced a line of refrigerator-size fuel cells that include a backup battery to ensure ongoing power delivery in the case of an outage. ClearEdge Power is targeting them at businesses, such as hotels or stores, or companies that want a reliable power source for a data center.

ClearEdge Power makes fuel cells that generate 5 kilowatts of electric power and heat from natural gas. But during power outages, companies are often unable to continue generating electricity, explained ClearEdge Power vice president of … Read more

A nuclear plant in Marcoule in southern France suffered an explosion earlier today.

According to France's Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), the explosion at the plant occurred in a furnace used for melting radioactive scrap metal. Earlier reports from the BBC suggested the fire occurred in a storage space for radioactive waste. In a statement on the matter, France's nuclear safety regulator, the French Safety Authority (ASN), said that one worker died and that four other people were injured, including one person who "suffered deep burns."

Local news site Le Midi Libre was first to report on … Read more

A Hyundai Tucson left San Francisco this morning, heading to Los Angeles in the first leg of a cross-country trip. But this trip is no family vacation; the Tucson will be picking up handprints from children as it makes stops at pediatric cancer facilities. And the car will not burn any gasoline in its travels, as its fuel cell stack converts hydrogen into electricity for its drive motor.

Hyundai's Hope on Wheels tour is designed to raise awareness of pediatric cancer, and present 71 hospitals with $100,000 grants to fund researchers. Childhood cancer patients and survivors will add … Read more

Michigan's Mass Transportation Authority isn't waiting around for the hydrogen highway to come to its neck of the woods. The transit organization is building an alternative fuel testing ground for its planned fleet of propane and hydrogen-electric buses. When it's completed, the entire facility will be powered by an on-site solar farm, including the hydrogen generators.

Mass Transportation Authority canceled its orders for electric buses that achieved only a 40-mile range, and instead will be purchasing hydrogen-electric buses that have a 300-mile range to meet its clean-energy needs, according to an article in the Flint Journal.

Working … Read more

Could sewage be the holy grail for clean fuel? The Orange County Sanitation District (OCSD) in Fountain Valley, Calif., recently opened the world's first tri-generation fuel cell and hydrogen energy station, which uses sewage biogas to produce heat, electricity, and hydrogen. The end result of the system is a constant stream of hydrogen that doesn't require large amounts of electricity to produce.

Sewage waiting to be processed at the OCSD treatment plant produces methane gas. A system designed by FuelCell Energy collects the methane and reformulates it into hydrogen, then sends it to a fuel cell. Electricity from … Read more