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More juice for high tech soldiers
Dennis Normile, Roy OConnor, Bruce Wiebusch, Norman Bartlett -- Design News, July 15, 2001
Sending troops into foreign lands with superior technology gives them an edge against hostile aggressors and terrorists. However, the latest pieces of technology—laser range finders, global positioning systems, and imaging displays—are worthless if they run out of electrical power. Bigger batteries are not the solution: The bigger the batteries, the heavier the soldier's pack becomes. That's why Ed Baker, a project manager at Pacific Northwest National Labs, is helping develop a new power generator that weighs approximately one-tenth of what lithium batteries would weigh if required to produce the same amount of electrical power. "Our system produces the hydrogen that fuel cells need to create power," says Baker. The power generator's fuel processor consists of a combustor, vaporizer, primary conversions reactor, and a gas clean-up device. A proprietary catalyst produces hydrogen from hydro-carbon fuels. Reactions take place in a catalytic converter. For more information, send e-mails to inquiry@pnl.com.
