Proton Energy Systems Awarded NASA Advanced PEM Fuel Cell Contract

Business Wire, Nov 18, 1998

Rocky Hill, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 18, 1998--Proton Energy Systems announced today that they have won a NASA program leading to the development of a Proton Exchange Membrane Unitized Regenerative Fuel Cell (PEM URFC) Energy Storage System. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) effort leads to a unique PEM fuel cell that provides the advantages of a primary fuel cell but can recharge itself from an electrical power supply. This system is the functional equivalent of a battery yet has the highly attractive features of a fuel cell such as high specific energy, high energy density, and long cycle life.

Successful prototypes of energy storage products will be suitable for development to serve NASA mission requirements or to meet commercial energy storage needs. Commercial URFC products, the UNIGEN(tm) series, can serve unique electrical energy storage applications through direct conversion of electricity to hydrogen chemical energy offering many performance advantages over even advanced batteries. Important applications include long discharge power systems for premium power backup, standby power supply, atmospheric monitoring, surveillance, and communications. URFCs may ultimately be used in for energy storage in homes, villages, factories, monitoring stations, and on-grid peak shaving. Coupled to a conventional fuel source such as natural gas, these systems can create a complete energy management system with the ability to both store and generate power.

Proton Energy Systems, located in Rocky Hill, CT is a world leader in the development and commercial manufacture of proton exchange membrane hydrogen generators and regenerative fuel cells. At the heart of these systems is the proprietary Proton Energy Systems electrochemical cell stack. Commercial hydrogen generator products are now in production with commercial introduction of related energy products planned for early 2000.