Direct Methanol Fuel Cell (DMFC) Systems – An introduction
INTRODUCTION TO THE RANGE | HOW IT WORKS | THE RANGE AND SPECIFICATIONS | APPLICATIONS
1) Introduction
A direct methanol fuel cell (or DMFC for short) is the ideal solution for low-power requirement, long run-time applications and an ideal alternative to the cost and manpower intensive job of continually replacing batteries in off-grid power applications.
The ranges of Direct Methanol Fuel Cells supplied by UPS Systems are practically a plug-and-play solution to providing power in remote locations or where providing power from the grid is either cost-prohibitive or impractical and the use of alternative power sources is not an option.
Simply linking a direct methanol fuel cell to a battery and an inverter can produce up to 850W of continuous long-run-time power from a single unit. This can then be extended by running units in parallel producing clean continuous practically zero maintenance power ideal for any number of appllications including:
Remote Monitoring and Telemetry- Security applications
- Traffic management and signalling
- In-vehicle power
The DMFC System
The DMFC products available are self contained units which can be supplied in units providing continuous outputs of 25W, 50W, 65W, 90W , 500W or 850W as a single unit. Output is 12 or 24V but this can easily be stepped up using an inverter to supply 110 or 220V.
Methanol fuel is supplied in specially designed leak proof and impact resistant containers in 5l, 10l and 28L sizes. Dependent on load and unit size these can provide up to 52 days run time for a single canister.
The control unit
Each unit comes with a central control unit which provides not only the main controls of the unit but also data on the fuel cell’s status. The fuel cell can also be linked via an RJ45 data interface to a modem or GSM remote montoring system such as UPS System’s own REMO monitoring system allowing open communications with the system.
The data supplied by the unit includes:
- Battery Voltage
- Run-time
- Output Current
- Operating state and mode
- Switch On /Off voltages
- Switch Off Current
- Maximal Output Energy (Wh)
- Site Altitude (m)
- Battery Capacity
- Fuel system cartridge status
- Fuel used
The key benefits of DMFC Systems
- Lightweight, compact and unobtrusive
- Almost silent in use
- Safe and Clean – negligible emissions – simply water and tiny amounts of carbon dioxide
- Flexible power production from 25 to 850W (more if units are combined)
- Extended runtimes – up to 52 days runtime from one fuel cartridge (based on constant use)
- Fast start-up
- Convenient – simply plug and play
- 12V or 24V DC output (can be easily combined with an inverter for voltage regulation and power conditioning.
INTRODUCTION TO THE RANGE | HOW IT WORKS | THE RANGE AND SPECIFICATIONS | APPLICATIONS
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