Integrated Hybrid Fuel Cell Powerpack

Small, lightweight portable electric power devices are in great demand for many military and civilian applications. Giner, Inc. proposes to combine its Proton-Exchange Membrane advanced electrochemical capacitor and fuel cell technologies with arechargeable lithium-ion battery to develop a novel, long-lived, and safe Hybrid Power System (HPS) for portable electronic devices. The primary purpose is to realize a working hybrid system that takes advantage of the energy density of the fuel cell andthe power density of the lithium-ion battery and the electrochemical capacitor.The proposed 400-Watt-hr integrated PowerPack system would provide the Army with an advanced power source for mobile electronics, which has significant weight, cost and energy density advantages over primary and rechargeable batteries over extended use.HPS offers great commercial promise for portable devices and backup power devices where reliable, extended and at near ambient temperature operation is required.Our proposed approach offers the following advantages: 1) all components can be reused, 2) system is reliable over a wide range of operating temperatures and duty cycles, 3) the hybrid combination provides a high-energy-density portable power supply, 4)the system can be refueled in less than 1 minute, and 5) has a low thermal and acoustic signature. As a result of the unique combination of the three different technologies (electrochemical capacitor, fuel cell and lithium-ion battery), a small, lightweight, portable power supply can be realized. This system is attractive for portable electronics inboth military and commercial applications due to the potentially high specific energy and energy-power density. Many communication applications have power requirements that fit this load profile perfectly.We anticipate that HPS will fill a need in the growing market for portable consumer products and backup power supplies where extended operating times are critical. Virtually any design calling for a mixture of high and low power loads can take advantage ofthe benefits of HPS; Remote power needs, such as, Global Positioning Satellite devices, video and photographic equipment, portable electronic devices, such as laptop computers, cellular phones, electronic notebooks would all benefit from thecommercialization of a Hybrid Power System.