Singapore, September 1 2010, In the first Shell Eco-marathon to take place in Asia, University Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) took the first place by achieving an impressive 599km per liter of petrol equivalent, in an extreme energy efficient electric vehicle design that hybridized Horizon’s hydrogen fuel cells with a powerful ultra capacitor. Horizon’s fuel cells also powered Thailand’s first ever hydrogen participation (King Mongtut Institute of Technology) to 3rd place for the Asia region.
The first Asian Shell Eco-marathon included 81 teams from 10 Asian countries and was held at the Formula One Circuit in Sepang, Malaysia on July 7th through the 10th, 2010. Shell Eco marathons have been held for more than 25 years, bringing together high schools, universities, and engineering schools from different countries to create and race the most energy efficient vehicles. With annual events in the Americas, Europe and now Asia, winning teams are rewarded for traveling the furthest distance using the least amount of energy, as fuel or fuel equivalent.
This year’s leading teams are now looking forward further developing and optimizing their power systems for next year’s race while Horizon Fuel Cell continues its development of higher performance, highly efficient fuel cell technologies. The company’s evolving hydrogen fuel cell technologies offers an attractive technological alternative that brings winning results to Eco marathon competitors: ultra light fuel cells with limited peripherals, increasing simplicity, reducing weight, and improving overall vehicle efficiency.
About Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies
Thinking big yet starting small, Horizon pioneered the sales of next-generation fuel cell power products in small consumer products, while developing increasingly larger scale solutions in practical applications that include portable power, aerospace, stationary systems and transport. With comprehensive technological developments focused on enabling fuel cell commercialization, Horizon is bringing advanced fuel cell technology out of the laboratories and into the market today.
Small unmanned hydrogen fuel cell aircraft flies 78 miles, exceeding previous micro-UAV distance record by 50%
Upcoming flight expected to set a new flight endurance world-record of 16 hours for small UAVs
Horizon to incorporate Millennium Cell Hydrogen on Demand® in future UAV systems
November 1, 2007, Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies of Singapore announced today that a new hydrogen fuel cell propulsion system it designed enabled a small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flight which was 50% longer than the previous distance record for micro UAV’s. The fuel cell integrated micro UAV, which was designed by two leading U.S. aerospace research laboratories and supported by NASA, the Dryden Flight Research Center, the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the National Science Foundation, set a new micro‐UAV flight distance record of 78 miles (128 km) in Lancaster, California (video), exceeding by 28 miles (40 km) the previous record set in 2006 in Estonia. Even more significant is that this flight record was achieved using only 25% of the hydrogen tank capacity stored on‐board the aircraft. On a full tank of fuel, the aircraft’s flying range is 500 km (310 miles), enabling flights that are several times longer than previously recorded.
Horizon’s new ultra‐compact hydrogen fuel cell propulsion system creates high‐efficiency electrical power by reacting hydrogen and oxygen from the air without combustion. Fuel cells enable longer flight times, quieter operation, less heat signature, and higher reliability than batteries or other methods of propulsion for many UAV’s. So far however, very few fuel cell systems have been able to meet the extremely stringent size and weight requirements of UAVs. At over 480 Watt hours per kilogram, or 2.6 times the energy density of the best availablebatteries. Additionally, Horizon offers the best known system power and energy density specifications in a fuel cell based propulsion system, which can greatly extend the flight range of existing small UAV’s.
The UAV project named “Pterosoar,” was the result of a joint‐effort led by Principal Investigators Dr. Maj Mirmirani, Dean of the Mechanical Engineering Department at California State University of Los Angeles (fuel cell system testing and integration); Dr Andy Arena of Oklahoma State University Aerospace Engineering Laboratory (fuel cell aircraft development); Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies (fuel cell system); and Temasek Polytechnic of Singapore (system control electronics). The name “Pterosoar” was adopted and adapted because the nose of the aircraft includes some fuel cell cooling scoops that make the airplane resemble a class of prehistoric creatures named Pterosaurs.
Members of the Pterosoar team included Christopher Herwerth of Calstate LA’s Multidisciplinary Flight Dynamics Laboratory, who started working on fuel cell flight as early as 2005, and achieved a successful Horizon‐powered test‐flight as early as August 2006 (video). This time, the new distance record was achieved using a fully integrated fuel cell aircraft designed by the OSU Aerospace Engineering Laboratory, which presented the additional challenge of weighing 10.2 lbs (5kg), including hydrogen and fuel cells. In the next few weeks, the same aircraft is expected to exceed 15.5 hours of flight, setting a new world endurance record for small‐size unmanned planes.
Horizon’s fuel cell capability was also demonstrated earlier this year as it powered the 200km/h Hyfish jet‐wing UAV designed by Smartfish GmbH in Switzerland and integrated by the German Air & Space Institute (DLR) (Video). This program is unrelated to the micro‐UAV flight discussed above, offered a glimpse of Horizon’s potential to break new ground in the pioneering field of aerospace.
While these achievements are significant milestones for the aerospace sector, further performance improvements are on the way. George Gu, CEO of Horizon Fuel Cell comments “Due to our best in class fuel cell power density, we have been able to dedicate approximately 80% of the total power system volume to hydrogen storage using pre‐filled pressurized hydrogen tanks to achieve record breaking results. However, we plan to employ more advanced forms of hydrogen storage based on Millennium Cell’s (NASDAQ: MCEL) Hydrogen on Demand® technology.” Using such novel fuel storage technology will significantly reduce the size of Horizon’s current power system, s while allowing best in class flight times for fuel cell powered small UAV’s.
Recently, Horizon and Millennium Cell announced a joint venture to develop, manufacture and market a number of new products combining Millennium’s ready‐to‐use Hydrogen on Demand® cartridges and Horizon’s compact fuel cells. Unlike other developments in consumer and portable power markets (see Horizon’s new website), both companies have so far been working separately to address the UAV market, which is estimated to reach $54 Billion over the next 10 years, according to a recent Teal Group report. Today, both companies believe the combination of these complementary high performance solutions will create the world’s highest energy density, self‐contained fuel cell power systems, able to meet the requirements of the most demanding UAVs.
About Millennium Cell
Millennium Cell is a leader in the development of hydrogen battery technology used to power portable applications. Through its proprietary Hydrogen on Demand® fuel cartridges and PowerSkin™ fuel cell modules, the Company provides increased energy density resulting in longer runtime and lighter weight in a compact space. For more information, visit http://www.millenniumcell.com
Hobby R/C racing enters Hydrogen Age! December 7, 2006
Horizon's H-racer Wins Business 2.0 2007 Bottom Line Design Award World's First Fuel Cell-Powered Consumer Product Named Best in Marketing Category
San Francisco– Wednesday, March 21, 2007 - Business 2.0 and Frog Design, in their third annual Bottom Line Design Awards for ingenuity in business success, selected the H-racer as one of 11 winners. The hydrogen fuel cell car was awarded in the Marketing category.
"Plays like a toy, drives like the future", was how the Bottom Line judges described the H-racer, which was created by clean power solutions leader Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies. "Horizon is a start-up that builds industrial-grade fuel cells--and a clever way to show how they work… Brisk sales of this tiny toy contribute cash to the company's bigger R&D goals."
The H-racer has transformed traditional ideas about hydrogen fuel cells into something truly innovative. In this case, that meant taking the talk of hydrogen and putting the walk - or roll - into it. Horizon is the first company to introduce mass consumer fuel cell products on a global and commercial scale. Since its launch, the H-racer has become the world’s best-selling consumer product to integrate PEM fuel cell technology. The H-racer is a palm size, zero emissions vehicle. The car can be refueled with hydrogen using a solar powered hydrogen refueling station, and has quickly become a leading gift choice for anyone interested in home-grown clean energy. It includes a complete renewable energy solution comprised of solar and hydrogen power systems. Particular emphasis on its concept design makes this product extremely appealing. The Bottom Line award adds to a growing list of awards honoring the innovations of Horizon’s H-racer.
“The H-racer has propelled Horizon out of the labs and into the market place,” explained Taras Wankewycz, co-Founder and lead designer of the H-racer. “While small in stature, the H-racer is an important step for Horizon and its opportunity to lead the world into a clean and energy independent Hydrogen Age.” While H-racer sales grow in North America, Europe, and the rest of the world, Horizon is continuing to innovate and commercialize consumer products powered by its hydrogen fuel cell power system technologies. Exciting upcoming product offerings include the H-cell, a high power hydrogen fuel cell “drop-in” integration kit for 1/10th scale radio controlled (R/C) cars. Also scheduled for launch later this year is the R/C version of a newly designed H-racer toy car, which will offer longer run times, higher speed and R/C functionalities. For more information, please visit www.horizonfuelcell.com or contact sales@horizonfuelcell.com.
About Horizon:
Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies is the first company to commercialize consumer fuel cell products, with customers in 28 countries around the world. Thinking big, yet starting small, the company combines attractive design with innovative technologies in a retail form, while developing larger clean power solution for real-size applications in portable power, transportation and specialty markets. With comprehensive technological developments focused on enhancing user experience, Horizon is able to bring advanced clean energy technology out of the laboratories and into the marketplace today.
World's first zero emission, hydrogen Fuel cell jet April 6, 2007
An unmanned hydrogen fuel cell powered jet made history this week as it took to the skies over the hills of Bern, Switzerland. The “Hyfish” astonished its creators as it flawlessly performed vertical climbs, loops and other aerial acrobatics at speeds reaching 200 km/h. (click here to see the video).
These first amazing flights were the result of 1 and ½ years of cooperative development between the German Air & Space Center (DLR, or Deutsches Zentrum fuer Luft-und Raumfahrt) and a number of international partners, including Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies Pte Ltd of Singapore, which provided the record performance fuel cell that powered the flight of this next-generation Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV).
UAVs are one of the most demanding applications for emerging hydrogen fuel cell power technologies due to the constraints of size, weight and aerodynamics. Scientists at Stuttgart’s DLR Institute for Technical Thermodynamics integrated Horizon’s ultra-light and compact fuel cell system into an aircraft with a total weight of just 6 kg. The HyFish has a fuselage length of just 1.2m and a short 1m wingspan. Unlike previous experiments with slower moving and lower power glider configurations, this is the first time a fast plane with jet wings was able to fly with a hydrogen fuel cell as its only power source.
The fuel cell developed by Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies Pte Ltd fulfilled all the required technical, physical and design conditions of this highly challenging system. The special fuel cell designed by Horizon’s team produces an electrical power output of 1 kilowatt from an astounding total system weight of only 3 kilograms, which includes the pressurized hydrogen tank. In optimal conditions, Horizon’s fuel cell stack alone was able to deliver a peak power of 1.3kW at only 800g of weight, achieving a record fuel cell power density of well over 1.5W per gram.
The “HyFish”, as the German UAV is called, is an engineering showcase for fuel cell efficiency and next generation energy technologies in small, unmanned aerial vehicle applications. This flight test proved significant achievements in design challenges, both in terms of weight per horsepower as well as in terms of mechanical load.
The Hyfish hydrogen jet is the second small high tech aircraft to fly with Horizon’s fuel cells in less than one year. Its first fuel cell UAV development started in late 2005 with the NASA-sponsored Multidisciplinary Flight Dynamics Laboratory at CaliforniaStateUniversity - Los Angeles, leading to a first successful flight in August 25, 2006 (click here to see the full video).
Horizon plans to deliver high performance fuel cells to at least another three prestigious UAV development programs this year, making it the world-leading supplier of fuel cell systems for unmanned flight. “We are very proud of the great technological progress achieved on our fuel cell designs in the last 12 months. We are confident that record-breaking 15 to 30 hour flight times are now within reach for small UAVs, which would offer new and disruptive possibilities in the aviation industry,” said George Gu, Horizon’s President & CEO.
Globally, aviation accounts for approximately 4 to 9 % of the climate change impact of human activity, and it is also the fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions. Success in small-size aircraft applications such as UAVs opens new opportunities for using zero emissions fuel cell technology in general aviation. Fuel cells can be used to support propulsion power, as well as on-board auxiliary power for lighting, video screens, and other passenger comforts. Today, small UAVs designed for environmental monitoring, surveillance, and border patrol missions are a fast-growing segment of the aerospace sector, making this an ideal platform for introducing fuel cell technology into the aviation market.
Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies Pte Ltd is a founding member of Singapore’s fuel cell community, and a key participant in the recently launched clean energy technology hub in Singapore. A Singapore registered company with main operations currently in China, Horizon is a developer of commercial-grade, cost-competitive hydrogen fuel cell solutions targeting a number of early adopter markets. In recent months, Horizon started bringing fuel cell technology to the general public with the launch of the H-racer, the world’s first consumer fuel cell product awarded “Best Inventions of 2006” by Time Magazine, and “one of the 11 coolest products of 2007” by Business 2.0. With such progress achieved in the marketplace, Horizon was able to use the proceeds from its smaller products to develop world-class fuel cell power systems as witnessed with the high-speed “HyFish” UAV. Today an increasing number of exciting, real-size fuel cell applications are in the pipeline for commercial launch, while Horizon continues to gain a global reputation for creativity, innovation and technology leadership.
