Intlvac Thin Film, a Canadian advanced manufacturing company that has a 30-yr history in the thin film deposition and materials science industry with clients in the aerospace and defense, medicine, telecommunications, energy, optics and photonics industries has begun selling vacuum systems into the fuel cell research and manufacturing industries.

“The fuel cell industry is a very exciting industry for Intlvac Thin Film to enter as our technology is ideally suited for the industry. We recognized early that the importance of reducing the cost of producing fuel cells to make them economically viable was a massive hurdle that the industry needed to overcome,” explained Intlvac Thin Film President Dino Deligiannis.

“Our plasma-enhanced chemical vapor (PECVD) and physical vapor deposition (PVD) technology can reduce the amount of expensive and scarce noble metals used in fuel cell construction by up to 90%. With decades of experience focusing on the development and deployment of PEVCD and PVD technology we can deposit very thin layers of noble metals without compromising the fuel cell’s performance. This massive reduction in scarce noble metals, specifically palladium and platinum, not only drives down the cost but is a sustainable solution for the volume deployment of fuel cell technology in multiple applications,” said Deligiannis.

“The potential of fuel cells has not gone unnoticed by governments and businesses worldwide as fuel cells are versatile and can be used in various applications, including transportation, residential and commercial power generation, and off-grid power supply. Our customers will be addressing these markets and most governments are supporting the development of the industry having unveiled H₂ strategies or set goals to reduce the cost of hydrogen by 80% by 2030,” said Deligiannis.