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What's a zinc
air fuel cell? What's the difference between zinc air
fuel cell and conventional batteries? |
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| In broad terms, zinc air fuel cell is
a kind of battery as well. It provides energy to products
that require power to function. But, its working prInciples
are different from those of conventional batteries.
A fuel cell is actually an electrochemical power reactant.
Electric potential is produced when the fuel (zinc),
which is introduced into the cell, reacts with oxygen.
Conventional batteries, on the other hand, are storage
for ready-charged electrons. Electric potential is not
produced within conventional batteries. Instead, it
is introduced and stored inside the batteries.
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| What applications are particularly
suited for zinc-air fuel cell? |
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Electric Vehicles: Bicycles, Motor Scooters,
Cars, Buses
Off-Road Recreational Vehicles: Golf Carts
Service Vehicles: Airport Service Carts, Postal Service
Vehicles, Wheelchairs
Consumer Electronics: Laptop Computers, Cellular Phones,
Camcorders, Digital Cameras
Pleasure Boating, Military Applications |
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| Since zinc-air
technology has been around for a hundred years, what
distinguishes Powerzinc's zinc-air fuel cell from others
in the market? |
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| Although zinc air
technology has been around for a long time, it is only
restricted to low capacity and low efficient battery
applications. In recent years, we have made fundamental
breakthroughs in the technology, resulting in a new
generation zinc air fuel cell that maintains high capacity,
high efficiency, and signifcant longer service life
at a lower manufacturing cost. And, our all-in-one model
plant in Shanghai will be the first commercialized large-scale
plant in the world for zinc air fuel cells. |
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| How does our DQFC series compare to other available battery
technologies? |
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Battery
Technology |
Lead-Acid |
NiMH |
DQFC Series |
| Specific Energy
(Wh/kg) |
32 |
70 |
200 |
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Service Life |
1 year |
2 years |
5 years |
| Cost / kWh (US$) |
100 |
484 |
<100 |
| Cost / kWh over
5-yr Period (US$) |
500 |
1,210 |
<100 |
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What is DQFC? What are the available models? |
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DQFC
stands for Dynamic Quick-charge Fuel Cell. It is exclusively
developed by Powerzinc through using its patent-pending
zinc-air technology. Currently, we have two model available:
DQFC-24-3200,DQFC-24-1800, which is for EV application.
We will continue to develop new models to meet the Increasing
demand of different applications. |
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What is the service life of
a DQFC? |
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The
service life of a DQFC depends on its gas diffusion
electrode (GDE). Our GDE is able to last for at least
400 cycles of anode regeneration. But, this should not
be a concern for end-users because they will get a newly
fueled DQFC in replace of their discharged DQFC each
time they go to a DQFC Refuel Outlet for refuel. |
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Is it true that the DQFC series can only be used on
light EVs (LEVs)? |
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NO. |
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Our
DQFC series can be used on larger EVs as well. The prInciple
behind this is just like connecting a series of conventional
batteries in a circuit to achieve higher power. It is
true that the current models of the DQFC series have
limited power (enough to power a LEV but insufficient
to power a larger EV), but when you connect a few of
them together, their combined power would be more than
enough to power large EVs. |
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Is DQFC series available now? |
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Currently,
we do not sell our zinc-air fuel cells directly to
end-users. We only sell samples (DQFC-24-1800, 24V,
76 AH) to EV manufacturers technical evaluation purposes.
Manufacturers are required to sign the Non-Disclosure
Agreement (NDA) and Disclaimer of Warranties &
Liability forms, and to provide detailed information
on their business, products and applications prior
to the delivery of the samples.
All
samples are provided to customers "as is" and without
warranty of any kind, and all express or implied warranties
are excluded. |
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Where to replace the zinc plates? |
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The
zinc plates have to be replaced after the exhaustion.
For samples and small quantity of zinc air fuel cells,
customers can replace the plates manually. But for
regular orders, the zInc plate replacement process
has to be done automatically in a Regeneration Plant.
The scale of the Regeneration Plant is dependent upon
the volume of usage of the fuel cells. We license
our technology to manufacturers/distributors to set
up Regeneration Plants in different regions. If the
demands are high in certain regions, we are interested
in building the Regeneration Plants with our own resources.
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Instead of using
the conventional Electric recharging method, Powerzinc's
DQFC series uses mechanical refueling. Why? |
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Conventional rechargeable EV batteries
are charged through plugging into Electric sockets.
The charge normally takes a few hours. Even then, the
batteries are often not fully charged. As a result,
EVs can only run for a limited distance before another
charge is required. Long hours of recharging also shorten
the service life of the batteries. Powerzinc's DQFC
series, on the other hand, does not have this kind of
problems. Mechanical refueling would only take a few
minutes at a DQFC Refuel Stations. Basically, the discharged
DQFC is removed and replaced with a fully refueled DQFC.
Powerzinc plans to set up a network of refuel outlets
at existing gas stations. In this way, EV drivers can
drive their vehicles for a significant longer distance
without worrying about finding a place to refuel. DQFC-powered
EVs will fuction very similiar to gasoline-powered cars
in terms of driving range, yet more environmental friendly.
Moreover, by replacing the DQFC frequently at refuel
outlets, we eliminate the problem of short battery service
life. This will ensure the DQFC end users have will
always at its top performance. |
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What is the cost of refueling a DQFC? |
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It
varies with regions. It depends largely on the cost
of material, labor, Electricity etc. of each region.
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How long would it take to refuel a DQFC? |
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The process usually takes less than 5
minutes. |
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Can the DQFC series applicable
in areas other than EVs? If yes, what are the advantages
DQFC has over other batteries in these applications?
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The current models of DQFC are specifically designed
for EVs. In the near future, we will also manufacture
(1) refuelable and (2) disposable DQFCs that can be
used on consumer electronics and Electrical appliances.
The most distinct advantage DQFC has over other types
of batteries is its high
specific energy, which allows longer runtime.
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If the DQFC series is widely adopted, will its refueling
(zinc oxide regeneration for discharged anodes) put
on extra stress on the existing power grid, resulting
in another form of energy crisis? |
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No. On contrary, we believe that the adoption
of the DQFC series can in fact increase the efficiency
of existing power plants. Power plants can make use
of their excess energy during off-peak hours to regenerate
the zinc oxide . In regions where energy is excess or
economical, local power plants can actually store their
excess energy in the regenerated zinc, and distribute
to regions where energy is scarce and expensive. |
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Is Powerzinc just targeting the Asian markets? |
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No.
We plan to market our products globally. But, at
present, due to the immediate demand from Taiwan and
mainland China, and the limited capacity we have on
our current manufacturing facility, we can only focus
on these two key markets. But, eventually, we will expand
into markets throughout the world. We welcome any companies
to become our strategic alliances. |
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Is Powerzinc a publicly traded company? |
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No.
it is still privately owned at present time.Powerzinc
welcome interested qualified investors to join its fast
growing business.The company has plan to go public in
the future. Please refer to our web site regularly for
further development. |
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