Press release

Brunnthal, August 23, 2006 – The world’s first fuel cells with TUEV SUED octagon seal: the new EFOY (Energy for You) fuel cells made by SFC Energy AG, Brunnthal, now feature the brand new “Fuel Cell System” quality seal. The TUEV SUED experts tested safety and quality based on the current draft standard IEC 62282-5.

SFC is the market leader in fuel cell technologies for mobile and off-grid power applications serving the leisure, industrial and military markets. As one of Germany’s most successful technology pioneers, SFC has won numerous innovation awards and has alliances with leading companies in a wide range of industries. SFC has been shipping fully commercial products to industrial and private end users for three years already. EFOY fuel cells supply power to motor homes, mountain cabins, to traffic monitoring systems, to name just a few applications.

Certificate award ceremony at SFC's EFOY production site at Brunnthal / Munich.
Left to right: Dr. Marcus Preißner, SFC Project Leader, Dr. Jens Müller, SFC Managing Director, Dr. Manfred Bayerlein, Speaker of the Management of TUEV SUED Industrie Service GmbH, Dipl.-Ing. Jens Fleitmann, Manager Alternative Energies, TUEV SUED, Dr. Verena Graf, Head of Production at SFC

Safe to use in any application

“For the certification of the EFOY 1200 and 1600 fuel cells SFC relied on the extensive expertise of TUEV SUED“, said Jens Fleitmann, Manager for Alternative Energies at TUEV SUED Industry Service GmbH. „Safety and reliability are becoming ever more important, as fuel cell systems are moving out of the labs into everyday life and into people’s houses, boats or motor homes.” The TUEV SUED octagon confirms safe operation of the EFOY fuel cells. In the framework of the certification the “heart” of the fuel cell, the so-called fuel cell stack, and the complete system periphery were tested. Beyond that the TUEV SUED experts also tested SFC’s production and quality assurance processes. All tests were based on the current draft standard DIN IEC 62282-5. Standard series IEC 62282 deals with test procedures and safety and performance requirements for fuel cell technologies. In the case of the EFOY product, construction, mechanical stability and durability, and electrical, operating and functional safety even beyond the limits specified by the standard were analyzed. In this context, the TUEV SUED experts placed a special focus on the protection of the user – especially with regard to the fuel methanol. „In our tests EFOY fuel cells impressively demonstrated that the methanol transport between fuel cell and cartridge and inside the fuel cell itself is absolutely safe,” explains Jens Fleitmann.

Confirmed technical and market maturity

EFOY fuel cells have already proven their value many times in numerous commercial industry and leisure applications, in wind and weather, ice and storm, on land and at sea. “Stack and system periphery are perfectly adapted to the requirements of continuous automatic operation, even in difficult environmental conditions. The TUEV SUED certificate again proves the high degree of technical maturity our products offer”, says Dr. Jens Mueller, SFC Managing Director. “SFC thus has a decisive competitive edge against other fuel cell players, who are still in the R&D phase or run highly subsidized demonstration projects. We are very happy with this certification, as it visibly demonstrates the high suitability of our products for daily use.” By the way: The EFOY fuel cartridges made by SFC, in which a special safety valve prevents methanol from being spilled, are also TUEV SUED tested and certified with the “GS –Gepruefte Sicherheit” (safety tested) seal.

About SFC:
SFC is the market leader in fuel cell technologies for mobile and off-grid power applications serving the leisure, industrial and military markets. As one of Germany’s most successful technology pioneers, SFC has won numerous innovation awards. SFC has alliances with leading companies in a number of industries. Unlike most other fuel cell players, who are still in the R&D phase or run highly subsidized demonstration projects, SFC has been shipping fully commercial products to industrial and private end users for three years already, and has created a convenient fuel cartridge infrastructure.