05.02.04 Ruhr Information Service:
Innovations, Business, Science & Research
Energy with a future: Masterflex AG presents ready-to-use prototypes
Gelsenkirchen (idr). There is a lot of talk about fuel cells, but marketable products are still in short supply. One of the world's very few suppliers of products ready for series production is the medium-sized Gelsenkirchen-based Masterflex AG. The company is active in promising niche markets with attractive growth potential, including plastics manufacturing, and has been involved in fuel cell technology for several years.
In Gelsenkirchen, the company is convinced that fuel cells already have great market opportunities in certain niche markets. These are areas in which a portable power supply using conventional technology is not feasible at all, or only at great expense. One of Masterflex AG's new developments is a small 50-watt fuel cell system that will be used to supply power to a "mobile office unit".
The system, developed jointly with the Freiburg-based Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, was presented to the public at CEBIT, the Hannover Messe and the H2-Expo in Hamburg last year. The new type of energy supply will make it possible to operate a notebook for up to 35 hours independently of the mains.
But the fuel cell is not only suitable for laptops: Last summer, Masterflex AG, which has 350 employees, received a development order from AIRBUS. The aircraft manufacturer wants to test possible applications for fuel cells in commercial aircraft.