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ACUMENTRICS RECEIVES $15.6 MILLION DOE FUEL CELL DEVELOPMENT CONTRACT
Targets further cost reduction, durability and increased system size
WESTWOOD, Mass., June 4, 2008 – The Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) has awarded Acumentrics Corporation a 3-and-a-half year $15.6 million (including the cost-share provided by Acumentrics) grant to continue advancement of the company’s tubular solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology and to double the size of the units to 10 kilowatts. Phase I of this development work was funded through the DOE Fossil Energy Solid-State Energy Conversion Alliance (SECA) program. Acumentrics will continue Phase II as part of the EERE Hydrogen, Fuel Cells and Infrastructure Technologies (HFCIT) Program’s effort to develop fuel cell technologies for small stationary applications.
“Fuel cells are likely to be a key power generation technology in a cleaner, more energy efficient America.” said Acumentrics CTO and Senior Vice-President Dr. Norm Bessette. “We believe Acumentrics’ tubular ceramic technology is the highest-efficiency low-emission alternative for providing power and heat for homes, small and medium size businesses, remote locations and military applications while using conventional and alternative fuels.”
“This additional funding will help us reach cost and reliability thresholds required for commercial deployment of our systems through increased performance and enhanced fabrication techniques,” Bessette added.
Acumentrics’ work since 2003 to improve the performance of its SOFC technology has:
- increased the durability of SOFC units showing only 0.5% degradation per 1000 hours and achieving over 8760 hours of operation, moving the system much closer to a target 40,000 hour lifetime;
- achieved over 52% total fuel-to-electrical energy efficiency when using natural gas, compared with a less than 25% conversion efficiency rate for standard internal combustion technology of a similar size;
- shown an estimated mass production manufacturing cost below $800 per kilowatt; and
- reduced the size and weight of fuel cell power units by more than 75%.
About Acumentrics
Acumentrics Corporation’s (http://www.acumentrics.com/) unique, durable, fuel-flexible tubular ceramics-based fuel cell technology has exceeded performance standards in U.S. Department of Energy SECA Phase I tests. It has demonstrated the ability to operate for 1000 hours on conventional JP-8 fuel and became the first biogas-fueled SOFC system in an installation at the innovative GlashusEtt environmental information center in Stockholm, and received a 2007 New England Innovation Award from the Smaller Business Association of New England. The company also provides rugged, uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) to the military and other mission-critical markets.
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