Oorja Fuel Cells

Oorja Fuel Cells (Oorja Protonics Inc) is an energy company that designs manufactures and commercializes direct methanol fuel cells for application in the logistics, automotive, distributed generation (micro-grid), and telecommunication industries. Oorja designs, develops and commercializes direct methanol fuel cells ranging in power from 0.5 to 100 kilowatts that have a wide range of applications across several industries such as: telecommunications, vehicles and transportation, distributed energy, and microgrid. Oorja is considered one of the four major players in the North American Fuel Cell Market.[1]

Oorja Fuel Cells
IndustryFuel cells
Founded2004 (2004)
FounderSanjiv Malhotra
Headquarters
Fremont, California
,
U.S.
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Sanjiv Malhotra
(CEO)
Shoibal Banerjee
(CTO)
Jim Boetcher
(Chairman)
Number of employees
40
Websiteoorjafuelcells.com

History

Oorja Fuel Cells was founded in 2004 by Dr. Sanjiv Malhotra in Fremont (California),[2] south of the Warm Springs BART station and east of the rail tracks at Tesla Factory. Oorja has been advocate of methanol economy. The company was funded by Sequoia Capital, Dag Ventures, Artis Capital Management, McKenna Ventures Management, and Mingxin China Growth Fund.

Oorja Fuel Cells is working with market leaders around the world such as Toyota Tsusho, Baldor, and US Foods.[3][4][5][6][7]

Toyota Tsusho

Oorja has partnered with Toyota Tsusho in pursuit of wide commercial adoption of affordable fuel cells to help solve energy and transportation challenges in Japan.[8][9] As methanol fuel cells cost less than hydrogen batteries because methanol is easier to transport and handle than hydrogen, this will hope to cut down on energy costs in Toyota's home nation of Japan.[10]

R&D Partnerships
  • Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory[11]
  • Los Alamos National Laboratory[12]
Global market

Oorja started focusing mainly in material handling and logistics sector but is now moving to a more global market such as in the telecom, mining and oil and gas industries. Oorja has sales offices in China and South Africa, and have established distribution agreements in South Africa and Mexico.[13]

Products

The company’s OorjaPac fuel cell product operates as an on-board battery charger for material handling vehicles. OorjaPac features on-board sensors that keep the vehicle's battery at a constant state of charge, eliminating the need for battery swapping and rapid charging.

The OorjaPac Model 1 provides 5 kW output, as much as 50 times more power to on-board batteries than other fuel cells, the Model 1 could extend the range of electric vehicles like General Motors’ Chevy Volt or Nissan’s Leaf by two to three times.[14]

The OorjaPac Model 3 is similar to the Model 1, but it provides 1.5 kW output.[15]

The OorjaPac Model T is a liquid fuel cell that is tailored to meet the needs of the telecommunication industry.[16]

Oorja Protonics also offers the OorjaRig™, a refueling system that stores and delivers methanol to the OorjaPac™ on-board charging system that is designed for indoor use in commercial and industrial environments.[17]

Awards
  • MIT Technology Review: Go-to-Market Product 2010[2]
  • Frost and Sullivan – Product of the Year 2009, 2010[18]
  • Always ON Going Green – Top 100 Green Company of 2008 and 2009
  • Modern Material Handling – Products of the year 2009, 2010[18]

See also

References
  1. "Stationary Fuel Cell Market to See CAGR of 30.6% by 2018". 10 December 2013. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
  2. "Welcome to TiE50 Awards". www.tie50.net. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
  3. "Baldor Specialty Foods Goes Green with Oorja Protonics' High-Efficiency Methanol Fuel Cells - FuelCellsWorks". fuelcellsworks.com. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
  4. "Oorja DMFCs for material handling at Baldor Specialty Foods". Fuel Cells Bulletin. 2011 (12): 2. 1 December 2011. doi:10.1016/S1464-2859(11)70364-9.
  5. "Fifty OorjaPacs for Baldor Speciality Foods' New York Facility". www.fuelcelltoday.com. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
  6. "U.S. FOODSERVICE–SAN FRANCISCO TO INSTALL METHANOL FUEL CELLS TO POWER WAREHOUSE PALLET JACKS". Retrieved 15 June 2017.
  7. "Oorja units to power US Foodservice warehouse pallet jacks". Fuel Cells Bulletin. 2010 (8): 3. 1 August 2010. doi:10.1016/S1464-2859(10)70240-6.
  8. "Toyota Tsusho brings Oorja DMFCs to wider applications in Japan". Fuel Cells Bulletin. 2014 (3): 10. 1 March 2014. doi:10.1016/S1464-2859(14)70085-9.
  9. "Toyota Tsusho Brings Fuel Cells to Multiple Applications in Japan Through Exclusive Agreement with Oorja Protonics" (PDF). Retrieved 15 June 2017.
  10. "Toyota Tsusho boosts fuel-cell biz". 25 February 2014. Retrieved 15 June 2017 – via Japan Times Online.
  11. "Oorja Protonics Executes MOU with LBNL for Development of Fuel Cell Manufacturing Processes Targeting EV Applications". www.fuelcelltoday.com. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
  12. "Oorja Fuel Cells Licenses Two Patents from Los Alamos National Laboratory for Improving Efficiency and Cost-Cutting - FuelCellsWorks". fuelcellsworks.com. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
  13. Oorja Fuel Cells expands to Mexico
  14. "Oorja unveils methanol fuel cell that could triple EV driving ranges". 17 February 2010. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
  15. "OorjaPac Model 3" (PDF). Retrieved 15 June 2017.
  16. http://oorjafuelcells.com/services/oorjapac-model-t Archived 2014-08-03 at the Wayback Machine OorjaPac Model T
  17. U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewalable Energy Fuel Cells Technology Office
  18. https://archive.today/20140522045649/http://www.impulsaglobal.com/oorja-fuel-cells/. Archived from the original on May 22, 2014. Retrieved May 22, 2014. Missing or empty |title= (help)

Category:Fuel cells Category:Energy conversion Category:Energy storage Category:Manufacturing companies of the United States Category:Companies established in 2004

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