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Centro Ricerche Fiat, Italy (Partner No. 7, CRF)

Profile/Description of Organisation

CRF (www.crf.it) is an industrial organisation which has the mission of promoting, developing and transferring innovation in order to provide competitiveness to its clients and partners which include the different companies in the FIAT Group, automotive suppliers, companies from other sectors of industry, SMEs, and national and international research agencies.
The MPT Department (Materials & Process Technologies) is involved in Micro and Nanotechnologies with a permanent staff of 40 researchers having a wide-scope expertise on chemistry, physics, material science and engineering, electronic and computer science. The experimental equipment available for the project comprises the following instrumentations: AFM, STM, SEM/FIB-EDAX microscopes, X-Rays diffraction, electron-beam and thermal evaporators for metal deposition, double glove box for the assembly devices in clean atmosphere, spectrometric analysis from UV to far IR.

Main tasks / Project participation is aimed at:

The role of CRF will be mainly focused on detailed design, integration and testing of the hydrogen storage system for APU application..

Previous experiences relevant to those tasks:

CRF participated to European Projects devoted to the development of fuel processors for Automotive Auxiliary Power Units (BIOH2, PROFUEL, BIOFEAT) and to fuel cell materials and stacks (DREAMCAR, MOREPOWER, AUTOBRANE).

Significant recent publications on hydrogen solid-state storage:
1) C. Giovanardi, A. di Bona, T.S. Moia, S. Valeri, C. Pisani, M. Sgroi, M. Busso, ”Experimental and theoretical study of the MgO/Ag(001) interface”, Surface Science 505 (2002), L209-L214
2), M. Sgroi, C. Pisani, M. Busso, ”Ab-initio density functional simulation of structural and electronic properties of MgO ultra-thin adlayers on the (001) Ag Surface” Thin Solid Films 400 (2001), 64-70

Short profile of staff member(s) who will be undertaking the work

Dr. Mauro Sgroi, degree in Materials Science at the University of Torino (2001). Since 2001 he is working in the Micro and Nanotechnology Department as a researcher in the laboratory on fuel cells developments. He obtained his PhD in "Materials and Technology Science" working at CRF in cooperation with the University of Torino (2005). He was involved in some EU projects: BIOFEAT (ENK6-CT2002-00612) on the production of hydrogen from Biodiesel and MOREPOWER (SES6-CT-2003-502652) on development of a direct methanol fuel cell stack. He is currently involved in EC funded project ZEOCELL, related to the development of new proton exchange membranes based on ionic liquids, zeolites and nanoporous polymeric membranes. He has been supervisor for several Master Degree theses in the field of fuel cells and electrochemistry.
Dr. Alessandro Ziggiotti, an Industrial Chemistry graduate of the University of Torino (2004) obtained his PhD in Chemistry with a thesis on "Materials for hydrogen storage and hydrogen systems for electrical energy production" based on parallel experimental and theoretical (thermo-dynamical -CFD modeling) approaches. He is involved in the Italian research project “Matrici di Microcombustori ad Idrogeno”, devoted to the direct thermoelectric conversion of thermal energy into electrical energy.
Dr. Belforte Luca, degree in General Physics, University of Torino, 2003. He works in the nanotechnologies area and he is experienced in Focus Ion Beam patterning, E-beam lithography, photonic crystals, thin film deposition. He also works in the area of thermoelectric materials for applications in micro generation of electric energy.

Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V., Germany (Partner No. 4, DLR)

Profile/Description of Organisation

DLR is Germany's national research centre for aeronautics and space (www.dlr.de). Its extensive research and development work in aeronautics, space, transportation and energy is integrated into national and international cooperative ventures. With approximately 6200 people working in 29 institutes and facilities at 13 locations in Germany DLR’s research portfolio ranges from fundamental research to innovative development of the applications and products of tomorrow. Within its fields of energy related research such as power plant technology, fuel cell development and concentrating solar systems DLR is a leader in Germany and Europe.
The Institute of Technical Thermodynamics at the Stuttgart Research Center conducts renewable energy research and technology development for efficient and environmentally clean energy conversion and utilisation. Activities are oriented to basic research, laboratory and prototype development, as well as design and testing of plants for demonstration purposes with specialization in highly efficient energy conversion technologies and the accelerated market penetration of sustainable energy carriers. With its staff of about forty employees, the Thermal Process Technology Department devotes itself to questions of energy storage, heat management and heat transfer, which are significant in all areas of energy utilization and provision. The division is active in system and component technology for the catalytic conversion and storage of alternative fuels as well as in the development of high performance heat exchangers and thermal energy storage up to 1000°C. In the division of Electrochemical Energy Technology with a staff of about 50 the focus is on the investigation of polymer membrane fuel cells for hydrogen and methanol (PEFC, DMFC), solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) as well as fuel cell systems for stationary, portable and mobile applications.

Main tasks / Project participation is aimed at:

• FEM simulation of the H2 storage tank (heat and mass transport, reaction and pressure in storage bed)
• Lab-scale testing of storage tank with newly developed SSHS materials (test set-up for tank volume of 1 litre, max. 200bars and 200°C)
• Design of hydrogen storage tank in 1kW-scale
• System specification for coupling of storage tank and HT-PEM fuel cell
• Realization and set-up of BoP components for coupled system (heat management, fuel supply, etc.)

Previous experiences relevant to those tasks:

Within an internal project DLR has built up a test facility for the design and evaluation of solid state hydrogen storage tanks. Modelling with emphasis on the metal hydride storage bed has been used to design storage tanks with improved heat transfer. In the field of terrestrial fuel cell integration, DLR has proved his capabilities in the HyLite® project by integrating a fuel cell system with a solid state hydrogen storage tank in an electrical driven two seater with an official approval and homologation for road service. A second milestone in fuel cell system integration was achieved by DLR in 2009 with building-up and testing the world’s first EASA certified manned fuel cell airplane Antares DLR H2 being capable to start, fly and land only on fuel cells.

1) Couturier K., Joppich F., Wörner A., Tamme R., Tank Design for on-board Hydrogen Storage in Metal Hydrides Proc. ASME 2nd ICES 2008, Jacksonville, Fl. USA, ES2008-5401
2) Graf C., Friedric, K.A., Vath A., Nicoloso N. Dynamic Load and Temperature Behavior of a PEFC-Hybrid-System. J. of Fuel Cell Science and Techn., 3 (2006) 403

Short profile of staff member(s) who will be undertaking the work

Dr.-Ing. Marc Linder graduated in Energy Engineering and received his PhD from the University of Stuttgart in 2010. He then joined the Institute of Technical Thermodynamics at the German Aerospace Center (DLR e.V.) where he is managing the research area Chemical Energy Storage with core activities on solid state chemical hydrogen storage and the thermochemical storage of heat at different temperature ranges.

Dr. Josef Kallo is the head of the Electrochemical Systems research group, being responsible for all fuel cell system integration work done by DLR. In 2008 the f-cell award in silver was granted to his group for their fuel cell integration work in an Airbus A320 passenger aircraft. He has gained seven years of experience in fuel cell traction system development department of General Motors, where he was responsible for testing fuel cell cars. Joining DLR in 2006 he increased his experience in the area of stationary, mobile and aircraft fuel cell systems. He has received his MSc from Stuttgart University and his PHD from the University of Ulm in electrical engineering.

Dipl-Ing. Inga Utz holds an MSc in chemical engineering from the University of Stuttgart. The major subjects in her studies have been chemical processes with an emphasis on kinetics of polymerizations and thermodynamics. In March 2009 she joined the hydrogen storage team at DLR and since then she gained experimental as well as modelling experience for hydrogen storage in metal hydrides.

Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Niko Schmidt is a technical engineer from University of Applied Sciences Giessen-Friedberg. He is involved in the build-up, operation and maintenance of the lab test benches and reactors for gas-solid reactions for applications in thermochemical storage of heat as well as solid state storage of hydrogen.

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany (Partner No. 3, KIT)

Profile/Description of Organisation

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) (www.kit.edu) is a higher education and research organisation with about 8000 employees, 18,500 students, and a total annual budget of about 700 million Euros. KIT-G was established on 01/10/2009 as merger of Universität Karlsruhe, one of Germany’s leading research universities, and Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe (founded in 1956), one of the largest research centres in the Helmholtz Association.
Higher education, research, and innovation are the three pillars of KIT’s activities. In establishing innovative research structures, KIT is pursuing joint strategies and visions. KIT is devoted to top research and excellent academic education as well as to being a prominent location of academic life, life-long learning, comprehensive advanced training, exchange of know-how, and sustainable innovation culture. KIT’s research profile is characterised by a strong focus on energy technology, nanotechnology and materials research, elementary particle and astroparticle physics as well as climate and environmental research. It has significant competencies in the fields of information and communication technologies, mobility systems, optics and photonics, and the inter-relations of humans and technology. About 180 researchers are working at the Institute of Nanotechnology, INT. The Energy Storage Group at INT has a long expertise in synthesis, surface modification, characterization, and handling of nanomaterials for hydrogen storage.

Main tasks / Project participation is aimed at:

• Materials Synthesis: Wet chemical synthesis and mechanochemical synthesis.
• Materials upscale for test tank.
• Materials Characterisation.

Previous experiences relevant to those tasks:

The group at the INT has developed synthesis methods for novel nanocrystalline aluminium- nitrogen- and boron-based hydrides and of highly efficient nanoscale catalysts for complex hydrides.
Equipment and know-how for the production, handling, and investigation of nanoscale metal hydrides is available and can be used with no additional cost for the work in the project. This includes a wet chemistry lab with inert gas/vacuum equipment for the chemical syntheses of hydrides and nanocarbon, several glove boxes and high energy planetary ball mills for mechanical synthesis. For characterization of the storage materials, a number of instrumental analysis methods are available, such as X-ray diffractometry for characterization of long range order, high resolution Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM-EDX) for imaging and elemental characterization, high-pressure Differential Scanning Calorimetry (HP-DSC), a thermogravimetric analyzer combined with evolved gas analysis by a mass spectrometer (TGA-MS), an infrared spectrometer (FTIR) and an elemental analyzer for quantitative determination of C, H, N content in samples. Four modified Sieverts apparatuses can be used for kinetic and thermodynamic investigations. Recently, the first coupling of a complex hydride tank with a high temperature PEMFC was performed in collaboration with another group at KIT.
The work is embedded in a number of national (FuncHy) and international activities (EU projects NANOHy, NESSHy, StorHy, RTN COSY, IPHE project “Fundamental Safety Testing and Analysis of Hydrogen Storage Materials & Systems“, German-Chinese Sustainable Fuel Partnership (GCSFP). The group has published more than 120 research and conference papers with an average citation rate of 14.2 per paper.

1) P. Pfeifer, C. Wall, O. Jensen, H. Hahn, M. Fichtner, Thermal coupling of a high temperature PEM fuel cell with a complex hydride tank, Int. J. Hydrogen Energy (2009) 34, 8, 3457-346.
2) Lohstroh, W., Fichtner, M., Breitung, W., Complex hydrides as solid storage materials: First safety tests
Int. J. Hydrogen Energy (2009) 34 5981-5985
3) Sartori, S., Léon, A., Zabara, O., Muller, J., Fichtner, M., Hauback, B.C., Studies of mixed hydrides based on Mg and Ca by reactive ball milling, Journal of Alloys and Compounds (2009) 476 639-643

Short profile of staff member(s) who will be undertaking the work

Maximilian Fichtner received his Ph.D. in 1992 at the Karlsruhe University in chemistry / surface science. After three years as an assistant to the board of directors at the Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe he left the position to build up an own group in the field of Microprocess Engineering at FZK. Since 2001 he is leader of the Energy Storage Group at the INT. In 2006 he was called as a member of the national advisory council to the Federal Government in hydrogen storage and he is now chairman of the national working group on hydrogen storage and spokesman of the “HyTecGroup” at Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, which is the biggest national research activity in the field of hydrogen technology. He has published more than 150 research and conference papers and is the owner of 11 patents. He is co-ordinator of the EU project NANOHy in the 7th FP.
Elisa Gil Bardají received her Ph.D. in 2006 at the Dortmund University in Chemistry / Supramolecular Chemistry. Since 2007 she is working in nanotechnology and specifically in the synthesis of novel hydrogen storage materials as postdoctoral researcher at the INT. She is an expert in wet chemical and mechanochemical synthesis of complex hydrides. She has large experience in characterization techniques of materials such as X-ray diffraction, vibrational spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance as well as thermoanalytical methods.

Institutt for Energiteknikk, Norway (Partner No. 2, IFE)

Profile/Description of Organisation

Institutt for Energiteknikk (IFE) (http://www.ife.no) established in 1948 is Norway’s national centre for energy technology. Physics Department at IFE is also the national centre for materials research using neutron scattering techniques, and the research reactor JEEP II is an important tool for characterization of novel materials. The main activities in the Physics Department are related to soft condensed matter and hydrogen storage materials. IFE has more than 50 years experience on studies of metal hydrides for hydrogen storage. The main scientific activities are synthesis and characterization of light weight complex hydrides. The work is related both to development of novel compounds and to understand the properties, for example during hydrogen absorption and desorption and the effect catalysts. The experimental methods include setups for mechanical synthesis by ball milling techniques, structural characterization by X-ray diffraction, involving the use of both in-house diffraction equipment and synchrotron radiation in particular at ESRF in Grenoble (France), neutron diffraction with IFE’s JEEP II reactor and SEM, thermal characterization: HP-DSC, TDS, mass spectroscopy and Sieverts setups for PCI and kinetics studies.

Main tasks / Project participation is aimed at:

• Materials Synthesis: ball milling techniques for both synthesis of mixed borohydride materials and for materials integration.
• Material Characterisation: Structural characterization using X-ray (both in-house instrument and synchrotron radiation X-rays at ESRF where experiments also can be combined with Raman spectroscopy, in-situ diffraction experiments, characterization of hydrogen storage properties with HP-DSC, TDS and Sieverts apparatus in combination with mass spectroscopy.

Previous experiences relevant to those tasks:

Since 2002 the Physics Department at IFE has more than 90 publications related to hydrogen storage materials, two patents and one patent application. At present IFE is involved in 6 projects funded by the Research Council of Norway, a Nordic Centre of Excellence on Hydrogen Storage Materials funded by Nordic Energy Research, 4 projects funded by the European Commission: NESSHY, HYCONES, NANOHY and FLYHY, and very active in the Task 22 of the IEA HIA (Hydrogen Implementation Agreement) where Prof. Bjørn C. Hauback is the Operating Agent.

1) Riktor, M. D., Sørby, M. H., Chlopek, K., Fichtner, M., Hauback, B. C., “The identification of a hitherto unknown intermediate phase CaB2Hx from decomposition of Ca(BH4)2”, J. Mater. Chem. 2009, 19, 2754-2759.
2) Sartori, S., Opalka, S. M., Løvvik, O. M., Guzik, M., Tang, X., Hauback, B. C., “Experimental studies of ?- and ?’-AlD3 versus first-principles modeling of the alane isomorphs”, J. Mater. Chem. 2008, 18, 2361-2370.
3) Brinks, H. W., Fossdal, A., Hauback, B. C., “Adjustment of the stability of complex hydrides through anion substitution”, J. Phys. Chem. C 2008, 112, 5658-5661.

Short profile of staff member(s) who will be undertaking the work

Bjørn C. Hauback (Professor) is Deputy Head of the Physics Department and Principal Scientist New Materials at IFE and Adjunct Professor at University of Oslo. He is leading the energy storage activities at IFE including hydrogen storage. His expertise is hydrogen storage materials, oxides, magnetic materials, crystallography and neutron and X-ray diffraction. Prof. Hauback has about 185 scientific publications and contributed to more than 355 presentations at conferences. He is involved in and also leading a number of national and international projects related to hydrogen storage materials including being Operating Agent for Task 22 (Solid Hydrogen Storage Materials) in IEA HIA.
Magnus H. Sørby (Researcher/PhD) is expert in structural characterization with powder X-ray and neutron diffraction. PhD at IFE in 2005 where he used Bragg and diffuse scattering to investigate long- and short range order in hydrides with classical crystallography and Reverse Monte Carlo modelling. Post doc at IFE 2005-2006 and permanent position since 2007. His research addresses synthesis, structure and thermal decomposition of complex hydrides.

Joint Research Centre of European Commission, Institute for Energy, Belgium (Partner No.8, JRC)

Profile/Description of Organisation

The Institute for Energy (IE) is part of the Directorate General Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission (ie.jrc.ec.europa.eu). Its mission is to provide scientific and technical support for the conception, development, implementation and monitoring of community policies related to energy. The JRC/IE supports the EU drive towards clean and efficient transport technologies and endorses research for assuring performance, end-use efficiency and safety before mass public use of alternative fuels, and in particular hydrogen, is possible. The JRC/IE activities focus on pre-normative and underpinning research targeting the development and improvement of performance characterisation methodologies for hydrogen storage, detection and safety. JRC/IE also provides S&T support to Community standardisation and regulatory bodies in this field and aspires to act as a reference on hydrogen storage, detection and safety. In addition, JRC/IE fosters training and transfer of knowledge to future energy technologists by running scientific/technical workshops in this field and by hosting and training research fellows. JRC/IE hydrogen storage and safety related activities are supported by several dedicated state-of-the-art testing facilities including a facility for real-life testing of full-scale high-pressure hydrogen and natural gas tanks for vehicles, a laboratory for performance characterisation of materials for solid-state hydrogen storage and a facility for hydrogen sensors safety and performance assessment. These facilities are complemented by the development and application of computational tools to perform numerical modelling of hydrogen releases, dispersion and safety scenarios.
JRC/IE participation in FCH JU activities is enabled by article 17 of the Council Regulation setting up the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (521/2008) and detailed in the Framework Agreement between the European Community and the FCH JU for the provision of services by the JRC (FCH JU Governing Board, 30/01/2009). These activities fall under the scope of the JRC in-kind contribution for the FCH JU as “support to individual FCH JU projects in the role of reference laboratory”. These JRC functions as a reference laboratory include in general:
o independent assessment and verification of whether the results of the projects meet their planned targets.
o identification and quantification of relevant parameters that affect the performance of technologies and products under demonstration.
o advice to the project on standardisation or regulatory issues and on how the results are best fed into the international standardization and regulatory processes

Main tasks / Project participation is aimed at:

• Materials: ball milled materials production for final user
• Material Characterisation: characterisation of hydrogen storage properties with TPD in combination with mass spectroscopy, gravimetric and Sieverts-based apparatus, particularly during the best material selection phase (Reference Function of JRC in FCH JU).
• Safety/Standards/regulations: overview of current status and connection to other EU projects including Life Cycle Assessment aspects (Reference Function of JRC in FCH JU).

Previous experiences relevant to those tasks:

Since 2002 JRC/IE has been involved in a number of FP6 funded research projects on hydrogen storage , such as STORHY, HyTRAIN, NESSHY and is also an active participant, represent the European Commision in the Task 22 of the IEA HIA (Hydrogen Implementation Agreement).

1) C. Zlotea, M. Sahlberg, P. Moretto, Y. Andersson; Hydrogen sorption properties of a Mg-Y-Ti alloy Journal of Alloys and Compounds (2009),doi:10.1016/j.jallcom.2009.09.085
2) C. Zlotea, M. Sahlberg, S. Özbilen, P. Moretto, Y. Andersson; Hydrogen desorption studies of the Mg24Y5–H system: Formation of Mg tubes, kinetics and cycling effects, Acta Materialia, 56 (2008) 2421-2428
3) D.P. Broom and P. Moretto; "Accuracy in hydrogen sorption measurements"; Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 446-447, (2007) Pages 687-691

Short profile of staff member(s) who will be undertaking the work

Pietro Moretto graduated at the Politecnico di Torino in 1985 as Nuclear Engineer and received a PhD at the University of Karlsruhe on hydrogen-material interactions in Nuclear Fusion Technologies. Since 1990 he manages the microstructural and analytical activities of the Institute for Energy and is since more than 5 years project leader of the FP7 project on Hydrogen Safety for Transport and Storage, dealing with performance assessment of specific storage technologies and with safety aspects such as detection and hydrogen release simulation and consequence evaluation.
Francesco Dolci graduated at the University of Turin where he received a PhD in Chemistry (2007) with a thesis on hydrogen interaction with transition metal oxides and mixed oxide phases. Later he worked as PostDoc on mixed hydride/amide storage systems synthesis and characterisation at KIT-G in the frame of the MC-RTN COSY and since July 2009 he works on similar issues at the Institute for Energy of the JRC.

Nanostructured Interfaces and Surfaces” of the University of Turin, Italy (Partner No. 1, UNITO)

Profile/Description of Organisation

The coordinator of the unit belongs to the Centre of Excellence “Nanostructured Interfaces and Surfaces” (NIS) of the University of Turin, (coordinated by Adriano Zecchina) www.nis.unito.it, a research body (80 people permanent staff) devoted to the spreading of industrial-academic collaboration. Point of strength of the Centre is the confluence of expertises in chemistry, physic, biology and material science which are strongly interconnected and have the commune interest in the control of the surfaces and interfaces at atomic level. At NIS synthesis activities are combined with characterization, modelling and testing, exploiting a large variety of characterization techniques and specific measurements tools specifically developed to study the surfaces in controlled atmosphere and temperature. Research Activity of NIS is organized along 11 major lines; each line has one of two researchers that are in charge to coordinate the activities. 1. Nanostructured metallic materials; 2. Methods for modelling materials and surfaces; 3. Nano- and micro- structured thin polyfunctional films of semi- and super-conducting materials; 4. Chemistry of surfaces; 5. Hydrogen: materials for its production and storage; 6. Nanostructured catalysts and solids with high surface area; 7. Photoactive materials and molecules; 8. Macro- and supra-molecular chemistry; 9. Bio-compatibility and toxicity of materials; 10. Bio-physics and neuro-chips; 11. Technology transfer.

Main tasks / Project participation is aimed at:

• Project coordination and management
• Material modelling: ab initio, Calphad.
• Material Characterisation: Description of adsorption properties in respect of hydrogen in a wild range of temperature and pressure with the contribution of both experimental (volumetric and gravimetric, microcalorimetric, spectroscopic measurements) and molecular modelling with quantum mechanical approaches techniques.
• Materials selection for hydrogen tank
• Techno-economical evaluations

Previous experiences relevant to those tasks:

Synthesis and characterization of nanostrusctured materials by combined experimental and theoretical approaches In the field of hydrogen storage and production, starting from 2005, NIS Centre of Excellence has been involved in many projects financed by Regional and European agencies (VI FP: MC-RTN Cosy, STREP Mofcat and VII FP INTEGRATED PROJECT Flyhy). NIS is also involved with private companies for the realization of a prototype tank for hydrogen storage, realized in the field of the project DOCUP HysyVision.

1) Vitillo, J. G.; Regli, L.; Chavan, S.; Ricchiardi, G.; Spoto, G.; Dietzel, P. D. C.; Bordiga, S.; Zecchina, A., “Role of exposed metal sites in hydrogen storage in MOFs”, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2008, 130, 8386-8396.
2) Urgnani, J.; Torres, F. J.; Palumbo, M.; Baricco, M., “Hydrogen release from solid state NaBH4”, Int. J. Hydrog. Energy 2008, 33, 3111-3115.
3) Torres, F. J.; Vitillo, J. G.; Civalleri, B.; Ricchiardi, G.; Zecchina, A.,”Interaction of H2 with alkali-metal-exchanged zeolites: a quantum mechanical study”, J. Phys. Chem. C 2007, 111, 2505-2513.

Short profile of staff member(s) who will be undertaking the work

Marcello Baricco (Professor) obtained the PhD in Chemistry in 1986. He is a full professor in Metallurgy and he is an expert in kinetic and thermodynamic modelling. His main research topics are related to metastable phases in metallic systems and hydrogen storage materials.
Roberto Dovesi (Professor), Anna Maria Ferrari (Researcher) and Bartolomeo Civalleri (Researcher) Their scientific activity is focused on the implementation of formal and computational tools for the quantum mechanical study of crystalline systems, the main result of this activity being the ab initio program CRYSTAL that can study periodic systems (1D-2D-3D) using various hamiltonians (Hartree-Fock, Density Functional, hybrid exchange). They have consolidated experience in the classical and quantum mechanical modelling of active sites in high surface area materials; their interaction with simple and complex molecules, and the investigation of reaction paths.
Giuseppe Spoto (Professor) and Silvia Bordiga (Professor) are very active in combining a large variety of spectroscopic techniques: vibrational (IR and Raman) and optical, (UV-Vis spectroscopy), in controlled temperature and pression conditions with the aim to describe in the atomic scale the nature and the reactivity of the active sites. An home made Infrared set up working at helium temperature has been developed in their group. They are expert in volumetric and gravimetric measurements on nanostructured materials.

Serenergy A/S, Denmark (Partner No. 6, SER)

Profile/Description of Organisation

Serenergy (www.serenergy.com) is the leading manufacturer of high temperature PEM (HTPEM) based fuel cell stacks and modules. Primary power ranges from 300W to 30kW systems.
Serenergys products does bring POWER OF SIMPLICITY, effectively eliminating almost all system components typical encountered other fuel cell systems. Not only does this contribute large capital cost savings, but also eliminate parasitic power losses for pumps, blowers, etc (0-3% of stack power). The only active component needed is a small radial fan all ready integrated in the modules.
Serenergys one size fits all modular technology can be used in any application ranging from stationary (continuous power), portable, uninterruptible power supply (backup) to transport solutions.
Serenergy offers any fuel at any place flexibility in all directions whether extreme temperature applications or the need for using logistically available fuels. Serenergy collaborates with a broad range of partners and is ready to solve almost any fuel demand such as methanol, ethanol, natural gas, diesel and gasoline. This, naturally without, sophisticated purification techniques such as membrane separation, PROX or methane-tion. Serenergy’s products can be used under all environmental conditions due to the high operating temperatures (140 - 180 °C). Serenergy's products can be integrated by any professional, fuel cell specialists or not.
Serenergy was founded in June 2006 by Mads Bang and Anders Korsgaard. There are currently 16 employees in Serenergy.

“Serenergy is a strategic partner of BASF Fuel Cell and is regarded as BASF Fuel Cells most important European partner due to extensive knowledge in HT-PEM, low pressure and air cooled fuel cell systems. BASF Fuel Cells regards Serenergy as Europe’s leading HT-PEM fuel cell stack producer”.
Dr. Carsten Henschel, BASF Fuel Cell GmbH

Main tasks / Project participation is aimed at:

The main task of Serenergy will be the adjustment of the current fuel cell stack design to accommodate the integration of a fluid cooling loop, which is to be used in order to release hydrogen from the metal hydrides. The loop will be developed so the right amount of hydrogen can be released in a timely and consistent way that maximises the lifetime of the metal hydrides.

Previous experiences relevant to those tasks:

Serenergy has a lot of experience with HTPEM fuel cells, and is the only company in Europe that can provide this new technology. Less than a handful of companies can provide HTPEM fuel cell stacks in the KW-range. Serenergy has a lot of in house experience with heat-control, heat-integration and some experience with heat utilisation.

Short profile of staff member(s) who will be undertaking the work

Mads Bang. Mads Bang started his carrier within the fuel cell area at AVL, a large automotive consultant firm in Austria in 1999. This was followed by design of the first generations of LTPEM and DMFC stacks at IRD fuel cell, a Danish company based in Svendborg, where he also completed his industrial PhD degree. In 2003 he became assistant professor at Aalborg University Denmark working with modelling and design of fuel cell electrodes and stacks. In 2006 he co-founded Serenergy together with Anders Korsgaard and as of today he is the CTO of the company and directly responsible for all new stack development activities. Mads Bang will also be directly responsible for the refinement of the stacks under the current proposal.
Peder Lund Rasmussen. Peder Lund Rasmussen has more than 3 years of experience with fuel cell technology partly from is M.Sc. degree at Aalborg University’s HYTEC (Hydrogen and fuel cell technology) program. He currently holds the positions as Test & QA manager at SerEnergy and is hence responsible for all durability testing as well as quality assurance in relation to the production quality tests. Peder is responsible for the FRALITE project, and he will play a central role in performing all the necessary endurance tests in the current proposal.
Anders Korsgaard. Anders Korsgaard has been working with fuel cell technology within systems engineering and control since 2001. The work continued during his Ph.D. project where focus were on design and modelling of micro combined heat and power systems for domestic households including reformer systems design. A large part of the work performed during the project where oriented against reformer based HTPEM solutions. Based on the research Serenergy A/S was founded with the colleague Mads Bang, specialist in fluid mechanical design of fuel cells and reformers with experience dating back to 1999. Anders Korsgaard is responsible for the daily management of Serenergy.

Tecnodelta, Italy (Partner No. 5, TD)

Profile/Description of Organisation

The activities of Tecnodelta (www.tecnodeltaimpianti.com) stem from the joint experience of two owner with several years of operating experience in the field of design and implementation of customized plants and safety systems for the utilization and handling of special fluids. The unique and significant expertise in the field of special fluids have contributed to the development of a specifìc know-how, ranging from the design to the full implementation of specialized plants. The structure of Tecnodelta provide the best possible expertise to tackle any type of problem dealing with special fluids, linked to either process issues or construction and commissioning, in full accordance with the highest and most modern standards of Quality, Safety and Reliability.

Main tasks / Project participation is aimed at:

The main tasks of Tecnodelta in the project are :
• Prototype tank design and complete system design
• Fabrication of the tank
• Assembling of the system
• Testing .

Previous experiences relevant to those tasks:

Tecnodelta was involved, with some other companies and UNITO, in a project for the realization of a prototype tank for hydrogen storage, realized in the field of the project DOCUP HysyVision.

Short profile of staff member(s) who will be undertaking the work

Carlo Luetto (Manager) He is an expert in engineering of special systems; from 20 years he has been working in the field of the distribution plant, storage and safety system related to the use of pure and specialty gas. He is taking care of the certification of the systems produced under internationals Norms (PED, Atex). He was involved in the past in an internal European committee of the Praxair groups (Leading company in gas production) to standardize materials to be used with the gas.
Paolo Florian (Engineer) He has been working in the team from 1 year. At the moment, he is taking care of the start-up of the distribution plant and equipment on the customer site. He got experience in High pressure distribution plant and safety device.
Antonio Zanon (Technician) From 35 years he has been working in the field of welding. He is responsible of the production and for the testing of the distribution plants. He is patented for manual welding under EN norms, Asme norms.
Gianluca Reffo (Technician) From 20 years he has been working in the field of welding. He is specialized in Orbital welding and testing of the equipment with the Helium mass spectrometer. He is patented for manual welding under EN norms, Asme norms.
Collura Daniel (Technician) From 10 years he has been taking care of the assembling of the systems (distribution plant and equipment) . He is specialized in manual welding and testing of the equipment (pressure leak test). He is patented for manual welding under EN norms, Asme norms.

Lingua Italiano