The world’s lightest solid finds myriad other applications

from Inventors and Remarkable People (112 articles)

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The world’s lightest solid finds myriad other applications

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Hiro Hara, president, chief executive officer and founder of ACI, said that: "We have many years of development into our technology and we are very much looking forward to bringing the many applications of our technology to market. We expect that GreenShift's investment will accelerate this process and we are pleased to have their support."

The unique nanostructure of the ACI carbon aerogel offers higher electrochemical surface areas, better mass transport, reduced or eliminated ionic contamination and price competitiveness. This translates into both lower cost and higher performance when applied to current membranes on the market. ACI's initial products are high performance electro-catalysts for fuel cells, non-electro-catalysts for emissions control, and aerogel materials for energy storage.

ACI's electro-catalyst products achieve equivalent catalytic performance at one half to one tenth the precious metal loading commonly achieved by current technology. These catalysts are the primary cost drivers in all of the markets ACI is addressing. ACI's technology directly addresses the cost of fuel cell systems by lowering the platinum cost in the membrane electrode assembly (MEA).

For example, ACI's Hyrogel Carbon Aerogel Supported Platinum Catalyst (CASPC) reduces the platinum requirements of hydrogen powered proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells by over 90% from recently prevailing levels. Based on industry feedback, ACI believes that its electro-catalyst is the most efficient and most economical PEM electro-catalyst available today.

ACI has also produced catalyst coated membrane (CCMs) or three piece membrane electrode assemblies ("MEAs") for PEM fuel cells, incorporating its proprietary Hyrogel electro-catalyst. These CCMs/MEAs have achieved a performance of one watt per square centimeter, requiring less than 0.1 milligram per square centimeter of platinum on the cathode. Based on industry data, ACI believes that this performance is unmatched.

Additionally, in catalytic emissions control systems, ACI's technology reduces precious metal loading and therefore cost. In 2003, the US$4 billion market for emission control catalysts utilized US$3.19 billion of platinum group metals. This market is expected to grow significantly due to increased regulation, stricter enforcement and rising demand for diesel automobiles in Europe and the U.S.

Other potential applications of ACI's platform technology include materials for ultra-capacitor electrodes, hydrogen and energy storage, catalyst for fuel reformers, specific gas sensors, biosensors, and desalination of water.

"We see Mr. Hara's technology as another remarkable example of leveraging an incremental improvement in efficiency into dramatic environmental gains," said Kevin Kreisler, GreenShift's chairman and chief executive officer.

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