German Federal Office for Goods Transport equips mobile offices in official vehicles with fuel cells

  • EFOY Pro fuel cells as on-board APU in official vehicles of German Federal Office for Goods Transport successfully in use for several months
  • Sustainable power supply with fuel cell secures significant logistic and and cost benefits for the German Federal Office for Goods Transport
  • At the moment almost 400 vehicles with fuel cells on Germany’s roads

Brunnthal/Munich und Cologne, April 29, 2010 – For on-board power supply of its official vehicles far from the grid, the German Federal Office for Goods Transport relies on EFOY Pro fuel cells by SFC. The special vehicles, equipped with fuel cells, have been used successfully over several months now as mobile offices for road and toll control services by the German Federal Office for Goods Transport. The EFOY Pro fuel cell by SFC guarantees reliable and environmentally friendly on-board power 24/7.

To provide reliable power in special purpose vehicles with no access to the public grid – especially when the vehicle is not moving – was challenging so far, because battery capacity is very limited. The vehicles had to drive back to the electrical grid and plug in, or recharge the battery standing with the engine idling, resulting in high noise impact and environmental pollution. Now, the fuel cell, installed in the trunk or in a cabinet system, automatically and without any user intervention recharges the battery whenever needed, quietly and without emissions. There is no need for recharging at an electrical outlet. This enables enormous logistic benefits as well as reduced operating cost, and enables significantly more flexibility is using the vehicles. Empty trips for recharging can be avoided, and equipment runtimes are remarkably increased.

„The fuel cells offer a significant added value for us. They do not only provide reliable power whenever needed but also entail tremendous logistical advantages in field use. We have tested the systems and are absolutely convinced by the technology and the products. By using fuel cells we were able to lower fleet operating cost while, at the same time, increasing operational flexibility”, says Ralf Muelhausen, Fleet Manager at the German Federal Office for Goods Transport.

„We are very proud of our cooperation with the Federal Office for Goods Transport and very delighted that our mobile fuel cells have successfully proven themselves as on-board APU“, says Dr. Peter Podesser, CEO of SFC Smart Fuel Cell AG. „We know that for professional users reliable and sustainable off-grid power supply is extremely important. We deliver groundbreaking solutions for mobile applications – and offer a true enabling technology with our products”.

Almost 400 vehicles of the German Federal Office for Goods Transport with fuel cells are currently on Germany’s roads. At this year’s Hanover Fair, the German Federal Office for Goods Transport and SFC together presented the advantages, which already convinced numerous customers. To date, SFC has sold over 18,000 fuel cells to international industry and end users worldwide. Fuel cells are ideal solutions wherever reliable and eco-friendly power supply far from the grid is required. The independent small and quiet energy packs play a decisive role in many commercial applications in the governmental sector and security field. They can easily be installed in unmanned, isolated, and numerous remote security systems. They are deployed in border control, traffic, surveillance, monitoring, observation, events security.The fuel cells can also be seamlessly combined with other energy sources, such as solar panels. They obtain fuel from EFOY fuel cartridges, which deliver week-long autonomous energy, depending on their size (5, 10, 28 liters) and are available at more than 1,500 sales points in Europe. SFC has created a voucher infrastructure for fuel cartridge logistics for the Federal Office for Goods Transport which is extremely comfortable and efficient for operators as well as drivers.

Trade visitors can experience a vehicle by the German Federal Office for Goods Transport as well as the EFOY Pro fuel cells at the booth F04 of Goettinger Sonderfahrzeugbau GmbH&Co KG, Mai 4-6, 2010 at GPEC in Leipzig, Germany.

Additional information at www.sfc.com, www.efoy.com and www.bag-bund.de

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 18,000 fully commercial products to industrial and private end users for more than five years, and has created a convenient fuel cartridge supply infrastructure. SFC is DIN ISO 9001:2008 certified. SFC is based in Brunnthal, Germany, and has a U.S. sales and technical service office in the U.S. SFC Smart Fuel Cell AG is listed at the Deutsche Boerse Prime Standard (WKN 756857).

About German Federal Office for Goods Transport

The German Federal Office for Goods Transport is an independent higher federal authority in the portfolio of the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development. It is headquartered in Cologne. For task accomplishment and close cooperation with the federal traffic authorities, corporations and other authorities, the German Federal Office for Goods Transport has eight outposted sections. The range of tasks reaches from driving personnel and traffic law to truck toll and market observation, civil emergency precaution and goods traffic statistics to toll bequest proceedings. By performing its operational tasks, the federal office makes a significant contribution to road safety, duty equity and competitive egality on Germany’s roads. At the same time, reports and statistics of the federal office serve as basis and decision guidance for law proposals in the field of traffic goods and movements of people.

SFC Press Contact:
Claudia von Junker und Bigato
Public Relations
SFC Smart Fuel Cell AG
Eugen-Saenger-Ring 7
D-85649 Brunnthal
Tel. +49 89 673 592-377
Fax. +49 89 673 592-169
Email: claudia.junker@sfc.com

German Federal Office for Goods Transport Press Contact:
Horst Roitsch
Head of Press Office
Federal Office for Goods Transport
Werderstraße 34
D-50672 Köln
Tel.: 0221/5776-1620
Fax: 0221/5776-1625
presse@bag.bund.de

SFC Investor Relations:
Barbara v. Frankenberg
Head of IR and PR
SFC Smart Fuel Cell AG
Eugen-Saenger-Ring 7
D-85649 Brunnthal
Tel. +49 89 673 592-378
Fax. +49 89 673 592-169
Email: barbara.frankenberg@sfc.com