Air Liquide public hydrogen station for Hyundai European HQ

Air Liquide public hydrogen station for Hyundai European HQ

NEWS ‘10 million operating hours for all units on the market: this is an important milestone in our work. This achievement emphasises fuel cell techno...

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NEWS ‘10 million operating hours for all units on the market: this is an important milestone in our work. This achievement emphasises fuel cell technology’s advanced maturity level,’ says Guido Gummert, CEO of SOLIDpower Germany. ‘And all the more so because the experience was gained directly onsite, during our customers’ operations, and attests to a high level of reliability. A 10-year service contract gives all users both the operational and the economic security for an innovative energy supply system.’ The BlueGEN ceramic SOFC technology guarantees durable, continuous operation, and is one of the most efficient energy conversion systems on the international market. The system achieves an exceptionally high electrical efficiency of up to 60%, and an overall efficiency of up to 85%, offering a reliable, decentralised energy supply that operates onsite all year round with low emissions. By early June 2016, more than 700 BlueGEN systems had been sold and installed in Germany and nine other countries, and it is these units that have now accumulated in excess of 10 million operating hours. The 1.5 kW BlueGEN system is currently offered in Germany, Italy, the UK, Netherlands, and other European markets, through selected partners or directly from SOLIDpower. SOLIDpower recently signed a licensing deal with Chaozhou Three-Circle Group in China, to target the European and Chinese markets for BlueGEN, and is cooperating in Germany on the distribution of fuel cells for municipal energy suppliers [FCB, June 2016, p6]. The company has also been developing its own SOFC technology, which has been field-tested in the Italian Rete Crisalide and European ene.field projects [FCB, March 2016, p5]. Its modular EnGEN 2500, with an electrical output of 2.5 kW and 90% overall efficiency, can be installed in large residential, hotel, and other applications such as apartment blocks [May 2015, p3]. It recently signed a commercial agreement with Gesta SpA to roll out SOFC-based mCHP appliances in the Italian market [April 2016, p6]. SOLIDpower SpA, Mezzolombardo, Trentino, Italy. Tel: +39 0461 1755 068, www.solidpower.com BlueGEN: www.BlueGEN.de

LARGE STATIONARY

IKEA orders Bloom SOFC systems for four more California stores

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ome furnishings retail giant IKEA plans to install biogas-powered fuel

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Fuel Cells Bulletin

cell systems at four more of its California stores, featuring solid oxide power plants supplied by Sunnyvale-based Bloom Energy. A year ago, IKEA completed installation of its first Bloom Energy Server at IKEA Emeryville, one of the Swedish company’s two stores in the San Francisco area [FCB, April 2015, p7]. IKEA now plans to expand its fuel cell portfolio to 1.3 MW with a system at its other store in the area (in East Palo Alto), as well as three stores in southern California (Costa Mesa, Covina, and San Diego). The IKEA stores in East Palo Alto and Costa Mesa will each utilise a 300 kW power plant, while 200 kW systems will be installed at the Covina and San Diego stores. Assuming the necessary permits are granted, the SOFC systems will be installed, commissioned, and operational by the autumn, complementing rooftop solar arrays already at each of the four stores. Bloom Energy has more than 200 projects across the US and in Japan, the latter through its joint venture with SoftBank [FCB, July 2014, p6]. Bloom is working with energy supplier Constellation to build an 800 kW fuel cell powered microgrid system in Hartford, Connecticut [May 2016, p5], and recently installed a 500 kW system to power the headquarters of electrical equipment manufacturer Legrand, North America [May 2016, p6]. The company is also developing 40 MW of SOFC projects for commercial and public sector customers in California, Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York [August 2015, p1]. Bloom Energy, Sunnyvale, California, USA. Tel: +1 408 543 1500, www.bloomenergy.com IKEA USA: www.ikea.com/us

FUELING

Air Liquide public hydrogen station for Hyundai European HQ

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yundai Motor Europe will shortly open a new publicly accessible hydrogen refueling station, operated by Air Liquide, at its headquarters in Offenbach, Germany. The station, partially funded by Air Liquide and the Clean Energy Partnership (CEP), is another key piece in enhancing the German hydrogen fueling infrastructure. The new station will be available to all drivers of fuel cell electric vehicles, refueling in 3–5 minutes at 700 bar utilising the latest technology standards. The station’s daily

capacity of 200 kg of hydrogen is sufficient to refuel more than 30 vehicles per day. The Clean Energy Partnership was founded in 2002, with its now 20 member companies – active in FCEV manufacturing, hydrogen production, infrastructure and public transport – partnering to advance hydrogen mobility and infrastructure [see the CEP feature in FCB, June 2011]. The new hydrogen station boosts Hyundai and Air Liquide’s contribution to the CEP mission, ensuring the availability of FCEVs alongside creating the necessary operational infrastructure. There are currently 21 operational hydrogen stations in Germany, funded through the National Innovation Programme Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NIP), which aims to have a national network of 400 stations by 2023 [FCB, October 2013, p6]. The federal government supported construction of the recently opened station in Wuppertal, North Rhine-Westphalia [July 2016, p7], and the new station in Ulm, Baden-Württemberg [see page 5]. The Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell has been commercially available since 2013 [FCB, March 2013, p2], and there are now some 300 of these SUVs on European roads [January 2016, p2]. Its practicality and reliability have been demonstrated in a number of long-distance journeys, including 2383 km (1481 miles) in 24 hours in Germany [September 2015, p2], lapping the M25 London orbital motorway for five days and nights [March 2016, p1], and a recent road trip from Bergen in Norway to Bolzano in Italy [see the News Feature in July 2016]. Hyundai has recently extended its partnership with the US Department of Energy, to continue DOE’s use of the cars – known as the Tucson Fuel Cell in the US and Korea – through 2017 [see page 2], making extensive use of a new hydrogen station in Washington, DC [see the News Feature on page 13]. Hyundai Motor Europe, ix35 Fuel Cell: www.fuelcell.eu Air Liquide, Hydrogen Energy: http://tinyurl.com/airliquide-hydrogen-energy Clean Energy Partnership: www.cleanenergypartnership.de/en National Innovation Programme Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NOW GmbH): http://tinyurl.com/nip-h2fc-tech

California adds more hydrogen stations in San Jose, Lake Forest

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he California Energy Commission has added two further hydrogen

August 2016