Fuel cell innovators ECD get $3 million in grants to develop new products

Rochester Hills-based Energy Conversion Devices has won $3 million in grants to produce advanced power supply devices in the past several weeks.

The fuel cell and battery innovation company received a contract for $1.8 million to build a hybrid electric airport tow tractor that uses powdered hydrogen to fuel its internal combustion engine.

It also received a $1.2 million grant from the Department of Energy from the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center to build a small scale internal combustion engine that can run on hydrogen.
The publicly-traded company, which primarily has been a research and development group, has moved toward commercializing more of its products.

Dick Thompson, ECD spokesman, says the company’s first fiscal quarter results, released a few weeks ago, show the company is closer to consistent profitability. While the company lost money, the losses $2.3 million for the quarter, were smaller compared to the $6.5 million it lost last year.

Energy Conversion Devices has a portfolio of alternative energy devices, including Ovonic thin-film amorphous solar cells, modules, panels and systems for generating solar electric power; Ovonic nickel metal hydride batteries; Ovonic hydride storage materials capable of storing hydrogen in the solid state for use as a feedstock for fuel cells or internal combustion engines or as an enhancement or replacement for any type of hydrocarbon fuel; and Ovonic fuel cell technology.

Source: Dick Thompson, ECD