What you will read here:
Our integrated systems in action
| Aerospace systems: | Boeing aerospace Military power |
| Motive systems: | Boeing aerospace Peugeot automotive ENV motorbike Suzuki Crosscage fuel cell motorcycle |
| Distributed generation and portable power: | CHP (combined heat and power) Remote power in South Africa UPS (uninterruptible power supply) |
Integrated humidification and innovative cooling (without the need for secondary coolant circuits or external humidification) reduces the component count within the stack, and eliminates much of the conventional balance of plant, resulting in power generation system that are compact and highly reliable- tested over many thousands of hours of operation.
Full power can be achieved from our systems almost instantaneously at room temperature, and our 7 series power systems for example take less than 60 seconds at –25oC. Intelligent Energy has successfully started such systems from as low as –40oC and continues to improve and innovate in this area.
First fuel cell power system for manned flight
The world’s first manned fuel cell powered flights took place in Spain in early 2008. In the culmination of a multi-year programme led and funded by Boeing; a light aircraft was repeatedly flown for over 20 miles using only an Intelligent Energy fuel cell power system to power the propulsion system.
Aerospace and aviation industry applications of fuel cell systems include:
- UAVs
- small manned aircraft
- on-board APUs
- on-board battery replacement
- Ground support equipment (GSE)
- Ground support vehicles (GSVs)
Although Boeing and Intelligent Energy do not envisage fuel cells providing primary power for future commercial passenger airplanes, such demonstrations are seen as paving the way for the use of the technology in small manned and unmanned air vehicles as well as its use for on-board auxiliary power generation.
Military power
The military is faced with an ever increasing need for quality power in diverse locations and geographies, often in situations where a premium can be placed on power generation with reduced thermal, acoustic and emissions signatures.
Fuel cells are therefore being considered for a diverse range of military applications, from providing for the heating and lighting needs of a base camp to on-board vehicle auxiliary power and use as battery chargers.
Intelligent Energy was selected by US Army CECOM to supply a 2kW rated PEM fuel cell power generator for testing and evaluation.
Funded by the Congressionally approved Foreign Comparative Test (FCT) program, an Intelligent Energy hydrogen-fueled system was delivered to the U.S Department of Defense FCTec in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
The Fuel Cell Test and Evaluation Center (FCTec) is a facility for the independent, unbiased testing and validation of fuel cell systems for both military and commercial applications.
The Intelligent Energy system underwent an extensive seven month test procedure which included continuous maximum power operation, tilt, cold start and high altitude testing.
H2Origin fuel cell hybrid delivery vehicle
Conventional battery electric vehicles have failed to enter mainstream fleet and commercial markets largely due to their limited range and extended recharging times.
Limited range means more recharging, more recharging means less vehicle availability and greater capital expenditure. Yet the drivers for zero and low emission vehilces are huge particularly in built-up urban environments, where emissions limits and low emission zones mean conventional combustion engine vehicles will no longer be able to operate or will be only able to do so at limited times.
Intelligent Energy has been working with PSA Peugeot Citroën to deliver the H2Origin delivery vehicle, which addresses the issues of range limitation and extended recharging times of battery electric vehicles.
By integrating one of Intelligent Energy's fuel cell systems along with pressurised hydrogen storage into an existing battery powered Peugeot Partner delivery vehicle, to act as a range extender, the two companies have produced a vehicle of greatly extended range, with no reduction in capacity and have pointed the way to the practical and cost effective production of fuel cell battery hybrid vehicles.
Intelligent Energy’s fuel cell system increased the vehicle range from 78km to 308km
The work required the integration of an Intelligent Energy automotive fuel cell power system into the vehicle, using only the space already available under the bonnet and without making any changes to the layout of the existing power train.
Intelligent Energy’s systems engineering teams worked closely with their counterparts at PSA to successfully address the formidable challenges of designing the fuel cell system to fit the available space in the vehicle. The operating temperature requirements for the H2Origin were also a critical aspect of the programme, and the vehicle had to be capable of start up and full power operation over a range of ˆ20ºC to +37ºC.
The result of the partnership between Intelligent Energy and PSA is the H2Origin a practical fuel cell hybrid delivery vehicle with some dramatic performance improvements over the original battery powered version.
The fuel cell is capable of achieving full power within two minutes at temperatures of ˆ20ºC, and all components and subsystems are similarly specified for performance at this low temperature. The fuel cell system can also shut down in under two minutes, whereas conventional units can take as long as three hours.
The effect of the fuel cell range extender was dramatic. The battery only Partner van is capable of a range of approximately 78 km; the H2Origin equipped with an Intelligent Energy 10 kW fuel cell system provides a range of 308 km, an increase of over three and a half times.
Benefits of hybrid fuel cell electric vehicles over battery only vehicles:
- Greatly extended vehicle range
- Rapid refuelling
- Prolonged battery life
- Reduced battery maintenance/replacement costs
One further benefit of a hybrid fuel cell electric approach, often overlooked, is that the lifetime of the vehicles batteries could be greatly increased if deep discharging is avoided (depending on battery type).
This is achieved in the hybrid configuration as continuous recharging of the batteries by the fuel cell will mean the batteries are kept near to top of charge and in a healthier state.
ENV motorbike
Powered by a 1kW Intelligent Energy fuel cell, the bike has a top speed of 50mph and range of 100 miles on a tank of compressed hydrogen.
Since the concept was first presented in Spring 2005 the ENV has captured the imagination of a global audience of over 340 million (growing by the day).
The ENV is a visionary vehicle. It is engineered and purpose-built around Intelligent Energy’s world-beating fuel cell technology to demonstrate the real, everyday applicability of fuel cell technology. The ENV is virtually silent (with noise levels equivalent to an everyday home computer) and its only emissions are pure water vapour.
Intelligent Energy has received awards for the ENV from:
- Design Week
- Good Design
- Business Week
- Popular Science magazine
- Time Magazine
- The Worshipful Company of Carmen
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Suzuki Crosscage fuel cell motorcycle
The transportation sector the fastest growing contributor to atmospheric CO2, and research has shown that in terms of amount generated per kilometer, two-wheeled transportation, which is particularly favoured in developing economies, can produce hydrocarbon pollutants in amounts many times greater than four wheeled passenger vehicles.
Intelligent Energy recognised at an early stage that action was required in this mostly overlooked sector, both in terms of CO2 emissions but also of urban environment air quality, when in 2005 it launched the ENV, the world’s first purpose built hydrogen fuel cell motorbike.
Following in the footsteps of the ENV In October 2007 at the 40th Tokyo Motor Show, The Suzuki Motor Corporation unveiled the Crosscage concept fuel cell motor bike powered by an Intelligent Energy fuel cell power system and rechargeable lithium batteries.
Intelligent Energy and Suzuki are working closely in partnership and the Crosscage was the first result of collaboration between the two companies for the production of a unique Suzuki motorcycle design, utilising Intelligent Energy’s advanced air cooled fuel cell power system.
In March 2008 Intelligent Energy and Suzuki signed a development agreement which further strengthened the partnership and envisages the progression to commercially viable fuel cell motorcycles. Intelligent Energy’s high performance fuel cell power systems coupled with Suzuki’s commitment to low-emissions transport mean the reality of hydrogen powered motorcycles is closer than ever.
Advantages of fuel cell motorbikes:
- Reduced well-to-wheel emissions
- Zero tail-pipe emissions
- Hybrid configuration gives greatly increased range over battery vehicles
- Rapid refuelling
- Low noise
CHP (combined heat and power)
Today, the power sector is responsible for 40% of global CO2 emissions, with electricity demand predicted to more than double by 2050.
It is also estimated that $22 trillion of cumulative investment will be required in new plant and grid infrastructure to meet global demand for electricity by 2030.
Distributed generation (DG), electricity production that is on-site or close to the point of use is a way to reduce both emissions and cost.
The advantages of DG lie in the fact that transmission losses are avoided as is large capital expense, the power generated is targeted at the user and matched to the particular power requirement.
Fuel cells have great potential to save energy and reduce emissions when used in DG applications, and particularly in CHP (combined heat and power) mode - which alsomakes use of the heat generated.
Also, as hydrogen can be produced from a wide range of sources, fuel cells can help address energy shortage issues through fuel supply diversity.
There is a clear push across the world for more renewable energy. Renewables (e.g. wind, solar and wave) are by nature "peaky" or intermittent, and the production of hydrogen via electrolysis is a good way of dealing with excess energy when on-grid storage capabilities have been exceeded.
Thus hydrogen represents a valuable commodity which could be used even outside the reals of power generation and become part of our transportation fuel supply infrastructure.
Intelligent Energy has considerable experience of CHP systems and has operated PEM fuel cell CHP systems around the world since 2003.
These units have been supplied by hydrogen that has been produced by renewable means or via fossil fuel reformation using our own hydrogen generation technologies. Our 2kW CHP installation at West Beacon Farm in the United Kingdom’s Midlands for example, has been providing both heat and power to the facility there for over three years, using energy from wind turbines and photovoltaic (PV) cells to generate the fuelling hydrogen.
Building on our CHP expertise Intelligent Energy announced in early 2008 that it had formed a joint venture company with Scottish and Southern Energy, the UK’s second largest supplier of energy.
The new company IE CHP (UK & Eire) Ltd will develop PEM fuel cell CHP systems for the residential and light commercial markets.
A key advantage of PEM fuel cells is that they are readily scalable over a greater power range than other fuel cell types. They can also be addressed to a wider range of stationary power applications.
The joint venture will draw upon Intelligent Energy’s considerable fuel processing know-how to ensure that our PEM fuel cell CHP systems will plug-in to both existing fuel infrastructure, such as the natural gas which is already piped to millions of homes in the UK as well as hydrogen supplied by the emerging renewable energy industry.
Remote power in South Africa
Intelligent Energy undertook a number of showcase activities in South Africa in 2007, some of the world’s first ever rural fuel cell applications, with the units completing over 17,000 hours of operation in very demanding and harsh environments.
These demonstration projects have clearly shown how this clean and efficient means of electricity generation could benefit millions of people around the globe.
consumption.
The first showcasing of the technology was in Bisho, the capital of Eastern Cape, where the traditional electrical grid is very unstable. Front line medical clinics in this region keep vaccines in simple domestic fridges, which are susceptible to fairly frequent electrical grid failure, meaning that the efficacy of the vaccines is compromised.
Intelligent Energy installed a fuel cell in one front line clinic to provide back-up power to a special vaccine fridge, ensuring constant temperature regulation and maximum vaccine protection, whatever the vagaries of the grid.
The second application was in the Newlands area of Durban in Kwa Zulu Natal. Durban Metro Water is responsible for water supply to the city and the surrounding areas.
Controlling the complex system of reservoirs depends upon real time knowledge of water levels at all times, so that valves can be opened remotely wherever necessary, in order to safeguard supplies and deliver water where needed.
This information comes via telemetry equipment, powered either by the grid or by solar panels. In response to grid and solar intermittency, Intelligent Energy approached Durban Metro Water and asked to install and demonstrate a fuel cell to help power the telemetry equipment.
The fuel cell-based generator powered the equipment for a period of four months, before being used in a UPS mode, to back up the mains grid in case of failure.
The third showcase site was in Mkuze, where partner Nuon RAPS (NuRa) provides an integrated energy service to remote rural areas. Although NuRa currently uses photovoltaic modules to power more than 10,000 Solar Home Systems in the region, the company is interested in exploring other energy sources, as it seeks to optimise the match between technology and energy service need.
NuRa were therefore enthusiastic to participate in rural trials when Intelligent Energy offered to provide the fuel cell systems.
Two 100W fuel cell systems were used in a UPS configuration for a critical energy supply application, to power a computer and security lighting.
“In total, the showcase units ran for a total of 17,000 hours to date”commented Jon Moore, Director of Communications at Intelligent Energy. “These three showcases have successfully shown the potential of our fuel cell systems to be of real use to many of the world’s rural and remote populations, as a source of non-grid electricity. If the fuel cells can cope with the harsh extremes of the African bush, then their robustness is now firmly established.”
UPS (uninterruptible power supply)
PEM fuel cell systems present a unique offering in the field of
uninterruptible power supply for critical applications such as providing power to computer rooms or data centres. Quiet, highly efficient and with zero harmful emissions, PEM fuel cells can regarded as longer run-time alternatives to battery systems and ‘clean air’ alternatives to diesel generators. In addition they have few moving parts resulting in high reliability and reduced maintenance costs.
Moreover, as fuel cells are quiet and they produce only water vapour, they are ideal for indoor use, meaning that the generated power can be close to, or inside the computer room.
Where fuel cells offer particular benefit is where generators are not an option. This could be because of limited space or the inability to obtain planning permission, or where organisations have environmental policies that focus on improving air quality and reducing carbon-based emissions.
Working with leading uninterruptible and back up power system provider UPS Systems Ltd, Intelligent Energy has developed a rack-mounted ‘plug and play’ standby power system – utilising PEM fuel cell technology – that will continue to power critical servers and communications equipment when mains power is lost.
The UPS systems’ rack mounted standby power system integrates Intelligent Energy’s unique fuel cell stack technology with Riello’s Dialog Plus architecture and UPS systems’ own remote monitoring service REMO™.
The unit stores hydrogen at comparatively low pressure in a drawer containing four metal hydride canisters. This provides a runtime of around four hours at full load (0.7pf) – sufficient to support three heavy-duty servers. The system has the benefit of being ‘plug and play’- the hydrogen storage system is all inside the rack casing. The hydride canisters can be charged either in situ or by hot-swapping with replacement canisters.
Additional hydride drawers (3U height) can be added to increase unattended runtime.
