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California adds more hydrogen stations in San Jose, Lake Forest
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
H
ome furnishings retail giant IKEA plans to install biogas-powered fuel
4
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
H
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
T
he California Energy Commission has added two further hydrogen
August 2016
NEWS / IN BRIEF refueling stations to its growing statewide network, with new facilities opened in San Jose in northern California and in Lake Forest in the south. The two new stations are part of the True Zero Network being rolled out by FirstElement Fuel. The San Jose facility is at the 76 gas station on 2101 North First Street, and will serve residents of the ‘capital of Silicon Valley’ as well as fuel cell electric vehicle drivers passing through the southern San Francisco Bay Area. The Lake Forest facility, now open at the Chevron gas station at 20731 Lake Forest Drive, will serve drivers on the southern edge of Greater Los Angeles. Both projects have been supported by the California Energy Commission, which is funding a significant number of additional retail stations throughout the state [FCB, May 2014, p7 and June 2014, p6]. The Commission has funded 49 hydrogen stations so far, and is working to ensure that as many as possible are open by the end of 2016, with plans to fund up to 100 stations in total. California requires at least 33% of the hydrogen used by FCEVs to be from renewable energy sources; some of the Commission-funded stations will dispense 100% ‘green’ hydrogen. The True Zero network recently passed a major milestone, supplying enough hydrogen in its first nine months for 1 million miles of FCEV driving [see page 1]. FirstElement Fuel Inc, Newport Beach, California, USA. Tel: +1 949 205 5553, www.firstelementfuel.com True Zero Network: www.truezero.com/station-map California Fuel Cell Partnership, station map: www.cafcp.org/stationmap California Energy Commission: www.energy.ca.gov
CEP adds to German hydrogen network with station in Ulm
T
he Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research BadenWürttemberg (ZSW) is hosting the latest hydrogen refueling station in Germany, as part of the Clean Energy Partnership (CEP). The new station – recently inaugurated at the ZSW site in Ulm – was constructed in collaboration with Daimler, Linde and Total, and completes the corridor from Stuttgart to Munich. This latest step towards a nationwide hydrogen supply network follows station openings in Wuppertal, North Rhine-
August 2016
Westphalia [FCB, July 2016, p7], at the Geiselwind motorway service area in Bavaria [June 2015, p7], and in Fellbach, BadenWürttemberg [December 2014, p9]. And Hyundai Motor Europe is opening a new public hydrogen station, partially funded by Air Liquide and CEP, at its headquarters in Offenbach, Hesse [see page 4]. To date, 21 hydrogen stations have been completed in Germany, funded by the federal ministry of transport through its 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 existing stations already reach some 6 million people in the metropolitan regions of Berlin, Hamburg, the Rhine/Ruhr, Stuttgart, and Munich. Seven stations are located in Baden-Württemberg, with five more planned in the region. Within the NIP expansion programme, Daimler and Linde are participating in a total of 20 new hydrogen stations with a total investment of around E20 million (US$22.3 million). (Daimler is launching its next-generation Mercedes-Benz GLC F-CELL plug-in hybrid FCEV in 2017 [see the News Feature on page 12].) Total operates the hydrogen pump in Ulm, and paid for its construction. The station, located at the ZSW site on Helmholtzstrasse, is part of the Clean Energy Partnership [see the CEP feature in FCB, June 2011]. The site hosts ZSW’s Electrochemical Energy Technologies business division, with its fuel cell and battery research departments. ZSW is a leading applied research institute for solar photovoltaics, renewable fuels, battery technology and fuel cells, and energy systems analysis. It is supporting expansion of the hydrogen infrastructure with accompanying research into hydrogen and fueling quality, funded by the B-W ministry of the environment. ZSW is leading the ‘ecoPtG’ consortium researching cost-effective hydrogen production methods through technology transfer from the automotive industry, developing a 100 kW alkaline water electrolyser to facilitate energy storage through Power-toGas (P2G) [FCB, March 2016, p9]. ZSW, Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg : www.zsw-bw.de/en.html Linde Hydrogen: http://tinyurl.com/linde-experience-h2 Total Deutschland, Emission-free Mobility: http://tinyurl.com/total-de-h2-mobility Clean Energy Partnership: www.cleanenergypartnership.de/en National Innovation Programme Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NOW GmbH): http://tinyurl.com/nip-h2fc-tech
IN BRIEF Japanese projects on integrated coal gasification fuel cell combined cycle units The New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization in Japan (NEDO, www.nedo.go.jp/english) is funding two projects on next-generation thermal power generation technologies using high-temperature fuel cells. The projects are part of the ¥5.1 billion (US$51 million) Integrated Coal Gasification Fuel Cell Combined Cycle (IGFC) Demonstration Project, which will demonstrate operation of an IGFC system with CO2 capture starting in Fiscal Year 2021. The IGFC experiment will be carried out as the third phase of the ongoing Osaki CoolGen Project (www.osakicoolgen.jp/english) by Chugoku Electric Power and J-Power (Electric Power Development), with GTFC development commissioned by Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) and NGK Spark Plug. The Gas Turbine Fuel Cell Combined Cycle (GTFC) Technology Development project will focus on establishing the fundamental technologies for small- and medium-sized power plants (up to 100 MW class), while the Research on Coal Gas Applicability to Fuel Cells project will examine the IGFC system and conduct research on the applicability of coal gas to fuel cell modules. Toyota subsidiary to use solar-derived hydrogen for forklifts at Fukuoka factory A new project is being launched in Japan to produce and utilise hydrogen using solar electricity at the Miyata Plant of Toyota Motor Kyushu Inc, in Fukuoka Prefecture on the southern island of Kyushu. The project also involves the Fukuoka Prefectural government, Kyuden Technosystems Corporation, and Toyota Tsusho Corporation, according to a report in Nikkei Business Publications. The project participants will install solar power generation facilities at the plant, which builds Lexus vehicles, and use solar electricity to electrolyse water and produce hydrogen. The hydrogen will be used for fuel cell powered forklifts and in a stationary fuel cell system. Toyota Motor Kyushu will start operation of the forklifts by March 2017. This will be the first time in Japan that hydrogen produced using solar power is being used for fuel cell powered forklifts at a manufacturing plant. Toyota Motor Kyushu also plans to install a stationary fuel cell system in fiscal 2017, which will allow the company to achieve a balance between the fuel cell system and the power grid as a backup power source. Surplus solar electricity will be used in the manufacturing plant directly. Kyuden Technosystems will control the hydrogen energy management system (EMS), to make the most of renewable-derived electricity, and will also provide operation and maintenance services.
Fuel Cells Bulletin
5
LARGE STATIONARY
IKEA orders Bloom SOFC systems for four more California stores
H
ome furnishings retail giant IKEA plans to install biogas-powered fuel
4
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
H
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
T
he California Energy Commission has added two further hydrogen
August 2016
NEWS / IN BRIEF refueling stations to its growing statewide network, with new facilities opened in San Jose in northern California and in Lake Forest in the south. The two new stations are part of the True Zero Network being rolled out by FirstElement Fuel. The San Jose facility is at the 76 gas station on 2101 North First Street, and will serve residents of the ‘capital of Silicon Valley’ as well as fuel cell electric vehicle drivers passing through the southern San Francisco Bay Area. The Lake Forest facility, now open at the Chevron gas station at 20731 Lake Forest Drive, will serve drivers on the southern edge of Greater Los Angeles. Both projects have been supported by the California Energy Commission, which is funding a significant number of additional retail stations throughout the state [FCB, May 2014, p7 and June 2014, p6]. The Commission has funded 49 hydrogen stations so far, and is working to ensure that as many as possible are open by the end of 2016, with plans to fund up to 100 stations in total. California requires at least 33% of the hydrogen used by FCEVs to be from renewable energy sources; some of the Commission-funded stations will dispense 100% ‘green’ hydrogen. The True Zero network recently passed a major milestone, supplying enough hydrogen in its first nine months for 1 million miles of FCEV driving [see page 1]. FirstElement Fuel Inc, Newport Beach, California, USA. Tel: +1 949 205 5553, www.firstelementfuel.com True Zero Network: www.truezero.com/station-map California Fuel Cell Partnership, station map: www.cafcp.org/stationmap California Energy Commission: www.energy.ca.gov
CEP adds to German hydrogen network with station in Ulm
T
he Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research BadenWürttemberg (ZSW) is hosting the latest hydrogen refueling station in Germany, as part of the Clean Energy Partnership (CEP). The new station – recently inaugurated at the ZSW site in Ulm – was constructed in collaboration with Daimler, Linde and Total, and completes the corridor from Stuttgart to Munich. This latest step towards a nationwide hydrogen supply network follows station openings in Wuppertal, North Rhine-
August 2016
Westphalia [FCB, July 2016, p7], at the Geiselwind motorway service area in Bavaria [June 2015, p7], and in Fellbach, BadenWürttemberg [December 2014, p9]. And Hyundai Motor Europe is opening a new public hydrogen station, partially funded by Air Liquide and CEP, at its headquarters in Offenbach, Hesse [see page 4]. To date, 21 hydrogen stations have been completed in Germany, funded by the federal ministry of transport through its 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 existing stations already reach some 6 million people in the metropolitan regions of Berlin, Hamburg, the Rhine/Ruhr, Stuttgart, and Munich. Seven stations are located in Baden-Württemberg, with five more planned in the region. Within the NIP expansion programme, Daimler and Linde are participating in a total of 20 new hydrogen stations with a total investment of around E20 million (US$22.3 million). (Daimler is launching its next-generation Mercedes-Benz GLC F-CELL plug-in hybrid FCEV in 2017 [see the News Feature on page 12].) Total operates the hydrogen pump in Ulm, and paid for its construction. The station, located at the ZSW site on Helmholtzstrasse, is part of the Clean Energy Partnership [see the CEP feature in FCB, June 2011]. The site hosts ZSW’s Electrochemical Energy Technologies business division, with its fuel cell and battery research departments. ZSW is a leading applied research institute for solar photovoltaics, renewable fuels, battery technology and fuel cells, and energy systems analysis. It is supporting expansion of the hydrogen infrastructure with accompanying research into hydrogen and fueling quality, funded by the B-W ministry of the environment. ZSW is leading the ‘ecoPtG’ consortium researching cost-effective hydrogen production methods through technology transfer from the automotive industry, developing a 100 kW alkaline water electrolyser to facilitate energy storage through Power-toGas (P2G) [FCB, March 2016, p9]. ZSW, Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg : www.zsw-bw.de/en.html Linde Hydrogen: http://tinyurl.com/linde-experience-h2 Total Deutschland, Emission-free Mobility: http://tinyurl.com/total-de-h2-mobility Clean Energy Partnership: www.cleanenergypartnership.de/en National Innovation Programme Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NOW GmbH): http://tinyurl.com/nip-h2fc-tech
IN BRIEF Japanese projects on integrated coal gasification fuel cell combined cycle units The New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization in Japan (NEDO, www.nedo.go.jp/english) is funding two projects on next-generation thermal power generation technologies using high-temperature fuel cells. The projects are part of the ¥5.1 billion (US$51 million) Integrated Coal Gasification Fuel Cell Combined Cycle (IGFC) Demonstration Project, which will demonstrate operation of an IGFC system with CO2 capture starting in Fiscal Year 2021. The IGFC experiment will be carried out as the third phase of the ongoing Osaki CoolGen Project (www.osakicoolgen.jp/english) by Chugoku Electric Power and J-Power (Electric Power Development), with GTFC development commissioned by Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) and NGK Spark Plug. The Gas Turbine Fuel Cell Combined Cycle (GTFC) Technology Development project will focus on establishing the fundamental technologies for small- and medium-sized power plants (up to 100 MW class), while the Research on Coal Gas Applicability to Fuel Cells project will examine the IGFC system and conduct research on the applicability of coal gas to fuel cell modules. Toyota subsidiary to use solar-derived hydrogen for forklifts at Fukuoka factory A new project is being launched in Japan to produce and utilise hydrogen using solar electricity at the Miyata Plant of Toyota Motor Kyushu Inc, in Fukuoka Prefecture on the southern island of Kyushu. The project also involves the Fukuoka Prefectural government, Kyuden Technosystems Corporation, and Toyota Tsusho Corporation, according to a report in Nikkei Business Publications. The project participants will install solar power generation facilities at the plant, which builds Lexus vehicles, and use solar electricity to electrolyse water and produce hydrogen. The hydrogen will be used for fuel cell powered forklifts and in a stationary fuel cell system. Toyota Motor Kyushu will start operation of the forklifts by March 2017. This will be the first time in Japan that hydrogen produced using solar power is being used for fuel cell powered forklifts at a manufacturing plant. Toyota Motor Kyushu also plans to install a stationary fuel cell system in fiscal 2017, which will allow the company to achieve a balance between the fuel cell system and the power grid as a backup power source. Surplus solar electricity will be used in the manufacturing plant directly. Kyuden Technosystems will control the hydrogen energy management system (EMS), to make the most of renewable-derived electricity, and will also provide operation and maintenance services.
Fuel Cells Bulletin
5