Press Release
ACAL Energy Achieves Record Levels of Power Output from Liquid Cathode Fuel Cell
23 October 2009
ACAL Energy Achieves Record Levels of Power Output from Liquid Cathode Fuel Cell
System
Major milestone towards commercializing clean alternative to engine generators
Cheshire, UK – 23rd October 2009 --
ACAL Energy, a leading developer of affordable and reliable fuel cell technology,
has achieved record levels of power output from its kilowatt-scale fuel cell
system using its patented liquid cathode technology, FlowCath®. Peak power
levels of 1.5kW have been achieved from the hydrogen-fuelled laboratory-scale
system. Fuel cell systems utilizing FlowCath ultimately will be a clean
and economically sensible alternative to diesel and gasoline engines in stationary
power generation and transport applications.
ACAL Energy’s FlowCath® technology replaces up to 90% of the platinum
catalyst in a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell with a low cost, durable
liquid chemical. ACAL Energy has developed a family of proprietary chemical compounds
that can already deliver the same level of fuel cell performance as platinum,
and which are expected to exceed this level in the future. The technology also
significantly reduces the balance of plant costs by eliminating the need for
hydration, pressurization, complex cooling and other expensive mechanical sub-systems
commonly found in conventional PEM fuel cells.
The kilowatt-scale demonstrator will be the basis for a technology evaluation
kit for supply to OEM partners during 2010 to enable them to design Flowcath® into
their products. ACAL Energy’s business strategy is to provide FlowCath® to
fuel cell system manufacturers in the form of a stack and supporting mechanical
elements, as well as the proprietary chemical solutions.
Commenting on the latest achievement, Dr S B Cha, Chief Executive Officer of
ACAL Energy said: “We are very pleased with the performance of our kilowatt-scale
demonstration system. It is achieving significantly higher levels of power
output than originally designed. This is further credit to our very talented
team of engineers and scientists. We remain confident that Flowcath® will
enable clean fuel cells to succeed internal combustion engines in many applications”.
Ends
For further information, please contact Amanda Lyne at ACAL Energy:
Tel: +44 (0)1928 511581
E-mail : alyne@acalenergy.co.uk
Editorial contact:
Terry Nicklin, KeynotePR Ltd
Tel: +44 (0)7923 540695
E-mail: terry@keynotepr.com
Notes to Editors:
About ACAL Energy Limited
ACAL Energy is a developer of a new fuel cell technology that
will enable low cost and highly reliable fuel cell systems for a wide
variety of applications. The company was founded in August 2004
by FlowCath® inventor Dr Andrew Creeth and is headquartered in
Runcorn, UK.
Fuel cells are a highly efficient and clean energy production technology
capable of replacing combustion engines in applications including remote
and distributed power and residential cogeneration, as well as automotive
and mobile power applications. FlowCath® replaces the expensive precious
metal catalyst found in conventional fuel cells with a proprietary low
cost liquid catalyst. This not only reduces the cost of the fuel cell, but
also provides significant durability and reliability benefits through system
simplification and the elimination of the most common failure mechanisms
found in standard fuel cells.
FlowCath® is a registered trademark of ACAL Energy Ltd.
www.acalenergy.co.uk
Terry Nicklin
Director