Siqens GmbH

Siqens has developed Ecoport, a new methanol fuel cell system. It is the first methanol-operated fuel cell which due to cost-effectiveness and efficiency has a clear market potential for volume production. Ecoport is based on the proprietary new fuel cell type - High-Temperature Methanol-Fuel Cell (HT-MFC). The main technological advantage: The system uses waste heat for reformation of methanol leading to an excellent degree of efficiency. As the system is running at mild conditions, we could use low cost components. In addition, the platinum load used for the catalytic process is lower than in comparative systems. Therefore, we could significantly lower construction costs. Maintenance-free operation, low costs of methanol and high efficiency reduces operation costs. The significantly reduced TCO makes the HT-MFC technology a serious competitor of the classic combustion engine by means of economic feasibility. A further benefit of the HT-MFC is the usability of thermal energy which pushes the efficiency to over 80%. In mobile applications the HT-MFC can be ideally used as heating plant for winter suitability of electric vehicles- a major problem as at -10°C the range of electric cars drops up to 50%. In stationary application like off-grid power supply and backup systems the maintenance-free operation is an important benefit. A second advantage, which is inherent to the HT-MFC, is the usability of standard methanol. Competitors either needs highly purified or pre-diluted methanol both of which increases costs for fuel production, transport and logistics. Lately we delivered the first field test system with 800W electrical power. At intersolar we welcome experts and users to discuss the usability of our system in their applications.