Garry Golden

My research notes on developments in energy markets/technologies:
Micro fuel cells markets: PolyFuel Cell membrane patent; Chinese patent for Viaspace; Toshiba’s membrane; Pallidum; Brookhaven uses gold to protect platinum; Oxygen isn’t a problem for hydrogenase in British bio fuel cell;
H2 / CO2 News: Russia dreams of H2 Electron Economy;
Solar News – Wake Forest’s ‘plastic’ solar at 6% and Georgia Tech designs 3D system
Batteries vs H2 Fuel cells; Read more…

1) Micropower Market Report - $12m in 2006; $112m by 2011
Pundits and investors have slammed micro fuel cells for not living up to expectations in the post Dot Com Boom. But it is probably a simple casualty of the Hype Cycle rather than a real world problem with the technology. We must be patient – and keep focus on innovation around materials science that will allow the micro power industry to grow.

Unlike ‘anti oil’ strategies- micro power based on electrons is a genuine ‘disruptive’ technology… and will define life in the next century. (See overview of Personal Energy) The obvious market is around powering portable electronic gadgets; but the disruptive opportunity might be in retrofitting appliances, lamps, computers and ‘unplugging everything’! Taking all objects off grid! And putting power into the hands of individuals by distributing electrons through retail shelves.

So this market report is encouraging…

“A new report from Innovative Research and Products (iRAP) titled “Micro Fuel Cells for Handheld Consumer Electronic Products

Link from Azom.com

Here are a few stories that might support their claims:

2) US Patent for PolyFuel Inc– hydrocarbon membranes
To reduce the cost of fuel cells you must develop new membranes! There are two main paths (but not the only roads forward). The first is switching from fluorocarbon (Nafion) membranes to hydrocarbon; The other road is to use nanoparticles or new architecture that reduces the amount of precious metals needed)
PolyFuel Inc is a young company with a lot of talent and relationships with big backers (i.e. Intel) and a solid strategic approach based on micro fuel cell markets around a hydrocarbon membrane (PEM). [Cheaper than fluorocarbon MEAs]

Link to story

2) Viaspace granted Chinese patent (Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Corporation/Caltech)
I have written about Viaspace in the past. While I do not believe that methanol (or any liquid) fuel will dominate the micro-power (or automotive) fuel cell market – they are certain to lead the pack in the next few years. In the long my bet is on solid state storage systems. Viaspace will be in a competitive space but should compete in the evolving micro power market.
Link from Azom.com

4) Microsoft signs contract with ’24-7’ Medis (micro fuel cell)
Anoter methanol fuel cell. I admit they are going to win the first to market, but long term my bet is on solid state hydrogen storage. Link from CNET (Update 4/27 - Here is the real story… not to deflate the micro fuel cell market potential!!)

Remember—75% of fuel cell costs deal with the membrane… Here are more breakthroughs:

1) Fuel cell membrane breakthrough around Palladium… Link via PhysOrg

2) Toshiba’s nanofiber / catalytic device for fuel cell membranes
Link from TinyTechIP Blog (Great resource…!)

3) Brookhaven National Lab – improve membrane performance (loss of platinum) using gold on carbon supported platinum nanoparticles…

Bio Fuel Cell news

There was a lot of buzz over an Oxford (UK) team (led by Prof Fraser Armstrong) working with hydrogen producing bacteria (hydrogenase) - Ralsotonia metallidurans which ‘evolved 2.5 billion years ago in the absence of oxygen in the atmosphere.’ It seems less susceptible to oxygen (which can slow down hydrogen production at the center of the reaction. [I wrote about an Illinois group modeling the role of Oxygen in the H2 catalyst site (H cluster).]
Link from ElectronicsWeekly
Link from H2Daily.com

H2 Market Opportunities – H2/Electron Economy
1) Russia starting to talk about plans for Hydrogen

‘We Are Set to Develop Hydrogen Energy on World Scale’
Russia provides an excellent case study for why hydrocarbon rich nations will fall in love with the ‘hydrogen economy’ (which is really an electricity/electron economy!) It is a way to unite major primary resources (natural gas, coal and methane hydrates) around electron energy – and move beyond combustion conversion towards electrochemical and biological conversion systems.

Russia has vast supplies of natural gas and controls the pipelines which feed Europe. In February/March we saw some of these lines threatened to be closed off by Moscow- and European leaders know that they are as dependent on Russia as the Middle East.

The main source for hydrogen is likely to be natural gas. Solar hydrogen is the most ideal system and my bet for the long term. But in the medium term we live in a market-based economy built upon hydrocarbons. Coal and natural gas are expected to grow – while ‘cheap’ oil is expected to plateau. H2 allows coal and natural to enter transportation fuel markets of the future – which will be based on electric motors (not liquid combustion engines)

Natural gas converted in a fuel cell in a residential/factory is a wonderful (and efficient way) of producing electricity. It can also be reformed onsite (again, in a home/office) into hydrogen for automobiles. Russia knows this. And has acquired part of Norsk’s hydrogen capabilities to exploit this growth opportunity.
Link 1; Link 2; Link 3;  (Updated: Link 4

2) Canada is another country with hydrocarbon rich resources that is pushing hard into the Hydrogen age…
Link 1; Story Two about AEC’s breakthrough

H2 Storage / CO2 Neutralization / H2 Production
1) UC Riverside researchers have developed ‘a class of carbenes – molecules that have unusual, highly reactive carbon atoms’ – that can ‘mimic the behavior of metals. Called cyclic alkyl amino carbenes or CAACs, these organic molecules could be used to develop solid state carbon based systems for hydrogen.
Link from PhysOrg.com

2) Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a new class of high surface area material discovered in the early 1990s. As a Futurist I know that we are not supposed to ‘pick winners’ – but MOFs hold great potential for a number of applications including solid state H2 storage, carbon dioxide adsorption, gas separation, et al. And I will be surprised if we look at the chemical/energy industry in 2020 and do not see their widespread use.

MOFs consist of metal atom cores linked by organic compounds. Certain arrangements offer the highest surface area of any known material. There is hundreds of ways to arrange the metal centers with organic connectors.
UK scientists have made the connection links flexible which ‘allows it to rearrange itself when carbon dioxide was removed or replaced.
(Link from RSCorg)

3) There was a widely covered story out of the University of California, San Diego. Researchers have created a membrane system that uses sunlight to create electrical energy that breaks up Carbon Dioxide (CO2) into carbon monoxide and oxygen. Both of which are useful and relatively harmless if applied to industrial systems.

Again, the future of energy rests on our ability to develop new catalysts at the nanoscale that have tremendous efficiencies in converting molecules and compounds into harmful or useful byproducts. We must educate the public on the role of membrane technologies…
(Link from PhysOrg)

3) Fundamental research link – Easy H2 extraction from Ammonia

Solar - Two big stories:

1) Organic electronics / ‘plastic’ solar cells now at 6%
Big news was an update from a team at Wake Forest who are making excellent progress on their ‘plastic’ solar cells. The team has jumped from 3-5% efficiency in 2005 to 6% today. Applications vary but 10% is often discussed as the commercial threshold for organic photovoltaics – which promise cheaper solar power in more local environments (i.e. rooftops).
Link from PhysOrg.com

2) 3D Solar scaffolding
I have written about material science researchers at Georgia Tech on several occasions. They have a talented group and some world changing projects! They have created a 3D solar cell structure that is able to capture sunlight at any angle (regardless of the sun’s position)
Link from MIT Tech Review

Battery News (and a note on the H2/Electron Economy)
Read through ‘green’ blogs or ‘energy’ pundit sites and you see that batteries get all the love today. Fuel cells have become the ugly step sister.

There is no doubt that batteries are improving thanks to nanoscale science and engineering. And they are not likely to disappear even in a world with high performance fuel cells.

But batteries are only one part of the ‘H2/Electron Economy’. They only deal with electrons… not the greening of hydrocarbon resources.

H2 is important because of the hydrocarbons in our world! Mother nature has locked up most of its electron potential in hydrocarbons. Batteries cannot get these electrons; but its electrochemical sister can. We can use coal gasification in a fuel cell economy; we can convert natural gas electrochemically (and locally) through fuel cells; we can separate fuel and oxidant with fuel cells (batteries are a complete package- that must be recharged)

Better batteries do nothing to help make fossil fuels ‘greener’!

Better batteries do nothing to help people live ‘off grid’. They require you to have a connection to the grid. (i.e. recharged) Most batteries are toxic; and despite all their advances will always run in second place when compared to densities of micro-fuel cells.

1) Quantum supercapacitor – Patent - Link from TinytechIP Blog

2) Rechargeable lithium based on coated nanotubes – Link from TinyTechIP Blog

3) Nissan and NEC to develop batteries for automotive applications… Link from Alt Energy Blog

4) MIT readies ultra-capacitor… (a critical piece to the all-electric vehicle) Link

5) Rice University SWNT battery membrane patent…
Link from TinyTechIP

6) Crosslink announces new family of conductive polymer coatings for capacitor anodes

Finally – Stationary Fuel Cells—

While most of my focus is on micro-fuel cell applications. SOFC are game changers in the world of distributed stationary power generation. It has great potential…

Silicon Valley investor, turned energy pundit, Vinod Khosla seems to be sidetracked with promoting ethanol (not very disruptive to liquid hydrocarbon markets); but has also invested in an SOFC company (very disruptive to electricity markets) I wish he would focus his energy on building a new decentralized electron energy industry and stop trying to fix the combustion engine and fueling the illusion of ‘energy independence’. Peace and democracy do not spread through isolation - they grow around through economic interdependence. (See my post on Global Abundance not American Independence)

1) Acumentrics Corporation, ‘maker of solid-oxide fuel cells and uninterruptible power supplies for the distributed generation market, announced today that it has completed Phase I of its U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) (…) The Acumentrics fuel cells performed better than expected, with zero degradation and power output 20% higher than anticipated.
Link from Azom.com