NYK LINE Unveiled a Future Concept Eco-Ship

The future concept ship, called “NYK Super Eco-ship 2030”, is a container ship.
“NYK Super Eco-ship 2030” is designed aiming at achieving about 70% CO2 reduction in the marine transportation and commercializing the eco-ship up to around 2030. New technologies, which are theoretically feasible, but not yet commercialized, will be used for the future ship.
NYK LINE = Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha

The following will be achieved in the future eco-ship:
1) To reduce the propulsion required for driving the ship by reducing the ship weight and friction resistance, and
2) To use LNG-fueled fuel cells, solar power and wind power for propulsion power.
69% reduction of CO2 emission per container unit will be realized by using the combination of those power sources.
[Copyright by FuelCell japan]

Co-developed by:
Monohakobi Technology Institute (MTI), subsidiary of NYK LINE
Garroni Progetti S.r.l. = design company in Italy
Elomatic Marine = ship design, consulting & engineering company in Finland

Photo: Click here.

My Eye-Catching News 4-1

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).

My Eye-Catching News 3-5

１． Osaka Gas, KYOCERA, TOYOTA MOTOR, and AISIN SEIKI Co., Ltd. have agreed to jointly develop residential SOFC cogeneration system. It seems that the aim of the agreement is to quicken the real commercialization of the SOFC cogeneration system for home use. They plan to complete the development of the residential SOFC cogeneration system till the first half of 2010, next year. As known, the PEFC cogeneration systems for home use is scheduled to begin selling of them on May of this year. The distributors of the home-use PEFC cogenerators are Tokyo Gas and other big energy companies in Japan.
http://www.aisin.co.jp/news/d00191.html

2. Tokyo Gas:
2-1) Tokyo Gas has completed a technology which is capable of producing hydrogen while keeping down CO2 emission even in small-scale facilities. The company has a plan to design hydrogen stations each supplying hydrogen to general family homes located near the hydrogen station, as well as to FCVs coming to the station.
http://www.business-i.jp/news/ind-page/news/200903240003a.nwc
2-2) Tokyo gas has decided to redesign the current residential PEFC cogeneration system, generally called ENEFARM, to reduce its size so that it is installable at multi-family housing. The FC cogenerators so size reduced will be sold in the first half of 2010. Tokyo Gas has a plan to sell 42,000 PEFC cogenerator units till the end of 2013. Other big energy companies as well as Tokyo gas are actively developing many sales strategies and continue the effort of developing new technologies, including cost reduction technology.
http://www.nikkei.co.jp/news/main/20090314AT1D1308513032009.html

3． 　SAPPORO Breweries, Petroleo Brasileiro S.A and ERGOSTECH, RENEWABLE ENERGY SOLUTIONS LTDA. will cooperatively perform a demonstration test of a project of producing bio fuels, including hydrogen, from cellulose bio-mass of the residue of the crops in Brazil.
http://www.sapporobeer.jp/CGI/newsrelease/detail/00000133/

4． Katayama Rivet & Screw Co., Ltd. exhibited unique products in FC EXPO 2009. This is the second time in a row that the company has participated in the expo. The products exhibited include new products, high strength stainless screws and titanium screws. The company expects that the sales of company’s screw products will increase in those fields.
http://www.nejinews.co.jp/news/fastener/archive/eid1852.html

5. Nagoya university has a plan to develop a large scale electron microscope which enables the observer to directly view chemical reaction processes in atom level, in cooperation with private companies. The development will be completed after one year. The world’s first microscope, when completed, is expected to have great contribution to the research and development of new catalysts and efficient fuel cells.
http://www.chunichi.co.jp/s/article/2009032290111135.html

Also read:
1) (75) Succeeded in Dynamically Observing Hydrogen Releasing Reaction
(by Graduate School of Engineering Hokkaido University & Institute for Advanced Materials Research (Hiroshima University)
News item No. 75, http://www.fcpat-japan.com/News2008-3.html
2) 113: Succeeded in Visualizing Incoming and Outgoing Motions of Lithium Ions at Positive Electrode by Electron Microscope (by AIST)
New item No. 113, http://www.fcpat-japan.com/News2008-4.html

If interested in any of the above news articles, please contact the news source(s) or us (= infonenryo@fcpat-japan.com)

World’s First Use of Bio-Process for Forming Platinoid Element Nanoparticle Catalyst

A bio-process has successfully formed platinoid element nanoparticle catalyst.
Specifically, iron-reducing bacteria (IRB) were used for forming the catalyst.
This process is different from the conventional engineering process.
This is the world’s first success.
The bio-process is economic and environment friendly.

Developed by:
Dr. Yoshinori Suzuki and Toshihiko Ohnuki, chief researcher (Advanced Science Research Center, Japan Atomic Energy Agency)
Professor Yohichi Enokida and joint research team (EcoTopia Science Institute, Nagoya University)

As is known, the platinoid element has an excellent catalytic ability.
The platinoid element has been used for fuel cells, for removing causative agents of photochemical smog, acid rain, etc., isotope exchange, for isotope exchange.
The nanoparticle has a large ratio of the surface area to the volume.
Many processes to form the platinoid element nanoparticle catalyst have been developed and are currently used. Those processes suffer from problems, however.

The physically crushing method has the following problems: When large particles are crushed into nanoparticles, impurity substances are mixed into the nanoparticles (poor impurity), and nanoparticles tend to agglutinate.
The chemical precipitation method needs a large-scale system for making the nanoparticle grow from a seed as chemical reaction proceeds.
Much efforts have been made to seek the best ways to form the nanoparticle catalyst all over the world. It is note that in such circumstances, the bio-process to form the nanoparticle catalyst has been created.

The researchers focused attention on the fact that specific microorganisms couple to the transuranic element, for example.
Iron-reducing bacteria were added to a platinic acid solution and a palladium acid solution. It was observed that platinoid particles of nano-scale were formed on the cell of the iron-reduction bacterium (see Fig. 1).
“Microorganism cells - platinoid particles” were placed on diatomaceous earth for the isotope exchange hydrogen (H2) with deuterium (D2) (H2 + D2 → 2HD).
The efficiency of the isotope exchange was about 6 times of that when only the platinum particles are used. Excellent catalytic ability was exhibited.

The researchers said:
1) The iron-reducing bacteria have other functions, for example, function to mineralize uranium.
2) The possibility is present that other microorganisms, for example, yeast, have excellent functions.
3) We hope to find other functions of the microorganism, to elucidate their mechanisms and to propose additional bio-processes.
4) We hope to develop new catalysts that are operable in intensive radiation conditions.
[Excerpted from Press Release by Japan Atomic Energy Agency]

The latest Reports on Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Technologies in Japan

Did you know? The most recent reports on fuel cell and hydrogen technologies in Japan are downloadable free of charge. Those reports are all written and edited by Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Technology Development Department in NEDO.
1) Development of Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Technologies 2008 to 2009, （2.76MB）, Issued on October 2008
Contents is here.
2) Industry-Academia Consortium PEFC Project To Shed Light on Fuel Cell Mechanism（2.14MB）, issued on October 2008,
Contents is here.

If any question, please ask NEDO or contact me.

JSR Completes Construction of Mass-Production Plant for Producing Hydrocarbon Electrolyte Membranes

JSR has completed the construction of a mass-production plant for producing hydrocarbon electrolytic membranes for fuel cells at its factory site of Yokkaichi City in Mie Prefecture. The production capability of the plant is equivalent to the number of the hydrocarbon electrolytic membranes used by ten thousands to twenty thousands of motor vehicles per year. JSR has already operated the semi-commercial plant for producing the electrolyte membranes.
The mass-production plant has been constructed to meet the full-scale expansion of demand. The electrolyte membranes of JSR have been used for the fuel cell vehicles by an automobile manufacturer in Japan.
The company is scheduled to develop and manufacture hydrocarbon electrolyte membranes for stationary fuel cell systems such as residential fuel cell systems and mobile direct methanol fuel cells.
JSR’s Hydrocarbon Electrolyte Membrane
The JSR’s hydrocarbon electrolyte membrane is designed to have a concentration of ion-exchanging groups which is higher than that of the conventional electrolyte membrane. The result is an excellent proton conductivity. The hydrocarbon electrolyte membrane is designed by fully utilizing the features of the aromatic hydrocarbon structure allowing a high freedom of design.
The results are: high endurance, excellent gas shut-off property, and excellent high- and low-temperature characteristics. Further, the hydrocarbon electrolyte membrane is environment friendly. The hydrocarbon electrolyte membrane, unlike the conventional fluorine electrolyte membrane, is free from fluorine compounds, which are produced in the catalyst recovery process and waste disposal. JSR is developing a new electrolyte membrane, which has long-time stable power generation performance, and is durable against load variations as in the start and stop operations.
Electrolyte Membrane for Vehicle Fuel cells
JSR is developing a new hydrocarbon electrolyte membrane in cooperation with an automobile manufacturer in Japan. In the fuel cell system using the hydrocarbon electrolyte membrane developed by us, high temperature operation, and low temperature start-up have successfully been realized. The power generation temperature region is considerably increased (-30 to 95 degrees of centigrade). It is noted that the JSR’s electrolyte membranes have been used by the vehicle fuel cells where the electrolyte membranes are inevitably placed in extremely harsh conditions. JSR is making efforts to further improvement of the endurance.
Electrolyte Membrane for Stationary Fuel Cell Systems
A hydrocarbon electrolyte membrane for use with residential fuel cell systems has been developed. The development has been made with efforts to make the most of advantageous features of the hydrocarbon electrolyte membrane for automobiles, including good durability, high temperature being usable, good recycability in the catalyst recovery stage.
Electrolyte Membrane for Mobile DMFC
JSR has developed a hydrocarbon electrolyte membrane for DMFC applications．
The balance between the output characteristic and the methanol permeability has been significantly improved. In the previous electrolyte membrane and electrode electrolyte (binder for fixing the catalyst layer), when methanol of high concentration is used in order to increase the output power of the DMFC, the methanol crossover inevitably occurs and the electrode electrolyte inevitably dissolves, leading to degradation of the power generation capability of the fuel cell. The electrolyte membrane developed and offered by JSR enables a designer to use high concentration methanol and to increase the output power of the fuel cell.
* This article is excerpted from JSR's press release.
Keywords: hydrocarbon electrolyte membranes, mass-production plant, uel cell vehicles, high ion-exchanging group concentration, aromatic hydrocarbon structure, high endurance, gas shut-off property, high- and low-temperature characteristics

Sumitomo Corporation Invests in ACAL Energy

ACAL Energy Ltd. has today announced an investment from Sumitomo Corporation, a leading Japanese trading company with substantial business activities in energy, mineral and merchandise trading, through its investment arm SC Green Tech Ventures LLC. The investment is in addition to the previously announced £3.3M fundraising round completed at the beginning of December, led by Carbon Trust Investments and Solvay SA. All funds raised will be used to take the company to the next stage of development of their ground breaking low cost fuel cell systems, based on novel platinum-free cathode technology (FlowCath®).

Fuel cells are a highly efficient and clean energy production technology capable of replacing combustion engines in a wide variety of applications including remote and distributed power, residential cogeneration, as well as automotive and mobile power applications. FlowCath® replaces the expensive precious metal catalyst found in conventional fuel cells with a proprietary low cost liquid catalyst. This not only reduces the cost of the fuel cell, but also provides significant durability and reliability benefits through system simplification, and the elimination of the most common failure mechanisms found in standard fuel cells. The company plans to introduce a 1kW demonstration system in 2009.

Chief Executive Officer, Dr SB Cha said: “We are very fortunate to have an investment from Sumitomo Corporation in this very difficult business environment. We look forward to working with Sumitomo Corporation to deliver ACAL products to the Japanese and other Asian markets in the near future. Sumitomo Corporation is the second blue-chip Japanese company to invest in ACAL and since the Japanese Cleantech market is arguably the most advanced in the world, we view the investment as a very strong endorsement of our technology and market potential.”

ACAL Energy Limited
ACAL Energy is a developer of a new fuel cell technology that will enable low cost and highly reliable fuel cell systems for stationary and remote power, home cogeneration, and automotive and mobile applications. Fuel cells are a highly efficient and clean energy production technology capable of replacing combustion engines in a wide variety of applications including remote and distributed power, residential cogeneration as well as automotive and mobile power applications. FlowCath® replaces expensive precious metal catalyst found in conventional fuel cells with a proprietary low cost liquid catalyst. This not only reduces the cost of the fuel cell but also provides significant durability and reliability benefits through system simplification and the elimination of the most common failure mechanisms found in standard fuel cells. The company was founded in August 2004 by FlowCath® inventor Dr Andrew Creeth and is headquartered in Runcorn, UK.

ACAL Energy is currently funded by CT Investment Partners LLP, Rising Stars Growth Fund (RSGF), NorthStar Equity Investors Ltd., Porton Capital Ltd., Synergis Technologies Ltd., Solvay SA and a major Japanese corporate investor.

For further information, please contact Amanda Lyne at ACAL Energy:
Tel: +44 (0)1928 51581
E-mail: alyne@acalenergy.co.uk
URL: www.acalenergy.co.uk