Last week it was awarded patents for two inventions aimed at resolving problems of electrical conductivity for ceramics and heat resistant steels.

CFCL’s latest patent uses steam at relatively mild temperatures (500° C) for the conversion process, which simultaneously cleans the pre-reformer of high hydrocarbons that would otherwise damage the fuel heater and fuel cell stack.

“Most fuel cells require complicated production and storage of pure hydrogen as a fuel input, whereas CFCL’s fuel cell can operate on methane. Methane is the prime ingredient in commercially available fuels, and it is for this reason (worldwide access to methane) that CFCL has developed this pre-reformer,” said a CFCL statement.

“In this way CFCL has avoided a major constraint facing other fuel cell developers and ensured its fuel cell energy generation system is suitable for homes, offices, farms and factory locations already using natural gas or other hydrocarbon fuels,” it said.

CFCL said it has been successfully using this specially invented pre-forming fuel unit in its Australian manufacturing and testing plant for four years. It said some fuel cell stacks have been running with this pre-reforming gas unit for around 4,000 hours.