Plastic Fuel Cell Valve

Unlike existing stainless steel valves that require rubber hoses, Entegris’s plastic fuel cell valve has all internal passages allowing the valve to mount directly on the manifold. This eliminates contamination, ensuring a cleaner air path to and around the stack. In addition, fewer connections reduce potential leak points to save valuable maintenance time and money.

The solenoid-operated valve uses very low power, increasing manifold efficiency. The lightweight, compact design reduces the overall footprint of the manifold while maintaining flow requirements. All wetted surfaces are plastic and molded rubber, so the fuel cell valve is chemically resistant and suitable for all applications.

Features include a 0 to 2.5psig pressure range, -20EF to 160EF temperature range, and 24VDC operation. Flow factors are 850SCFH with a 0.03psi air pressure drop and 1450SCFH with a 0.08psi air pressure drop. All wetted parts are PVDF, polyphenylsulfone, and EPDM.

Contact Entegris Inc., 3500 Lyman Blvd., Chaska, MN 55318, phone: (952) 556-4048, fax: (612) 556-8022, or visit www.entegrisfuelcells.com.

Solid Hydrogen Storage for Vehicles and Stations

Texaco Ovonic Hydrogen Systems’s (TOHS) new compact, solid hydrogen storage allows hydrogen-powered cars to have a similar range, performance and refueling experience as current internal combustion vehicles.

TOHS’s system uses a powdered metal alloy within a storage tank to absorb and store hydrogen in a significantly lower 1,500psi pressure environment, a reversal of the current trend toward 10,000psi gaseous storage. As the hydrogen is absorbed into the solid metal alloy, the heat produced is removed. The result is hydrogen stored safely in a solid, inert state, only to be released on demand when heated. This process makes use of the waste heat from either an internal combustion or fuel cell power plant.

Showcasing this breakthrough is a 2002 Toyota Prius hybrid with a trunk-mounted 60-liter pressure vessel that stores 3kg of hydrogen to give a 130+ mile range. Refueling at 1,500psi takes 10 minutes, but could decrease to just five minutes with future designs. “DOE’s 250-mile range target could be achievable with the use of a 5kg Ovonic™ solid hydrogen storage system, and TOHS is already prototyping systems with potentially greater ranges,” says Stanford R. Ovshinsky, TOH president and ECD Ovonic co-founder, president, and CEO.

TOHS’s low-pressure, hydrogen fuel tanks can also be used at refueling stations, allowing drivers to refuel their vehicles safely and easily with no need for compressors, regulators, connectors, or new high-pressure pipelines.

Contact Texaco Ovonic Hydrogen Systems, 2983 Waterview Dr., Rochester Hills, MI 48309, phone: (248) 293-8772, fax: (248) 299-4520, or www.txohydrogen.com.