Press release

Brunnthal, April 11, 2005 - SFC Energy (SFC) and Heliocentris have signed a distribution agreement whereby Heliocentris will distribute the SFC A50 M, a 50 W fuel cell power supply. Heliocentris will offer the SFC A50 M as part of an educational package for post-secondary educational institutions. Both companies have also agreed to collaborate on further development of direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) based educational packages.

“With SFC’s technology we have further expanded our post-secondary educational product offering. We are now able to meet the increasing demand for DMFC based educational products.” said Dr. Henrik Colell, Heliocentris’ co-founder and managing director.

“We realised we were getting an increasing amount of interest from universities and other educational institutions. In Heliocentris, we have identified a strong and experienced partner who can support us in bringing this key technology to future engineers and technicians”, said Dr. Manfred Stefener, CEO and founder of SFC Energy AG. “More and more experts recognise DMFC technology as the key technology for the one W to one kW power range”. 

Beginning this April, Heliocentris will offer a special DMFC educational package, the “Methucator”, comprising the SFC A50 M; data logging software; methanol cartridges; a lead acid battery including accessories; and an additional single cell demonstration DMFC. Other accessories like an electronic load and an inverter complete the product offering. SFC already markets fuel cell systems successfully in retail and industrial markets. With a usable power of 50 W, the SFC A50 M delivers up to 100 Ah per day to charge a 12 V lead acid battery. A single 5 litre cartridge delivers power for 80 hours of continuous operation and more than 300 Ah of electricity. With one cartridge educational institutions can run several student-days of experiments. Replacement cartridges can be ordered at a low price.

With the included data logging software, users can monitor and collect fuel cell data including voltage, current, temperature, methanol consumption as well as several other parameters. With the additional demonstration single cell students can better understand the electrochemical background of direct methanol fuel cells. With this product package a range of scientific and technical investigations can be carried out, ranging from basic investigations on the characteristic behaviour to construction of remote power supply units. The product can also be combined with other types of alternative energy systems like power converters and solar panels, giving students the opportunity to integrate and develop hybrid systems. For the future, further educational packages are planned including specific packages for electrical engineering, energy technology, and chemical and process engineering.

Energy and Heliocentris will launch their relationship at Hanover Fair 2005, April 11 – 16, 2005. Heliocentris will present the new DMFC training package at Booth E76/1 in Hall 13, where other fuel cell educational equipment from Heliocentris will also be presented.