Sympowerco Corp. (OTC.PK: SYMW)
Since the earliest days of manned space flight, the fuel cell has provided power for space craft. On July 20, 1969, the Apollo 11 Lunar Module landed on the moon. Its Command Module was powered by fuel cells. For decades man has reliably and safely powered space craft (and submarine systems, as well) with fuel cells, but a practical fuel cell, capable of powering even a small vehicle , has yet to be brought to the consumer market.
SymPowerco’s majority-owned (70%) subsidiary, Polygenic Power Systems’ Flowing Electrolyte Direct Methanol Fuel Cell not only runs on a renewable energy source, methanol, but we believe it has the potential to power the first practical and cost-effective fuel cell hybrid-powered vehicles offered to consumers. At SymPowerco, they believe they have the technology and the team required to bring an advanced, practical and rugged fuel cell to market.
Hybrid Power Systems
Imagine a car's mileage suddenly increasing to over 100 mpg, without any apparent loss in performance. Imagine eliminating over 200 lbs of lead acid batteries in golf carts. Hybrid Power Systems will make these advances possible in the near future. SymPowerco intends to develop and market Hybrid Power Systems through their majority-owned (70%) subsidiary, Polygenic Power Systems. A hybrid power system has two or more power components performing cooperative power-supplying functions.
Almost all vehicles must have a means of storing onboard energy. Vehicles that use internal combustion engines must store energy in the form of gasoline, diesel fuel or alternative fuels like alcohol or natural gas. Of course, the internal combustion engine produces polluting emissions and noise and most engines burn non-renewable hydrocarbon fuels.
Electric vehicles store electrical energy in batteries. They are quiet and electric motors are very efficient. However, to store enough electrical energy to be practical, these vehicles must carry huge batteries. The typical golf cart, for instance, has lead-acid batteries weighing as much as 350 lb! The batteries have barely enough capacity for two rounds of golf before they must be recharged. And when the batteries run down it takes several hours to recharge them.
Imagine a power system in an electric golf cart or other electric vehicle that:
· Eliminates over 60% of the battery weight and cost.
· Reduces vehicle structural weight because of less battery weight.
· Requires far less energy to run due to the reduced weight.
· Recharges its own batteries while it’s running, never needs to be “plugged in”.
· Eliminates the large charging stations where the vehicles are “plugged in”.
· Converts readily-available and environmentally-friendly methanol into electricity, onboard.
· Operates in a quiet, clean and safe manner.
A hybrid power system is a combination of a power producer and the means to store that power in an energy storage medium such as lead-acid batteries or other battery types. In a golf cart or other such vehicle, peak power demand is satisfied with batteries while the batteries are continuously charged with a power supply such as a fuel cell.
The average power demand in most vehicles is only 25 to 35% of peak demand. For instance, an automobile with a 200 hp engine requires only 50 hp or less while cruising on flat ground. Peak power capability is only used during acceleration, climbing hills or pulling larger loads.
In a hybrid electric vehicle, the batteries store sufficient energy to supply the peak demand but the average demand is only 25% to 30% of the peak.
The fuel cell therefore needs to be capable of producing a steady “trickle” charge at or slightly above the average power demand. For example, preliminary calculations show that a 0.25 kW fuel cell with a 0.75 kWhr battery pack hybrid system would provide more than the equivalent power of the 3kWhr lead-acid battery system currently used for golf carts indicating a 75% reduction in required battery capacity (and weight). And because peak demand is supplied by the battery, the output of the fuel cell needs to be 70% less than the vehicle's peak power requirements. So, because the batteries can be charged “on the fly”, far less weight in batteries can be used and the power supply needs to produce only slightly more than the average vehicle demand, together resulting in a far lighter, economical and environmentally friendly vehicle while still maintaining superior vehicle performance.
SymPowerco, through its majority owned subsidiary Polygenic Power Systems, has acquired the rights to an advanced power producer, a Flowing Electrolyte Direct Methanol Fuel Cell and the rights to use advanced battery technologies in hybrid applications.
Fuel Cell Primer
A fuel cell is an electrochemical energy conversion device that produces electricity from hydrogen. Hydrogen is an element and has the simplest atomic structure of all elements, 1 proton and 1 electron. Electricity is the flow of electrons.
A fuel cell can be two to three times more efficient than an internal combustion engine in converting fuel to power. A fuel cell produces electricity, water and heat using fuel and oxygen in the air. Water is the only emission when hydrogen is the fuel.
Fuel cells typically consist of two electrodes, the anode and cathode. Sandwiched between the electrodes is an electrolyte, usually a solid Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) that is capable of conducting protons from the anode to the cathode. The anode side is enclosed by a fuel/water chamber while the cathode side is enclosed by a water/air chamber.
As hydrogen flows into the fuel cell on the anode side, a platinum catalyst on the anode facilitates the separation of the hydrogen gas into electrons and protons (hydrogen ions). The hydrogen ions pass from the anode through the PEM and with the help of another platinum catalyst, combine with oxygen and electrons on the cathode side, producing water. The electrons, which cannot pass through the PEM, flow from the anode to the cathode through an external circuit containing a motor or other electric load, which consumes the power generated by the cell. Some heat is also produced but because there is no combustion taking place the heat is far less than that produced in an internal combustion engine.
In principle, a fuel cell operates like a battery. Unlike a battery, however, a fuel cell does not run down or require recharging. It will produce energy in the form of electricity and heat as long as fuel is supplied. Although hydrogen is an excellent fuel, it has huge problems with respect to production, transportation and storage. It takes considerable energy and sophisticated equipment to produce hydrogen by electrolysis or from methanol, methane, propane or other petroleum products. Hydrogen is a gas and must be transported and stored under pressure. Most experts agree that it will be decades before sufficient infrastructure exists to allow the use of hydrogen as a fuel, yet hydrogen is what is needed in a fuel cell.
It is possible to extract or produce hydrogen at the fuel cell from various fuels by using a system called a fuel reformer that forms part of the fuel cell system. Fuel reformers are complex, expensive and substantially reduce the efficiency of the fuel cell because some of the power produced by the fuel cell is required to power the reformer. In addition, there are often undesirable byproducts from the reformer.
Direct Methanol Fuel Cells
Researchers believe that the Direct Methanol Fuel Cell or DMFC presents the best opportunity for early commercialization of fuel cells. When a weak solution of methanol is fed to the carbon and platinum anode of a fuel cell, the methanol dissociates into H+, CO2 and electrons. The CO2 is vented off and the fuel cell is left with H+ and electrons similar to the process in hydrogen PEM fuel cells.
The advantages of the DFMC are obvious. Firstly, an expensive, complex and power hungry reformer is not required and, secondly, methanol is commonly available. Worldwide methanol production capacity in 2006 was approximately 43 million metric tonnes. DMFCs promise very simple construction, excellent power output, inexpensive and easy to handle fuel coupled with broad availability of the fuel.
But PEM DMFCs have operational problems, the most notable of which is “methanol crossover ”. The membrane in a PEM DMFC allows methane to crossover rom the anode to the cathode side lessening efficiency by as much as 30%. Researchers have not been able to develop a PEM capable of eliminating crossover without increasing DMFC resistance and cost. The inherent engineering difficulties such as moisture and temperature control with PEM fuel cells coupled with the crossover problem of PEM DMFCs have led many to believe that portable, efficient and inexpensive fuel cells may be several years from commercialization.
Flowing Electrolyte Direct Methanol Fuel Cell
In the SymPowerco Flowing Electrolyte Direct Methanol Fuel Cell or FE DMFC, the expensive PEM is replaced by a flowing electrolyte, sulfuric acid, the same acid found in automobile batteries. A PEM is also required in the FE DMFC but it can be a far less expensive PEM with much lower resistance. This cheaper PEM allows some crossover of methanol but the flowing electrolyte removes the methanol, thus increasing fuel cell efficiency by about 30%. The result is a lower cost and more efficient DMFC and a probable smoother and cheaper route to commercialization.
The FE DMFC has several other advantages over the PEM DMFC. The most important is superior startup and shutdown performance. When the FE DMFC is shut down the electrolyte is drained from the cell thereby shutting down the fuel cell with no residual voltages. The PEM DMFC shuts down with high voltages present causing degradation of expensive catalysts and other components. The FE DMFC also shows much more constant voltage over its output range than the PEM DMFC, which experiences voltage drop at high output.
One of the main advantages of a flowing electrolyte system is simple thermal and water management and the possibility to remove reaction products and impurities continuously during operation. The system can be shut down completely and restarted as desired, which, unlike other fuel cells, allows only actual operating hours to be considered part of the fuel cell’s life-cycle. In fact, it is anticipated that interruptions improve or revive the catalysts as has been clearly established for larger scale flowing electrolyte types of fuel cells like the alkaline and acidic systems.
Over $4,000,000 has been invested in research and development of the SymPowerco FE DMFC. The development work included the successful construction and operation of a 5 Watt multi-cell FE DMFC that supplied power to a complete hybrid power system. The 5W unit included an electronic subsystem control package of sufficient capability to handle the entire FE DMFC development process to near-commercialization.
The completion and testing of the 5W unit proved the feasibility of the Flowing Electrolyte DMFC program, answered many research and development questions and paved the way for the ramping up of the FE DMFC program now being undertaken by SymPowerco. SymPowerco with its development partners will announce the FE DMFC development objectives and activities in the near future.
Batteries
Hybrid Power Systems typically consist of an electrical source, a charger and a battery. Although SymPowerco’s fuel cell technologies will work well with lead acid and other battery types in hybrid power applications , the company has nevertheless pursued other, more advanced, battery technologies.
The company has acquired the exclusive rights to use a new flat-plate rechargeable alkaline battery technology with our FE DMFC. The flat-plate alkaline battery technology is inexpensive, environmentally far friendlier than NiMH, NiCad and lead acid batteries and has no “memory” effects.
More importantly, this battery is far less expensive than lithium batteries of comparable capability. This battery technology is inherently safer than lithium batteries that can overheat and rupture.
Although SymPowerco’s FE DMFC forms the heart of our Hybrid Power System initiatives, the company will leverage all available technological advancements in order to produce state-of-the-art power supply technologies.
LEADERSHIP
John Davenport, President, CEO, Treasurer
Michael Dillion, Secretary
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