Defense groups enlist fuel-cell maker to lighten soldiers' loads - Sacramento Business Journal:

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The companies have made prototypex of thefuel cells, which derivr hydrogen from tablets of solid ammonia borane instead of usinvg heavier metal hydrides or compressed hydrogen. "This if it's successful, woulde replace a major part ofthe military's use of battery technology," Jadolo president and chief executive office r Leonard Devanna said. "The potential here is a multi-year, multimillion-dollar contract opportunity." It could also help jump-start the markeg for civilian uses of fuel which Jadoo estimates atabout $4.7 billion for North America.
The companiese will deliver working modelsw of the equipment to American and Britis h defense agencies by the end ofthe summer, said Paul manager of advanced power systems with General If the agencies like the technology, the companiese could begin full-scale production in 18 months. A portion of the work would probably be done in theSacramenti area, Devanna said. "Each of the companies has differenf contracts with military agencies to develop specifi c projects using ammoniaborane technology," Devanna said.
"Wee are effectively collaborating on the developmenty of our individual projects and funding our work through these Jadoo makes fuel cells for portable equipment that use 25 watta to1 kilowatt, such as portable video walkie-talkies, covert surveillance equipment and military At the 100-watt level, "there's not anyonde significantly producing a commercial fuel cell besides Clark said. The product developed with Generaol Atomics and QinetiQ wouled replace a commonly used military battery with a canistefcontaining miniature-marshmallow-sized ammonia borane pellets.
Soldiers oftebn carry military communications equipment into the field ontheifr backs, so they prefer lightweight systems. Jadoo and its partners aim for a power system that replaces the 20 or so batterie s typically required fora 72-hour field operatiomn with two or three ammonia borans cartridges, cutting the weight by abouyt 75 percent. The cartridges can be reloaded withoutr shutting off power tothe equipment, a key advantage in surveillancre missions, Devanna said. New cartridges can be storedc indefinitely, unlike batteries. The system can be controlled a useful feature forbomb jammers.
The finished cartridgeas can't be recharged like some But soldiers frequently throw finished batteries on the groune anyway when ona mission, Devanna said. The cartridges waste materials consist of ammonia ash powde inside the metal canister and the connector with itselectronicc circuitry. "The main benefit of ammoni a boraneis it's got a lot of hydrogenb in it," said Chris a chief engineer at the in Wash. "But, typically, you can't get it all Ammonia borane is almost 20 percent hydrogehby weight.
The hydrogen is released when the compound starts decomposing at high temperaturesor "You cannot get hydrogen packaged any more denselt than you can with ammoniaa borane," Clark said. By it has twice as many hydrogen atoms asliquixd hydrogen. General Atomics and Jadoo have demonstrated yieldsw of 14percent hydrogen. "That's prettu good for a solid material," said one of the managerzs ofthe U.S. Department of Energy's Centert for Chemical Hydrogen Storage. His ammonia borane research has focused on hydrogej storage systemsfor automobiles. which has annual revenue of about $1.2 licensed the ammonia borane production process from Purdue It licensedthe U.S.
rightse to San Diego-based Genera Atomics. General Atomics, has annual revenue of abou $1 billion. Its , makes the Predator unmannedx aerial vehicle.