PowerUP’s CEO, Dr. Ivar Kruusenberg, attended the “New Capabilities and Countries in European Space” Conference on May 23-24, 2023, hosted by the European Space Agency (ESA). The conference aimed to foster cooperation and partnerships among actors in the space sector, showcasing capabilities and achievements of entities from various states.
Earlier PowerUP Energy Technologies signed a contract with the European Space Agency to develop a 1kW liquid-cooled closed cathode hydrogen fuel cell stack.
“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”
The 1kW closed cathode hydrogen fuel cell stack will be used on Lunar cargo ships and potentially even on rovers, becoming an additional source of energy along with solar panels and batteries. This innovative technology will provide power during the extended periods of darkness when solar panels are not capable of charging the batteries.
“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.”
The first prototype of a 1kW closed cathode hydrogen fuel cell stack is set to be ready by the end of 2023. To stay informed and up to date, make sure to explore more news articles from PowerUP.