Industry News
Kubota Research announces patented fuel cell assembly technology
5th May 2006
Kubota Research Associates, Inc., based in Delaware, has announced the launch of ‘P-Wave MemBond’, a waterproof bonding process for the assembly of fuel cells, based on patented P-Wave technology which, Kubota says, clears major performance and cost obstacles to the manufacture of commercially-viable fuel cells.
Concurrently, Ion Power, Inc., also Delaware-based, and Kubota Research Associates, Inc. have announced a strategic alliance to accelerate fuel cell research and drive its progress toward commercial applications. Ion Power is a major supplier of Nafion, DuPont's perfluorosulphonic acid polymer, to the fuel cell industry.
Available immediately to the fuel cell research industry is a packaged offering which facilitates the bonding of Nafion and other PEM materials to metallic bipolar plates. Based on the patent-pending ‘P-Wave Pseudo Process Technology’, this makes it possible to bond the PEM directly to metals like aluminium, titanium, nickel or stainless steel and other materials such as graphite and polymeric materials, to form a chemically-resistant bond that does not degrade on long-term exposure to the highly acidic water environment within fuel cells.
The manufacturing process is said to be simplified significantly by using P-Wave technology and to facilitate producing smaller and lighter fuel cells with long life.
Kubota Research says its patented P-Wave NIR radiation equipment, which focuses near IR energy at the interface for joining materials, has made possible the unprecedented joining of polymeric materials to metal for the construction of fuel cells without using adhesives or compression seals that deteriorate over time. The firms says using lightweight metals for the anode and cathode elements of a fuel cell will improve miniaturisation and manufacturing efficiency, expanding fuel cell technology into mass markets.
The base offering from Kubota Research is in the form of an R&D lab kit priced at $35,000.
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