Small Scale Fuel Cells for Ground Personnel

"Adaptive Materials Inc. will explore the feasibility of small scale power generation using microtubule solid oxide fuel cells as outlined in Topic Area 3; Materials and Processes for Electrochemical Energy Conversion. We believe microtubule solid oxidefuel cells are the key to a soldier portable, rapid starting, field-rugged, compact, and light weight power source. Individual cells demonstrating many of these unique performance properties have already been developed by Adaptive Materials as part of theDARPA Palm Power Program. We envision combining these cells together with suitable balance of plant components and liquid hydrocarbon fuel to create a system capable of delivering at least 1,000 Whr from a package smaller and lighter than the currentBA5590 military battery.The proposed SBIR Phase I effort will develop and evaluate several fuel cell system designs for portable power applications. The designs will be verified using a combination of analytical models, in-house generated fuel cell data and all availableperformance data on balance of plant components. The potential commercial opportunity that exists for a company with a viable portable power source that can operate on readily available hydrocarbon fuels is enormous. The first portable electronics companyto successfully acquire a portable fuel cell technology will dominate the marketplace with longer running, more powerful devices packed with power guzzling features. In addit