Marine testing of hydrogen fuel cells using PCB technology.

Bramble Energy’s PCB fuel cells are designed to provide a zero-emission alternative to diesel vehicles and portable generators that can be manufactured in printed circuit board factories around the world to save costs and time to market. I’m here.

Innovative fuel cell testing on remote-controlled robotic boats, believed to be the world’s first, to begin in the next few months in partnership with Sea-Kit International, a leading manufacturer of Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs) It is scheduled to be

The £1.37m project has won £964,000 from the Ministry of Transport through the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition in September 2021, but has been postponed due to global supply chain issues.

The Sea-Kit USV has a dual diesel-electric hybrid drive propelled by an electric motor driven by a battery bank charged by two on-board diesel generators.

This project will replace one of the Maxlimer USV’s diesel generators with a PCB fuel cell. During the demonstration, the ship moves only with this engine.

Vidal BharatBramble Energy Chief Commercial Officer said:

Installation and testing is done according to an agreed test protocol.

“[The USV] We’re in normal operation, but it’s under surveillance, so we’ll see how it works. ”

He said the tests would take place in British waters, with further tests potentially on the horizon that could involve fuel cells with higher power output in the “tens of kilowatts” range, with development taking “several years. It is expected to take several months instead.

“we, [will become] We are a long-term partner with Sea-Kit,” he said. “We would like to do other projects in the maritime industry. The technology is application agnostic, so it is a solution for everything from leisure ships to cruise ships.”

Bramble Energy also secured a £35m Series B investment in March 2022 to develop a PCB fuel cell. The fuel cell is already being used to manufacture a portable fuel cell generator in partnership with industrial gas multinational BOC, powering Taylor Construction’s portable industrial light towers. plant.

According to Bharath, all components of a PCB fuel cell are made from the laminate used for the green motherboard of printed circuit boards, except for the membrane that forms the “electrochemical heart”.

“This allows us to leverage the manufacturing capabilities of the printed circuit board industry around the world as we use standard components and techniques to manufacture our fuel cells,” he said. “Then we can leverage our manufacturing maturity and scale to reduce costs.

“And most importantly, it has an adaptable form factor so it can fit into existing applications. We offer one black box component called the Membrane Electrode Assembly (MEA). We build it ourselves … and we can tailor it to our customer’s requirements.”

On 26th September 2022, a new type of hydrogen fuel cell made from computer motherboard laminates was developed by a UK start-up to accelerate the shift to net zero.