itm power.pdf

ITM POWER UPDATE

An update from Europe’s largest electrolyser

and fuel cell development company

ITM Power’s factory in Shefield

will start production in 2008

Hydrogen holds key to greener Britain

Production of a state-of-the-art device that can help provide clean fuel to power vehicles

and provide energy for homes, ofices and factories is due to start in Britain next year.

Work to open what could become one of

the world’s largest production centres for high-

tech electrolysers is well underway. ITM Power,

Europe’s leading electrolyser and fuel cell

development company, announced that its new

Shefield facility, which will be the irst factory of

its kind ever to be opened in the UK, is on target

to commence production early in 2008.

The manufacture of electrolysers – devices

that produce hydrogen from electricity and

water – will mark a milestone for the company

on its way to helping develop a ‘hydrogen

economy’. ITM Power believes that the opening

will put Britain at the forefront of a revolution

in the use of hydrogen as a new, clean energy

source. Hydrogen can be used as an alternative

to fossil fuels, offering the prospect of pollution-

free motoring and zero-carbon housing.

The Shefield facility is the result of 15 years

of research, resulting in major breakthroughs in

the design and development of materials used in

the production of electrolysers. Phase one of the

move from research to manufacture involves a

£1-million transformation of the company’s new

Shefield premises. Once open, the facility will

produce electrolysers on a modular basis in 1kW,

10kW and 100kW outputs. The smaller units can

be used in automotive applications while

mid-range electrolysers have the capability to

help provide fuel for heat and power in homes

and businesses. The largest electrolysers can

be used to provide ‘buffer’ storage for energy

produced by wind, wave and solar power.

Jim Heathcote, ITM Power’s Chief Executive

Oficer said: “The opening of the factory takes

us out of the research and development phase

and into commercial production. This is a highly

signiicant step, not just for us, but for the quest

to ind affordable, practical and clean alternatives

to fossil fuels.”

Inside...

Page 2 Technology

whose time has come

H converted

to Electricity

(Fuel Cell)

Wind

Solar

H for Cooking

H for

Central Heating

H Store

Bi-Fuel Car

Electrolyser

The Electrolyser at Home

Page 4 Hydrogen for

the home

Welcome A warm welcome to this irst progress update from

ITM Power plc. for some, ITM Power will be a new

name, but its innovative research and development

are already helping to put it, and Britain, at the

very cutting edge of some of the most important

technology of our generation.

In this brief snapshot of our activities you will

discover some of the breakthroughs we are making

in hydrogen technologies to provide viable

alternatives to fossil fuels, to cut CO 2 emissions

and to bring new thinking to many of the

traditional approaches to energy production,

storage and conversion.

And for once this is not a promise for the

future but a reality for today as the opening of our

new Shefield production facility will bear witness

early next year. for the past 15 years ITM Power has

been involved in research and development, but

2008 will at last see that hard work reach fruition as

we commence manufacture.

We welcome interest in our work and approaches

from those who wish to know more about our

activities. I hope you ind this update informative

and you can ind additional information on our

website at www.itm-power.com

Jim Heathcote

CEO, ITM Power plc

A technology whose time has come

Electrolysers are not new

technology, but trying to make

them more eficient and affordable

has spawned a whole new

high-tech industry.

The ability of electrolysers to generate

hydrogen through a simple mixture of water

and electricity has always been appealing, as

has the fuel cell’s capacity to turn hydrogen

gas back into electricity. But the high cost

of the membrane material used in both

electrolysers and fuel cells, and the techniques

to take the concept from laboratory to full

scale production, have delayed the huge

potential of both devices for decades.

But a breakthrough in membrane

development by ITM Power has dramatically

changed the production economics and

given Britain a world lead in the technology.

Existing industry standard membrane material

costs around $500 per square metre, but ITM

Power’s patented membrane can be produced

for as little as $5 per square metre.

The British electrolyser also uses low-cost

catalysts containing no expensive platinum.

So, while existing electrolysers cost in the

region of $2,000/kW and the US Department

of Energy wants to lower this to $400/kW by

2012, ITM Power has already achieved stack

costs as low as $164/kW.

The membrane itself also offers higher

electrical (ionic) conductivity than those

... a breakthrough in membrane

development by ITM Power

has dramatically changed the

production economics and given

Britain a world lead in the

technology.

currently being used by rival companies. ITM

Power has also simpliied the architecture of

the electrolyser and devised a manufacturing

process which can signiicantly reduce mass

manufacturing costs.

The end result is a leap from development

to low-cost manufacture which has eluded

scientists for years and a bright new future for

a technology which has found its time.

Hydrogen – the green energy key

New breakthroughs in energy

technology could give Britain an

economy largely free of fossil fuels

within a timescale of 20 years.

This is the view of Dr Donald

Highgate, a respected physicist

and Director of Research at ITM

Power. He believes that low-cost

electrolytic hydrogen is the critical

development necessary to create

a new ‘green’ economy.

“Developments in the ield of

electrolysers and fuel cells are set

to fundamentally change the way

both industry and consumers view

the potential of hydrogen as a fuel

source,” explained Dr Highgate.

“Combining our technology

with green electricity from wind,

wave or solar power not only

offers up the exciting prospect of

an economy free of fossil fuels

but also massive reductions in CO 2

emissions,” he added.

Making CO 2 -free motoring a reality

A ford focus capable of running on hydrogen and a system which

could refuel the car anywhere with access to water and electricity have

been developed by ITM Power. The combination promises to slash

CO 2 emissions, reduce the reliance on fossil fuels and revolutionise

commuting for millions of drivers.

The bi-fuel ford focus, with minimal

modiications, has successfully completed

initial trials in a programme conducted on

behalf of ITM Power by the University of

Hertfordshire. During the testing programme

the vehicle was able to travel more than

25 miles on a single charge of hydrogen

– more than the average commuting

journey – before being switched back to run

on petrol. During the hydrogen-powered

journey the car generated no CO 2 emissions.

Of equal signiicance is how the hydrogen

was generated and the car fuelled. ITM has

developed a low-cost electrolyser which

can convert renewable energy (wind, wave

or solar power) or off-peak electricity into

hydrogen. An ITM patented ‘home refuelling

system’ was then used to fuel the car. Both

the refuelling system, which will be able to

generate and store hydrogen at home or at

work, and the bi-fuel car are to be publicly

demonstrated later this year.

Although some hydrogen-powered

cars are currently undergoing trials,

they have no access to a

hydrogen refuelling infrastructure and rely

on liquiied hydrogen which must be stored

at ultra-low temperatures. By contrast ITM

Power’s conventional ford focus test car

runs on pure hydrogen gas which can be

produced anywhere that has access to water

and electricity.

ITM Power’s CEO, Jim Heathcote, said:

“Both developments represent a seismic

advance in our efforts to cut ourselves free

from the dependence on oil and other fossil

fuels. The bi-fuel car and refuelling system

clearly demonstrate a simple, convenient

and low-cost transportation solution that

can signiicantly reduce greenhouse gases

and help mitigate climate change. We

believe combining electrolysers with an

internal combustion-engined vehicle brings

affordable hydrogen transportation forward

by many years.”

... the vehicle was able to travel

over 25 miles on a single charge

of hydrogen – more than the

average commuting journey

– before being switched back to

run on petrol

H 2 converted

to Electricity

(Fuel Cell)

Wind

H 2 for Cooking

Solar

H 2 for

Central Heating

H 2 Store

Bi-Fuel Car

Electrolyser

The Electrolyser at Home

Hydrogen at home

Recent breakthroughs in hydrogen technology are set to offer the housing market a green lifeline.

ITM Power has developed a device which can

generate hydrogen in the home to fuel central

heating boilers and cookers while drastically

cutting CO 2 emissions. The development is a

major advance towards the Government’s goal of

achieving a zero carbon new housing market by

2016. Currently domestic consumers account for

some 20 per cent of the UK’s CO 2 emissions.

ITM Power’s electrolyser, which is set to go

into production next year, can create its own

hydrogen fuel from a home’s existing water and

electricity supplies. The power needed can be

sourced from several optional supplies: home-

produced electricity from solar panels or a wind

turbine; low-cost off-peak electricity from the

national grid; or a totally ‘green tariff’ supply

now becoming increasingly available from wind,

wave, solar or hydroelectric power. Used in

conjunction with home-produced electricity, the

electrolyser offers the prospect of clean energy

and self-suficiency for the housing market.

The hydrogen produced can be stored and

then used as a conventional gas to burn in new

or converted central heating boilers, and as a

fuel for cooking. But, unlike gas and oil, when

hydrogen burns it releases no CO 2 emissions,

merely water vapour, offering the opportunity

to signiicantly cut Britain’s domestic carbon

footprint. Stored hydrogen can also be used as a

fuel for a new generation of generators to power

lighting and domestic appliances, removing the

inconvenience of power cuts for homes and

serious supply interruptions for hospitals, schools

and businesses.

Scientists at ITM Power made the hydrogen

breakthrough when they developed and

patented new materials at their Shefield

research centre which signiicantly undercut

those currently being used by high-tech irms

involved in the production of electrolysers.

ITM Power’s electrolyser, which

is set to go into production

next year, can create its own

hydrogen fuel from a home’s

existing water and electricity

supplies.

Dual-fuel solutions

Submission to

new Government

Review

One of the dilemmas facing the transport industry is the constant

demand to improve performance while at the same time reducing

harmful emissions. Consumers want lower costs and better eficiency

but now ask for solutions offering a lower carbon footprint too.

ITM Power has joined leading experts

from industry and government

in submitting evidence to the

King Review examining ways to

decarbonise road transport.

Professor Julia King, Vice-

Chancellor of Aston University and

a former Director of Advanced

Engineering at Rolls Royce plc, is

currently undertaking the Review

along with Sir Nicholas Stern at the

invitation of the Government. They

have been asked to consider which

vehicle and fuel technologies over

the next 25 years could best reduce

carbon emissions, particularly in

relation to cars.

In response, ITM Power says

that only hydrogen fuel currently

presents a viable route to achieving

low carbon emissions. The company

points to hydrogen’s suitability for

use in internal combustion-engined

vehicles and its ease of production

via electrolysers and Britain’s existing

national water supply and electricity

distribution networks.

ITM Power says dual-fuel vehicles,

using hydrogen and either petrol or

diesel, represent an early opportunity

to reduce carbon emissions,with

hydrogen fuel cells a technology

which may become the prime mover

of vehicles for the future.

In the world of transportation, reduced fuel

consumption is the cost-cutting holy grail

of operators on land, sea and in the air. At

a time when governments are just as keen

to reduce CO 2 emissions, the struggle to

ind both a green and economic solution

seems intractable.

But research into an innovative dual-

fuel system by ITM Power is offering some

exciting possibilities for cutting transport

costs and emissions. The company has

been researching the effects of fuelling

vehicles with a mixture of diesel and

hydrogen. ITM Power says some initial

testing of a conventional diesel-powered

vehicle using the dual-fuel mixture has

proved “encouraging” with improvements

in economy, reductions in emissions and

increases in power output.

The hydrogen injected into the

conventional diesel engine is created on-

board by a state-of-the-art electrolyser

developed by ITM Power which produces

the fuel using a supply of water and

electricity fed from the vehicle’s generator.

The hydrogen gas is then fed into the

engine to mix with diesel fuel.

The ITM Power research is being

undertaken in a joint project with the

University of Hertfordshire and has already

indicated potential fuel savings from the

on-board electrolyser. Emissions have

also been lowered and tests have shown

signiicant improvements in the steady

speed power output of the diesel engine.

Said ITM Power’s CEO Jim Heathcote:

“We need to do a lot more testing in a

variety of running conditions before we

can conirm the exact details of the fuel

savings and reduction in emissions, but the

initial results are certainly encouraging.”

The dual-fuel approach has potential

automotive, rail and marine applications

and will be of particular interest to

commercial vehicle manufacturers and

operators as well as ;builders and operators

of diesel-engined trains and ships. ITM

Power is keen to hear from interested

parties who see further applications for

the technology.

Professor Julia King

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