By Allen Gibson, HomelandDefenseStocks.com 
Sept 2004  

The military of the future is going to be a much more energy-efficient organization, if recent announcements of R&D contracts are any indication. From the Air Force to the Army to DARPA and the DoD, the services are actively exploring ways to use advanced technology to make their processes more of a closed energy loop, for both strategic and tactical reasons. The commercial fuel cell market is poised to explode within the next 10 years, as sales are predicted to soar to $3.3 billion by 2006 and $10 billion by 2009, according to Technology Training Corporation. And the military is increasingly looking to commercial applications that can be repurposed for the military with a much lower cost factor. Potentially, this is very good news for commercial fuel-cell specialists like Astris Energy, who have spent seventeen years weaning alkaline fuel cells out of the space program by discovering how to build them without the need for costly platinum components  Astris’ latest power generator has a total system efficiency of more than 50% – several multiples higher than gasoline generators.

It’s those kind of energy efficiency figures that have the Army, for example, working with DARPA ( Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) to create the “Mobile Integrated Sustainable Energy Recovery” (MISER) program. The idea is simple, but brilliant. Use the plastic garbage from field operations to fuel field operations, by converting the plastics into generator fuel of the type the army calls ‘logistics fuel,’ i.e.: diesel, which can then be used in a fuel cell.

Plastic packaging waste has an energy content approaching diesel’s, so a military unit, which crates lots of garbage, could achieve well over 100 percent self-sufficiency in generator fuel. In the process, they would save millions of gallons of costly diesel, which, according to Allied Business Intelligence (ABI), costs the military anywhere from $1 to $400 per gallon to deliver on the battlefield! On site fuel cells would also significantly reduce the truck and manpower ‘logistics tail’ needed to deliver that expensive diesel and will also likely save lives, since fuel convoys are a favourite target in war zones such as Iraq.

CellTech Power of Westborough , Mass. , has spent the last 6 years researching and developing its anode and cell technology to run directly on any fuel from coal to natural gas, and says it hopes to have the MISER plastic-based version running within three years.

At the same time, Polytechnic University   and DNA 2.0 in Los Altos , Calif. , will use a novel enzyme catalyst approach to make a high-value bioplastic for military packaging. The carbon to make the new plastics is from plant oils, such as corn, sunflower and soybean. The resulting bioplastic is designed to be easily useable in the fuel conversion process.

The race is on to replace batteries on the battlefield.

Another area of intense R&D activity is in micro fuel-cells, which can be used to run everything from mobile phones to computers. Some experts think fuel cells will find their first widespread use in portable electronics, since “micro cells” offer far higher energy densities than batteries. And considering that the airborne infantry had to carry 22 different types of batteries into Iraq , the appeal of fuel cells becomes obvious. They could allow a typical laptop to operate unplugged for ten hours or more, as well as eliminating the need for battery chargers and AC adapters.

“DARPA is particularly focussed on small energy sources of the type we could use in a micro-air vehicle or to power the gear a soldier has to carry on the battlefield,” says spokesperson Jan Walker. “Currently, we tend to use batteries, which means a soldier has to carry enough batteries for the length of the mission. But if we could develop a fuel cell for the soldier, it would be lighter to carry.”

The Air Force also wants micro cells, but in their case it’s for laptop computers. General Dynamics’ C4 Systems has won a 1.3 Million dollar Air Force contract to develop 10 prototype tablet computers powered by direct-liquid fuel cells that could be used by special operations forces for portable air traffic control.

Medis Technologies, a participant in the project, has indicated that in a few quarters it could have a commercially available fuel cell product similar to the one being used by General Dynamics in the project. Medis has already successfully demonstrated liquid fuel cell systems that operate portable electronic devices. This could be part of a growing trend in the U. S. military. It’s placing greater emphasis on using technologies and products that are commercially available, and then integrating and developing them for military usage, according to a C4 vice president.      

Which, if you think about it, is another aspect of reducing waste. It’s called re-cycling.

The Department of Defense (DoD) is also in on the act, awarding Nanomaterials Discovery Corporation a $2.5 million contract for the development of its fuel cell technology.

NDC is working on a new class of fuel cells powered by high-energy materials such as propellants and explosives. Ultimately, says the Company, such cells could enable development of miniature power supplies for fusing and arming munitions. That, in turn, could mean land mines that turn themselves off after a set period of time. Another life saver. And saving lives, after all, is the ultimate in renewable energy!  

Astris is a late-stage development company committed to becoming the leading provider of affordable fuel cells and fuel cell generators internationally. Over the past 21 years, more than $17 million has been spent to develop Astris' alkaline fuel cell for commercial applications. Astris is commencing pilot production of its POWERSTACK(tm) MC 250 technology in 2004. Astris is the only publicly traded company in North America focused exclusively on the alkaline fuel cell. Additional information is also available at the company's website at http://www.astris.ca.  

Long favored as the fuel cell of choice for the US space program because of its reliability, efficiency, and durability, alkaline fuel cell technology was recently included in new R&D funding available from the US Department of Energy.  Astris Energi Inc. has been working on the integration of alkaline fuel cells with stationary and portable power generators.  Their 2.4 kW Model E8 Generator is quiet and emission free, making the compact, self-contained powerplant ideal for military and civilian applications.  It can be used as a backup power supply, an off-grid power source in mission critical applications, a portable field generator, or as the energy source in small vehicle fleet applications.  The E8, which uses hydrogen instead of fossil fuels, has a total system efficiency of more than 50%, a figure unequalled by any other device in its class, and several times higher than conventional gasoline generators.  At the heart of the E8 is Astris’ POWERSTACK™ MC250 alkaline fuel cell, a low cost, highly efficient fuel cell module that starts up rapidly even in sub-zero temperatures. Its inherent ability to operate in ambient temperatures (-25oC to +50oC), simplicity of design, and reliability make it ideal for critical military applications.  

Allen R. Gibson

Allen R. Gibson has over twenty-five years of experience in media and corporate communications.  He has been a reporter, television producer, and marketing communications consultant for public companies in both the US and Canada.  

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