- Email: [email protected]
FuelCell Energy sells power plant for gas pipeline application
NEWS / IN BRIEF handling applications, with more than 6000 units deployed [see the Plug Power feature in FCB, December 2011]. ReliOn is Plug Power’s modular, scalable fuel cell for critical stationary power applications, with installations at more than 2000 customer locations [see the ReliOn feature in FCB, March 2014]. Plug Power, Latham, New York, USA. Tel: +1 518 782 7700, www.plugpower.com ReliOn – a Plug Power company, Spokane, Washington, USA. Tel: 1 877 474 1993 (tollfree in US) or +1 509 228 6500, Email: [email protected], Web: www.relion-inc.com
PowerCell turns toxic waste from olive oil production into power
N
ordic fuel cell developer PowerCell Sweden is coordinating the EU-funded Biogas2PEMFC project, to develop technology to convert toxic waste from olive oil production into electricity. Working with partners from Spain, Greece, Sweden and the UK, a complete pilot plant has been built in Andalusia, Spain. The waste from olive oil production is environmentally harmful and costly to dispose of. It contains pesticides and toxic organic compounds, and is acidic and has high salinity. Currently the waste is turned to landfill, but this is very costly, and is becoming a major environmental problem. The two-year Biogas2PEMFC project, which concluded at the end of October, has developed a technology to convert waste from olive oil production into electricity. A three-part subsystem was developed: the primary step is an anaerobic digestion reaction to produce biogas from the waste, in the second step a steam reformer converts the biogas to a hydrogen-rich gas (reformate), and finally a PEM fuel cell system generates electric power from the reformate gas. The complete final-stage plant has been built, and is being tested by the Cooperativa San Isidro de Loja. The solution converts the toxic waste into electricity and heat that can be used by the olive mill. The plant includes the reprocessing of waste from olive oil production, biogas production from waste, reforming of biogas, as well as a fuel cell power generation system from reformate gas. ‘This solution has a very high potential. It is estimated that up to 30 million cubic metres of wastewater is produced annually, during a three- to four-month period, on an olive oil plant, water that can be used in biogas production,’ says project coordinator Per
January 2015
Ekdunge, VP and CTO of PowerCell Sweden. ‘The technology developed in this project can also be used with other agricultural waste.’ The Biogas2PEMFC project partners are PowerCell and the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Sweden; modeling and design specialist IDENER, LEITAT Technological Center, renewable energy company Ingenostrum, and the Andalusian Federation of Agrarian Cooperatives (FAECA) in Spain; fuel processor developer Helbio in Greece; and anaerobic digestion specialist Marches Biogas in the UK. The project has been supported within the European Union’s SP4 Capacities programme. In other news, PowerCell Sweden has raised SEK108 million (US$13.4 million) in new capital, from more than 2300 new shareholders, in a new share issue for the company’s planned listing on First North at NASDAQ Stockholm. PowerCell – a spinout from the Volvo Group – has designed a PEM fuel cell for automotive, transportation [see page 7] and stationary applications, initially adapted for telecom power. The company recently won funding to develop a PEM fuel cell range-extender for electric vehicles, and to develop its next-generation PowerPac auxiliary power unit [FCB, November 2014, p4]. It is also expanding its business operations and presence into Asia, setting up PowerCell Korea in Seoul [FCB, December 2014, p10]. PowerCell Sweden AB, Gothenburg, Sweden. Tel: +46 31 720 3620, www.powercell.se Biogas2PEMFC project: www.idener.es/?portfolio=biogas2pem-fc
IN BRIEF Toyota to triple Mirai production capacity as orders reach 1500 in Japan Toyota will invest about ¥20 billion (US$170 million) to triple domestic production capacity for its new Mirai fuel cell car [http://tinyurl. com/toyota-fcevs], which is attracting strong demand in both the corporate and public sectors. Ahead of the car’s launch in Japan on 15 December, Toyota announced plans to sell approximately 400 units in Japan by the end of 2015 [FCB, November 2014, p1]. But in the first month since the launch, approximately 1500 orders have been received for the fuel cell saloon. About 60% of the orders are from government offices and corporate fleets, and 40% from individual consumers. The orders are mostly from Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, Aichi Prefecture, and Fukuoka Prefecture, where there is a nascent hydrogen refueling infrastructure. The large volume of orders received mean that Toyota is forecasting significantly longer delivery times than originally expected. The automaker will ramp up output of PEM fuel cell stacks and hydrogen storage tanks at its main factory in Aichi Prefecture, adding two lines by the end of 2015. Equipment will also be upgraded at another Aichi site that handles vehicle assembly. Exports to Europe and the US are also expected to begin this summer. In Europe the plan is to be selling 50–100 cars per annum by 2016, while it aims to sell a total of 3000 cars in the US by the end of 2017.
IDENER: www.idener.es Helbio: www.helbio.com Marches Biogas: www.marchesbiogas.com
LARGE STATIONARY
FuelCell Energy sells power plant for gas pipeline application
U
S-based energy utility UIL Holdings Corporation and FuelCell Energy will install a power generation facility that takes advantage of unspent energy at a natural gas pressure-reduction facility in Glastonbury, Connecticut. The new 3.4 MW Direct FuelCell®-Energy Recovery Generator (DFC-ERG®) plant will be manufactured and installed by FuelCell Energy at a gate station owned by UIL subsidiary Connecticut Natural Gas, where natural gas is converted from high to low pressure.
Fuel cell inventor Grove in plaque honour Sir William Grove, who invented the fuel cell more than 170 years ago, has been honoured in his home city of Swansea in south Wales, with the unveiling of a blue plaque. William Robert Grove was born in Swansea in 1811. He demonstrated the first fuel cell in 1842, which produced electrical energy by combining hydrogen and oxygen. He died in 1896. Professors John Tucker and David Lovering of Swansea University, and Professor David Hart of Imperial College London, gave speeches at the unveiling. The plaque is outside the divisional police headquarters on Grove Place, marking the spot where Grove lived in a house called The Laurels during his time in Swansea. A blue plaque commemorates a link between a location and a famous person or event. Grove is also honoured through the Grove Fuel Cell Symposium, first held in 1989 in London to mark the 150th anniversary of his description of the ‘gas voltaic battery’.
Fuel Cells Bulletin
5
NEWS The facility will include a 2.8 MW DFC3000® molten carbonate fuel cell power plant, accompanied by a turbo expander that produces an additional 600 kW of clean, renewable power by harnessing energy that is otherwise unused during the station’s natural gas pressure-reduction (letdown) process. The turbo expander uses this energy to spin a turbine and generate electricity. Heat from the fuel cell will support this process, improving the station’s carbon footprint and enhancing the project economics. [See also the News Feature on page 14.] UIL purchased the power plant through subsidiary UIL Distributed Resources. FCE will manufacture and install the plant and then remotely operate it, providing maintenance under a long-term service agreement. It expects to begin producing power by the end of 2015, with the electricity sold to Connecticut Light & Power under a 20-year contract. ‘This DFC-ERG configuration achieves its high electrical efficiencies by combining highly efficient fuel cells with the turbo expander that uses energy that would otherwise have been wasted and has no associated fuel cost,’ explains Tony Leo, VP of applications and advanced technology development at FuelCell Energy. ‘Depending on the specific gas flows and application, the DFC-ERG configuration is capable of achieving electrical efficiencies up to 70%, which is almost double the fuel-to-electricity conversion efficiency of the US electric grid.’ Natural gas is transmitted under high pressure, and the pressure must be reduced prior to distribution to homes and businesses. The DFCERG solution uses the energy released by the letdown station’s pressure-reduction process to turn a turbine and generate electricity. Letdown stations are located near the points-of-use for natural gas, and a city will typically have several stations within the urban area and suburbs. Canadian utility Enbridge inaugurated the first 2.2 MW Direct FuelCell-Energy Recovery Generation power plant back in 2008, developed in partnership with FuelCell Energy [FCB, December 2008, p5]. FuelCell Energy, Danbury, Connecticut, USA. Tel: +1 203 825 6000, www.fuelcellenergy.com UIL Holdings Corporation: www.uil.com Connecticut Light and Power: www.cl-p.com
AFC Energy updates on Power-Up project, 25-cell stack trial
U
K-based AFC Energy has provided a status update on the Power-Up project, which will demonstrate the 6
Fuel Cells Bulletin
world’s largest alkaline fuel cell system at the Air Products industrial gas plant in Stade, Germany. AFC has also reported on the latest trial of its 25-cell cartridge at its Dunsfold facility. Power-Up, supported by the European Commission’s Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU), provides an opportunity for AFC to demonstrate the ability of its KORE system to achieve technical performance parameters reflective of an operational commercial facility. The project will be the world’s first large-scale demonstration of an alkaline system [FCB, November 2013, p6 and September 2014, p6]. Phase 1 anticipates first power generation from the KORE system at Stade in July, and commercial demonstration of the KORE at its full design specification (expected to be 240 kW) is being brought forward by 18 months, to the end of 2015. This will be achieved by concentrating on achieving maximum fuel cell output. In parallel, AFC will further refine its fuel cell technology such that once KORE design validation is achieved, the KORE will be operated with fuel cells designed to achieve high power and increased longevity [FCB, January 2014, p6]. Rapid deployment of the company’s in-line volume fuel cell fabrication processes will enable it to produce more fuel cells in 2015 than originally anticipated. AFC has also executed a contract with Artelia, a leading European engineering, consulting and project management firm, and their subcontractor PlantIng, a German process engineering consultancy, to undertake all onsite engineering and design works in Stade. This is under way, and due to conclude with a facility capable of accepting the KORE in May (subject to permitting). Meanwhile, AFC’s latest in-house 25-cell stack trial outperformed both of the earlier trials, with a total performance improvement of 10.8% in electrical output relative to the first trial. AFC has accelerated the initial warmup process by applying external heat sources to establish and maintain optimum fuel cell operating temperature. The ability to quickly achieve the necessary heat solely through fuel cell reactions, as envisaged in the KORE system, will reduce system capital cost and improve overall system efficiency. For the first time, the latest trial was started with a selfheating strategy. The positive results will allow AFC to fix the electrode design and chemistry ahead of the KORE system commissioning planned for mid-2015. In other news, Ian Williamson has resigned as CEO, and has been replaced by Adam Bond, a non-executive director since May 2012 [FCB, October 2011, p9]. Bond joins from Linc
Energy, where he led the commercialisation of its underground coal gasification technology [FCB, January 2010, p5]. In addition, Gene Lewis is leaving the AFC main board, although he remains as technical director and continues to lead the company’s R&D work [see the AFC Energy feature in FCB, November 2011]. AFC Energy, Cranleigh, Surrey, UK. Tel: +44 1483 276726, www.afcenergy.com Power-Up project: www.project-power-up.eu Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking: www.fch-ju.eu
FUELING
Air Products hydrogen station for Hyundai, to fuel first Australia FCEV
U
S-based Air Products has sold a hydrogen fueling station to Hyundai Motor Company Australia (HMCA), initially to refuel a Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell car – the first hydrogen-powered vehicle to be imported into Australia. The station, at HMCA’s offices near Sydney, was commissioned in early December, just as the ix35 arrived to demonstrate the benefits of zero-emission hydrogen FCEV technology in Australia. Hyundai has installed Australia’s first hydrogen refueling station at its Macquarie Park headquarters, using hydrogen provided by gas partner Coregas. The Air Products station has passed all planning permissions from Ryde Council, and is expected to be fully operational early in 2015 after testing was completed during December. Air Products’ SmartFuel® hydrogen fueling stations are proven, stand-alone compression, storage, and dispensing units that have been placed into operation in more than 21 countries as a standard product offering [see the feature on Air Products in Europe in FCB, February 2013]. The station will use compressed hydrogen supplied in bottled form by Coregas, with the hydrogen produced by natural gas reformation at Port Kembla. The refueler for HMCA is a small 350 bar (5000 psi) compressor, offering a refill time of 3–7 min. Refueling at 350 bar rather than the de facto standard of 700 bar means the vehicle will have a reduced range of approximately 300 km (190 miles), still ample to demonstrate its capabilities. HMCA plans to build an electrolyser in partnership with Australian company Sefca at its Macquarie Park site in 2015, and install a solar photovoltaic array to power both it and
January 2015
PowerCell turns toxic waste from olive oil production into power
N
ordic fuel cell developer PowerCell Sweden is coordinating the EU-funded Biogas2PEMFC project, to develop technology to convert toxic waste from olive oil production into electricity. Working with partners from Spain, Greece, Sweden and the UK, a complete pilot plant has been built in Andalusia, Spain. The waste from olive oil production is environmentally harmful and costly to dispose of. It contains pesticides and toxic organic compounds, and is acidic and has high salinity. Currently the waste is turned to landfill, but this is very costly, and is becoming a major environmental problem. The two-year Biogas2PEMFC project, which concluded at the end of October, has developed a technology to convert waste from olive oil production into electricity. A three-part subsystem was developed: the primary step is an anaerobic digestion reaction to produce biogas from the waste, in the second step a steam reformer converts the biogas to a hydrogen-rich gas (reformate), and finally a PEM fuel cell system generates electric power from the reformate gas. The complete final-stage plant has been built, and is being tested by the Cooperativa San Isidro de Loja. The solution converts the toxic waste into electricity and heat that can be used by the olive mill. The plant includes the reprocessing of waste from olive oil production, biogas production from waste, reforming of biogas, as well as a fuel cell power generation system from reformate gas. ‘This solution has a very high potential. It is estimated that up to 30 million cubic metres of wastewater is produced annually, during a three- to four-month period, on an olive oil plant, water that can be used in biogas production,’ says project coordinator Per
January 2015
Ekdunge, VP and CTO of PowerCell Sweden. ‘The technology developed in this project can also be used with other agricultural waste.’ The Biogas2PEMFC project partners are PowerCell and the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Sweden; modeling and design specialist IDENER, LEITAT Technological Center, renewable energy company Ingenostrum, and the Andalusian Federation of Agrarian Cooperatives (FAECA) in Spain; fuel processor developer Helbio in Greece; and anaerobic digestion specialist Marches Biogas in the UK. The project has been supported within the European Union’s SP4 Capacities programme. In other news, PowerCell Sweden has raised SEK108 million (US$13.4 million) in new capital, from more than 2300 new shareholders, in a new share issue for the company’s planned listing on First North at NASDAQ Stockholm. PowerCell – a spinout from the Volvo Group – has designed a PEM fuel cell for automotive, transportation [see page 7] and stationary applications, initially adapted for telecom power. The company recently won funding to develop a PEM fuel cell range-extender for electric vehicles, and to develop its next-generation PowerPac auxiliary power unit [FCB, November 2014, p4]. It is also expanding its business operations and presence into Asia, setting up PowerCell Korea in Seoul [FCB, December 2014, p10]. PowerCell Sweden AB, Gothenburg, Sweden. Tel: +46 31 720 3620, www.powercell.se Biogas2PEMFC project: www.idener.es/?portfolio=biogas2pem-fc
IN BRIEF Toyota to triple Mirai production capacity as orders reach 1500 in Japan Toyota will invest about ¥20 billion (US$170 million) to triple domestic production capacity for its new Mirai fuel cell car [http://tinyurl. com/toyota-fcevs], which is attracting strong demand in both the corporate and public sectors. Ahead of the car’s launch in Japan on 15 December, Toyota announced plans to sell approximately 400 units in Japan by the end of 2015 [FCB, November 2014, p1]. But in the first month since the launch, approximately 1500 orders have been received for the fuel cell saloon. About 60% of the orders are from government offices and corporate fleets, and 40% from individual consumers. The orders are mostly from Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, Aichi Prefecture, and Fukuoka Prefecture, where there is a nascent hydrogen refueling infrastructure. The large volume of orders received mean that Toyota is forecasting significantly longer delivery times than originally expected. The automaker will ramp up output of PEM fuel cell stacks and hydrogen storage tanks at its main factory in Aichi Prefecture, adding two lines by the end of 2015. Equipment will also be upgraded at another Aichi site that handles vehicle assembly. Exports to Europe and the US are also expected to begin this summer. In Europe the plan is to be selling 50–100 cars per annum by 2016, while it aims to sell a total of 3000 cars in the US by the end of 2017.
IDENER: www.idener.es Helbio: www.helbio.com Marches Biogas: www.marchesbiogas.com
LARGE STATIONARY
FuelCell Energy sells power plant for gas pipeline application
U
S-based energy utility UIL Holdings Corporation and FuelCell Energy will install a power generation facility that takes advantage of unspent energy at a natural gas pressure-reduction facility in Glastonbury, Connecticut. The new 3.4 MW Direct FuelCell®-Energy Recovery Generator (DFC-ERG®) plant will be manufactured and installed by FuelCell Energy at a gate station owned by UIL subsidiary Connecticut Natural Gas, where natural gas is converted from high to low pressure.
Fuel cell inventor Grove in plaque honour Sir William Grove, who invented the fuel cell more than 170 years ago, has been honoured in his home city of Swansea in south Wales, with the unveiling of a blue plaque. William Robert Grove was born in Swansea in 1811. He demonstrated the first fuel cell in 1842, which produced electrical energy by combining hydrogen and oxygen. He died in 1896. Professors John Tucker and David Lovering of Swansea University, and Professor David Hart of Imperial College London, gave speeches at the unveiling. The plaque is outside the divisional police headquarters on Grove Place, marking the spot where Grove lived in a house called The Laurels during his time in Swansea. A blue plaque commemorates a link between a location and a famous person or event. Grove is also honoured through the Grove Fuel Cell Symposium, first held in 1989 in London to mark the 150th anniversary of his description of the ‘gas voltaic battery’.
Fuel Cells Bulletin
5
NEWS The facility will include a 2.8 MW DFC3000® molten carbonate fuel cell power plant, accompanied by a turbo expander that produces an additional 600 kW of clean, renewable power by harnessing energy that is otherwise unused during the station’s natural gas pressure-reduction (letdown) process. The turbo expander uses this energy to spin a turbine and generate electricity. Heat from the fuel cell will support this process, improving the station’s carbon footprint and enhancing the project economics. [See also the News Feature on page 14.] UIL purchased the power plant through subsidiary UIL Distributed Resources. FCE will manufacture and install the plant and then remotely operate it, providing maintenance under a long-term service agreement. It expects to begin producing power by the end of 2015, with the electricity sold to Connecticut Light & Power under a 20-year contract. ‘This DFC-ERG configuration achieves its high electrical efficiencies by combining highly efficient fuel cells with the turbo expander that uses energy that would otherwise have been wasted and has no associated fuel cost,’ explains Tony Leo, VP of applications and advanced technology development at FuelCell Energy. ‘Depending on the specific gas flows and application, the DFC-ERG configuration is capable of achieving electrical efficiencies up to 70%, which is almost double the fuel-to-electricity conversion efficiency of the US electric grid.’ Natural gas is transmitted under high pressure, and the pressure must be reduced prior to distribution to homes and businesses. The DFCERG solution uses the energy released by the letdown station’s pressure-reduction process to turn a turbine and generate electricity. Letdown stations are located near the points-of-use for natural gas, and a city will typically have several stations within the urban area and suburbs. Canadian utility Enbridge inaugurated the first 2.2 MW Direct FuelCell-Energy Recovery Generation power plant back in 2008, developed in partnership with FuelCell Energy [FCB, December 2008, p5]. FuelCell Energy, Danbury, Connecticut, USA. Tel: +1 203 825 6000, www.fuelcellenergy.com UIL Holdings Corporation: www.uil.com Connecticut Light and Power: www.cl-p.com
AFC Energy updates on Power-Up project, 25-cell stack trial
U
K-based AFC Energy has provided a status update on the Power-Up project, which will demonstrate the 6
Fuel Cells Bulletin
world’s largest alkaline fuel cell system at the Air Products industrial gas plant in Stade, Germany. AFC has also reported on the latest trial of its 25-cell cartridge at its Dunsfold facility. Power-Up, supported by the European Commission’s Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU), provides an opportunity for AFC to demonstrate the ability of its KORE system to achieve technical performance parameters reflective of an operational commercial facility. The project will be the world’s first large-scale demonstration of an alkaline system [FCB, November 2013, p6 and September 2014, p6]. Phase 1 anticipates first power generation from the KORE system at Stade in July, and commercial demonstration of the KORE at its full design specification (expected to be 240 kW) is being brought forward by 18 months, to the end of 2015. This will be achieved by concentrating on achieving maximum fuel cell output. In parallel, AFC will further refine its fuel cell technology such that once KORE design validation is achieved, the KORE will be operated with fuel cells designed to achieve high power and increased longevity [FCB, January 2014, p6]. Rapid deployment of the company’s in-line volume fuel cell fabrication processes will enable it to produce more fuel cells in 2015 than originally anticipated. AFC has also executed a contract with Artelia, a leading European engineering, consulting and project management firm, and their subcontractor PlantIng, a German process engineering consultancy, to undertake all onsite engineering and design works in Stade. This is under way, and due to conclude with a facility capable of accepting the KORE in May (subject to permitting). Meanwhile, AFC’s latest in-house 25-cell stack trial outperformed both of the earlier trials, with a total performance improvement of 10.8% in electrical output relative to the first trial. AFC has accelerated the initial warmup process by applying external heat sources to establish and maintain optimum fuel cell operating temperature. The ability to quickly achieve the necessary heat solely through fuel cell reactions, as envisaged in the KORE system, will reduce system capital cost and improve overall system efficiency. For the first time, the latest trial was started with a selfheating strategy. The positive results will allow AFC to fix the electrode design and chemistry ahead of the KORE system commissioning planned for mid-2015. In other news, Ian Williamson has resigned as CEO, and has been replaced by Adam Bond, a non-executive director since May 2012 [FCB, October 2011, p9]. Bond joins from Linc
Energy, where he led the commercialisation of its underground coal gasification technology [FCB, January 2010, p5]. In addition, Gene Lewis is leaving the AFC main board, although he remains as technical director and continues to lead the company’s R&D work [see the AFC Energy feature in FCB, November 2011]. AFC Energy, Cranleigh, Surrey, UK. Tel: +44 1483 276726, www.afcenergy.com Power-Up project: www.project-power-up.eu Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking: www.fch-ju.eu
FUELING
Air Products hydrogen station for Hyundai, to fuel first Australia FCEV
U
S-based Air Products has sold a hydrogen fueling station to Hyundai Motor Company Australia (HMCA), initially to refuel a Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell car – the first hydrogen-powered vehicle to be imported into Australia. The station, at HMCA’s offices near Sydney, was commissioned in early December, just as the ix35 arrived to demonstrate the benefits of zero-emission hydrogen FCEV technology in Australia. Hyundai has installed Australia’s first hydrogen refueling station at its Macquarie Park headquarters, using hydrogen provided by gas partner Coregas. The Air Products station has passed all planning permissions from Ryde Council, and is expected to be fully operational early in 2015 after testing was completed during December. Air Products’ SmartFuel® hydrogen fueling stations are proven, stand-alone compression, storage, and dispensing units that have been placed into operation in more than 21 countries as a standard product offering [see the feature on Air Products in Europe in FCB, February 2013]. The station will use compressed hydrogen supplied in bottled form by Coregas, with the hydrogen produced by natural gas reformation at Port Kembla. The refueler for HMCA is a small 350 bar (5000 psi) compressor, offering a refill time of 3–7 min. Refueling at 350 bar rather than the de facto standard of 700 bar means the vehicle will have a reduced range of approximately 300 km (190 miles), still ample to demonstrate its capabilities. HMCA plans to build an electrolyser in partnership with Australian company Sefca at its Macquarie Park site in 2015, and install a solar photovoltaic array to power both it and
January 2015