Birmingham company pioneers new mobile fuel cell technology

A PIONEERING Birmingham company is looking to revolutionise the energy sector with the launch of a next generation of mobile fuel cell products.

Adelan’s PowerCell can provide power for vehicles, offices, homes and even smartphones. It also allows businesses like Google and Amazon to take advantage of drones or unmanned aircrafts – currently only used by the military – for commercial use.

The PowerCell runs on LPG (propane), LNG or methane, provides over 3,000 hours of power or up to 300W. The mobile fuel cell technology is useful for remote power generation and heating and is ideal for the oil and gas sectors as well as road, rail, meteorological and aerospace industries.

The development means that in the near future consumers can use clean, green and long lasting power for caravans, camper vans and recreational vehicles (RVs), HGV cabs or for charging smartphones/tablets/other gadgets without cables.

For businesses, it means the likes of Google can remotely film Street View or map locations, while Amazon and other couriers can look to deliver goods using drones.

Adelan is the first company to develop microtubular solid oxide fuel cells and is bidding for a share of a £1bn EU funding pot to bring fuel cells to the commercial market.

Announcing the launch of the PowerCell, at the 10th International Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Conference at Birmingham’s Millennium Point, Dr Michaela Kendall, Research Scientist at Adelan explained the growing importance of mobile energy within all industry sectors.
 
She said: “Typically, government and military have been key early adopters for mobile energy technologies but with growing environmental, regulatory and energy security concerns, commercial organisations are increasingly seeing the opportunities presented by portable power.  

“Unmanned airborne vehicles, recreational vehicles and micro combined heat and power (mCHP) have all emerged in recent years as key niche markets.

“It’s an exciting time for us, the mobile energy market is still very much at its embryonic stage but we have developed and patented some genuinely innovative products that will change the way we supply power in both commercial and domestic settings.  We now aim to replicate our earlier success in European investments with this new fuel cell commercialisation fund.”