One of Metallic Power's (Carlsbad, California, U.S.) zinc fuel cells successfully provided backup power to a cell site during power interruptions, marking a milestone in its development of zinc fuel cell technology.

The cell stack is responsible for producing power from zinc stored in the fuel tank. The regeneration unit recycles the spent zinc fuel into reusable zinc pellets when grid power is turned back on. The system functions like a rechargeable battery but without the safety, environmental or performance uncertainties of lead acid batteries.

The device evaluated provided 1.8 kW of backup power in a rack-mounted configuration that included a 6 kWh fuel tank to supply more than three hours of continuous power under full load. The fuel cell was operated over varied conditions (cold start, full discharge, partial discharge and regeneration).

Based on the company's exclusive regenerative zinc fuel cell technology, the system uses small zinc pellets that combine with the oxygen in air to produce electricity and a byproduct of zinc-oxide. Spent fuel (the zinc-oxide byproduct) is automatically regenerated back into fresh zinc pellets when grid power returns — a process that can be repeated indefinitely.
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