Nuvera Puts Next-Gen Andromeda II Fuel Cell Through its Paces

9 August 2005

Nuvera Fuel Cells announced that its next-generation automotive fuel cell stack, Andromeda II, hit several major milestones during recent qualification tests conducted at the company’s facility in Milan, Italy.

The new 125-kW stack, which increases power 36% over its predecessor, Andromeda, is currently available for delivery to qualified customers developing fuel cell vehicles.

• 1.6 kWe/liter power density at high pressure, 1.3 kWe/liter at low pressure.

• Low pressure (< 1.6 Bar) operation. Low-pressure operation allows the use of a lower-cost air blower rather than a more expensive compressor.

• No external humidification for fuel or air. The ability to use dry air and hydrogen as inputs reduces the heat exchange loops from three to one in the stack.

• Repeatable freeze start from -30º C (-22º F), reaching 50% power in 30 seconds.

• Greater than 1,500 hours steady-state operation with a 10 microvolts/hour/cell decay rate.

• 100,000 cycles during operation with no measurable decay.

• Non-coated stainless steel bipolar plate construction. Metallic stacks offer resistance to shock and vibration and are lower in manufacturing cost than graphite stacks.

Lowering the system humidity and pressure through re-engineering the stack enabled the faster cold-start capabilities and lowered parasitic power demand, according to Giovanni Bruni, Nuvera’s Automotive Platform Leader.

Nuvera is privately-held, and owned by Amerada Hess, Gruppo de Nora and Renault. The company provided the fuel cell stack for the Fiat Seicento hydrogen fuel cell prototype which took first in the compressed hydrogen vehicle category at the recent Monte Carlo and Fuel Cell Hybrid Rally.