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Quiet Reliable and Compact Fuel Cell Based APU (QRCFC-APU)
Title: Vice President
Phone: (408) 328-8303
Email: mehdi@altextech.com
Title: President
Phone: (408) 328-8302
Email: john@altextech.com
There are more than 480,000 trucks on U.S. roads, and each vehicle produces
up to 20 tons CO2, 420 lbs of CO, and 250 lbs of nitrous oxides per year while
idling to produce auxiliary power needed for the driver’s comfort. The
overall goal of this project is a Quiet Reliable and Compact Fuel Cell Base
Auxiliary Power Unit (QRCFC-APU) to reduce significantly idling emissions. QRCFC
overcomes the challenges with the diesel fuel reforming and the current fuel
cell systems limitations to reliably convert diesel fuel to power on board
the truck and replace idling. Under Phase I, QRCFC will be designed and
its critical components and processes tested to provide the foundation for
Phase II, in which the system will be fabricated and demonstrated. If
QRCFC-APU penetrates just 20 percent of the truck APU market, it will result
in the reduction of more than 12,000 tons on NOx; 20,160 tons of CO; and
1.5 million tons of CO2 emissions each year.
Idling trucks result in substantial fuel and maintenance cost for the truck
owner and driver. Current diesel engine-based APU generators are too
noisy and inefficient and lack the longevity and reliability needed for extended
operation. When QRCFC-APU is available, the cost savings achieved by
replacing truck idling with QRCFC-APUs, along with its quietness and high efficiency,
will drive the commercialization of the system. This economic driver
and other system attributes will allow QRCFC-APU to capture a substantial portion
of the potential $2 billion market for truck APUs.
* Information listed above is at the time of submission. *