The Volume of Published Fuel Cell Work

In 1992, a company called Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited (CFCL) was founded by a number of companies from the electrotechnical sector and other industries as well as certain government structures. It is the basic aim of this company to develop flat solid-oxide fuel cells for distributed power generation. Soon after its work beginning, this firm attained great success in SOFC development and became one of the world leaders in this area. About 80 persons work in this company. The funding volume from the private sector and from government subsidies attained a level of 60 million Australian dollars (Godfrey et al., 2000). 

In 1962, the Presidium of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union created a Science Council on Fuel Cells, including representatives of a number of academic institutions, universities, and electrotechnical and chemical industry Arms. The head of this council was Alexander Frumkin, well-known electrochemist and academician. The council did important work coordinating scientific studies performed at the various orgauizatious and facilitating the exchange of information. National fuel cell meetiugs were organized periodically. Unfortunately, the council had no funds of its own and coidd not materially advance the work on fuel cells. It existed until Fnunkin s death in 1976. 

In the 1970s and 1980s, a 10- or 15-kW fuel cell power plant. Photon, was developed in the Urals Integrated Electrochemical Plant in collaboration with the S. P. Korolev Energy Space Corporation for the planned Buran space shuttle. Preliminary tests demonstrated the excellent qnality of this AFC-based power plant. Fnrther work was discontinued when the Bnran project was shelved. 

In today s Russian Federation, research work on fnel cells is condncted in a number of institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences and in a number of universities. Fuel cell power plants are still developed in the Urals Plant and in the Russian science center known as the Kurchatov Institute and in other institutes of the nuclear industry (Korovin, 2005). 

Beyond the countries listed above, fuel cell work is conducted (in part with government support) in, for example, India, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, and certain South American countries. 

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