Biodiesel could be the fuel that charges fuel cells for electric vehicles.

ScienceDaily reports Norwegian company Nordic Power Systems (NPS) has developed a silent generator that works with California-based SAFCell Inc.’s new fuel cell using a smart diesel reformer and a tolerant fuel cell and could contend for the market in generators in electric vehicles:

This combination of two advanced technologies is now undergoing testing, thanks to funding under the Research Council’s RENERGI programme. In trials, a 200-W solid-acid fuel cell ran on both pure hydrogen and on hydrogen produced from diesel by the unit’s reformer — with only an insignificant difference in performance.

The reformer converts hydrocarbons into hydrogen, CO2 and heat. Due to the unit’s high efficiency, CO2 emissions are substantially lower than in conventional combustion engines, and no other demonstrable exhaust is discharged — meaning that diesel particulates, black carbon soot, nitrous oxide (NOx) and carbon monoxide (CO) are elimi¬nated. An added plus is that the reformer emits no smoke or odour.

NPS officials expect the first applications to be with the military, already having a technology development agreement with the Royal Norwegian Armed Forces and looking to get in with the British Armed Forces.