First published in InFocus: UK Quoted Clean Motoring, July 2007. ©  Cleantech Investor Ltd.

QuestAir Technologies, which is quoted on Aim and the Toronto Stock Exchange, develops advanced pressure swing adsorption gas purification systems.

Its technology differs from the mainstream in that it doesn’t require beaded adsorbents. Instead, it uses a material that overcomes the fluidisation limitations of the beads. That enables the equipment to reach higher speeds and to be much smaller. This technology is used to purify hydrogen for use in the refining of high sulphur oil. It helps to remove the sulphur from the oil, increasingly required by environmental regulations.

Recent orders for systems include one where the system will be used to recover waste hydrogen from a petrochemical plant in Texas and another where the system will upgrade contaminated natural gas. It has also secured its first orders in the European biogas sector. Longer-term the technology can be used to supply hydrogen for vehicles. According to QuestAir its hydrogen purification technology “offers a compact and cost-effective gas separation solution to reformer-based hydrogen refuelling stations”. It is less than one third of the size of rival systems which makes it easier to fit it onto existing petrol forecourts. QuestAir has supplied 14 of its first generation H systems to hydrogen fuelling demonstration projects in the US, Canada and Asia. Nearly four years ago it supplied a system to a hydrogen station in Japan and in 2005 it delivered a system to ChevronTexaco for a station in Oakland, California.

QuestAir also believes that its technology can be used to combat the CO problem associated with reforming in PEM fuel cell systems. It removes the CO and other impurities from the output of the reformer unit, providing purified hydrogen to the anode side of the PEM fuel cell. QuestAir believes the technology will be a compact alternative to current technologies for CO removal such as selective oxidizers or preferential oxidizers (PrOx). In addition, it argues that it could increase the efficiency of PEM systems compared with PEM systems that utilize PrOx technology. Shell is an 18% shareholder in QuestAir and it could be a potential customer for hydrogen refuelling stations.QuestAir also has good relations with other oil companies including ExxonMobil.