Hoku Scientific Completes Installation Of Demonstration Fuel Cells For U.S. Navy

Hoku Fuel Cells, a business unit of Hoku Scientific, Inc. that develops and manufactures fuel cell membranes and membrane electrode assemblies (MEA) for stationary and automotive proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells, announced that it successfully completed the installation of all demonstration fuel cell power plants under Hoku Scientific's contract with the U.S. Navy.

A total of ten power plants are now being demonstrated over a one-year period in accordance with a test plan approved by the U.S. Navy, according to Hoku Scientific. The test plan is designed to assess the performance of Hoku MEA under a variety of real-world operating conditions. According to Dustin Shindo, Chairman of the Board, President and CEO of Hoku Scientific, this is the first field demonstration of their hydrocarbon-based Hoku MEA integrated into an OEM fuel cell system, as well as a field test of a non-fluorinated membrane in a low temperature stationary hydrogen fuel cell application.

According to Hoku Scientific, each of the stationary fuel cell power plants being demonstrated was designed by IdaTech LLC and incorporates Hoku MEA to generate net electrical output of approximately 1.5 kilowatts. Hoku Scientific's contract with the U.S. Navy requires a minimum net electrical output of 1.0 kilowatt per power plant. Each of the fuel cell power plants incorporates an IdaTech fuel processor that produces hydrogen from a mixture of water and methanol. In addition to the ten power plants being demonstrated for the U.S. Navy, Hoku Scientific will incorporate its Hoku MEA into one power plant that will be kept at Hoku Scientific's facility for laboratory observation, and as a replacement unit if any of the demonstration power plants require off-site maintenance, according to the company. This additional power plant is expected to be completed in August 2006.

SOURCE: Hoku Scientific, Inc.