Sep 16 2005
Hydro Technology Ventures has invested in a company developing a new membrane for fuel cells. The new technology can significantly drop the cost of fuel cells and give the fledgling fuel cell industry a whole new platform for developing systems.
“We believe the market is waiting for a cheaper fuel cell and this can be a very good investment,” says Dag Øvrebø, technical manager in Hydro’s investment company Technology Ventures.
“Hydro has been in close contact with the different fuel cell research environments for quite some time. After thorough analysis and evaluations, we believe the US company SuperProtonic can produce cutting-edge solutions for the development of cost-effective fuel cell membranes,” he comments.
SuperProtonic is sitauted in the area around CalTech in California. Work with this new technology is still in an early phase, and some development work remains before the first prototype is ready.
The goal is to establish the technology as the preferred industry standard for fuel cell membranes. Hydro Technology Ventures is one of six investors in the new technology and has led the work to establish SuperProtonic.
The other investors are OnPoint; the U.S. Army's venture fund; Nth Power; CMEA; Innovation Valley Partners and Batelle Ventures. The key to this new technology is a membrane that can operate at high temperatures and conduct protons without the use of water, and additionally reduce platinum use.