UltraCell Poised to Start Production of UltraCell25 Micro Fuel Cells
UltraCell Corp. (North Stonington, CT) has announced the opening of a new manufacturing and corporate office facility that will enable the micro fuel cell company to convert from prototype manufacturing to volume production. The first product to enter production will be the UltraCell25, a 40-ounce micro fuel cell capable of delivering 25W of continuous power.
"Our new facility is designed around the production line for UltraCell's XX25 product. It incorporates unique features such as a clean room for fuel cell assembly and a specially designed automated facility for fuel processor and stack testing. The facility also incorporates features to support automated production and lean manufacturing principles such as 5S and Six-Sigma, enabling us to deliver high quality at affordable cost," said James Kaschmitter, CEO of UltraCell. "The move validates our commercial plans to bring UltraCell's revolutionary reformed methanol fuel cell technology to the marketplace, as scheduled, in 2006."
According to Kaschmitter, UltraCell's new headquarters will focus on enhancing quality, efficiency and delivery, while reducing costs through minimizing non-value-added activities in design, production, supply chain management, and customer service. "Lean manufacturing basically means systematically striving for excellence in everything we do. That’s exactly what we intend to achieve in our new location."
Introduced as a prototype in August, 2005, UltraCell's new fuel cell power source for portable electronic devices has over twice the energy density of lithium batteries when used for longer missions, but weighs just 40 ounces, in a unit about the size of a paperback novel. Its reformed methanol fuel cell (RMFC) technology uses a revolutionary micro reformer to generate fuel-cell-ready hydrogen from a highly concentrated methanol solution to provide continuous power in any remote situation. Whether for a soldier on mission or for the on-the-go laptop user, mobile executive, emergency first responder, researcher in a remote location, industrial video maker, or remote electronic monitoring, this means a nonstop supply of power anywhere, anytime.
