About E-TEK

• E-TEK Advantage
• Products
• Capability
• History
• Applications & Markets
• Automated Manufacturing
• Fuel Cells
• Inside a Fuel Cell

E-TEK is a global leader in developing and manufacturing catalysts, gas diffusion layers, gas diffusion electrodes, and membrane electrode assemblies for PEM fuel cells of all types, sizes and temperature ranges.

We are a division of PEMEAS, the frontrunner in high-temperature membrane electrode assemblies. The merger of these two strongly complementary companies gives our customers access to a wider range of cutting-edge proprietary components that will help them create competitive fuel cell products for existing and emerging fuel cell applications.

The E-TEK Advantage

E-TEK combines the innovation and agility of a start-up with the experience and stability of a mature, expanding organization. We were among the first to offer custom components in the early years of fuel cell R&D—crafting electrode assemblies by hand to meet our customers' specifications. Today we're a leading supplier of dependable, high-performance components manufactured on our state-of-the-art automated production lines.

As a partner in the dynamic PEMEAS organization, we're developing and supplying components for the full range of fuel cell types—both high and low-temperature PEM fuel cells as well as direct methanol and reformed methanol systems.

E-TEK Products

E-TEK® HP Precious Metal Catalyst: carbon supported and high surface area metal powders (blacks)
ELAT® Gas Diffusion Layers: hydrophobicity controlled microporous layers on carbon cloth
ELAT® Gas Diffusion Electrodes: catalyst coated hydrophobicity controlled microporous layers on carbon cloth
ELAT® Series 12 MEA: low temperature MEA for hydrogen fuel cells
ELAT® 12D MEA: MEA for direct methanol fuel cells
ELAT® Specialty Products and Toll Coating services

• specialty MEA, GDL and GDE made to custom order
• coating with customer provided materials

For information on PEMEAS, including the flagship Celtec® P-1000 high temperature MEA powered by specially developed E-TEK components, visit www.pemeas.com.

E-TEK Product Development Capability

• Application Technologies (coating & laminating)
• Conversion of carbon cloth or carbon paper to gas diffusion layers or gas diffusion electrodes
• Conversion of membranes and gas diffusion electrodes to membrane electrode assemblies
• Custom structures for specific function
• Low and high temperature gas diffusion electrodes
• Alkaline fuel cell electrodes
• Industrial electrodes (e.g., recovery of Cl2 from aqueous HCl)
• Catalysts
• New Pt/C and Pt:Ru/C and Pt and Pt:Ru black (HP Series)
• Specialized catalysts for cathodes and anodes

History

Since 1990, E-TEK's scientists and engineers have focused on developing new materials and manufacturing technologies to overcome the cost/performance barriers to widespread implementation of fuel cells. We pioneered the development of high-surface-area platinum catalysts as high-performance/low-cost alternatives to platinum black. We were the first to scale lab coating process to industrial-sized GDE (the 0.9m2 ELAT), and the first to realize automated continuous coating of gas diffusion materials.

As a former high-tech division of DeNora North America, E-TEK combined our innovation and entrepreneurship with the backing and resources of one of the world's oldest and most respected electrochemical companies. This arrangement allowed us to acquire advanced equipment for high-speed manufacturing. Today we provide commercial quantities of durable, high-performance components to meet the needs of the expanding fuel cell market. Yet we also remain true to our pioneering roots—offering custom, hand laid-up components to the R&D community. Now, teamed with PEMEAS, we're continuing our tradition of innovation to enable a new generation of PEM fuel cells offering superior economics, efficiency, and reliability.

Applications and Markets

Clean, efficient electricity. Pollution-free vehicles. Portable power for laptops, cell phones, PDAs—and much more.

E-TEK components are the heart of revolutionary power generation technologies. Our gas diffusion electrodes, catalysts and membrane electrode assemblies are the key building blocks of PEM fuel cells-the compact, nonpolluting power source that's poised to transform electricity generation and provide portable power for a wide range of applications and markets.

Residential. Imagine no more blackouts. With PEM fuel cells providing reliable backup power, homeowners won't have to resort to candles and flashlights when the grid goes down.

Transportation. The PEM fuel cell is the leading candidate for a nonpolluting alternative to the internal combustion engine. In a high-stakes race to bring fuel cell cars to market, the major automakers have invested millions in fuel cell R&D and are actively developing and testing fuel cell vehicles. Fuel cell motorcycles are here already. Distributed power generation. Compact PEM fuel cells could produce clean, quiet electric power for homes, commercial buildings and light industrial facilities-as a replacement for or as a backup to grid-connected power. Along with generating electricity, PEM units also produce heat (cogeneration) which can be used for water and space heating or for industrial processes. Unit capacities range from less than 10 kW for homes to 250 kW for commercial and industrial applications. PEM fuel cells are also well suited to providing standalone power for remote facilities, such as rural homes or communication towers without access to the power grid. Auxiliary power. In smaller sizes fuel cells can serve as small backup or supplemental generators for homes and recreational vehicles.

Premium power. Fuel cells can provide high quality power that's free of voltage sags and other distortions, or serve as uninterruptible power supplies to provide backup power in the event of grid outages.

Portable electronics. Portable power is a potentially huge niche market for fuel cells, and the first to see commercial products. The push for refillable power units for cell phones, PDAs and laptop computers is driving demand for tiny fuel cells that can be recharged via a cartridge of liquid methanol. E-TEK offers the leading catalyst for methanol oxidation and has a new MEA for methanol operation. With E-TEK components, direct methanol fuel cells may be powering the next electronic revolution.

Government/military. As a power-packed alternative to rechargeable batteries, micro fuel cells offer high power density and low mission weight for field radios, night vision systems and other tactical electronic gear.

Chemical recovery. While our current focus is on fuel cells components, E-TEK has also developed gas-consuming electrodes that recover valuable chemicals and metals from waste streams, protecting the environment and reducing disposal costs while using far less energy than conventional electrolytic processes.

Sensors. Gas diffusion electrodes make excellent platforms for commercial chemical sensors. The extended surface area and high permeability of gas diffusion electrodes enable accurate detection of oxygen, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, and other gases. Even biochemical sensors, such as those for monitoring glucose, incorporate gas diffusion electrodes to increase the flux of co-reagent (oxygen) for an enzymatic reaction.

Automated Manufacturing

E-TEK has invested in state-of-the-art automated manufacturing equipment to develop new application technology and to produce reliable, high-performance components in commercial quantities.

ELAT Developmental Coater. This sophisticated coating machine is capable of handling webs up to 500 mm across and 30 meters long. It is used to develop next-generation products as well as produce custom architectures for our customers.

Industrial ELAT Coating Machine. This large-scale production machine is capable of handling webs up to 1,200 mm across and 300 meters long to provide low-cost, durable components for the industry.

Continuous Sintering Oven. The sintering oven provides the last treatment step of the ELAT, allowing the production of a final product as a rolled good that's ready to be used in MEA production lines.

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Fuel Cells

Power without pollution

E-TEK products are the central components of fuel cells, an environmentally clean power-generating technology. Fuel cells hold enormous potential in a wide range of applications that span the residential, commercial, industrial, transportation, and government sectors.

Fuel cells generate power cleanly and quietly by combining hydrogen and oxygen to form water and electricity. Like batteries, fuel cells produce electricity through an electrochemical reaction, but they don't run down because they're supplied continuously with external fuel. Because they convert the chemical energy of a fuel directly into electricity, fuel cells are more efficient than combustion power sources. They have no moving parts, produce essentially zero pollutant emissions, and generate useful heat along with electricity. Fuel cells were invented more than a century ago, and have been used in spacecraft and military applications for years. Technological advances and lower costs have now pushed fuel cells to the brink of commercialization in civilian markets.

One type of fuel cell, the proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell, is especially promising and versatile. PEM fuel cells are compact and quick starting, giving them a compelling advantage in numerous applications-providing electric power for everything from homes and businesses to cars, laptops and cell phones.

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Inside the PEM Fuel Cell

E-TEK components form the very heart of a PEM fuel cell: the membrane electrode assembly. The MEA consists of an electrolyte membrane sandwiched between two gas diffusion electrodes. One electrode is positively charged (the anode); the other is negatively charged (the cathode). View a step-by-step animation of How a Fuel Cell Works.

Chemistry, not combustion

Hydrogen flows into the anode and oxygen flows into the cathode. In the presence of a catalyst, the hydrogen molecules split into hydrogen ions (protons), liberating electrons. The hydrogen ions pass through the electrolyte membrane to the cathode. The electrons can't enter the electrolyte. They pass through an external circuit, producing useful electricity, before returning to the cathode, where they recombine with the hydrogen ions and oxygen to form water.

Since a single MEA produces only a small amount of electricity, a working fuel cell consists of multiple MEAs layered to form a fuel cell "stack." The size of the stack determines the power output of the fuel cell system. As a result, the power output of a PEM fuel cell can range from less than a kilowatt to approximately 250 kW.

The hydrogen is supplied by a hydrocarbon fuel such as natural gas, methanol or gasoline. In most designs, these hydrocarbon fuels first pass through a processing device called a reformer, which extracts the hydrogen for use in the fuel cell. Because fuel cells produce electricity electrochemically using pure hydrogen—rather than by burning hydrocarbons—they don't produce pollutant emissions that contribute to smog or acid rain. Although carbon dioxide is produced in the reforming step, it may be possible to capture and sequester this CO2 rather than releasing it to the atmosphere. And since fuel cells use hydrocarbon fuels so efficiently, they produce less CO2 than combustion technologies.

E-TEK manufactures high-performance gas diffusion electrodes (GDEs), which are among the most critical components of PEM fuel cells. GDEs enable hydrogen and oxygen to flow between the gaseous and solid phases, and also provide a path for electrons and hydrogen ions to travel from the anode to the cathode.

E-TEK GDE assemblies combine the optimal balance of porosity (to maximize the transport of gases and ions) and hydrophobicity gradient (to prevent water buildup on the cathode). The result? High-performance GDEs that achieve the highest efficiency, power output and energy density.

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