Japan is gearing up to launch fuel cell vehicles as the next-generation of environmentally safer cars. Oil distributors have started to establish hydrogen station networks, while the government is set to provide financial assistance and is considering deregulation to make it easier to set up the fuel supply networks. Fuel cell vehicles are powered by electricity generated through chemical reactions of hydro ...

Fuji Electric has announced that it has developed a product designed specifically for hydrogen fuel production. This product is meant to be incorporated into existing fuel cell products in order to make them more alluring to the Japanese market. Hydrogen fuel has managed to capture a great deal of interest in this market, but much of this has been reserved to the transportation sector. Fuji Electric believe ...

Geodynamics Limited's 1MW Habanero Pilot Plant has been successfully commissioned and has produced Australia’s first Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) generated power. The company has now commenced the planned demonstration trial and testing program which is scheduled to run for approximately 100 days with completion in August 2013. Managing Director and CEO Geoff Ward said; “The generation of power at our ...

On the day of the Federal Budget, all major political parties have left the door open to continue to back projects aimed at improving the efficiency of electricity usage, echoing that Australia's nascent energy smart grid may continue to enjoy federal government support. Since 2010 up to 30,000 households have participated in the multiyear Ausgrid-led $100 million Smart Grid, Smart City project. It aims to ...

The smart grids market in Asia-Pacific got a huge boost from the roll-outs of advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) in Australasia and Smart City projects in North Asia. The market can expect higher revenue inflow with the rising popularity of Demand response systems and energy management system (EMS) installations as well as Southeast Asia desire to switch to smart grids. New analysis from Frost & Sul ...

Panasonic has developed a tiny, low-power chip for sensor networks and Internet-connected appliances, which it says is the first to support a broad range of frequency bands. The new chip, which measures about 5 millimeters square, can send and receive signals for over 20 years on a 1,200mAh battery, if used to transmit twice a minute, the company said. It maintains the device is the first such multiband chi ...

Researchers in Japan have developed a novel polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEFC) that shows high durability (>400,000 cycles) together with high power density (252 mW/cm2) at high temperatures of 120°C under a non-humidified condition. In a paper published in Scientific Reports, the open access journal of the Nature Publishing Group, they suggest that the study “opens the door” for the next-gene ...

lika's patent application covering its lower cost metal alloys and their use as electro-catalysts in PEM fuel cells has been granted in Japan. This follows the granting of a patent in the US. Chief executive Graeme Purdy said: "The grant of this patent in Japan builds on the company's IP position in the USA and is an important stepping-stone in reinforcing the commercial value of Ilika's technology in this ...

Development of fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) is shifting into high gear, with manufacturers targeting sales to consumers in 2015. Major automakers in Japan, the United States and Europe are actively forming business alliances to reduce development costs. Installation of hydrogen fueling stations will also go into full swing starting this fiscal year. The potential proliferation of FCEVs will likely hi ...

Hydrogen fuel cells have been growing in popularity over the past several years, but it was not until very recently that these renewable energy systems have managed to attain enough support to be considered commercially viable. Ballard Power Systems, a leading developer of hydrogen fuel cells, has been laboring to bring these energy systems to mass markets around the world. The company is one of the few in ...