Modine and ChevronTexaco Team Up to Create New Approach for the Distributed Production of Hydrogen
RACINE, Wis.--March 30, 2005--| New Research and Development Presented at National Hydrogen Association Conference |
Global thermal management leader Modine Manufacturing Company presented today along with ChevronTexaco Technology Ventures, a ChevronTexaco subsidiary, a paper based on proprietary research and development regarding a new approach to increase the efficiency, and reduce the cost and complexity of hydrogen generation for distributed energy stations. The Modine and ChevronTexaco team is presenting the paper on advanced steam methane reforming (SMR) at the National Hydrogen Association conference March 29 - April 1 at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, DC.
As a leader in the field of fuel processing, ChevronTexaco is working to develop and commercialize fuel-processing technologies that leverage existing energy infrastructures and convert a variety of feedstocks such as natural gas, into hydrogen. This is a critical step to enable the practical application of hydrogen in both transportation and distributed power generation.
"This is an excellent opportunity for us to demonstrate the feasibility of a hydrogen infrastructure. It's a novel and unique approach, taking a very complex system and scaling it down to a viable commercial appliance, all self-contained," said Mark Baffa, Director of Modine's Fuel Cell Products Group.
"We have deployed all of what we know about thermal management and SMR and processed it into a single device. No one has been able to do that before. We hope that our collective work will demonstrate that it is possible to support a fuel cell and hydrogen vehicle industry," added Baffa.
In producing hydrogen from natural gas for hydrogen energy stations, ChevronTexaco and Modine are applying innovative engineering to traditional SMR technology. The Advanced SMR reactor integrates multiple reactions and heat transfer functions to increase efficiency while minimizing controls and balance of plant components. This results in a technology that produces hydrogen at a lower cost.
ChevronTexaco and Modine have jointly developed the Advanced SMR to produce hydrogen from natural gas for fuel cell vehicle applications. ChevronTexaco has led the collaboration to integrate several technology and engineering innovations. Leveraging fuel processing knowledge, ChevronTexaco designed the system to be safe and efficient. The Advanced SMR system is expected to produce hydrogen at a low cost and of quality suitable for fuel cell applications.
ChevronTexaco employed Modine's knowledge of heat exchange technology and manufacturing to design and develop the thermal and mechanical design and to fabricate the fuel processor resulting in an efficient and manufacturable hydrogen generator. The integrating of multiple heat exchangers and multiple reactors reduces both the number of components and the processor's cost.
About Modine's Fuel Cell Products Group:
Modine began working with fuel cell technology in the spring of 1997 and launched a Fuel Cell Products Group in 2000. The Group is using Modine's more than 88 years of global experience in thermal management to design cutting edge fuel cell thermal solutions. Modine technology is already at work in high profile automotive fuel cell projects with Ballard Power Systems Inc., such as water management components for the PEM fuel cell engine that Ballard is currently supplying to DaimlerChrysler, Ford and others. In addition, Modine is supplying stack cooling modules for the Ballard fuel cell engine used in 30 buses which are part of the CUTE Program (Clean Urban Transport for Europe), as well as for the Gillig Corporation bus for the California Fuel Cell Partnership. Modine's Fuel Cell Products Group also supplies stack cooling modules to a number of stationary fuel cell manufacturers and several fuel processing system components.
Modine, with fiscal 2004 revenues of $1.2 billion and worldwide headquarters in Racine, Wisconsin, specializes in thermal management systems and components, bringing heating and cooling technology and solutions to diversified global markets. The Company's products are used in light, medium, and heavy-duty vehicles, HVAC equipment, industrial equipment, refrigeration systems, fuel cells and electronics. Modine employs more than 8,700 people worldwide at 36 facilities. More information about Modine can be found at www.modine.com.
About ChevronTexaco:
ChevronTexaco Corporation is one of the world's leading energy companies. With more than 47,000 employees, ChevronTexaco conducts business in approximately 180 countries around the world, producing and transporting crude oil and natural gas, and marketing and distributing fuels and other energy products. ChevronTexaco is based in San Ramon, Calif. More information on ChevronTexaco is available at www.chevrontexaco.com.
ChevronTexaco Technology Ventures L.L.C., a subsidiary of ChevronTexaco Corp., identifies, develops, and commercializes emerging technologies and new energy systems that have the potential to create economic value for the company. These include investments in hydrogen-related technologies, advanced energy storage technologies, renewables, and nanotechnology.