Millennium Cell Inc. has developed and demonstrated for its U.S. military market partners a next-generation hydrogen fuel cartridge technology. Because of the high-energy density of sodium borohydride fuel employed, this battery technology provides more than three times the energy density of standard military batteries currently in use. Successful demonstration of more than 500 Watt-hours/kg is consistent with the objectives of that program.

Earlier this year, Millennium Cell was awarded a $4 million delivery order by the U.S. Air Force to develop the next generation of sodium borohydride-based fuel cartridge technology to address higher energy density targets for future power sources.

The prototype cartridge was coupled to a fuel cell system provided by the Protonex Technology Corporation. This demonstration employed a fuel cartridge operating the Protonex P2 unit at 33% higher power and greater than 35% more energy per-unit-weight than previously achieved, and exceeded the 500 Watt-hour/kg system energy density targets established by the military. The program plan is to exceed 550 Watt-hours/kg before final release of the new cartridge technology, which is scheduled to be used in the company's licensee products in 2007.

The P2 unit was developed by the two companies under multiple contracts with the Air Force Research Lab and the U.S. Army Research Lab. A delivery of 20 P2 units and 60 fuel cartridges to the Concurrent Technology Corporation's fuel cell test center began earlier this month. This delivery is expected to be completed in January, and CTC will begin a test plan at that time that will evaluate the P2 in military standard conditions.

Millennium Cell develops hydrogen-battery technology by employing a patented chemical process that safely stores and delivers hydrogen energy to power portable devices. The borohydride-based technology can be scaled to fit any application requiring high energy density for a long run time in a compact space.

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