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GES Demonstrates 150 W Direct Methanol Fuel Cell
System
October 4, 2001 - Newton, MA
Giner
Electrochemical Systems, LLC, (GES), an electrochemical research and
development company, announced today that it has successfully fabricated and
tested a complete liquid feed direct methanol fuel cell (LFDMFC) system
providing a 150 W/24 V output. This portable system, which is both lightweight
and compact, was fabricated under a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)
contract to the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) in Adelphi, MD. It
incorporates many of the inventions and technological advances made by GES on
various LFDMFC programs funded by DARPA during the last ten years.
The LFDMFC
stack utilizes a low-methanol crossover membrane developed by GES under SBIR/ARL
funding. According to Jack Kosek, Director of Energy Conversion Programs at GES,
"The innovative membrane has reduced methanol crossover by over 60%, compared to
previous membranes, while retaining high fuel cell performance. Development of
reduced methanol crossover membranes directly improves the overall system
efficiency."
“Portable
auxiliary power requires a rapidly refuelable, reliable, and rugged system. We
believe that the DMFC is uniquely suited to fill this need”, said Tony Vaccaro,
President of GES.
The DMFC
system uses off-the-shelf components that were not optimized for weight or
volume, resulting in a package with dimensions of 45 x
33 x 17 cm (20 x 13 x 7 inches) and a weight of
15 kilograms (33 pounds). Optimization of system components is expected to
result in an even smaller and lighter package. This configuration can be
scaled down from 150 to 50 W to fit a wide range of military and commercial
needs. As presently configured, the U.S. Army will use this system as a portable
battery charger. It is entirely self-contained, with enough on-board methanol
storage for 5000 W-hr of operation. The heart of the system, a LFDMFC stack, is
based on GES' proprietary molded graphite bipolar plate technology and uses
membrane-electrode assemblies specifically developed by GES to exploit the
advantages of the new membrane. The stack contains 60 cells, with an active area
of 80 cm2 per cell. The stack provided over
200 W during 60°C testing using low-pressure air, prior to insertion into the
complete system.
Contact Information:
Cecelia C. Cropley (ccropley@ginerinc.com)
Director, Systems Engineering
Phone: (781)
529-0506; Fax: (781) 893-6470
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