- Email: [email protected]
FCES plant for E.ON Connecting Energies in new German project
NEWS demonstrated the ability to operate on lower-grade hydrogen. AFC will also work with Peel Environmental to assess the techno-economic feasibility of the UK’s largest hydrogen fuel cell precinct, at Peel’s Protos industrial park in Cheshire. AFC Energy’s Gen2 alkaline fuel cell system incorporates design changes to extend the operating life of the stack while increasing availability and reducing cost. These features represent three of the company’s key commercialisation metrics, relative to the KORE fuel cell system commissioned earlier this year in Stade, Germany [FCB, February 2016, p4]. Successful delivery of the Gen2 design follows testing of multiple stacks at Stade and at AFC’s UK site, to deliver power continuously for more than a month at high availability; two of these stacks are still generating power. Confirmation of the Gen2 stack design improvements, and testing multiple stacks continuously in excess of one month, have together successfully delivered Milestones 1 and 2 of AFC’s eight 2016 strategic milestones (in addition to those achieved earlier in the year), announced in March [FCB, March 2016, p6], and are therefore key to meeting the expectations of project partners. AFC Energy’s collaboration with its Italian partner Industrie De Nora SpA has created significant opportunities for further improvements to AFC’s technology package, as demonstrated by work undertaken with De Nora since August [FCB, August 2016, p1]. AFC has also signed an agreement with Peel Environmental to assess the technoeconomic feasibility of what would be the UK’s largest hydrogen fuel cell precinct at Peel’s Protos industrial park. Protos – located between Manchester, Liverpool and Chester – will provide 250 ha (618 acres) for a strategic cluster of businesses in energy-intensive industries with associated supply chains. AFC will conduct the assessment over the next several months in collaboration with Peel and other partners, to review a range of hydrogen sources and offtake arrangements. A positive outcome from the technoeconomic assessment for the development of a 35–50 MW fuel cell project at Protos could see the development of the UK’s largest stationary fuel cell project, and one of the largest in the world. The integration of hydrogen fuel cells into the regional energy mix utilises surplus hydrogen available in the area. AFC Energy, Cranleigh, Surrey, UK. Tel: +44 1483 276726, www.afcenergy.com Peel Environmental Ltd: www.peelenvironmental.co.uk Protos: www.thisisprotos.com
December 2016
IKEA installs Bloom Energy systems in two more California stores
H
ome furnishings retailer IKEA has installed biogas-powered fuel cell systems at two southern California stores, in Costa Mesa and Covina. The solid oxide fuel cell power plants were supplied by Bloom Energy, in a continuing expansion of IKEA’s clean energy portfolio. The Costa Mesa store, on the southern edge of Greater Los Angeles, has a 300 kW SOFC system, while the Covina store, on the eastern side, is operating a 200 kW system. Last year IKEA installed its first Bloom SOFC system – rated at 300 kW – at IKEA Emeryville, one of its two San Francisco-area stores [FCB, April 2015, p7]. In addition to the latest southern California projects, IKEA also is planning fuel cell systems at its other SF-area store in East Palo Alto [August 2016, p4], as well as stores in San Diego and in New Haven, Connecticut [September 2016, p7]. In total, IKEA will soon be generating 1.5 MW of clean power using Bloom Energy Servers, supplementing onsite solar arrays atop all of these stores. Bloom Energy recently announced a strategic alliance with energy provider Southern Company in Atlanta, under which the latter’s PowerSecure subsidiary will acquire an estimated 50 MW of Bloom Energy Servers under long-term power purchase agreements with high-quality commercial and industrial customers [FCB, November 2016, p4]. And it is partnering with GAIL (India) Ltd in New Delhi to deploy natural gas-based SOFC technology in a bundled and reliable service for Indian consumers [September 2016, p7].
Bloom Energy, Sunnyvale, California, USA. Tel: +1 408 543 1500, www.bloomenergy.com IKEA in the US: www.IKEA-USA.com
FCES plant for E.ON Connecting Energies in new German project
F
uelCell Energy Solutions GmbH has sold a molten carbonate fuel cell combined heat and power (CHP) plant to E.ON Connecting Energies GmbH, for installation at a commercial site in Germany. The delivery is part of a collaborative joint business approach
that the partners see as a repeatable business model for a broad range of customers and applications. Installation of the onsite fuel cell power plant is expected to begin in early 2017, and it will be serviced by FuelCell Energy Solutions (FCES) under a long-term service agreement to provide the end-user with secure and clean power. The fuel cell power plant will be located right next to the building using the power and heat. The fuel cells will meet more than 80% of the power needs of the facility, and support its heating and hot water needs. FCES is the sales, manufacturing, and service business for the European Served Area for US-based FuelCell Energy [see page 6], with its administrative offices in Dresden and manufacturing operations in Ottobrun. FCES is a joint venture between FuelCell Energy Inc and the Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems IKTS in Germany [FCB, February 2012, p1]. In summer 2015, FCES signed a deal with E.ON Connecting Energies to jointly offer decentralised CHP solutions with MW and multi-MW Direct FuelCell® power plants to its existing and prospective customer base, via a power purchase agreement financing or leasing structure [FCB, August 2015, p6]. Two years ago FCES commissioned its first German-manufactured fuel cell power plant, at the federal ministry of education and research (BMBF) office complex in Berlin [see the News Feature in January 2015]. FuelCell Energy Solutions GmbH, Dresden, Germany. Tel: +49 351 31 54 080, www.fces.de/?lang=en FuelCell Energy, Danbury, Connecticut, USA. Tel: +1 203 825 6000, www.fuelcellenergy.com E.ON Connecting Energies GmbH, Essen, Germany. Tel: +49 201 184 4888, www.eon-connecting-energies.com
Dominovas secures gas supply for SOFC units in South Africa
U
S-based Dominovas Energy has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Egoli Gas (Pty) Ltd in South Africa, for a reliable supply of natural gas for the operation of its Rubicon™ solid oxide fuel cell system. The MOU will service the Rubicon demonstration unit at the University of Johannesburg, as well as anticipated additional units in Johannesburg. Dominovas had originally planned to run its SOFC system on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), but logistical and supply obstacles led the company to instead secure a sustainable,
Fuel Cells Bulletin
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December 2016
IKEA installs Bloom Energy systems in two more California stores
H
ome furnishings retailer IKEA has installed biogas-powered fuel cell systems at two southern California stores, in Costa Mesa and Covina. The solid oxide fuel cell power plants were supplied by Bloom Energy, in a continuing expansion of IKEA’s clean energy portfolio. The Costa Mesa store, on the southern edge of Greater Los Angeles, has a 300 kW SOFC system, while the Covina store, on the eastern side, is operating a 200 kW system. Last year IKEA installed its first Bloom SOFC system – rated at 300 kW – at IKEA Emeryville, one of its two San Francisco-area stores [FCB, April 2015, p7]. In addition to the latest southern California projects, IKEA also is planning fuel cell systems at its other SF-area store in East Palo Alto [August 2016, p4], as well as stores in San Diego and in New Haven, Connecticut [September 2016, p7]. In total, IKEA will soon be generating 1.5 MW of clean power using Bloom Energy Servers, supplementing onsite solar arrays atop all of these stores. Bloom Energy recently announced a strategic alliance with energy provider Southern Company in Atlanta, under which the latter’s PowerSecure subsidiary will acquire an estimated 50 MW of Bloom Energy Servers under long-term power purchase agreements with high-quality commercial and industrial customers [FCB, November 2016, p4]. And it is partnering with GAIL (India) Ltd in New Delhi to deploy natural gas-based SOFC technology in a bundled and reliable service for Indian consumers [September 2016, p7].
Bloom Energy, Sunnyvale, California, USA. Tel: +1 408 543 1500, www.bloomenergy.com IKEA in the US: www.IKEA-USA.com
FCES plant for E.ON Connecting Energies in new German project
F
uelCell Energy Solutions GmbH has sold a molten carbonate fuel cell combined heat and power (CHP) plant to E.ON Connecting Energies GmbH, for installation at a commercial site in Germany. The delivery is part of a collaborative joint business approach
that the partners see as a repeatable business model for a broad range of customers and applications. Installation of the onsite fuel cell power plant is expected to begin in early 2017, and it will be serviced by FuelCell Energy Solutions (FCES) under a long-term service agreement to provide the end-user with secure and clean power. The fuel cell power plant will be located right next to the building using the power and heat. The fuel cells will meet more than 80% of the power needs of the facility, and support its heating and hot water needs. FCES is the sales, manufacturing, and service business for the European Served Area for US-based FuelCell Energy [see page 6], with its administrative offices in Dresden and manufacturing operations in Ottobrun. FCES is a joint venture between FuelCell Energy Inc and the Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems IKTS in Germany [FCB, February 2012, p1]. In summer 2015, FCES signed a deal with E.ON Connecting Energies to jointly offer decentralised CHP solutions with MW and multi-MW Direct FuelCell® power plants to its existing and prospective customer base, via a power purchase agreement financing or leasing structure [FCB, August 2015, p6]. Two years ago FCES commissioned its first German-manufactured fuel cell power plant, at the federal ministry of education and research (BMBF) office complex in Berlin [see the News Feature in January 2015]. FuelCell Energy Solutions GmbH, Dresden, Germany. Tel: +49 351 31 54 080, www.fces.de/?lang=en FuelCell Energy, Danbury, Connecticut, USA. Tel: +1 203 825 6000, www.fuelcellenergy.com E.ON Connecting Energies GmbH, Essen, Germany. Tel: +49 201 184 4888, www.eon-connecting-energies.com
Dominovas secures gas supply for SOFC units in South Africa
U
S-based Dominovas Energy has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Egoli Gas (Pty) Ltd in South Africa, for a reliable supply of natural gas for the operation of its Rubicon™ solid oxide fuel cell system. The MOU will service the Rubicon demonstration unit at the University of Johannesburg, as well as anticipated additional units in Johannesburg. Dominovas had originally planned to run its SOFC system on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), but logistical and supply obstacles led the company to instead secure a sustainable,
Fuel Cells Bulletin
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