PCI Water-Neutral Compact Fuel Reformer Wins Department of Energy SBIR Phase II Award

Precision Combustion, Inc. (PCI) announced today that its advanced water-neutral diesel fuel reformer and sulfur removal technology has been competitively selected for a Phase II SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) grant.  The design avoids any need for supplemental water, a major step forward in enabling fuel cells operation with ordinary distribution fuels such as diesel.  It removes a primary barrier to commercially-viable use of fuel cells in mobile and remote applications, and further advances the overall commercial viability of clean and energy-efficient fuel cells.

In Phase I, a reformer which met or exceeded all performance targets was demonstrated using facility support equipment, including start-up without water and during operation minimized water requirement well below that generated by the system.  A system which contains all the necessary components for a stand-alone operation was designed and tested. In Phase II, a stand-alone prototype reactor will be designed, fabricated and tested with a commercial fuel cell stack to confirm long-term durability. Integration requirements such as control and monitoring will be addressed, a complete integrated system will be tested and requirements needed to be commercially-viable will be identified and detailed.