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DCH Technology (DCHT) of Valencia, CA formally unveiled their recently established, wholly owned subsidiary—the Enable Fuel Cell Corporation—this week at the Hannover Fair. The Middleton, WI subsidiary led by Stephanie Hoffman, DCHT's vice president and general manager, focuses solely on continued development and commercialization of fuel cell power products.

"The industrial world is getting its first look at the technology that will soon provide clean, reliable, on-demand power with user applicability from the individual level on up," said David Haberman, DCHT chairman. "The Enable Fuel Cell Corporation is aggressively ramping-up to be a leader in providing fuel cells to mass markets and today's applications."

The portable unit on display in Hannover is called the Enable PFC (personal fuel cell) and is currently being manufactured in pilot quantities for power-product, communications and control companies.

About the size of a beverage can and weighing less than two pounds, the PFC unit provides 12 watts of electric power at 12 volts with the same simplicity of a battery, without the weight and environmental issues and limitations. Haberman said Enable Fuel Cell Corporation hopes to use the PFC as an effective recharging technology for batteries minimizing the inherent longevity and recharge issues associated with current technology.

"Our solid-state fuel cell, designed specifically with users in mind, delivers the features that the commercial customer demands," Haberman said. "It is part of our strategy to be the first company to provide fuel cells to everyday people for everyday needs. When most of us think of fuel cells we envision space shuttles, urban buses and cars, and large stationary power plants. Yet, we believe fuel cells can also enhance the quality of our individual lives. It is exciting that customers see uses for small, portable fuel cells beyond our own vision."

The Enable Fuel Cell Corporation is also developing a larger "active" fuel cell, with increased power output using a proprietary control system. A 5 kW unit known as the Enable AFC (application fuel cell) will be evaluated soon by strategic allies, public utilities and energy services companies.

"We are equally excited about our active stack," Haberman said. "We're positioning it as a solution for back-up power or power-on-demand service, and we believe that it has several performance advantages over current technology, including durability and weight."

In addition to its fuel cells, DCHT designs and manufactures robust hydrogen sensors and other hydrogen monitoring devices suitable for industrial safety and process control.

Edited by April C. Murelio
editor@poweronline.com