Southborough-based fuel cell manufacturer Protonex Technology Corp. has been awarded a $400,000 U.S. Army contract to develop a system that uses common liquid fuels.
During the year-long contract, Protonex will adapt its existing propane-powered fuel cells to run on butanol, gasoline, kerosene and other liquid fuels commonly used by the military.
The company said a system powered by liquid fuels would work better and cost less in many applications than typical hydrogen or propane-powered fuel cells.
The project is being sponsored by the U.S. Army Research Office.
