In Scotland two weeks ago, the
Scottish Police Service agreed to
European firm
ITM Power's
Hydrogen On-Site Trials, a test of hydrogen
fuel cell technology and fueling stations. The trials, scheduled for
early 2011, will also be conducted in England (Sheffield and
Southampton). The trials are one of thousands of hydrogen-based projects
going on across Europe. And
Drexel University-spinoff company
AlumiFuel Power--the
company responsible for aluminum-powder capsules that, when delivered to
water, create valuable hydrogen and steam--plans to be involved. This week,
AlumiFuel announced the sale of $7.5 million in common stock of its
majority-owned subsidiary, AlumiFuel
Power International. The sale, officials say, will allow the company to
expand internationally.
"This Memorandum of Understanding is the first step in our goal to
broaden our reach outside of North America and provide access to
capital for expansion of our product development and marketing
activities," says Alumifuel CEO Henry Fong.
While much of the company's business currently focuses on lift-gas for
weather balloons and flameless heaters, executives hope to expand the
use of these cylinder capsules in back-up and auxiliary power for fuel
cells and turbines. But they will have to act fast, as hydrogen is
rapidly catching on in key worldwide markets.
"While we
must still conduct further due diligence, we believe this can be accomplished in a relatively
short time-frame for a deal of this nature," says Fong. "The creation of AlumiFuel
International and this funding, if successfully completed, will allow
us to expand our reach internationally and raise significant capital
to fund our operations."
Source: Henry Fong, AlumiFuel Power
Writer: John Steele