Estijos startuolis pasirašė sutartį su Europos kosmoso agentūra dėl uždarų katodo vandenilio kuro elementų kūrimo Mėnulio ir Marso žvalgybos misijoms

Estonian cleantech start-up PowerUP Energy Technologies has signed a contract with the European Space Agency (ESA) to develop a 1kW liquid-cooled closed cathode hydrogen fuel cell stack which will be used on Lunar cargo ships (Lunar nights survival) and potentially also on rovers. Normally fuel cells are open cathode, however, due to lack of oxygen on the moon and Mars, closed cathode fuel cells are used. Robotic rovers are then usually remotely controlled and carry a payload of scientific instruments with the goal of performing experimental investigation over a distributed area of the surface of the astronomical object. This kind of design has found particular relevance regarding moon and Mars exploration. 

There have been several research and development activities on regenerative PEM fuel cell systems for space applications in the past decade. These studies have targetted mainly two kinds of applications: commercial applications and more particularly large telecommunication platforms and science applications, with planetary exploration missions. 

Talking about the collaboration, CEO of PowerUP Energy Technologies, Dr. Ivar Kruusenberg said: “Usually fuel cells are open cathode. This means that they take oxygen from the surrounding air, but in the case of Mars and Moon missions, there is no oxygen. To tackle this, with the help of ESA we will develop a 1kW closed cathode hydrogen fuel cells stack that could work in such space missions. This stack would serve as an additional energy source that will be integrated with solar panels and batteries. In cases where the solar panels could not be used to charge the batteries such as during nighttime, that is when our stack will come into play. I believe fuel cell systems have a great potential in space missions to the Moon or to Mars, particularly to power supply robotic rovers and cargo ships, such as in the current case. We are extremely excited to be developing this under the European Space Agency’s guidance.”

One of the major goals of this project is to reduce the complexity of fuel cell systems and substitute ancillary systems with non-moving parts. While the first prototype of the stack is expected to be completed by 2023, the project has already kicked off this month. 

About PowerUP Energy Technologies

PowerUP Energy Technologies is an Estonian cleantech start-up that produces best-in-class hydrogen fuel cell-based electric generators and proton exchange membrane fuel cells. PowerUP’s technology is based on their co-founders’ 15 years of scientific research in the field of fuel cells and energy technologies. Their generators have diverse use cases in industries such as marine, telecommunication, military, construction, hospitals, off-grid homes, and rescue forces to name a few. UP® product range is sustainable since it only emits water vapour, compact and lightweight, operates silently and requires minimal maintenance. Their first commercial product 400W portable generator and they are soon launching 200W, 1kW and 6kW generators. PowerUP Energy Technologies serves as a sustainable alternative to power generation in today’s world and helps its users in various industries to reach the global net-zero targets. 

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