University studies confirm ethanol fuel cell technology effective

[JohnWxy]

http://www.fuelcelltoday.com/FuelCellToday/IndustryInformation/IndustryInformationExternal/NewsDisplayArticle/0,1602,7714,00.html


LONDON (AFX) - AIM-listed Acta SpA, which develops and produces platinum free catalysts for the fuel cell industry said two independent academic studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of ethanol in its HYPERMEC catalyst.

The studies, by the University of Newcastle upon Tyne and the CNR Institute at Florence, confirmed the full breakdown, or conversion of ethanol to water and carbon dioxide resulting in "excellent power output and high efficiency from an ethanol powered fuel cell," it said.

Previous attempts by the industry to use ethanol as a fuel, even using expensive platinum catalysts, had failed to demonstrate that the catalyst could break the double carbon bond in the ethanol molecule - thereby restricting the efficiency to one third of the available energy in the fuel, it said.

Acta said the studies represent confirmation that "HYPERMEC can deliver a unique catalytic performance in the challenging conditions of a room temperature, self-breathing fuel cell."
<more>

and; http://www.fuelcellsworks.com/Supppage5258.html