For troops in isolated areas with no access to traditional sources of power regeneration, on-going research by Ultralife Corp in conjunction with Lynntech Inc. and the Army’s Communications-Electronic Research, Development and Engineering Center is providing an answer.
They have just completed a 12-month milestone and scheduled delivery of a fuel cell charger that is energized by water.
Designed as a complement to other renewable energy systems, such as solar and wind power, the MRC-201 fuel-cell charger runs on cartridges that contain sodium borohydride that mixed with water, generate hydrogen, which when consumed by the fuel cell, generates electricity, says a company spokesman, who adds that used cartridges can be reinvigorated, thus, “creating a renewable fuel source.”
Further testing at a CERDEC facility at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., is under way.