UltraCell gets follow-on U.S. military fuel cell contract

Livermore, Calif.-based UltraCell said today that it received a follow-on contract award for fuel cell development from the U.S. military.

UltraCell did not disclose the financial terms of the contract, but said it was jointly funded through the U.S. Army's Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center, or Cerdec, and the U.S. Department of Defense's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA.

The company said the award would accelerate the further development and field testing of its next-generation 25 watt reformed methanol fuel cell, called the XX25.

"This new contract will drive advanced system design and provide units for further military field demonstrations and field testing," said Keith Scott, CEO of UltraCell.

"We look forward to continuing to supply the XX25 for both military and non-military applications."

UltraCell received its initial U.S. military contract from Cerdec in September 2005.

The company said its system internally generates fuel cell-ready hydrogen from a highly concentrated methanol solution.

UltraCell said the XX25 is designed to run a ruggedized laptop computer for up to eight hours on a single 250cc fuel cell cartridge.

The system could also be configured with large fuel tanks for weeks of runtime in stationary applications such as remote video monitoring, surveillance, and communications equipment, according to UltraCell.

Founded in 2002 to commercialize technology invented at the U. S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the company is backed by STAR Ventures, BankInvest Group, OnPoint Technologies, BASF Venture Capital, and Espirito Santo Ventures.