Green Energy News | September 23, 2001

September 23, 2001 – Vol.6 No.26

ENERGIES... week of September 23, 2001

READY TO GO. After years of research and development, Ballard has launched its first commercial product - the Nexa (tm) 1200 watt fuel cell power module.

Nexa, according to the company, is the world’s first volume-produced proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell system designed for integration into original equipment manufacturer’s end product applications. That is, Ballard is selling the power generating components to build a 1.2 kilowatt fuel cell generator. Others must produce the housing, fuel storage and supply components, necessary electronics and electrical connections and market the finished product to consumers or businesses.

Coleman Powermate, which has a stake in Ballard, plans to have a portable fuel cell generator on the market by the end of this year - a few months away. Millennium Cell, which has developed methods to extract hydrogen from sodium borohydride, is also testing a Nexa fuel cell using its proprietary Hydrogen on Demand (tm) technology. Visit Ballard at http://www.ballard.com/ , Coleman Powermate at http://www.colemanpowermate.com and Millennium Cell at http://www.millenniumcell.com/ .

WORLD FUEL CELL RESEARCH. Delphi Automotive Systems will become a corporate partner in a new fuel cell research center under construction in France. The new facility in the Montbeliard-Nancy region will be under the direction of the French Ministry of Research and include a number of corporate partners. PSA-Peugeot Citroen has also signed on.

Delphi has been working on solid oxide fuel cell auxiliary power units (APU) for automobiles. In a conventionally powered vehicle the APU would electrically power vehicle subsystems now driven by hydraulics such as power steering and air conditioning, as well as all electrical systems - lights, radio, etc. The company believes fuel cell research for vehicle and power generation applications should be a global effort. Visit Delphi at http://www.delphiauto.com/ .

BUILDING FUEL CELLS. Siemens Westinghouse Power will build a 430,000 square-foot manufacturing facility near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to build solid oxide fuel cells. Phase one of the planned construction will be a 180,000 square foot facility to be operational by the spring of 2003. The remainder of the facility on the 22-acre site will be complete by 2006. Initially the plant will have 150 employees, 450 a few years later.

Siemens Westinghouse has been demonstrating 250 kilowatt solid oxide fuel cells as powerplants for distributed generation in generation-only and cogeneration applications. Visit Siemens Westinghouse at http://www.pg.siemens.com/ .

PROPELLING ELECTRIC PROPULSION. Enova Systems, a California manufacturer of electric vehicle components, has announced agreements to supply Panther (tm) propulsion systems to two European transit bus manufacturers. Panther systems, which are available in sizes ranging from 10 kilowatts to 120 kilowatts, are a complete drive system package which includes drive motor with integral reduction gear, motor controller, battery, charger, energy management systems, and controller for hybrid configurations.

Eco Power Technology (EPT) of Italy has ordered 15 complete 120 kilowatt Panther systems to be used in both battery electric and hybrid electric buses. EPT has already sold eight electric Elfo buses to Genova and two Horus hybrid electric buses to the city of Bresia. EPT is moving towards full production of its buses which will incorporate the Panther systems.

Wright Bus, a UK transit bus manufacturer, will also use Panther systems in its hybrid electric bus platform, the Chorus II. The Chorus II prototype is now under testing. The company plans vehicle production in 2002.

Visit EPT at http://www.ecopowertechnology.com/ and Wright Bus at http://www.wright-bus.com/ and Enova Systems at http://www.enovasystems.com/ .

WORLD WIND WATCH. A Sainsbury refrigerated grocery depot in East Kilbride, Lanarkshire, Scotland now has its own 600 kilowatt wind turbine. The turbine was installed by Ecotricity as part of its Merchant Wind Power program. Under Merchant Wind, Ecotricity builds, owns and operates the turbine at the customer’s place of business. Wind power generated on-site is less expensive than conventional power from the grid. The wind generator for Sainsbury will provide more than one third of the power needed for its 24/7 operation. Visit Ecotricity at http://www.ecotricity.com/ .

Global Switch, which operates voice and data server colocation facilities worldwide, has signed an agreement with the London Electricity Group to have 12 megawatts of power for its new London facility generated by the wind. Power, in this first phase of the contract, will come from wind farms in the Netherlands. Eventually, Global Switch hopes to have all of its power needs at the facility met - 60 megawatts - with renewable sources. Visit Global Switch at http://www.globalswitch.com/ .