SFC Energy successfully delivers direct methanol fuel cells to the Army Operational Test Command in Texas
April 3, 2012SFC Energy, a manufacturer of mobile hydrogen fuel cells, has announced the successful delivery of 50 lightweight fuel cells to the U.S. Army Operational Test Command in Texas.
The fuel cells are from SFC’s FC 100 line of products. These are a variant of hydrogen fuel cells, using methane instead of the more common hydrogen gas. Known as direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs), SFC Energy believes that these models will be ideal for military operations where the need for mobile power sources is high.
The Operational Test Command will experiment with the fuel cells and determine whether they are useful for deployment. The fuel cells will be tested in a number of circumstances to gauge their durability and performance and how they impact the performance of soldiers making use of them. SFC Energy claims that these fuel cells provide soldiers with more flexibility in their use of energy and will help save the U.S. military a significant amount of money in logistics and energy costs.
The U.S. military has been pursuing alternative energy systems for some time now.
The Department of Defense believes that alternative energy is a matter of national security and has made an aggressive push to promote hydrogen and solar energy. The Army is currently working on a number of alternative energy projects, such as solar power energy packs for deployed soldiers and a fleet of hydrogen-powered vehicles that could, one day, be used a primary transportation for officers.