A supplier of advanced thermal processing equipment used for printed circuit board assembly, semiconductor packaging and advanced ceramics manufacturing has added Rolls Royce to its list of clients. BTU International, N. Billerica, Mass, has served as Rolls Royce's primary contractor for the building of the world's first automated solid-oxide fuel cell (SOFC) production line.

The fuel cell production facility in Loughborough, England, contains a turnkey pilot production line for solid-oxide fuel cell manufacture, incorporating several BTU products such as multiple convection drying systems and an elevator hearth system for high temperature sintering. The BTU equipment also included multiple screen-printing systems, a laser-marking system and automated handling equipment to fully automate the process.

The plant has the ability to produce more than 1,000 ceramic fuel-cell components per week while verifying the processes required for eventual full-scale production.

“We believe this is the world's first fully automated production line for solid-oxide fuel cells, and we are excited to have played a major role in this advanced manufacturing program,” says Paul J. van der Wansem, BTU's chairman and CEO.

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14% Aromatic (Synthetic Organic)
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