US company opens world's first fully automated fuel cell production line

Citation

(2008), "US company opens world's first fully automated fuel cell production line", Industrial Robot, Vol. 35 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/ir.2008.04935aaf.005

US company opens world's first fully automated fuel cell production line

US company opens world's first fully automated fuel cell production line

In June 2007, Altergy Systems unveiled the world's first fully automated fuel cell manufacturing line. Founded in 2001 and based in Folsom, California, Altergy's business is the design and production of a range of fuel cell power products based on a proprietary and patented proton exchange membrane (PEM) technology, the Freedom Power™ range. These cells range in power from 1 to 30kW (Figure 5) and can deliver a maximum current of up to 100A at 224 VDC. Constructed in a similar way to a battery, these cells comprise an anode separated by an electrolyte from a cathode, but they differ in that they are not powered by a liquid electrolyte but by a source of gaseous hydrogen, typically at a pressure of 15-100psi. In the Altergy design, the PEM acts as the electrolyte.

Figure 5 A 10kW fuel cell system in a rugged industrial enclosure (Altergy Systems)

Figure 6 The automated, robot-based fuel cell production line (Altergy Systems)

Whilst widely promoted as a convenient, portable and “green” source of power, until now, however, fuel cells have been assembled manually and are therefore very costly to produce. This has limited their economic viability in both commercial and consumer markets. Altergy believes it has now overcome this limitation through the adoption of a fully automated production line (Figure 6). This consists of a series of Selective Compliant Assembly Robot Arm robots, lift and transfer stations, turntables and automated conveyors. It is capable of producing several thousand fuel cell plates each day, which represents an order of magnitude increase over the volumes produced by manual assembly. The line fully automates a wide range of functions, including parts placement, bonding, dispensing, in-line curing, in- line test, conveyance and stacking. Automated assembly will lead to lower prices and Altergy is already producing a fuel cell system for domestic use which will be priced at around $7,500 and in 2006, the company entered into an agreement with the Eaton Corporation to supply them with fuel cells for telecomms back-up power and other applications.

Although the company is presently operating just one assembly line, it has the space to expand this to three as volumes increase. According to Eric S. Mettler, President and CEO of Altergy Systems, “Altergy's automated, high volume assembly line is an important leap forward in the commercialisation and worldwide deployment of fuel cells as a viable and clean power generation alternative.”