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PowerLines by Linnea Brush
July 18, 2011
Fuel Cells' Hour of Reckoning, Part 2
Power Channels: Energy Efficiency, European Power News, Renewable Energy, Smart Grid Power
In my last column, I discussed some of the issues related to fuel cells trying to market themselves as a “renewable energy source.” I also mentioned how fuel cells need a good business model in order to move beyond “niche status,” which is where they’ve been for some time. In this column, I want to discuss a news announcement that might have slipped under many companies’ radar, but which Darnell ran to provide an example of how fuel cells can be positioned to actually make money.
A company called Emefcy introduced a product called the Megawatter™, which they call “an innovative solution for wastewater treatment,” based on microbial fuel cell technology. It enables direct electricity generation or hydrogen production from wastewater as a means of wastewater treatment. Not very sexy, if you’re comparing this application to micro fuel cells or fuel cell vehicles. But this small, Israeli company knows its market and is being careful about how it is marketing its product. The primary “green” claim is under the product’s “sustainability” advantage that says, “Treatment plants can practically disconnect from the grid.”
One of the first things I look for in any “new” technology is who is backing it. I’m not talking about venture capital investment specifically, but rather who is funding it. There’s investors, and there’s 800-pound gorilla company investors. Some of these joint ventures are so agnostic that just about any small company that breathes can get a hearing. That is especially true for computer and networking technologies. When GE, NRG Energy and ConocoPhillips create a joint venture that funds an emerging technology company, however, the odds for success go up a bit.
The industrial segment is challenging. This is a very conservative market that hedges its bets more than the high-tech industry. The above-mentioned group, called Energy Technology Ventures, invests in and offers commercial collaboration opportunities to venture- and growth-stage energy technology companies in the renewable power generation, smart grid, energy efficiency, oil, natural gas, coal and nuclear energy, emission controls, water and biofuels sectors.
Emefcy doesn’t even call itself a fuel cell company, which is probably a good idea. They identify themselves as a “bio energy systems” company that focuses on water technology. Their goal is to “change the energy economics of wastewater treatment,” which is even better. Then they say that they want to use a microbial fuel cell implementation for wastewater treatment, leading to additional environmental processes. Since Emefcy’s fuel cell produces electricity directly from degradation of organic matter, it is, technically, a “renewable energy” product.
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We would like to hear your comments on the topics discussed in this column. We welcome the opportunity to publish opposing opinions. Please email Jeff Shepard at jshepard@darnell.com.
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