July 9, 2003 [SolarAccess.com] Millennium Cell Inc. has been awarded U.S. Patent number 6,586,563 by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a process for making sodium borohydride, a key component in the Millennium Cell Hydrogen on Demand fuel system. The patent relates to a process for the synthesis of sodium borohydride using more readily available metal salts rather than metallic sodium used in the current commercial process. According to the company, the process described in this patent uses an approach that involves less energy and is less costly than the current process. In comparison, other approaches which have been tried produce large quantities of waste products, need more energy and are more expensive, said Millennium Cell.
