Oct 04 2008
From propane to 12v electricity: the Voller Fuel Cell
Voller RV fuel cell
This is something that sounds great: the Voller Emerald fuel cell. Here’s the bumf from the Voller website:
Emerald runs from LPG, propane or butane (bbq gas) and provides the functional equivalent of a 5kVA petrol or diesel generator. This product is aimed at the leisure, construction, telecoms and military industries. It is ideal for powering the 12V or 24V circuits on board boats and in Recreational Vehicles and caravans, by using the cooking gas already on board. The advantages of having a quiet generator producing power on board are invaluable. There are, of course, many other applications a product such as this can be used for.
From my earlier days when as a technology reporter, I remember the sense of wonder when I saw the first Ballard Power Fuel Cell-equipped city transit buses roll out of the factory. The Ballard folks made a great deal of getting down on their hands and knees and took a big whiff from the tailpipe: oxygen and water. It’s hard to imagine a more perfect replacement to the internal combustion engine.
Now there are several automobile manufacturers with plans for a consumer roll-out of civilian fuel-cell cars ( Honda believes it could start mass producing vehicles based on the FCX concept by the year 2018, according to this article in Wikipedia) – but unless I am mistaken, the anticipated fuel in hydrogen.
The hydrogen infrastructure is currently minuscule – there are approximately 25 hydrogen fueling stations in California, one of the most car-centric jurisdictions in the world. For yachts, hydrogen is a non-starter.
But propane: virtually every cruising boat uses propane for stoves and barbecues. It’s a very clean-burning fuel, stores easily, and is available widely.
The Voller Emerald is described as a 1kW generator that has an output equivalent of a conventional 5kVA diesel or gasoline powerplant.
And it produces water as a byproduct!