Direct methanol fuel cell system developer Oorja Protonics Inc is collaborating with HySA/Catalysis to bring Oorja technology to the African market.

Fremont-based Oorja and HySA/Catalysis of Cape Town, South Africa have executed a commercialisation memorandum of understanding (MOU).

Phase one involves HySA/Catalysis distributing Oorja fuel cells for forklift, mining and telecommunications tower applications, says Sanjiv Malhotra, Oorja's founder, chief executive officer and president. In phase two, HySA/Catalysis will license Oorja's technology for manufacturing of its OorjaPac in South Africa. Eventually, the units would incorporate South African platinum group metal (PGM)‐based catalysts.

"Fuel cells and platinum are synonymous," Malhotra tells Forkliftaction.com News. South Africa is the repository for a majority of the world's reserves of platinum and rhodium. "This (MOU) initiates a new era in fuel cell commercialisation."

Oorja and HySA/Catalysis will co-operate on joint technology development. The intent is to reduce costs and improve performance and durability. "(For starters), we will ship units to them over the next couple weeks," Malhotra reports.

Sharon Blair, key portable power programme manager for HySA/Catalysis, says, "The activities planned aim to address goals such as human capital development, job creation, developing the South African fuel cell supply chain, joint technology development and a move towards PGM beneficiation through leapfrogging South Africa into commercialisation of fuel cells with global sales opportunities."

HySA/Catalysis is one of the Hydrogen South Africa project's three centres of competence and is co‐hosted by the University of Cape Town and South Africa's national mineral research organisation, Mintek.

HySA/Catalysis is affiliated with the university's department of science and technology and was known previously as the National Hydrogen Catalysis Competence Centre.

Founded in 2005, Oorja has more than 500 systems in commercial use and, as of late January, newly occupied facilities.

Within Fremont, Oorja moved about 5 mi. (8 km) to a facility with 28,000 sqft. (2,601 sqm) of manufacturing space and about 2,000 sqft. (186 sqm) for offices. "We needed a larger manufacturing space," Malhotra notes.