Industry News
ITM Power ITM Power Plc and University of Hertfordshire aim for hydrogen cost breakthrough
18th August 2006
The Saffron Walden-based, AIM-listed ITM Power plc, which announced in July a joint development programme with the University of Hertfordshire to develop an electrolyser refuelling system for use in fuel cell cars, is described by Automotive News Europe as having achieved a dramatic cost breakthrough in hydrogen production through electrolysis.
ITM says its electrolyser, using off-peak electricity, could address the cost issues of hydrogen fuel and the requirement to build a hydrogen refuelling infrastructure. The objectives of the joint development programme with the university include:
- To develop a safe, low-cost modification package for an urban car to run on hydrogen and to provide the ability to refuel the vehicle at home or at work, independently of the current fuel delivery infrastructure.
- To investigate the conversion of existing petrol-fuelled generating sets to run on hydrogen produced from zero carbon sources, such as solar and wind.
- To investigate how the addition of hydrogen to the diesel combustion process can either reduce fuel consumption or pollutants and to provide the necessary on-board hydrogen generator system for diesel engines.
ITM will own all intellectual property rights including any new discoveries made during the development carried out under this programme.
Producing hydrogen from existing electrolysers, which effectively work like a hydrogen fuel cell in reverse, costs in the region of $2,000/kW according to ITM Power, and the US Dept. of Energy’s 2010 target is $300/kW for an electrolyser stack. ITM Power says it has achieved costs as low as $164 per kW.
Automotive News Europe says the breakthrough comes from eliminating expensive platinum from the ITM Power system’s electrodes, and from using a liquid form polymer rather than conventional proton exchange membrane ,which costs about £300 per square metre.
Not all the firm’s electrolyser technology is transferrable to fuel cells themselves – ITM’s CEO Jim Heathcote told Automotive News Europe his firm has not made a fuel cell without platinum.
ITM has so far tested its technology on a Honda stationary generator. The company suggests that hydrogen electrolysis promises advantages as a means of storing energy from fluctuating sources such as wind and solar power.
ITM raised nearly £30m for development on the AIM in May this year; it’s full year loss reported at the end of July this year increased from £1.2m last year to £1.9m, in line with budget and following increased investment expenditure.
(www.itm-power.com)
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