ACAL Energy is developing affordable and reliable fuel cell engines based on its FlowCath^® platinum-free cathode technology. This is expected to significantly reduce the balance-of-plant costs by eliminating the need for hydration, pressurization, separate cooling, and other mechanical subsystems generally required with conventional PEM fuel cells.

The field trial fuel cell system will be installed this summer, to provide critical backup power for an environmental remediation plant at Solvay’s Warrington plant. The installation is designed to help ACAL Energy and its partners to understand exactly how a backup power system powered by its FlowCath fuel cell power module will operate in a real application.

ACAL Energy is also completing fuel cell design and validation activities in its new laboratory testing facilities. This work is being supported by partners including Johnson Matthey Fuel Cells, UPS Systems Plc, the University of Southampton, and the Manufacturing Engineering Centre at Cardiff University.

‘We’re well on track for this important next stage,’ says Bob Longman, VP of Engineering at ACAL Energy. ‘Our progress in the laboratory stages has exceeded our expectations, and we are increasingly confident in the performance of the whole system.’