Ann Arbor (WWJ) -- Ann Arbor-based Adaptive Materials Inc. hosted several local and state dignitaries in dedicating its new, 47,000-square-foot headquarters and manufacturing plant south of Ann Arbor Friday.
Adaptive Materials says the new plant will allow it to become the first fuel cell company on the planet to mass-produce.
Adaptive Materials fuel cells are fundamentally different from most fuel cells. They're a design called solid oxide, which doesn't rely on expensive, scarce platinum in their construction or expensive, scarce hyperpure hydrogen as fuel.Instead, the fuel cells are comprised of ceramic tubes, each about the size of a coffee stirrer, which are ceramic on the outside and a porous mixture of ceramic and small bits of nickel on the inside. When exposed to a variety of fuels -- including common propane, which you can buy at the supermarket for your camp stove -- the tube generates electricity through a chemical process.
But they'll also run on ethanol, methanol -- and hydrogen, when it becomes more commonly available.
"This is a great bridging technology," said Dave Nicholas, director of operations. Adaptive Materials is introducing the fuel cells commercially for a variety of applications, including military, aviation and marine.
There's one battery unit intended for military use that replaces 40 pounds of batteries that cost $17,000 with a five-pound fuel cell that costs $5,000.
There's also a 150-watt unit, also about $5,000, that is intended for commercial trucks to power heat and lights while the truck is stopped -- so the massive diesel engine doesn't have to idle.
In one demonstration, a $2.69 bottle of propane was enough to run a laptop computer for 48 hours. In another, two small cans of propane powered an inspection robot for eight hours, replacing eight battery packs that would need to be swapped out every 45 minutes -- and also providing a fivefold weight advantage.
Said Adaptive Materials chief business officer Michelle Crumm, "Propane tanks can be purchased at any hardware store worldwide, making Adaptive Materials' fuel cell systems attractive to those seeking lightweight, portable power. The
potential for the fuel cell systems that Adaptive Materials will manufacture at our new facility is limitless. It's a very exciting time for the company and for the alternative energy space."
The Bank of Ann Arbor provided funding for Adaptive Materials' new plant. Also, Adaptive Materials was awarded Michigan 21st Century Jobs Fund money totaling $6.27 million to support the company's business.
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