1. Nisshinbo succeeded in commercializing the carbon alloy catalyst (one of candidate platinum-substitution catalysts under development in Japan). The cost of the carbon alloy catalyst is about 1/6 when compared with the platinum catalyst having the performance almost equal to the former in level. The power generation performance of the platinum-substitution catalyst is the world’s top class. The real commercialization of the new catalyst is sure to lead to remarkable cost reduction of the resultant PEFC base fuel cell.
Power generation performances of the carbon alloy catalyst:
Open voltage: 0.98V
Voltage at 0.2A/cm2: 0.67V
Output density: 525mW/cm2
http://www.nisshinbo.co.jp/news/news20090331_495.html
http://www.nikkei.co.jp/news/sangyo/20090331AT1D2101S30032009.html
2. TDK succeeded in developing a new “DC to DC converter” for use with the car-carried battery. The converter is capable of converting 100 to 300 V of the battery output to 14 V. The weight of the new converter is reduced by 45% and the volume is reduced to 5% when compared with those of the conventional converter. The converters are currently used by the Honda’s new hybrid vehicle “Insight”.
http://sankei.jp.msn.com/economy/business/090330/biz0903302136029-n1.htm
3. Ishizeki Precision Co., Ltd. has decided to shift its current major business, which is handling the products in the fields of electric and electronics, to the business handling products in the cleantech fields. The company has a plan to begin mass-production of metal parts of fuel cells and light emission diodes (LED) within this year (2009).
http://www.nikkan.co.jp/news/nkx0120090401baal.html
4. The Japanese and the US governments announced a comprehensive collaboration on studying the cutting-edge cleantech technologies in eight technical fields. Both countries will sign a memorandum of understanding on the study collaboration as soon as possible. The participants in the collaboration program are AIST (advanced industrial science and technology) in Japan, DOE’s LANL (Los Alamos National Laboratory), and other three laboratories in the US. The study collaboration, if succeeded, will greatly influence the technology development in other major countries, including European and Asian countries.
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/eco/news/20090329-OYT1T00018.htm?from=navrhttp://japanese.joins.com/article/article.php?aid=113274&servcode=A00§code=A00
5． A new electrolyte that exhibits a high hydrogen-ion conductivity in the medium-temperature region was developed by Associate Professor Jun Kuwano et al in Tokyo University of Science. The performances of the electrolyte are superior to those of the current PEFC electrolyte. The new electrolyte will enhance the heat source ability of the cogeneration system, and increase the number of choices for the platinum substitution electrodes.
http://www.nikkan.co.jp/news/nkx0620090403aaaa.html
If interested in any of the above news articles, please contact the news source(s) or us (= infonenryo@fcpat-japan.com).
