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For more than 20 years, Infinity Fuel Cell & Hydrogen has been supplying power for unforgiving environments.
It has built prototype power units for the lunar rover and space station, for use on the battlefield and under the sea. But a September flight aboard the Blue Origin spacecraft provided an unexpected chance to show the resilience of the company’s products.
About a minute after the New Shepard rocket lifted off from the Van Horn, Texas, launchpad, the first-stage booster suffered what is being called “an anomaly.” That triggered the emergency escape system and the unmanned capsule separated.
That left the fate of the capsule and its cargo of 36 scientific projects to the Infinity Fuel Cell unit that was supplying the capsule’s power.
No problem.
The capsule landed safely in west Texas, producing smiles among the Infinity Fuel Cell team and setting in motion a series of inquiries from other commercial space companies looking for fuel cell products. Only Elon Musk’s SpaceX remains committed to batteries, explains Rick Mullins, Infinity’s business development director.
William Smith, CEO of Infinity Fuel Cell & Hydrogen, makes no secret of his love for aerospace.
As co-founder of Proton Energy, he disagreed with the Wallingford company’s decision to prioritize commercial markets over aerospace. So, in 2002, he led a band of Hamilton Standard alums in forming Infinity Fuel in Windsor and started doing work for NASA.
A series of development projects with NASA, the Marines and other government agencies allowed Infinity Fuel Cell the opportunity to fine-tune its technologies.
The Proton Exchange Membrane serves as the core of its products. The fuel cell is not dependent on access to air, works in zero gravity and provides long life.
There is also a regenerative electrolyzer that produces hydrogen and oxygen.
The XStorra Regenerative Fuel Cell System combines power generation and energy storage for remote locations. Its two modules can be pulled by a Humvee, giving the system both military and civilian applications in remote operations.
One unit deploys a solar array that can deliver 5 kilowatt-hours of power, while the other module can store 30 kWh of energy and produce 5 kWh of power with a fuel cell.
To this point, Smith said he’s been able to refrain from raising capital, but that’s about to change as Infinity shifts its focus from development to production. Just what that might look like remains a corporate secret.
The company is looking to grow its employee base by about 40% and expand its 15,000-square-foot facility this year as it works to capture commercial opportunities.
Aerospace — both with NASA and emerging commercial space operators — will remain at the forefront of Infinity’s plans. But exploiting the unique uses of its technologies has opened a wealth of opportunities, Smith and Mullins said.
The same features that make its technologies attractive for use in space also make it a leader in powering undersea vessels. Whether servicing underwater cables, hunting sunken treasure or inspecting the underwater structures of oil platforms or wind turbines, a fuel cell that doesn’t need air and provides long life is ideal, they said.
The company’s lightweight fuel cells could position it for use in both military and civilian unmanned aircraft. And it’s working on powering a new generation of laser weapons and missiles.
Mullins is also enthusiastic about the potential for using the XStorra system in providing communities with power during natural disasters.
Industry: Fuel cell technology
Top Executive: William Smith, CEO
HQ: 431A Hayden Station Road, Windsor
Website: InfinityFuel.com
Contact: 860-688-6500
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