Hey can't sit still, I say go for it.
I've heard several so called Genius of all kinds say certain ways of thinking about alternative energies wont work and after being with an ecologically friendly Bus manufacturing company now for the past few months, I know for a fact there are a lot of new energy devices that are up and running around the world with these same people saying it wont work.
Someone on tribe just posted not too long ago about a fuel cell they have working that you may find interesting done by intelligent people for intelligent energy. Enjoy:
From: )'(
Title: Power generation
Our PEM fuel cell technology is unique.
It’s not a derivative of the conventional stack architecture that has been widely adopted by many companies in the fuel cell sector.
Simple and cost effective We’ve designed our stacks and systems from first principles and combined novel fluid and thermal management techniques with metal plate architecture.
The result is fundamentally simpler and cheaper.
Class leading We have one of the most advanced PEM fuel cell stack technologies available in the world today with a class-leading power to volume performance in excess of 2.5kW per litre.
Small and reliable Integrated humidification and cooling reduces component count, eliminating conventional balance of plant to give a fundamentally smaller and more reliable power generation system.
Cold start We’re the only company to have reported an unassisted cold start from -40C without the use of antifreeze.
Another remarkable first.
Broad portfolio Our PEM stack technologies span the power range - from a few tens of watts through a few kilowatts to more than 100kW.
In application terms - from laptop and personal power to combined heat and power through to distributed generation and even large automotive.
We’ve designed and developed a number of system platforms using our world leading stack technologies as a foundation, including:
• generator unit
• motive engine
• CHP unit
• personal power pack
• motor cycle power train
Powerful thinking The know-how associated with the design, development, integration and operation of such system platforms is considerable.
The key to success for
fuel cells, if they are to
succeed in the automotive
arena, will lie in
achieving high performance
at low cost. This applies both
to the fuel cells themselves and to
the overall working systems of
which they are part.
Proton Exchange Membrane
(PEM) fuel cell performances
achieved at Intelligent Energy represent
some of the highest ever
reported, with mid-stack power
densities of over 2.5 kW/L
obtained. Our use of thin, metallic
separator plates, which produce
such results also facilitate production
techniques which are
amenable to mass-production, and
the promise therein of cost reductions
due to economies of scale.
Although critical, the fuel cell
stack is only one of a number of
components that go to make up a
fuel cell system or powertrain. In
terms of size and weight the fuel
cell stack will typically only represent
a fraction of that of the system
as a whole. Whereas in terms
of cost, it is estimated that the fuel
cell, accounts for approximately a
third of the total system costs,
based on today’s materials and
production and assembly techniques.
The design of the fuel cell stack
does however dictate the nature,
type, number, size and configuration
of the peripheral components
of the total system. Typically this
balance of plant, in addition to the
means of delivering and controlling
the flows of fuel and oxidant
to the stack, will include a coolant
circuit and a humidification system.
Conventional PEM technology
requires these components in
order to control the stack temperature
and to keep the proton
exchange membrane itself in an
optimum condition. These features
tend to be ‘bolted on’ to the
fuel cell, often dwarfing the stack
itself in terms of physical size. Add
to this the requirement to house
both the coolant reservoir and possibly
a water deioniser within the
system or adjacent to it, and the
implications for positioning of
such as system within a limited
envelope, such as is available in
automotive applications are significant.
Intelligent Energy has invested
over 100 man-years of research
and development into the evolution
of a groundbreaking approach
to PEM fuel cell design, which has
profound implications for fuel cell
system and powertrain development.
We have produced unique
water management and humidification
methodologies, whereby
both of these functions are
achieved within the confines of the
operating stack itself. This eliminates
the need for either an external
gas humidifier or a humidification
‘bank’ grafted onto the body of
the stack.
Heat recovery or cooling of the
stack has been engineered so that
no complex peripheral coolant circuit
is required, this function being
achieved through internal features
in combination with heat exchange
technology. Pipe runs from the
stack have been simplified to provide
a flexible outlet and interface,
which permits, where appropriate
to the application, recovery of
waste heat for space heating and
other uses.
Because there are no dedicated
cooling plates within Intelligent
Energy’s stacks, each multi-functional
bipolar separator plate is
identical to its neighbours. This
has a range of benefits, from vastly
improved cell balance, to a
reduced component count and
improved ease of assembly.
The implications for the designers
of fuel cell systems, automotive
and otherwise, utilising Intelligent
Energy’s PEM stack technology
are far reaching. Beyond the stateof-
the-art performances that they
offer, their incorporation into systems
presently on the drawing
board, will lead directly to the
triple benefits of reduced system
size, reduced system complexity
and reduced system cost. ■
Intelligent Energy,
42, Brook Street,
Mayfair,
London
W1K 5DB
www.intelligent-energy.com
