Metallic Power Partners With Textron
7 July 1999
Metallic Power Partners With Textron; New Zinc/Air Fuel Cells Create Energy Solutions For Non-Road Utility Vehicles
SAN DIEGO--July 6, 1999--Metallic Power, the leading developer of rapidly refuelable zinc/air fuel cells, has partnered with Textron Turf Care and Specialty Products, a market leader in industrial equipment, to develop a prototype zinc/air fuel cell powered non-road industrial utility vehicle. With the zinc/air fuel cell, the vehicle will recharge in five minutes."Industry knows our zinc/air fuel system solves critical problems and can impact the bottom line," said Dr. Jeff Colborn, chief executive officer of Metallic Power and developer of the fuel system. "Warehouse managers want fast-charging dependable power sources that eliminate down time and the need to maintain excessive equipment 'just to cover all the shifts.' They say they'd love to have a battery that would recharge in five minutes and have a dependable fuel gauge. With Textron we're solving those problems."
"Zinc/air gives us the opportunity to meet the ever changing customer needs for improved product performance," said Peter Whurr, vice president product management for Textron. "Metallic Power's system will allow our equipment to be more fuel efficient between battery charges. Zinc/air will provide a power source in our vehicles that delivers the performance our customers will expect tomorrow."
The Metallic Power System consists of zinc/air fuel cells and a zinc regeneration/recycling "vending" machine. The fuel cell, operating on-board the vehicle, generates electricity when zinc combines with oxygen from the air in the presence of an electrolyte to form zinc oxide, a safe white powder commonly used in skin creams and sunblock. The separate regeneration unit converts the zinc oxide back into fresh zinc, which is then recombined with the electrolyte to be reused as fresh "fuel."
"It's an entirely closed-loop system -- with nothing to add, nothing to discard and nothing wasted," said Colborn. "The completely safe fuel cell has three times the energy efficiency of a gasoline engine, and it reuses its zinc and electrolyte over and over."
Versus lead/acid battery powered equipment, Metallic Power's zinc/air fuel cell system can reduce operations costs dramatically: Fewer batteries are needed, there's less vehicle downtime, better productivity, less maintenance. Zinc, one of the Earth's most common elements, offers four to seven times more energy per pound than traditional batteries and is recycled in the regenerator. Metallic Power's fuel cells require no cool-down time and can remain maintenance free for up to ten years even in extreme weather conditions. Overall cost of ownership can be comparable to or lower than gasoline powered equipment.
"Metallic Power is using Cushman branded products manufactured by Textron Turf Care and Specialty Products, as their mobile test bed," said Whurr. "This in turn, helps us because we are looking for an innovator who is in step with the requirements of technology in the future."
Specific energy output currently is at 160 watt hours/kilogram with a potential of 220 Wh/kg, compared to lead/acid at 35 Wh/kg and lithium-ion at 100 - 120 Wh/kg. Energy density is 200 watt hours/liter, much better than lead/acid's 75 Wh/liter. Recharge time for a lead/acid battery is eight hours compared to zinc/air's five minutes. Long term potential includes fuel cells for electric cars that will enable the driver to get a "fill-up" in five minutes and drive 78 miles per hour for 300 miles on one tank of zinc.
Market potential is far-reaching, and more strategic partners are approaching Metallic Power regularly. Potential markets include battery-powered utility cart fleets and industrial equipment such as forklifts and lawn mowers; gas-powered off-road vehicles and fixed back-up generators for the telecommunications industry; auxiliary electric power for boats, trucks, and recreational vehicles, on-road gas-powered motor scooters, and finally electric delivery fleets and electric cars. Eventually zinc/air technology can replace portable gasoline generators, too.
Metallic Power, whose management includes authors of some 300 technical papers, a leading world expert in zinc/air technology, experienced manufacturing and marketing managers, and PhDs in a variety of relevant fields, is currently in its second round of venture capital funding. Metallic Power has patents pending or in preparation for new air cathodes, electrolyte management, sealed replaceable refueling cartridges, regeneration equipment design and zinc fueling technology.
Metallic Power Inc., founded in 1995 and based in Carlsbad, Calif., near San Diego, is the leader in developing rapidly refuelable electric power sources that reuse zinc -- the new economical clean fuel for electric vehicles and power systems. Visit Metallic Power's website at www.metallicpower.com.