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Anode frame 2 5000W
GenCell Fuel Cell
GenCell G5 Long-Duration UPS
of the following components: an
electrochemical generator (i.e., the
fuel cell), an energy bridge, a heat
utilization unit and a hydrogen fuel
supply. The GenCell G5rx also includes
a shelter that is resistant to high-
voltage interference, earthquakes
and EMPs. An optional Network
Operations Center (NOC) offers
remote manage and maintenance of
all GenCell solutions from a control
room, web browser or mobile device.
Hydrogen based fuel
cell technology seems
to be a hot topic at the
moment, especially in the
automotive market, what
are your thoughts on this?
It’s true that the automotive
industry sees great potential in fuel
cells. No doubt this is the result of
growing consumer concern for the
environmental effect of car emissions.
In general, transport is responsible
for 12% of carbon dioxide emissions
in Europe and more than 20% in the
USA. As a result, governments are
keen to reduce these figures, putting
pressure on manufacturers to invest
in fossil fuel alternative technologies.
Hydrogen-based fuel cells have
become one way to achieve this.
The automotive industry has certainly
raised the awareness of fuel cells
again, which is great, but this is not a
new technology.
Fuel cells have been used in other
markets, very successfully for many
years now. For instance, NASA
pioneered the use of Alkaline-fuel
cells in its Apollo program in the
1960’s. It used fuel cells to provide
critical light and heat, as well as the
electricity to power other onboard
equipment on each space shuttle. It
chose fuel cells to achieve this as it
needed extreme reliability – batteries
were simply too heavy and they
also couldn’t provide the necessary
extended life.
Consequently, this proven space
technology enhanced and validated
the quality and resilience of fuel cells,
for which would later be used for
many other commercial applications.
If it’s not a new
technology, what’s
prohibited the wider
adoption of fuel cells in
other markets?
In the early days of fuel cell
development, the promise of the
technology was huge and many
businesses were attracted to
its many benefits. However, as
scientists tried to commercialize the
technology, issues with scalability and
manufacturability became apparent.
As a result, early adopters didn’t
receive the promised benefits and
this tarnished the reputation of
fuel cells as a viable alternative
power. But as with most technology
introductions, this same technology
has since been redesigned, refined
and the early issues resolved – now
enabling fuel cells to compete with
more conventional technologies such
as diesel generators.
Fuel cell manufacturers such
as ourselves are now enjoying
significant success with this
technology in several markets.
But from a reputation perspective,
we are all rebuilding market
confidence in the technology,
New-Tech Magazine Europe l 43