Fuel Cell Store

Competition Car Kits

Sponsoring model car competitions is a popular way to bring fuel cell technology to students worldwide. Fuel Cell Store offers a number of kits that are appropriate for competitions and recommend that you call Kathleen Quinn Larson to help you select the best kit for your competition. Here is a description of the kits used in the two most popular competitions.

The Middle School Science Bowl has held a fuel cell competition for a number of years. The fuel cell and kit used in the competition has changed over time to accommodate the change in technology. For the first few years, the Department of Energy used a single cell fuel cells. Last year, a double cell was selected and this year a four-cell fuel cell, the Quattro from H-tec, gmbH has been selected. This fuel cells operates above 3 volts which should move the cars much faster across the track this year. The fuel cell is reversible and can use a solar panel or nine volt battery to provide power for electrolysis.

The student kit includes only a fuel cell and motor with miscellaneous accessories. It does not include hydrogen storage. Students design their own storage as part of the challenge. For training purposes, teacher kits that match the student kit are available. The teacher kit includes hydrogen storage and a specially designed car chassis that allows for quick exchange of gears.
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The International Youth Fuel Cell Competition is held each year in conjunction with the Fuel Cell Seminar. High School students from Russian, Japan, Germany, Brazil, India and the US will be competiting this year in San Antonio, Texas in October. Students in this competition build a fuel cell car and a fuel cell lift. They receive a kit that includes three reversible fuel cells and three motors, two each for the lift and one for the car. The kit includes hydrogen storage as an example, but teams usually choose to build their own hydrogen storage systems.

This year the US teams qualified by participating in regional events. In 2008, Fuel Cell Store will be hosting a United States national high school competition. The top national teams will qualify to participate in the 2008 IYFCC program. For more information about IYFCC,visit www.ifycc.com.

Build Your Own Fuel Cell

Build a Solar Hydrogen Fuel Cell System has been highly regarded as the best resource for information about the construction of a fuel cell from the basics. As a result of the popularity of this DVD, the author, Philup Hurley, has expanded his offering to include Fuel Cell Systems, Practical Hydrogen Systems, Building Solar Panels, and Building Solar Panels II. These resources are perfect for individuals learning about new technology on their own as well as in classrooms. Fuel Cell Store provides the materials needed to complete the projects for building fuel cells and we will soon have products for solar panels as well. Technicians at Fuel Cell Store are available to help you select the correct components for your fuel cell project.

Nafion Always in Stock

The acquisition of Fuel Cell Store by Ecotality Stores has allowed us to make some very exciting advances. The increased capital available makes it possible for us to maintain a higher level of inventory of our most popular products. Fuel Cell Store offers Nafion and other membranes in sizes as small as 100 cm2 eliminating the need to order excessive quantities. Our new invetory policy will allow us to offer Nafion membranes in thicknesses of 112, 115, and 117 available for shipment within 24 hours.
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DOE Competition Car Kit

Fuel Cell Store Consulting Services

The professional staff of Fuel Cell Store offers consulting services for educators and the fuel cell industry through Ms. Kathleen (Kay) Quinn Larson and Dr. Michael J. Binder. Ms. Quinn Larson and Dr. Binder are international experts with nearly 40 years of experience between them in the fuel cell industry. As consultants for Fuel Cell Store, they can help you identify and locate fuel cell equipment to match your needs, organize fuel cell conferences and workshops in your area, provide assistance in incorporating fuel cell technology into a curriculum and specialize in designing fuel cell laboratories to meet the technical specifications of the world's top research institutes or the curriculum needs of any school or teacher. Fuel Cell Store's consultants, Ms. Quinn Larson and Dr. Binder, have extensive experience in the fuel cell industry and have worked closely with some of the top fuel cell vendors including Ballard, Scribner, Electrochem, Voller, Heliocentris, Jadoo, Horizon and H-Tech. For more information or to schedule a consultation, please contact consulting@fuelcellstore.com.

Kathleen (Kay) Quinn Larson is internationally recognized as an expert in fuel cell education. Ms. Quinn Larson was the original owner and president of FuelCellStore.com which was the first fuel cell marketplace from which customers could purchase a full range of fuel cell products from around the world. Ms. Quinn Larson has worked with leaders in the fuel cell industry and is a consultant to emerging companies bringing new products to the market and developing new applications for hydrogen fuel cells.

Ms. Quinn Larson has been a featured speaker at many industry events, conferences and trade shows including the 2006 International Hydrogen Conference in Moscow, Russia, where she spoke on the topic of The Development of Fuel Cell Education in the United States. Ms. Quinn Larson has also written the curriculum and instruction manuals for a number of fuel cell products including the Experiment Manual for the Intelligent Fuel Cell Car and Fuel Cell Science Fair Projects. For the third consecutive year, she will be providing workshops on fuel cell education for automotive instructors at the North American Council of Automotive Instructors. Ms. Quinn Larson recently presented a two-day intensive fuel cell workshop for Colorado teachers at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado and has presented numerous workshops at National Science Teacher Association conferences. Ms. Quinn Larson is also the Director of the International Fuel Cell Competition which will take place at the Fuel Cell Seminar in San Antonio, Texas in October of 2007.

After receiving his B.S. and M.S. in Aerospace Engineering, and his Ph. D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Arizona, Dr. Binder taught mechanical engineering at the University of Arizona and the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. In 1991, Dr. Binder became enamored by fuel cell technology and established the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Construction Engineering Laboratory (ERDC-CERL) Fuel Cell Demonstration Program, serving as its Program Manager until his retirement from ERDC-CERL in 2005. As Program Manager with the ERDC-CERL, he oversaw a multitude of fuel cell related products that totaled over 200 million dollars in federal funds, and was responsible for deploying the largest fleet of fuel cells in the world (400). Dr. Binder established the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Fuel Cell Test and Evaluation Center (FCTec www.fctec.com ), operated by Concurrent Technologies Corporation, and located in Johnstown, PA, and provided overall program management for it until his retirement in 2005. FCTec is the world's premiere third-party fuel cell test, evaluation, research, development and system integration facility. Dr. Binder has been a featured presenter at numerous international seminars, conferences and symposia, including serving as the Seminar Chair of the Fuel Cell Seminar Organizing Committee (1998, 2004), speaker for all Department of Energy Fuel Cell Technology Forums, speaker at the Fuel Cell Technology Institute (University of California Irvine), and hosted Fuel Cell Training Workshops throughout the world.

Since his retirement from ERDC CERL and establishment of Mike Binder and Associates, Inc., Dr. Binder has continued his role as a member of the Fuel Cell Seminar Organizing Committee (including his present position as President and Chair of its Board of Directors), and recently served as a member of the 2006 DOE Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Program Merit Review Board, the CCEF Project 100 Proposal Evaluation Team, the CEC PIER Fuel Cell Roadmapping Executive Committee. Dr. Binder also serves as a fuel cell technical due diligence consultant for numerous organizations including the World bank Group, Battenkill Capital, Inc., Yellowstone Capital Partners, LLC, the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund (CCEF), SCAQMD, CEC and the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. Currently, Dr. Binder is the manager of the CCEF fuel cell demonstration monitoring program and serves as a consultant to numerous fuel cell companies. Dr. Binder is highly regarded as an international authority on fuel cell technology implementation and commercialization.