Multi-million-dollar award from US Department of Defense will fund development and demonstration of locomotive for military and commercial applications.
Nuvera Fuel Cells announced it received a multi-million-dollar order, contingent upon project continuation funding, for eight FORZA(TM) fuel cell power modules from Vehicle Projects LLC, which is leading an international consortium to develop the world's largest proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell vehicle under contract to the US Department of Defense (DOD).
The development effort, called the Defense Fuel Cell Locomotive Project, aims to demonstrate a 109 metric ton, 1.2-megawatt fuel cell powered locomotive for defense and commercial railway applications. The project is funded and administered by the U.S. Army Research, Development, and Engineering Command's National Automotive Center.
According to project leader Arnold Miller, Nuvera's FORZA power module was selected over seven bidders representing six nations due to "the ruggedness and compactness of its metal bipolar plates and the simplicity of its proprietary direct-water injection system of cooling and membrane humidification."
"This is a great opportunity to demonstrate FORZA's advantages in a dynamic environment," said Alessandro Delfrate, Sales and Marketing Manager of Nuvera Fuel Cells Europe. "Having recently worked with Vehicle Projects to successfully demonstrate the world's first fuel cell powered mining locomotive, we are excited about the commercial opportunities an award of this magnitude represents for Nuvera and the entire fuel cell industry."
Nuvera is developing its FORZA power module primarily for industrial facilities, such as chloralkali plants and refineries, where excess hydrogen produced onsite can be used to power fuel cells and generate clean electricity, providing plant owners with an efficient solution to rising operating costs.
"This project is the second time we have worked with DOD in developing and demonstrating fuelcells that could eventually serve both military and commercial purposes," said Prashant Chintawar, Executive Director at Nuvera. "We believe their approach demonstrates a strong commitment to advancing new technologies, such as fuel cells, that will benefit our nation and the world."
DOD has an exemplary track record in "dual-use" technology development — technology that has led to both military and commercial applications (e.g., the Internet and GPS). According to Vehicle Projects, this project can similarly lead to important dual-use applications of fuel cell vehicles. Potential commercialisation paths and follow-on demonstration projects include subway utility locomotives, switchers, commuter rail, subway trains, light rail, heavy freight, and high-speed rail.
Nuvera Fuel Cells is a leading designer and developer of fuel cell power systems, fuel processors, and fuel cell stacks for the automotive, distributed generation, commercial, and industrial markets. Since 1992, its fuel processors and PEM fuel cell stacks have been successfully tested and evaluated by major automobile and appliance manufacturers, research institutions, telecommunications organisations, and industrial and energy companies. Nuvera's fuel processors have demonstrated the ability to extract hydrogen from a number of liquid and gaseous fuels such as gasoline, ethanol, methanol, natural gas, kerosene, propane, butane, and more. Nuvera Fuel Cells Europe is ISO 9001:2000 Certified for "Research, Development, Design, Production and Servicing of Fuel Cell Stacks and Fuel Cell Systems.
Loading...