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Californian businesses use FCE's technology
NEWS many more to come, says Neil McLean, executive director for EngenuitySC. ‘These projects represent the wide variety of applications for fuel cell technology – from transportation, to portable power and community education. This is a significant step in this multi-phase, multiyear project for the future of Columbia’s knowledge economy,’ he says. Contact: EngenuitySC, Columbia, South Carolina, USA. Tel: +1 803 783 1507, www.engenuitysc.com
Californian businesses use FCE’s technology
I
n the US, FuelCell Energy is to install an ultra-clean plant to provide power for a wastewater treatment facility in California. The company is also helping a brewery in the state to reduce its energy costs, and has sold a powergenerating unit, based on fuel cells, to a Californian hotel and lodging site. The wastewater treatment site’s 750 kW power plant, consisting of three of FCE’s Direct FuelCell® (DFC) units, will run on a renewable supply of fuel from dairy-processing waste. The system will be installed in the spring by distribution partner Alliance Power Inc, to provide around-the-clock electricity for the municipal wastewater treatment facility serving California’s San Joaquin Valley region. In addition, the surplus heat produced will generate gas which will be used as a fuel, substantially boosting the facility’s overall energy efficiency. FCE has also announced that its 1 MW DFC power plant at Sierra Nevada Brewing Co has been upgraded, allowing it to use fuel created from a waste by-product of the brewing process – realizing substantial cost savings by reducing the amount of natural gas Sierra Nevada needs to purchase. The brewery’s fuel cell power plant, which began running in summer 2005, initially ran on natural gas. To boost the brewery’s energy efficiency and ecologically friendly profile, Sierra Nevada founder Ken Grossman sought to convert the ultra-clean fuel cells from operating solely on natural gas to a methane mixture that the brewery produced as a by-product. It uses a compressor and filtration system to purify methane gas generated during the brewery’s water treatment process, and feeds it to the power plant. This allows two of the plant’s four stacks to operate in dual-fuel mode – using any combination of natural gas and anaerobic digester gas (ADG). As Sierra Nevada increases its production and the amount of methane it generates, it can also operate the other two fuel cells on ADG. Gas produced in the digester reduces the amount of fuel used in the power
December 2006
plant. The system is now capable of producing 250–400 kW of electricity from biogas, reducing the company’s fuel costs by 25–40%. In other news, FuelCell Energy has sold, through Alliance Power, a 750 kW generating plant to a hospitality and entertainment resort in California. This is the third hotel and lodging site in the state to use the company’s technology. The resort will use the DFC unit to provide base-load power around the clock for hotel operations, and will transform the plant’s heat by-product into hot water for the guests, adding to the system’s overall operating efficiency. Contact: FuelCell Energy Inc, Danbury, Connecticut, USA. Tel: +1 203 825 6000, www.fuelcellenergy.com
Euro–Canadian alliance to buy fuel cell buses, London’s H2 from waste
F
ive cities in Europe and a Canadian provincial government are joining forces to back hydrogen fuel cell buses as the future for clean, green bus fleets. The six prospective purchasers recently signed a memorandum of understanding to work together to develop and procure hydrogen fuel cell buses and make the technology commercially viable. The decision to go ahead with this international alliance was taken by the partners after the successful completion of the major EU-assisted hydrogen and fuel cell bus project CUTE (Clean Urban Transport for Europe). The European Commission fully supports this initiative, as it sends a strong signal to the suppliers of hydrogen-powered buses that potential markets already exist for this new technology. The MOU on purchasing zero emissions hydrogen-powered buses has been signed in the framework of the Third General Assembly of the Europe Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology Platform, based in Brussels, Belgium. The signatory parties represent the cities of Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Hamburg and London, and the Canadian province of British Columbia. Meanwhile, London’s Deputy Mayor Nicky Gavron launched a new study by the London Hydrogen Partnership looking at how the city’s rubbish can be used to produce hydrogen. The Waste to Hydrogen study shows that there is real potential to produce hydrogen from waste within London, which could be used as a vehicle fuel. The hydrogen is created through gasification and anaerobic digestion, which extract energy from waste to create renewable hydrogen. The study also pinpoints several potential locations in
IN BRIEF Cellkraft units for Antarctica, Swedish utility A system based on PEM fuel cells manufactured by Cellkraft AB of Stockholm, Sweden has been delivered to the Australian government’s Antarctic Division. Capable of running under low-temperature conditions (with startup capability down to –30°C), the system was operated in Hobart, Tasmania before being loaded on the ship Aurora Australis bound for Antarctica. In other news, the Swedish national electric grid utility Svenska Kraftnät has ordered a complete fuel cell system housed in a container. It is able to continuously supply 2 kW of power at 110 Vdc, and has a gas storage capacity of 120 kWh. The system further includes supercapacitors capable of delivering pulses up to 250 kW. Japanese networking system for homes Working with seven other companies, Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Construction Company has developed a system that can efficiently control power consumption in homes. Together with Japan Research Institute Ltd, Marubeni Corporation, Meidensha Corporation, CTC Solutions and four other concerns, Sumitomo has established Web Power Service, a limited liability company set up to carry out feasibility studies on energy-related projects. In one of these, ten or more homes equipped with fuel cells are linked by wires to form a network. Software forecasts the power demand of each home, calculating the next day’s power generation plans daily. Power is shared among the homes in the network based on calculated usage, and any surplus power is automatically stored. Nuvera studying fuel cell water management Massachusetts-based Nuvera Fuel Cells has been awarded a $5m grant by the Department of Energy to investigate water management in PEM fuel cells. The four-year project will begin in DOE’s fiscal 2007. Water transport is a key design characteristic in a PEM fuel cell, affecting its performance and life-cycle cost. Nuvera says that the unique metallic bipolar plate and patented open flowfield construction it has developed are key facets of water transportation that offer an alternative to traditional designs. Pt-free catalyst set to reduce fuel cell cost In Japan, a research group at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology has developed a new fuel cell anode catalyst that does not require platinum and may result in lower production costs, according to a Nikkei Business Daily report. The new catalyst mainly uses molybdenum and nickel. The power generation efficiency of a PEM fuel cell using the catalyst is currently only about 10% that of a fuel cell using conventional Pt catalysts, but manufacturing costs could be reduced to one-thousandth of the current level.
Fuel Cells Bulletin
5
Californian businesses use FCE’s technology
I
n the US, FuelCell Energy is to install an ultra-clean plant to provide power for a wastewater treatment facility in California. The company is also helping a brewery in the state to reduce its energy costs, and has sold a powergenerating unit, based on fuel cells, to a Californian hotel and lodging site. The wastewater treatment site’s 750 kW power plant, consisting of three of FCE’s Direct FuelCell® (DFC) units, will run on a renewable supply of fuel from dairy-processing waste. The system will be installed in the spring by distribution partner Alliance Power Inc, to provide around-the-clock electricity for the municipal wastewater treatment facility serving California’s San Joaquin Valley region. In addition, the surplus heat produced will generate gas which will be used as a fuel, substantially boosting the facility’s overall energy efficiency. FCE has also announced that its 1 MW DFC power plant at Sierra Nevada Brewing Co has been upgraded, allowing it to use fuel created from a waste by-product of the brewing process – realizing substantial cost savings by reducing the amount of natural gas Sierra Nevada needs to purchase. The brewery’s fuel cell power plant, which began running in summer 2005, initially ran on natural gas. To boost the brewery’s energy efficiency and ecologically friendly profile, Sierra Nevada founder Ken Grossman sought to convert the ultra-clean fuel cells from operating solely on natural gas to a methane mixture that the brewery produced as a by-product. It uses a compressor and filtration system to purify methane gas generated during the brewery’s water treatment process, and feeds it to the power plant. This allows two of the plant’s four stacks to operate in dual-fuel mode – using any combination of natural gas and anaerobic digester gas (ADG). As Sierra Nevada increases its production and the amount of methane it generates, it can also operate the other two fuel cells on ADG. Gas produced in the digester reduces the amount of fuel used in the power
December 2006
plant. The system is now capable of producing 250–400 kW of electricity from biogas, reducing the company’s fuel costs by 25–40%. In other news, FuelCell Energy has sold, through Alliance Power, a 750 kW generating plant to a hospitality and entertainment resort in California. This is the third hotel and lodging site in the state to use the company’s technology. The resort will use the DFC unit to provide base-load power around the clock for hotel operations, and will transform the plant’s heat by-product into hot water for the guests, adding to the system’s overall operating efficiency. Contact: FuelCell Energy Inc, Danbury, Connecticut, USA. Tel: +1 203 825 6000, www.fuelcellenergy.com
Euro–Canadian alliance to buy fuel cell buses, London’s H2 from waste
F
ive cities in Europe and a Canadian provincial government are joining forces to back hydrogen fuel cell buses as the future for clean, green bus fleets. The six prospective purchasers recently signed a memorandum of understanding to work together to develop and procure hydrogen fuel cell buses and make the technology commercially viable. The decision to go ahead with this international alliance was taken by the partners after the successful completion of the major EU-assisted hydrogen and fuel cell bus project CUTE (Clean Urban Transport for Europe). The European Commission fully supports this initiative, as it sends a strong signal to the suppliers of hydrogen-powered buses that potential markets already exist for this new technology. The MOU on purchasing zero emissions hydrogen-powered buses has been signed in the framework of the Third General Assembly of the Europe Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology Platform, based in Brussels, Belgium. The signatory parties represent the cities of Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Hamburg and London, and the Canadian province of British Columbia. Meanwhile, London’s Deputy Mayor Nicky Gavron launched a new study by the London Hydrogen Partnership looking at how the city’s rubbish can be used to produce hydrogen. The Waste to Hydrogen study shows that there is real potential to produce hydrogen from waste within London, which could be used as a vehicle fuel. The hydrogen is created through gasification and anaerobic digestion, which extract energy from waste to create renewable hydrogen. The study also pinpoints several potential locations in
IN BRIEF Cellkraft units for Antarctica, Swedish utility A system based on PEM fuel cells manufactured by Cellkraft AB of Stockholm, Sweden has been delivered to the Australian government’s Antarctic Division. Capable of running under low-temperature conditions (with startup capability down to –30°C), the system was operated in Hobart, Tasmania before being loaded on the ship Aurora Australis bound for Antarctica. In other news, the Swedish national electric grid utility Svenska Kraftnät has ordered a complete fuel cell system housed in a container. It is able to continuously supply 2 kW of power at 110 Vdc, and has a gas storage capacity of 120 kWh. The system further includes supercapacitors capable of delivering pulses up to 250 kW. Japanese networking system for homes Working with seven other companies, Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Construction Company has developed a system that can efficiently control power consumption in homes. Together with Japan Research Institute Ltd, Marubeni Corporation, Meidensha Corporation, CTC Solutions and four other concerns, Sumitomo has established Web Power Service, a limited liability company set up to carry out feasibility studies on energy-related projects. In one of these, ten or more homes equipped with fuel cells are linked by wires to form a network. Software forecasts the power demand of each home, calculating the next day’s power generation plans daily. Power is shared among the homes in the network based on calculated usage, and any surplus power is automatically stored. Nuvera studying fuel cell water management Massachusetts-based Nuvera Fuel Cells has been awarded a $5m grant by the Department of Energy to investigate water management in PEM fuel cells. The four-year project will begin in DOE’s fiscal 2007. Water transport is a key design characteristic in a PEM fuel cell, affecting its performance and life-cycle cost. Nuvera says that the unique metallic bipolar plate and patented open flowfield construction it has developed are key facets of water transportation that offer an alternative to traditional designs. Pt-free catalyst set to reduce fuel cell cost In Japan, a research group at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology has developed a new fuel cell anode catalyst that does not require platinum and may result in lower production costs, according to a Nikkei Business Daily report. The new catalyst mainly uses molybdenum and nickel. The power generation efficiency of a PEM fuel cell using the catalyst is currently only about 10% that of a fuel cell using conventional Pt catalysts, but manufacturing costs could be reduced to one-thousandth of the current level.
Fuel Cells Bulletin
5