SFC Smart Fuel Cell launches JENNY Portable Fuel Cell

  • International JENNY roll-out in portable defense applications at IDEX 2009
  • JENNY already successfully in serial use in international missions
  • System offers significant weight reduction and logistic cost efficiencies
  • Military hardened to meet demanding Special Forces requirements

 

Brunnthal/Munich, Germany — February 20, 2009 — SFC Smart Fuel Cell, leading supplier of fuel cell products for mobile and off-grid power applications, today announces the commercial launch of the JENNY portable fuel cell system for defense applications. The JENNY fuel cell was developed in the framework of JDA projects with international defense customers and has been in serial operation in the field by several NATO defense organizations since the beginning of last year.

SFC’s JENNY portable fuel cell is a compact, autonomous, silent power supply worn on the body. It ensures that even in remote terrain far from the power grid or any other power source and even under rough environmental conditions soldiers will have a dependable electricity supply for their electrical devices - at any time, in any mission and in any weather.

The JENNY portable fuel cell is operated in combination with the SFC Power Manager, an intelligent power management device which assures that virtually any electronic device can be supplied with electricity by the fuel cell or other available power sources. The SFC Power Manager automatically adapts current and voltage to ensure that mission-critical systems will operate reliably and for much longer periods than batteries alone would allow.

SFC’s JENNY fuel cells and the SFC Power Manager have met rigorous military requirements in extensive field tests and in actual field use. The small size of the fuel cell and the high energy density of the fuel methanol, along with the SFC Power Manager, reduce a soldier’s weight load up to 80 percent compared to carrying conventional lithium-ion batteries. In operation the fuel cell produces close to zero emissions and is barely detectable due to its low surface temperature. It has been proven to operate reliably even in challenging environments such as extreme temperatures (-20 °C to +50 °C / -4 °F to 122 °F) and – without any performance loss - at altitudes exceeding 4,000 m. (13,000 ft) or fully submerged under water.

In 2008, the JENNY portable fuel cell won 3rd third prize in the U.S. Defense Department’s Wearable Power Competition, while SFC’s next generation prototype, the M-25 Portable Fuel Cell, won the USD 1 million first prize in that competition. These prestigious placements underscore the company’s design and engineering leadership that have helped generate sales of more than 12,000 fuel cell products.

“We are proud that with the JENNY portable fuel cell we can offer soldiers a 100 percent reliable off-grid power source that will ensure that they do not run out of power during their mission ever again”, said Dr. Peter Podesser, CEO of SFC Smart Fuel Cell. “With these properties and the weight saving benefits, the JENNY portable fuel cell makes an important contribution to the operability, efficiency and the protection of soldiers in the field.”

SFC will demonstrate the JENNY portable fuel cell at SFC’s Booth A03 in Hall 10 on Feb. 24, during IDEX at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center, Feb. 22-26.

About SFC Smart Fuel Cell AG
SFC Smart Fuel Cell AG (www.sfc.com) is market leader in fuel cell technologies for mobile and off-grid power applications serving the leisure, industrial and defense markets. As one of Germany’s technology pioneers, SFC has won numerous innovation awards. SFC has alliances with leading companies in a wide range of industries. Unlike most other fuel cell manufacturers, who are in the research and development phase or run subsidized demonstration projects, SFC has shipped more than 12,000 fully commercial products to industrial and private end users for more than four years, and has created a convenient fuel cartridge supply infrastructure. SFC is DIN ISO 9001:2000 certified. SFC is based in Brunnthal, Germany, and has a U.S. sales and technical service office in Atlanta.