The Japanese are signing up with Acta to build fuel cells using

The catalysts developed by Acta have been subjected to extensive laboratory testing and characterisation and have been demonstrated to offer significant and often unique advantages:

High performance: HYPERMEC™ performs as well as platinum catalysts in most applications
Work below freezing: with ethylene glycol as a fuel, the fuel cell will work at temperatures as low as -12°C

No evaporation: ethylene glycol powered fuel cells suffer no fuel evaporation below 180°C
Affordable: Acta will be able to offer HYPEMEC™ at industrial prices, as products are launched to the consumer market

No alcohol cross-over effect: the catalysts are selective so there is no loss of power if alcohol passes through the membrane

No carbon monoxide poisoning: catalysts last longer and can use more complex hydrocarbons as fuel
Practical fuels: use of ethanol and ethylene glycol can enormously simplify the supply chain for distribution of fuels

Green fuel: ethanol is made from biomass and is therefore completely renewable. Net carbon emissions from this process are nil.

Fuel Cell Technology Enabler - Acta - Signs First Contract
Acta, the fuel cell technology enabler, today announces that it has signed its first commercial sales and distribution contract with Summit Medichem Ltd, Sumitomo Corporation’s Chemicals Business Unit and subsidiary. The contract covers Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. Acta’s breakthrough in nanotechnology catalysts will enable the competitive launch of fuel cells to the mass consumer market.

Under the terms of the contract, Summit Medi-Chem will have exclusive distribution rights to Acta’s technology, moreover it has committed to delivering commercial contracts in the first year.

This is an important first step into the critical Asian market for Acta and the company will be building on this strong foundation by seeking to develop commercial relationships with the leading Asian OEMs over the coming twelve months.

Acta proprietary nanotechnology has enabled it to develop a new, unique family of catalysts called HYPERMEC™ catalysts which breakdown the barriers to the commercialisation of the fuel cells for mass market applications. HYPERMEC™ catalysts use low cost materials, work at low temperatures, enable use of cheap, safe and environmentally friendly fuels and solve other technical issues, thereby creating the possibility of producing fuel cells for consumer products.

Acta’s HYPERMEC™ catalysts are platinum free and perform as well as or better than platinum catalysts depending on which fuel they are working with. In addition, while HYPERMEC™ catalysts can function on methanol and hydrogen, the two most common fuels currently used by the fuel cell industry at present, fuel cells using Acta’s catalysts can also run directly on ethanol, a safe, practical and widely distributed fuel at room temperature, which platinum catalysed fuel cells cannot.