ICAO Draft Proposal Seeks to Allow Fuel Cells, Cartridges on Airliners
November 23, 2005
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) drafted conditions that will allow the transportation and use of fuel cells and fuel cartridges on board passenger airliners.
The draft language allows the transportation and use of:
- Fuel cells using butane fuel cells.
- Formic acid fuel cells.
- Direct methanol fuel cells.
- Reformed methanol fuel cells by passengers and crew.
The new conditions:
- Require compliance with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Specification for Micro Fuel Cell Safety.
- Place limits on the size and number of fuel cartridges to be carried.
- Allow transportation in carry-on baggage only.
Once ratified, this passenger exception would go into effect in the ICAO Technical Instructions on January 1, 2007. The various member states will need to revise their own rules prior to actual implementation.
"The ability to move fuel cells and fuel cartridges as passenger carry-on items opens the door for clean, efficient fuel cells to provide extended run-times and new device technologies to the international traveler," said USFCC Technical Director Robert Wichert.
The ICAO acted in response to a US Fuel Cell Council proposal to amend the ICAO Technical Instructions, according to the council.
Source: US Fuel Cell Council.