Elicius Energy – Fuel Cells

Elicius provides resources to companies using or considering energy storage technologies such as hydrogen fuel cells or batteries.

Our Tubular PEM Fuel Cell Stack not only offers all the established benefits of hydrogen technology such as silent, clean power but additionally provides an increase in power density compared to the current market standard and lower initial purchase costs in a modular technology that can easily be scaled up or down depending on client needs.

Elicius provide advanced testing and diagnostic equipment such as its RIS technique. RIS is idyllic to all consumers using energy storage and electrochemical devices providing faster processing time and lower equipment costs for Fuel Cell and Battery Management Systems (BMS). Elicius provide light weight, simple equipment ideal for on-board and online applications.

 

Elicius Energy - Our Solutions

 

THE TUBULAR PEM FUEL CELL

The Technology

Elicius Energy have developed the Tubular PEM Fuel Cell Stack (TPEMFC). The TPEMFC achieves a peak power output of 335mW/cm2 at 0.44V and a current density of 400mA/cm2 at 0.6V. The cell sacrifices performance due to its open-cathode air-breathing design. Despite this loss in MEA performance the cell actually gains in volumetric and gravimetric power density due to the simpler, lighter design. The predicted gravimetric and volumetric power densities of a Tubular PEM Fuel Cell stack are 178.6 W/kg and 255.1 kW/m3 respectively. The open cathode design includes an optimized breathing space meaning no air supply equipment is required resulting in an overall smaller system. The TPEMFC is considerably lower in volume then the equivalent technology market leaders and comparable in weight and cost.

 

We believe the Tubular PEM Stack is of great benefit and creates exciting possibilities for several niche markets.

 

The Applications

Military Applications – Our Tubular PEM Stack is currently being evaluated by naval organisations for high endurance underwater vehicles (UUVs), distributed small power for all electric ships, on-board auxiliary power for underwater weapon systems, man-portable power source for soldiers (for soldier as a system- C4U), robotic ground vehicles (RGVs) for long hour missions and a power source for battle field surveillance radar (BFSR).

 

UAVs and UUVs – The stack with its low volume and simpler overall system make it an attractive option for electric flight. The UAV market was valued at USD 18.14 Billion in 2017 and is projected to reach USD 52.30 Billion by 2025, at a CAGR of 14.15% from 2018 to 2025 (Markets and Markets, n.d.). Poor battery life has plagued the UAV and UUV industry and now considerable interest is being shown in fuel cells. Two fuel cell UAV models have been showcased at this year’s InterDrone conference attracting significant attention. Additionally the United States Office of Naval Research and the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory have partnered with General Motors to develop fuel cell-powered UUVs (FCHEA, 2018). The goal of fuel cell UUVs is 60 days use without refuelling, therefore low volume and system simplicity, benefits offered by the TPEMFC, become a key focus in order to maximise fuel storage.

 

E-Bikes – The global electric bikes market size was valued at $16.34 billion in 2017, and is expected to reach $23.83 billion by 2025, registering a CAGR of 4.9% from 2018 to 2025 (Allied Market Research, n.d.). Companies such as Pragma Industries based in France have recently launched their hydrogen bicycles for use in corporate or municipal fleets and could benefit from the Tubular Fuel cells low volume, modular nature and potential for easier hydrogen fuel supply.

 

OTHER TECHNOLOGIES

RIS

Rapid impedance spectroscopy is a technology that could cut down the time for conventional Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) by about one order of magnitude. The technique makes use of patent pending algorithms to obtain the impedance spectra of any system in under 10 seconds. This would pave the way for a faster and more effective tool for diagnosing the health and performance of electrochemical systems, especially batteries and fuel cells. The key innovation in the technology is that it operates in the transient domain and does not require the system under test to reach steady state. Anyone and everyone working on electrochemical systems would need this technology.

 

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Posted on

April 23, 2019

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