Print
Email
Print Edition Stories
MHT's Efrain Viscarolasaga: Preparing the smart grid for more power
MHT reporter Efrain Viscarolasaga on NECN: Green tech brings jobs back to Mass.
NECN: New England techs lead new fuel cell markets
Hy9 Corp., a maker of hydrogen purifiers for use with fuel cells, will release its newest product next week, hoping to capitalize on the need for safe, on-site hydrogen to power fuel cells used for backup power.
The new product family, called the Hydrogen Generation System, takes Hy9’s traditional hydrogen purifier and adds a generation component, creating a unit that can convert carbon-based fuel into hydrogen on-site. The system represents the foundation of the company’s product strategy moving forward, according to officials.
Over the coming months, Hy9 will also be integrating the product into other markets penetrated by the company’s purifier, including portable and vehicle power environments.
“The idea is to take our core technology, the purifier, and add capabilities as we move into new markets,” said Hy9 CEO Brad Bradshaw.
The first iteration, being launched this week, will be focused on feeding backup power systems — generating power in the range of 1 kilowatt to 5 kilowatts — and use methanol as a fuel source. Later versions, said officials, will be available using different fuels, such as natural gas.
The company’s identification of the uninterruptible power market stems from a growing need for longer-lasting backup power for facilities such as telecommunications sites. Hydrogen, which is the lightest element in the universe and can be unstable, is difficult and expensive to ship and store, said Bradshaw, who is also president of the Massachusetts Hydrogen Coalition.
Creating the fuel on-site is far more efficient and can also yield more backup power, he said. The company claims that its system can provide 72 hours of backup power, versus about four in a typical stored fuel model.
“Many of the issues around fuel cells as backup power sources revolve around the storage, availability and duration of fuel (hydrogen),” said Chris Kellogg, Hy9’s newly hired director of sales. “This generation product improves these dynamics.”
Hy9’s purifier has been deployed in more than 1,000 systems worldwide since the company was founded by Ionics Inc. founder and Hy9 chief scientist Walter Juda in 1992.
The fuel cell industry has been the victim of a series of fits and starts, but signs have been pointing to wider adoption lately, particularly in the “small, stationary fuel cells” category, which includes telecommunications backup power systems. According to a report released in March from industry research and publishing group Fuel Cell Today, 4,000 fuel cells were shipped by various manufacturers in 2008, a jump from 2,200 in 2007.
Comments
If you are commenting using a Facebook account, your profile information may be displayed with your comment depending on your privacy settings. By leaving the 'Post to Facebook' box selected, your comment will be published to your Facebook profile in addition to the space below.
RSS Feeds
