Fuel cells

Taiwan manufacturers, however, still lag behind their counterparts in the United States, Japan and South Korea in terms of R&D initiatives. Today, makers from these countries own thousands of patents for fuel cells. Although the island is a major production hub for motorcycles, UPS and portable electronics, Taiwan makers still purchase patent licenses to be able to use fuel cells for these products. These patent fees, not to mention rising raw material costs, are one of the challenges Taiwan companies must contend with.

Still another challenge is the high cost of mass-producing fuel cells. Companies are thus opting to manufacture fuel cells for specific applications in hopes of boosting sales and reducing production costs in the near future.

For instance, Asia Pacific Fuel Cell Technologies Ltd is currently working on fuel cells for electric motorcycles. HPB Optoelectronics Co. Ltd is one of the first Taiwan makers to release aqua fuel cells used in flashlights, warning lights, garden lights, chargers, emergency lights and rescue power supply systems.

Applications for fuel cells depend on the fuel cell's output. Small-sized home appliances and 3C products require fuel cells with 1W to 100W power, while UPS, large-sized home appliances, small-sized home power generation systems, vehicles and Combined Heat and Power (CHP) systems require up to 5kW output.

Nan Ya PCB Corp. revealed that fuel cells require no charging time, making them suitable for portable devices and vehicles. Nan Ya and Antig Technology Co. Ltd are collaborating on direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC). So far, their cooperation has resulted in more than 400 patents for portable 3C products such as laptops, mobile phones and PDAs.

Similarly, General Optics Corp. (GOC) is targeting applications in vehicles, home appliances and UPSes.

Makers focus on DMFC, PEMFC and URFC

Because of their eco-friendly features, fuel cells have long been heralded by researchers and manufacturers as one of the best alternative power sources. Government and industrial institutions in many regions including Taiwan strongly support fuel cell R&D with substantial budget allocations. Manufacturers, on their part, continue to develop new models for specific applications such as cars and power generation systems.

Taiwan has 30 to 40 suppliers of fuel cells including finished products and components. Less than 10 makers offer their own fuel cells and EMS for finished products. Leading suppliers include APFCT, Antig, Boyam Power System Co. Ltd, Jemmytest International Corp. and GOC. A few companies such as Antig and GOC are capable of manufacturing components including membrane electrode assembly (MEA).

Shin-Chih Chang, an associate research fellow at the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research, said that Taiwan fuel cell makers focus on DMFC, proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) and solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC). A number of makers are also into unitized regenerative fuel cells (URFC).

PEMFC have fast start-up capability and are suitable for vehicles and UPS. This type of fuel cell can also be used for power generation systems and home-use water heaters. DMFC, meanwhile, is ideal for 3C products including mobile phones, car electronics and laptops.

GOC specializes in URFC with output ranging from 300W to 1kW. It also has a patent for manufacturing MEA used in PEMFC and URFC. Next year, the company plans to release a new model that combines solar panel, hydrogen generator and fuel cell in one unit.

Ray Yang, president of GOC, said that URFC have simplified a system design that reduces manufacturing costs by more than 40 percent, compared with traditional RFC. He added that distributed hydrogen generation and power generation modes help avoid loss and at the same time enhance efficiency by more than 20 percent.

US-based Proton Energy Systems Inc. cites large-sized UPS requiring 200kWh as an example. If the product uses URFC, its power consumption cost will be $30 per kilowatt hour; but if the UPS will use an electronic battery, its consumption cost can range from $150 to $300 per kilowatt hour. This large gap gives URFC the potential to replace electronic batteries and diesel in the near future.