SFC announces commercial launch of JENNY portable fuel cell system

SFC Smart Fuel Cell has announced the commercial launch of the JENNY portable fuel cell system for defense applications. The JENNY fuel cell was developed in the framework of JDA projects with international defense customers and has been in serial operation in the field by several NATO defense organisations since the beginning of last year.

SFC’s JENNY portable fuel cell is a compact, autonomous power supply worn on the body. It is operated in combination with the SFC Power Manager, an intelligent power management device which assures that virtually any electronic device can be supplied with electricity by the fuel cell or other available power sources. The SFC Power Manager automatically adapts current and voltage to ensure that mission-critical systems will operate reliably and for much longer periods than batteries alone would allow, according to SFC.

The company reports that SFC’s JENNY fuel cells and the SFC Power Manager have met rigorous military requirements in extensive field tests and in actual field use. The small size of the fuel cell and the high energy density of the fuel methanol, along with the SFC Power Manager, reduce a soldier’s weight load up to 80 percent compared to carrying conventional lithium-ion batteries.  In operation, the fuel cell produces close to zero emissions and is barely detectable due to its low surface temperature. The company reports that, it has been proven to operate reliably even in challenging environments such as extreme temperatures (-20 °C to +50 °C / -4 °F to 122 °F) and, without any performance loss, at altitudes exceeding 4,000 m. (13,000 ft) or fully submerged under water.

Source: Fuel Cell Today