Fuel C

ell

Challe

nge

May 2

1,

2013

SA

GE E

nerg

y s

olu

tions

Fuel FlexiblePortable Reformer for LPG Fuel

Cells

University of South CarolinaSmartstate Center for Strategic Approaches to the Generation of Electricity

May 2013

M. Kai Mayeda, Sungtak Kim, Erdem Sasmaz, Jochen Lauterbach

Fuel C

ell

Challe

nge

May 2

1,

2013

SA

GE E

nerg

y s

olu

tions

Team

• 20+ years catalysis research• High throughput catalyst

exploration, discovery, and design• System optimization and prototype

development• Production scale up

Fuel C

ell

Challe

nge

May 2

1,

2013

SA

GE E

nerg

y s

olu

tions

UAV Market

$9B/yr spent on battery-powered drones in the

USTeal Group Corporation, 2012http://www.marketresearchmedia.com/

Fuel C

ell

Challe

nge

May 2

1,

2013

SA

GE E

nerg

y s

olu

tions

Fuel Cell Power

Stalker Payload: 3 lb Flight Time: 2+ hrs    Altitude: up to 15,000 ft Propulsion: electric/battery

Stalker eXtended Endurance (Stalker XE) Payload: 2 lb Flight Time: 8+ hrs    Altitude: up to 15,000 ft Propulsion: electric/fuel cell

Fuel C

ell

Challe

nge

May 2

1,

2013

SA

GE E

nerg

y s

olu

tions

What is the problem?

• No LPG supply chain

• JP-8 is the NATO fuel of choice

• Reformer cannot use water, hydrogen, electricity, or

any additional chemicals

• Compact (dorm-room sized refrigerator)

• No desulfurization (up to 3000 ppm)

• 5 wt% minimum conversion

Fuel C

ell

Challe

nge

May 2

1,

2013

SA

GE E

nerg

y s

olu

tions

Core technology: The Catalyst

• Capable of converting (JP-8) and diesel

• Resists coking & easy to regenerate

• > 40 wt% JP-8 conversion

• Sulfur tolerant

Patent App.: US 2013/0041198 A1

PropaneButaneEthyleneEthanePropylene1-butene

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 70%

5%

10%

15%

20%

Regeneration Count

LP

G Y

ield

70 hrs

Fuel C

ell

Challe

nge

May 2

1,

2013

SA

GE E

nerg

y s

olu

tions

Pre-Fuel Cell Challenge

Carrier gas

Gas product 0.3 gLPG/hr

Fuel C

ell

Challe

nge

May 2

1,

2013

SA

GE E

nerg

y s

olu

tions

Space Velocity testing

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 100%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

WHSV=10

WHSV=20

WHSV=40

WHSV=80

Time on Stream (hr)

kg C

2-C4

out

/ k

g JP

-8 in

(%)

Product yield increased and catalyst deactivation rate decreased with decreasing WHSV

WHSV (h-1) 10 20 40 80

Catalyst – JP8 flow 1.5g – 0.31ml/min 0.75g – 0.31ml/min 0.37g – 0.31ml/min 0.185g – 0.31mi/min

• Reaction T: 450oC• Catalyst: Pt-Gd/ZSM-5• No Carrier gas

Fuel C

ell

Challe

nge

May 2

1,

2013

SA

GE E

nerg

y s

olu

tions

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 100%

5%

10%

15%

Time on Stream (hr)

kg C

2-C

4 o

ut

/ kg J

P-8

in

Simplify and Recycle

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 70%

5%

10%

15%

20%

Time on Stream (hr)

kg

C2-C

4 o

ut

/ kg

JP

-8 in Average LPG

yield for 7h

Average LPG production rate (g/hr)

JP-8recycling

34.5% (±1.7) 2.4

JP-8 14.2% (±0.7) 2.0

recycle

single pass

Minimal carrier gas influencew/helium

w/o helium

Fuel C

ell

Challe

nge

May 2

1,

2013

SA

GE E

nerg

y s

olu

tions

Post-Fuel Cell Challenge

Carrier gas

JP-8 recycle

Peltier cooler

Gas product, 18 gLPG/hr

60x increase!

Fuel C

ell

Challe

nge

May 2

1,

2013

SA

GE E

nerg

y s

olu

tions

Portable Reformer

Buy SmartDraw!- purchased copies print this document without a watermark .

Visit www.smartdraw.com or call 1-800-768-3729.

0.3 gLPG/hr

18 gLPG/hr

Fuel C

ell

Challe

nge

May 2

1,

2013

SA

GE E

nerg

y s

olu

tions

Dieselor

Kerosene • Silent power generation

• High fuel efficiency• 1 kW ~ 0.3

gal/hr

• Fuel flexibility

Expanding our Market

Buy SmartDraw!- purchased copies print this document without a watermark .

Visit www.smartdraw.com or call 1-800-768-3729.

Fuel C

ell

Challe

nge

May 2

1,

2013

SA

GE E

nerg

y s

olu

tions

Business Plan: Near Term

TM

sageenergy.biz

Fuel C

ell

Challe

nge

May 2

1,

2013

SA

GE E

nerg

y s

olu

tions

Business Plan: Long term

• Defense contractors as collaborators/partners

• Full demonstrations for 3rd party investment• Customer-driven prototype design• Additional funding and guidance

Fuel C

ell

Challe

nge

May 2

1,

2013

SA

GE E

nerg

y s

olu

tions

Milestones

System Design• Catalyst screening• Process optimization• Scale-up

Alpha Prototype• Construction and

testing• Define customer

needs

Funding• SBIR/STTR• Venture capitalist• SC Launch

Marketing• Meet with

Customers• Define the exit

strategy

Production

0.3 to 18 gLPG/hr Simplify system design 15% to 40% conversion Alpha prototype construction

Peltier cooler Stepper motors Tube furnace No carrier gas

Established LLC Written business plan Developed website Identified potential investors

Fuel C

ell

Challe

nge

May 2

1,

2013

SA

GE E

nerg

y s

olu

tions

Acknowledgements

Fuel C

ell

Challe

nge

May 2

1,

2013

SA

GE E

nerg

y s

olu

tions

END

Fuel C

ell

Challe

nge

May 2

1,

2013

SA

GE E

nerg

y s

olu

tions

Supporting Slides

Fuel C

ell

Challe

nge

May 2

1,

2013

SA

GE E

nerg

y s

olu

tions

Potential Market

• $2.1B/yr spent on power sources (mainly batteries)1

• $9B/yr spent on battery-powered drones in the US2

• 2005-2010: US approved $380M of drone exports• Canada & Australia to spend $1B and $3B per annum3

• Sulfurized fuel for cooking• Military: expensive to make specialized jet fuel burners

SBIR solicitation A13-045, February 20134

• Developing countries use dirty fuels for cooking:5

703 TWh of energy used from oil75% of non-OECD residents burn dirty biowaste or charcoal

Fuel C

ell

Challe

nge

May 2

1,

2013

SA

GE E

nerg

y s

olu

tions

Market Strategy: Sales

Projected revenue• Unit sales

• Production - $10,000/unitSale - $40,000/unit

• Estimated to sell hundreds of units per year

• Annual service contracts• Technical servicing• Catalyst replacement

• Profits in excess of $5M

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015$ 0

$ 2 M

$ 4 M

$ 6 M

$ 8 M

$ 10 M

Fuel C

ell

Challe

nge

May 2

1,

2013

SA

GE E

nerg

y s

olu

tions

Market Pains

• What’s wrong with batteries?• 0.1-0.3 kJ/cm3 energy density

(LPG = 26 kJ/cm3)• 1-5 hrs recharge

• Sulfurized fuel cooking consequences• respiratory problems and asthma• acidification of local environments

• Absent infrastructure• costly or inconsistent supply• enormous capital costs to build

Fuel C

ell

Challe

nge

May 2

1,

2013

SA

GE E

nerg

y s

olu

tions

Representative competitor

Precision Combustion, Inc. Autothermal reforming Partial oxidation Catalytic cracking All require additional chemical inputs All produce H2 (0.008 kJ/cm3, 1 atm)

Industrial refinery and LPG extractionCheap and efficient, but immobile

Fuel C

ell

Challe

nge

May 2

1,

2013

SA

GE E

nerg

y s

olu

tions

LiquidFuel

LPG

Large market size:• Military operations

• Small drones• Cooking Appliances• Portable energy

• Portable power• Sea expeditions• RVs

LPG SOFC Stalker XE

M1 tanks

Cougar

Humvee

Applications