HydrogenSource LLC (South Windsor, CT), a designer of fuel processing systems for the fuel cell industry, announced it has completed initial testing of its gasoline-to-hydrogen fuel processor for fuel cell vehicles. The 78ltr system is designed to fit under the chassis of a fuel-cell-powered automobile, enabling the car to be operated on currently available fuels. It operates on unleaded, California reformulated gasoline, and generates enough hydrogen to operate a 50kW proton-exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell.
The system takes less than four minutes from room temperature until production of fuel-cell-quality hydrogen, a significant improvement from industry reports of as much as 30 minutes. HydrogenSource is currently working on a next-generation, on-board, gasoline fuel processor. The objective is to achieve a 30-second start time, in a 35ltr and 35kg package, powering a 50kW PEM fuel cell drive train.
