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Franklin Fuel Cells,
Inc. Receives Prestigious SECA Grant Malvern , PA - October 17, 2005 - Franklin Fuel Cells, Inc. has been awarded a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solid State Energy Conversion Alliance, better known as SECA. SECA was formed about eight years ago to concentrate on furthering the capabilities of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) technology. This grant acknowledges Franklin’s proprietary, patented cathode technology could aid in the development and commercialization of solid oxide fuel cells. “We are delighted and honored that the Department of Energy recognizes the uniqueness and competitive advantages of our technology, and has selected Franklin Fuel Cells to help advance the fuel cell industry,” said John Law, Franklin’s president and CEO. “Becoming a SECA member carries a lot of weight, and is a recognition of our technology’s unique potential.” The grant pertains specifically to the company’s novel, patented cathode technology that impregnates the cathode in the same way that its patented process impregnates the anode with copper and ceria. The unique Copper-based SOFC technology was initially developed by a team of scientists at the University of Pennsylvania. Gardner explained that Franklin’s anode technology generates power by operating directly on currently available hydrocarbon fuels without the need for fuel reformation or hydrogen, and is not prone to Carbon or sulfur fouling that results in dramatically reduced fuel cell life and efficiency. He added that its technology is so flexible that it will run on virtually every commercially-available liquid and gaseous fuel, as it has already demonstrated on gasoline, diesel, kerosene, ethanol and naphtha as well as on natural gas, propane, butane and hydrogen. Phase One of the project will focus on two main issues: “first, examining the stability of the impregnated cathodes and investigating methods for stabilizing the impregnated cathodes if the stability is not already sufficient; secondly, investigating procedures for simplifying the fabrication by replacing the current nitrate salt solution-impregnated cathode with nanoparticles of the appropriate perovskites (crystal-structured, electronically-conductive ceramics)” according to Franklin’s grant application. The concept behind Franklin’s impregnated cathode technology is to overcome the technical problem of high operating temperatures needed by existing cathodes. High temperatures have been seen as somewhat of a hindrance to the commercialization of solid oxide fuel cells. The SOFC industry recognizes that cathodes with superior properties “are clearly needed”. At the present time, there are other ways to improve cathode performance, but these present other problems – problems that FFC’s impregnated cathode technology is designed to solve. Franklin Fuel Cells is an early-stage, venture-backed SOFC technology-development company located in Malvern, PA, about 30 miles from downtown Philadelphia, PA. Its Intellectual Property portfolio consists of seven U.S. patents, 30 U.S. patent applications, and 13 invention disclosures. For more details on the company and its proprietary SOFC technology, contact: Mr. Wayne Gardner, Franklin Fuel Cells, Inc., 83 Great Valley Parkway, Malvern, PA 19355, or call (610) 640-7545. <END>
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