UK Carbon Trust pours cash into fuel cell systems

In a bid to reduce the costs of fuel cells for automobiles, the UK’s Carbon Trust (logo, pictured) has poured £1.95million into two fuel cell companies. The beneficiaries are ITM Power and ACAL Energy, which have the goal of delivering a step change to the cost of fuel cell technology: to around $35/kW. The investments are part of the Polymer Fuel Cells Challenge, which was set up in 2009.

Fuel cell systems that are currently under development are estimated to cost around $50/kW. However, the Carbon Trust believes that if fuel cell cars are to realistically compete with vehicles with internal combustion engines, then these costs must be reduced to around $35/kW. In order to achieve this cost reduction, it will be necessary to achieve significant technological breakthroughs and so now the Carbon Trust has turned to ACAL Energy and ITM Power to make the next step.

Read more - http://www.thegreencarwebsite.co.uk/blog/index.php/2012/09/04/uk-carbon-trust-pours-cash-into-fuel-cell-systems/