In July 2006, Hoku Fuel Cells, together with UTC Fuel Cells and United Technologies Research Center, collectively referred to as UTC, jointly presented a subset of the results from UTC's testing of Hoku MEA over the past year. UTC's test results show the performance and durability of an earlier version of Hoku Membrane, which we refer to as version 601, in UTC's test hardware. Our 601 membrane is made from a pristine (non-reinforced) hydrocarbon polymer, and was developed in 2003 and 2004.
The results of the testing indicate that the hydrocarbon Hoku Membrane may last longer in an operating fuel cell than the industry-standard fluorinated membranes, such as those produced by DuPont, W.L. Gore and 3M. This conclusion is based on the results of accelerated lifetime tests performed by UTC, which are designed to predict the ultimate lifetime of a membrane through very aggressive test methods. The significance of this conclusion is that it is contrary to the commonly held belief that fluorinated membranes are more durable than hydrocarbon membranes due to their inherent chemical stability.
In addition to being durable, the test results also indicate that the performance of Hoku MEA with the 601 membrane is similar to the performance of an MEA with a fluorinated membrane under humidified conditions. While the test results indicate that the 601 membrane is not better than a fluorinated membrane under all conditions, we believe that we have addressed these issues through new versions of our Hoku Membrane and Hoku MEA that have been developed over the past two years since our 601 membrane was first released for testing.
Please click here to view our joint presentation at the Gordon Research Conference.
