Battery charge and power are maintained at high levels and the battery is not subject to heat damage caused during recharging. This significantly increases productivity by eliminating the labor and equipment costs associated with battery swapping.

The eleven gallon methanol fuel tank is sufficient to power two eight hour shifts. The already released OorjaPac Model 3 is equipped with a three-gallon tank. In August 2009, Nissan North America (NNA) deployed OorjaPacs for the 60 tugs at its Smyrna, Tenn., assembly plant. (Earlier post.)

A direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) uses liquid methanol rather than hydrogen. Methanol (CH₃OH) is mixed with water and fed directly to the fuel cell anode, where it is oxidized on a catalyst layer to form carbon dioxide, hydrogen ions (H⁺) and the electrons that travel through the external circuit as the electric output of the fuel cell. Positive ions (H+) are transported across the proton exchange membrane (PEM) to the cathode where they react with oxygen to produce water, which is then recycled for input with the methanol.

FEDMFC and Hybrids. Separately, Polygenic Power Corp., a subsidiary of SymPowerco Corporation, has launched a hybrid-electric vehicle prototype project that is to be advanced concurrently with SymPowerco’s recently announced Flowing Electrolyte Direct Methanol Fuel Cell (FEDMFC) prototype project. (Earlier post.)

In addition to the moisture and control issues of PEM fuel cells in general, PEM DMFCs also suffer from methanol crossover. The membrane in a PEM DMFC allows methane to cross over from the anode to the cathode side, degrading efficiency by as much as 30%.

In the Flowing Electrolyte DMFC, the PEM is replaced by a flowing electrolyte: sulfuric acid. While a PEM is also required in the FE DMFC, it can be a less expensive PEM with much lower resistance. This cheaper PEM allows some crossover of methanol but the flowing electrolyte removes the methanol, thus increasing fuel cell efficiency by about 30%, according to the company.

The Hybrid Electric Vehicles developed in the program will serve as future test platforms for SymPowerco’s FEDMFC and for retrofit Hybrid Power Systems of varying designs. The original scope of the project has been expanded to include multiple power sources for the electric drive systems including multi-fuel small-displacement internal combustion engines. The electric vehicle prototypes will be designed to be compatible with virtually any prime power source. SymPowerco’s power sources will be designed to be interchangeable with each other in response to varying consumer demands and applications.

Both projects will be completed in-house and all intellectual property associated with the projects will remain with SymPowerco Corporation.

SymPowerco has identified markets for Hybrid Electric Drive Systems including golf carts, small industrial vehicles, three-wheeled taxis in the Far East (Tuk-Tuks), motorbikes and similar small vehicles. With batteries being constantly recharged by SymPowerco’s FEDMFC or other mobile power source, a golf cart could weigh as much as 200 pounds less than a plug-in golf cart and would operate indefinitely by occasional refueling with a liquid fuel such as methanol.