Hydrogen fuel cells make the leap

Formed from a spin-out from Loughborough University, Intelligent Energy is a leading power technology company with some of the most advanced PEM (proton exchange membrane) fuel cell stack technologies available in the world today. Each features class-leading power densities and robust metallic construction, novel cooling and water management, plus proven durability lifetime test performance. What is more, all of these technologies are proprietary to the company. Rather than simply being a derivative of conventional architectures adopted elsewhere, Intelligent Energy's PEM fuel cell technologies are – it claims – unique. They are more compact and far simpler than conventional fuel cell systems and are easily integrated within a diverse range of applications. Developed over a period of 20 years, its proprietary systems have won worldwide acclaim. Integrated humidification and innovative cooling (without the need for secondary coolant circuits or external humidification) reduces the component count within the stack, and eliminates much of the conventional balance of plant, resulting in power generation systems that are compact and highly reliable, having been tested over many thousands of hours of operation. Full power can be achieved from these systems almost instantaneously at room temperature. The company's 7 series power systems, for example, take less than 60 seconds at –25oC. In fact, Intelligent Energy has successfully started such systems from as low as –40oC and continues to improve and innovate in this area. Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cells are the most versatile of all fuel cell types. This versatility is due to their high power densities, modular construction, relatively low operating temperature (between 40°C and 100°C) and the solid polymer electrolyte. PEM is considered to be the most promising of fuel cell types for mass market application and is being developed for stationary, portable and vehicle markets. PEM technology offers a number of advantages that make it suitable to a very wide range of applications. For instance, because the cells contain a solid (rather than liquid) electrolyte, they are less sensitive to shock and vibration than other fuel cell types and thus better suited to portable and motive applications. PEM fuel cells also have a higher power density than all other fuel cell types and therefore can be more compact. As a result, they are more suitable for applications – such as automotive – where lower volume and weight are critical factors. In addition, because PEM fuel cells operate at relatively low temperatures (typically 80°C and lower), there is less need for exotic materials, making PEM cells more suitable for mass market applications. Another factor that particularly suits PEM fuel cells to automotive applications is that they are able to vary their output quickly to meet shifts in power demand and are suited for applications where quick start-up and high power quality are required. Far from being a pipe dream, if Intelligent Energy has its way, hydrogen fuel cell-based cars will be a fairly common reality on our streets as little as a year from now. Indeed, thanks to the efforts of the company, a number of vehicles are already there. The suitability of its technology has seen Intelligent Energy at the forefront of some of the more striking applications of hydrogen fuel cells in this country. One of the most high-profile of these took place when it led a consortium dedicated to introduce zero emission fuel cell electric taxis to London. This involved the use of PEM-based powertrains into TX4 taxis from the London Taxi company. These fuel cell and lithium battery-powered electric hybrids provided a 250-mile driving range while retaining all the passenger and luggage space of a conventional London taxi. The five hydrogen fuel cell-powered taxis provided by the HyTEC (Hydrogen Transport for European Cities) project were used during this summer's Olympics to transport VIPs, having been fuelled at Air Products' hydrogen fuelling station at Heathrow airport. The company also developed what it claimed to be the first purpose-built fuel cell motorbike. Called the Emissions Neutral Vehicle (ENV) first appeared in prototype form in 2005 and was powered by a 6kW 48V motor, with energy supplied from Intelligent Energy's 1kW hydrogen fuel cell. Building on this knowledge base in the area of two-wheeled vehicles, Intelligent Energy has gone on to establish a joint venture company with Suzuki called SMILE FC System Corporation, to develop and manufacture air-cooled fuel cell systems for a range of industry sectors. The joint venture also includes a non-exclusive license agreement that gives Suzuki access to Intelligent Energy's class-leading fuel cell technology for its next generation of environmentally friendly fuel cell vehicles. In 2011, this agreement resulted in the Fuel Cell Burgman Scooter became the world's first fuel cell vehicle to achieve European Union Whole Vehicle Type Approval (WVTA). Equipped with Intelligent Energy's air-cooled fuel cells, the Burgman is able to offer a range of over 200 miles between hydrogen refills – each of which takes less than five minutes. The most recent development for Intelligent Energy has been the announcement of a partnership between the company and international engineering consultancy Ricardo. The companies are to work together in applying their respective expertise in advanced low carbon vehicle engineering and fuel cell power technology platforms. The new partnership will provide customers with a fully integrated design, engineering and implementation capability for fuel cell electric vehicles. The two companies have a proven track record of successful collaboration in engineering and development programmes and believe that their combined capabilities will provide significant synergies in the delivery of successful fuel cell electric vehicle projects. Intelligent Energy's proprietary fuel cell power technology platforms are targeted at production automotive as well as stationary power and consumer electronics applications. These fuel cell technologies will be the initial focus of the collaboration between Ricardo and Intelligent Energy, which remains non-exclusive on either side but with each partner regarding the other as a preferred supplier. Speaking about this partnership, James Batchelor, managing director of Intelligent Energy's Automotive Division made it clear that the company believes its technology will see it at the forefront of fuel cell cars in years to come, saying: "Our cost-effective and scalable systems and platforms have already proven themselves across our target market sectors and we are increasingly asked to deploy our high-efficiency, zero-emission powertrains into vehicle and fleet trials, ahead of automotive market commercialisation."