Proton Energy Systems Selected for NASA Research Contract
Proton Energy Systems (Rocky Hill, CT) recently announced that it has been selected for a NASA Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract leading to the further development of an advanced fuel cell. The contract for a "Zero Gravity – PEM Regenerative Fuel Cell Energy Storage System" leads to a PEM fuel cell that provides the advantages of a primary fuel cell but can recharge itself from an electrical power supply. The Phase II contract continues and significantly expands effort begun by Proton in 1998 leading to kilowatt-scale test systems.According to Proton, the main features of the system, high reliability and no moving parts, make it an excellent candidate for technology transfer to meet commercial energy storage needs. These unitized regenerative fuel cell (URFC) products could serve electrical energy storage applications through direct conversion of electricity to hydrogen chemical energy offering many performance advantages over even advanced batteries. Important applications include long discharge power systems for premium power backup, standby power supply, and portable power.
