News

Metallic Power Reaches Fuel Cell Milestone

November 28, 2000 by Jeff Shepard

Metallic Power (Carlsbad, CA) announced that it has reached a milestone by demonstrating its latest prototype power source in a new portable power application. About 30 percent smaller than the company's previous prototype, the new device employed its regenerative zinc/air fuel cell technology to supply more than 1kW of energy to operate a variety of power tools and landscaping equipment in an outdoor location.

Upcoming tests will address a variety of applications such as providing

extended backup power for telecommunications, computers or residences; auxiliary power for long-haul trucks, RVs or marine use; and mobile power for electric vehicles. Metallic Power's claims that their zinc/air technology has up to ten times the energy density of traditional lead acid batteries, twice the energy density of hydrogen fuel cells and as much as triple the energy efficiency of internal combustion engines. They maintain that their new system is quiet, safe and emission-free, so it can be used indoors and in other locations where engine generators are unacceptable or where batteries take up too much space.

"This latest demonstration not only reinforces the viability of our

technology, it also confirms the flexibility and scalability of our concept," explained Dr. Jeffrey Colborn, president and CEO of Metallic Power. "In order to refine our features to affordably meet user needs, our development program calls for testing in a number of real-world situations like this one which uses our power source as an alternative to conventional engines as well as earlier demonstrations powering utility vehicles and lighting systems."

The firm is on schedule to begin preliminary field trials during the next quarter, with continued prototype field-testing later in 2001 and initial product launch slated for 2002.