DONA ANA TRAINING RANGE, N.M. --
Johnathan Brown drives a Humvee--full of test equipment
powered by a newly developed
fuel cell--through the worst
terrain he can find on Fort
Hood's rangeland.
Brown is making sure the
methanol-powered fuel cell can
withstand the rigors of military
life. A generator mechanic for
most of his Army career, he sees
the value of a significantly
lighter, relatively
maintenance-free power source to
replace the noisy, hot
generators and heavy, toxic
batteries now used by the Army.
At Fort Bliss, the fuel cells
are used with solar panels on
adobe structures in the
northernmost part of the Dona
Ana Range, where soldiers learn
urban combat skills.
They are silent and have a
minimal heat signature, which
provides little to no
interference with training
activities, said Henry C.
Merhoff, with the U.S. Army
Operational Test Command at Fort
Hood. Merhoff was in New Mexico
on Wednesday for a media
demonstration.
The fuel cells generate
electrical current from chemical
reactions and emit only water
and carbon dioxide. The cells
power cameras and microphones
that allow trainers to watch
remotely as soldiers learn to
clear populated structures of
enemy fighters.
The 65-watt commercial fuel
cells are made by Smart Fuel
Cell, a Germany-based company,
said the company's U.S.
representative, James Stephens.
With the help of the solar
panels, the fuel cells need new
cartridges only about once every
three months, Merhoff said.
Next year, newly
developed 250-watt fuel cells
developed by the Army and Smart
Fuel Cell are to be provided to
the Fort Bliss Army Evaluation
Task Force that evaluates
cutting-edge Future Combat
Systems equipment, and in range
targets that require power to
simulate heat signatures of
enemy vehicles and formations,
Merhoff said.
Although the fuel cells are
now used only to support
training and evaluation
activities, Merhoff expects that
they will have combat
applications.
Smart Fuel Cell already is
working on a smaller, 25-watt
version that could be used by
individual soldiers.