Thursday, September 17, 2009

Protonex wins $600k Navy research contract

By Jackie Noblett

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Protonex Technology Corp. announced Thursday it received a $599,000 contract with the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory to develop fuel cell power systems for aerial drones.

The Southborough fuel cell developer will create high-power generating units to power small unmanned aerial vehicles using the company’s proton exchange membrane technology. The goal is to create a hydrogen fuel cell that can produce about 1.5 kilovolts of power output in a much smaller generating unit.

The announcement is in addition to the $500,000 Naval contract Protonex received in June for UAV fuel cell development, and it is the fourth military contract Protonex has received this year.

On Tuesday, Protonex (LON: PTX) announced that it is working with Cummins Onan to develop fuel-cell power systems for recreational vehicles. Protonex will test its M250-B fuel cell power system, and Cummins Onan will provide marketing assistance at trade shows and become certified installers of Protonex fuel cells for RVs.