Toyota Motor Corporation revealed recently that it intends to roll out its hydrogen fuel cell vehicles to consumers by 2015, according to a report by Bloomberg..

The Japanese automaker, which is the largest vendor of gasoline-electric hybrids, has already announced plans to lease plug-in Prius hatchbacks this year which can travel for ten miles on electricity alone.

Having also confirmed that it is looking to sell all-electric minicars in 2012, spokesman John Hanson told the news provider of the company's latest hydrogen fuel cell strategy.

Echoing comments made by Executive Vice-President Masatami Takimoto at the recent North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Mr Hanson said: "Limited commercialisation begins in 2015 and maybe sooner."

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aKdSR3OInOa8&refer=home

Bukh Bremen, the German technology and equipment specialist for professional and sports boating, has launched a new fuel cell which provides constant power availability for sailboats.

The EFOY fuel cell, which is produced by SFC Smart Fuel Cell AG, is connected to the boat's battery and monitors its state, charging it whenever it drops below a chosen level.

There are now over 600 sales points offering 5I and 10I cartridges, with an M10 cartridge with 10I fuel capable of generating 11.1 kw per hour - enough to power the boat electrically for 14 days.

Managing Director Detlef Lange explained that the fuel cell has a number of advantages over wind and water generators, while also offering better performance than solar panels.

He said: "We are excited that we can now offer boat and yacht owners a 100 per cent reliable power solution for their boat with the EFOY fuel cell.

"Reliable off-grip power on board is a major concern. The EFOY does not generate smell or noise; it is small and lightweight, fully automatic and always available. Just what sailboat owners need."

http://www.sfc.com/en/sfc-press-release/11084-bukh-bremen-praesentiert-efoy-brennstoffzelle-fuer-die-freizeitschifffahrt-zur-boot-2009-in-duesseldorf.html

The University of Milan will test a fuel cell which operates using ethanol for Italian investors after ordering it from Helbio SA, a Greek hydrogen and energy production systems company, ethanolproducer.com reports.

The GH2-5000 Energy System Fuel Cell, which was manufactured by Exergy Fuel Cells, a Bologna-based subsidiary of Morphic Technologies, can produce 5kw of electrical energy and 5kw of heat energy from ethanol.

According to Morphic, the system - which converts ethanol to hydrogen using steam reformation and a catalyst and then sends it to the fuel cell - is 90 per cent efficient.

Johannes Falk, Executive Vice-President of Corporate Strategy and Investor Relations for Morphic, noted that the GH2-5000 fuel cell was the second of its kind to be sold by the company.

http://ethanolproducer.com/article.jsp?article_id=5285

Meanwhile, researchers in the US have developed a new rhodium and platinum-based catalyst which could make the mass production of ethanol fuel cells more likely, it has been confirmed.

Scientists from the US department of energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have been working with colleagues at the University of Delaware and Yeshiva University on the development.

The results, which were published in the 25th January edition of Nature Materials, reveal that the highly efficient catalyst can perform two key new steps in relation to oxidising ethanol and producing clean energy in fuel cell reactions.

The catalyst - which can break carbon bonds at room temperature with only carbon dioxide as a by-product - was created from platinum and rhodium atoms on carbon-backed tin dioxide nanoparticles.

"Ethanol is one of the most ideal reactants for fuel cells," said Radoslav Adzic, one of the Brookhaven chemists.

"It's easy to produce, renewable, nontoxic, relatively easy to transport, and it has a high energy density. In addition, with some alterations, we could reuse the infrastructure that's currently in place to store and distribute gasoline."

http://www.bnl.gov/bnlweb/pubaf/pr/PR_display.asp?prID=898

Finally, Toshiba has confirmed that it is set to make good on its promise to commercialise direct methanol fuel cell technology in the current quarter.

Discussing its business plans in Tokyo, the Japanese company revealed that it is on schedule to bring a fuel cell-powered battery charger to the market by the end of March.

Furthermore, the firm suggested that it will be in a position to commercialise direct methanol fuel cell packs for mobile phones and computers at some point this year after April.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/158550/toshibas_fuelcell_charger_is_coming_this_quarter.html?tk=rss_news