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McDonough Braungart Launches Cradle-to-Cradle Certification Program

Having helped manufacturers large and small redesign their products for the “next industrial revolution,” McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC) has now created a product certification program. The new program recognizes products that conform to MBDC’s Cradle to Cradle? (C2C) protocol. MBDC aims to release the first certified products on September 1, 2005. The C2C certification program seeks to be recognized by government agencies and others as an identifier of environmentally preferable products (EPP). Prior to launching this program, MBDC worked with the Institute for Market Transformation to Sustainability (MTS) on its Sustainable Textile Standard, but that collaboration fell apart in 2003. C2C certification now appears poised to compete with MTS and with EPP programs from Scientific Certification Systems, in the growing field of EPP certification.The C2C protocol is based on the principle that all products should be made using materials that can be recycled indefinitely with minimal environmental impact. Inspired by natural systems, in which nutrients are recycled indefinitely (waste = food), MBDC promotes the use of “technical nutrients,” which are recyclable in industrial systems, and biological nutrients, which are reused in nature. This recyclability requires that biological nutrients and technical nutrients not be intermingled in a product and that […]

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Domtar: An Unequivocal Commitment to Sustainable Forestry

Domtar Inc., based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, is the third largest producer of uncoated free-sheet paper in North America. It is also a leading manufacturer of business papers, commercial printing and publication papers, and technical and specialty papers. What sets Domtar apart from the crowd, however, is its commitment to producing environmentally and socially responsible, FSC-certified papers, all the way from stem to the market.Domtar owns a total of 455,000 acres of forestland in Canada, of which 75,000 acres are currently under FSC forest management certification. The remaining 380,000 acres are currently under assessment, which is expected to be complete by the end of this summer. In addition to those lands that they own, another 6.5 million acres of public lands are licensed to be managed directly or cooperatively by Domtar. These lands are also currently under assessment, also expected to be complete by the end of this summer. An additional 15 million acres will go under assessment between the end of 2005 and 2006. If all lands pass the assessment phase, there is potential to have a total of nearly 22 million acres of lands under Domtar’s management as FSC-certified.On the manufacturing side, Domtar operates 11 pulp and paper […]

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ECD Ovonics Subsidiary Awarded Michigan Public Service Commission Grant

Energy Conversion Devices, Inc., (ECD Ovonics) (Nasdaq: ENER), announced that Ovonic Fuel Cell Company LLC, its wholly owned subsidiary, has been awarded a $400,000 grant by Michigan Public Service Commission. The grant will support a nine-month program to develop a prototype fuel cell system for uninterruptible power supply (UPS) and emergency power applications. In a fundamentally new approach, the Ovonic Metal Hydride Fuel Cell technology can store electrical energy in the fuel cell stack. This intrinsic energy storage provides for several key performance features ideal for UPS/emergency power applications, including instant-start capability on the order of microseconds and excellent low- temperature performance. The technology provides a low-cost approach based on Ovonic metal hydride materials and does not use expensive noble metals traditionally used as fuel cell catalysts. Website: [sorry this link is no longer available]     

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FuelCell Energy Selected for 'On-the-Fly' Dual Fuel Operation with Propane Gas

FuelCell Energy, Inc. (NasdaqNM:FCEL), a leading manufacturer of ultra-clean electric power plants for commercial and industrial customers, announced its selection by Concurrent Technologies Corporation (CTC), of Johnstown, Pa., to modify its fuel cell power plant to run on HD-5-grade propane and switch rapidly between fuels. The system and engineering enhancements will enable the stationary power plant to generate base load electricity even in situations when fuel supplies are threatened due to natural disaster or security issues. The R&D project is being sponsored by the federal government to augment the ability of Direct FuelCell (DFC) power plants with a “dual fuel” capacity. CTC is the primary contractor to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, involving its Engineer Research and Development Center’s Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (ERDC–CERL). The fuel-switching process, which is being developed for FuelCell Energy’s DFC300A power plant, is designed to take place in extremely rapid fashion. Once engineered and evaluated, it is anticipated that the fuel switch will take less than a minute. “The military is always looking for multiple options, whether on the battlefield or in connection with critical stationary facilities here at home,” said Franklin H. Holcomb, CERL’s fuel cell team project leader. “The ability to switch […]

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