On December 30, 2009, AlumiFuel Power announced that it has taken delivery of its first production unit hydrogen generator, the PBIS-1000. API also announced that, with the help of its local manufacturing partner, Apex Piping Systems, its production line is fully ready for mass production of its hydrogen generators. The design and construction of this third generation of the PBIS-1000 incorporates significant feedback from customers, and customer deliveries are expected to begin in early 2010.
API's PBIS-1000 relies on the robust chemical reaction among aluminum, water, and proprietary additives. Operation of the generator is simple: two 32-oz. aluminum can cartridges containing aluminum powder and the proprietary additives, are loaded into the reactor vessels. Water from practically any source, including salt or brackish water, is poured into the water tank, and a hand pump is then used to inject water into the cartridges, generating a thousand liters of hydrogen in twenty minutes.
While API's hydrogen generator was initially designed for the remote inflation of weather balloons (hence its name, Portable Balloon Inflation System), the quality of hydrogen the reactor generates is easily adaptable to fuel cells and many other systems requiring remote/portable hydrogen. Currently, large, heavy and hard-to-handle steel K-Cylinders under very high pressures are used to transport and deliver hydrogen to customers. The PBIS unit instead relies on small unpressurized cartridges of aluminum powder and any available water source. This greatly reduces the cost and danger of transporting hydrogen, and makes hydrogen available to previously inaccessible locations.
Unlike expensive electrolysis systems, API's generator does not need an external power source, and unlike steam reformers, API's generator creates no greenhouse gases. Furthermore, all the chemicals used in the reaction are non-toxic and can be recycled or discarded in municipal dumps. API's hydrogen generator is more mobile and considerably less expensive than any other system on the market.