- Email: [email protected]
FuelCell Energy's fuel cell park in Bridgeport on year of clean power
NEWS restarted production. The next phase will focus on achieving full capacity by mid-year and expanding the manufacturing capabilities, with the goal of 300 employees by year-end. Doosan Fuel Cell America is the US arm of the Doosan Fuel Cell Business Group, and focuses on 400 kW phosphoric acid fuel cells for supplying combined heat and power to building and utility systems. The group also includes FuelCellPower, a leading Korean manufacturer of PEM fuel cells for residential use and small- and mid-sized buildings [FCB, July 2014, p5]. Meanwhile, Doosan FC recently installed a PureCell Model 400 power plant at the former Hartford National Bank building on 777 Main Street in downtown Hartford, Connecticut. The tower is being converted into a ‘green’ mixed-use apartment community by sustainable development and architectural firm Becker + Becker, which has previously installed two PureCell power plants [FCB, June 2011, p5]. Doosan Fuel Cell America, South Windsor, Connecticut, USA. Tel: +1 860 727 2200, www.doosanfuelcell.com Becker + Becker: beckerandbecker.com
FuelCell Energy’s fuel cell park in Bridgeport on year of clean power
distributed power generation and enhanced grid resiliency, and is receiving tax revenue from what was previously a vacant lot. ‘This fuel cell park is generating worldwide interest from utilities and policy decision makers, hosting visitors from other US states and countries including Japan, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and South Korea as well as senior officials from the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy,’ says Chip Bottone, president and CEO of FuelCell Energy. The world’s largest fuel cell park, utilising fuel cells manufactured by FuelCell Energy, is located in Hwasung City, South Korea and has been fully operational since January 2014 [FCB, March 2014, p6]. The facility comprises 21 DFC3000® power plants, rated at 2.8 MW each, requiring only about 5.1 acres (2 ha) of land. The fuel cell park provides continuous baseload electricity to the Korean electric grid and high-quality heat for a district heating system. FCE’s Asian partner POSCO Energy commenced construction on this project in November 2012 and finished in only 14 months, illustrating the ability to rapidly construct multi-MW fuel cell installations that enhance grid resiliency. FuelCell Energy, Danbury, Connecticut, USA. Tel: +1 203 825 6000, www.fuelcellenergy.com Dominion, Bridgeport Fuel Cell Park: http://tinyurl.com/dom-bridgeport POSCO Energy: http://eng.poscoenergy.com
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n Connecticut, the 14.9 MW fuel cell park in Bridgeport has reached its first anniversary of going into service, with an operational availability above 95%. The fuel cell park, owned by utility Dominion, consists of five Direct FuelCell® molten carbonate power plants from Danburybased FuelCell Energy. The DFC® power plants in Bridgeport supply Class I renewable power to the electric grid under a 15-year energy purchase agreement [FCB, January 2014, p6]. In addition, the heat is recovered and converted into additional electricity, increasing overall efficiency. FuelCell Energy operates and maintains the plants under a long-term service agreement. ‘In addition to consistently meeting power output requirements since its operation date, the installation continues to achieve availability that is comparable to the best performing units in our power generation fleet, including our Millstone nuclear power station in Waterford, Connecticut,’ says John Smatlak, VP of power generation technical services for Dominion. The project is located on a remediated brownfield site in an industrial area of Bridgeport, occupying only 1.5 acres (0.6 ha) of land. The city benefits through clean 6
Fuel Cells Bulletin
AFC Energy doubles alkaline stack size in German industrial trial
Traditionally, as in other solid membrane electrolyte fuel cell types, scaling-up of the cartridge needs extra heat management strategies, such as incorporating additional coolant circuits within the stack. This 51-cell trial has confirmed the ability of the liquid electrolyte in AFC’s alkaline fuel cell to act in a dual function – ionic transport and heat management carrier – which simplifies the overall design and lowers cost without adding complexity. Utilising AFC’s selfheating strategy, the ‘heat-up’ time for the fuel cell from ambient temperature has been further shortened in this trial, to approximately 4 h. It is expected that further increases in power will shorten this even more. ‘Achievement of the 51-fuel-cell stack, which is now only half of the commercial-scale 101-fuel-cell cartridge designed for the KORE, is a massive step forward in the commercialisation of AFC’s leading fuel cell technology,’ says CEO Adam Bond. ‘We are continuing to assess the results of this trial, and incorporate the learnings into the next phase of the 101-cell stack scheduled for February–March.’ The Power-Up project – funded through the European Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU) – will demonstrate AFC’s 500 kW alkaline fuel cell power plant in Stade, northern Germany, where Air Products operates an industrial gas processing plant that sources hydrogen from an adjoining major chemicals complex operated by Dow Chemical [FCB, November 2013, p6 and September 2014, p6, and 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
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K-based AFC Energy successfully trialed its first 51-cell stack cartridge during January at an industrial gas facility in Germany. The test achieved the operational baseline performance of the larger stack in the Beta cartridge, and also reached its operating temperature in just 4 h, well within the 12 h target. The successful 51-cell stack trial marks the third milestone in the Power-Up programme for 2015 [FCB, January 2015, p6]. AFC is therefore confident of meeting the fast-track execution timetable for delivery of the 240 kW KORE alkaline fuel cell system scheduled for the second half of 2015. The trial, which operated continuously for approximately two weeks, focused on the major challenge of scaling-up the stack (from 25 to 51 cells), and in particular managing the additional heat generated, to avoid thermal over-run of the cell.
PORTABLE & MICRO
eZelleron builds funds on Kickstarter to prep kraftwerk charger unit
T
he German fuel cell developer eZelleron GmbH – through its US subsidiary eZelleron Inc – is collecting crowd-funding via Kickstarter.com to prepare for its first series production of the company’s kraftwerk portable charger. By mid-February the company had reached US$1.2 million in pledges (from 9200 backers), more than double its goal of $500 000 well before the 5 March deadline. The kraftwerk portable charger – the size of a pack of cigarettes, and weighing just 200 g
February 2015
FuelCell Energy’s fuel cell park in Bridgeport on year of clean power
distributed power generation and enhanced grid resiliency, and is receiving tax revenue from what was previously a vacant lot. ‘This fuel cell park is generating worldwide interest from utilities and policy decision makers, hosting visitors from other US states and countries including Japan, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and South Korea as well as senior officials from the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy,’ says Chip Bottone, president and CEO of FuelCell Energy. The world’s largest fuel cell park, utilising fuel cells manufactured by FuelCell Energy, is located in Hwasung City, South Korea and has been fully operational since January 2014 [FCB, March 2014, p6]. The facility comprises 21 DFC3000® power plants, rated at 2.8 MW each, requiring only about 5.1 acres (2 ha) of land. The fuel cell park provides continuous baseload electricity to the Korean electric grid and high-quality heat for a district heating system. FCE’s Asian partner POSCO Energy commenced construction on this project in November 2012 and finished in only 14 months, illustrating the ability to rapidly construct multi-MW fuel cell installations that enhance grid resiliency. FuelCell Energy, Danbury, Connecticut, USA. Tel: +1 203 825 6000, www.fuelcellenergy.com Dominion, Bridgeport Fuel Cell Park: http://tinyurl.com/dom-bridgeport POSCO Energy: http://eng.poscoenergy.com
I
n Connecticut, the 14.9 MW fuel cell park in Bridgeport has reached its first anniversary of going into service, with an operational availability above 95%. The fuel cell park, owned by utility Dominion, consists of five Direct FuelCell® molten carbonate power plants from Danburybased FuelCell Energy. The DFC® power plants in Bridgeport supply Class I renewable power to the electric grid under a 15-year energy purchase agreement [FCB, January 2014, p6]. In addition, the heat is recovered and converted into additional electricity, increasing overall efficiency. FuelCell Energy operates and maintains the plants under a long-term service agreement. ‘In addition to consistently meeting power output requirements since its operation date, the installation continues to achieve availability that is comparable to the best performing units in our power generation fleet, including our Millstone nuclear power station in Waterford, Connecticut,’ says John Smatlak, VP of power generation technical services for Dominion. The project is located on a remediated brownfield site in an industrial area of Bridgeport, occupying only 1.5 acres (0.6 ha) of land. The city benefits through clean 6
Fuel Cells Bulletin
AFC Energy doubles alkaline stack size in German industrial trial
Traditionally, as in other solid membrane electrolyte fuel cell types, scaling-up of the cartridge needs extra heat management strategies, such as incorporating additional coolant circuits within the stack. This 51-cell trial has confirmed the ability of the liquid electrolyte in AFC’s alkaline fuel cell to act in a dual function – ionic transport and heat management carrier – which simplifies the overall design and lowers cost without adding complexity. Utilising AFC’s selfheating strategy, the ‘heat-up’ time for the fuel cell from ambient temperature has been further shortened in this trial, to approximately 4 h. It is expected that further increases in power will shorten this even more. ‘Achievement of the 51-fuel-cell stack, which is now only half of the commercial-scale 101-fuel-cell cartridge designed for the KORE, is a massive step forward in the commercialisation of AFC’s leading fuel cell technology,’ says CEO Adam Bond. ‘We are continuing to assess the results of this trial, and incorporate the learnings into the next phase of the 101-cell stack scheduled for February–March.’ The Power-Up project – funded through the European Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU) – will demonstrate AFC’s 500 kW alkaline fuel cell power plant in Stade, northern Germany, where Air Products operates an industrial gas processing plant that sources hydrogen from an adjoining major chemicals complex operated by Dow Chemical [FCB, November 2013, p6 and September 2014, p6, and 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
U
K-based AFC Energy successfully trialed its first 51-cell stack cartridge during January at an industrial gas facility in Germany. The test achieved the operational baseline performance of the larger stack in the Beta cartridge, and also reached its operating temperature in just 4 h, well within the 12 h target. The successful 51-cell stack trial marks the third milestone in the Power-Up programme for 2015 [FCB, January 2015, p6]. AFC is therefore confident of meeting the fast-track execution timetable for delivery of the 240 kW KORE alkaline fuel cell system scheduled for the second half of 2015. The trial, which operated continuously for approximately two weeks, focused on the major challenge of scaling-up the stack (from 25 to 51 cells), and in particular managing the additional heat generated, to avoid thermal over-run of the cell.
PORTABLE & MICRO
eZelleron builds funds on Kickstarter to prep kraftwerk charger unit
T
he German fuel cell developer eZelleron GmbH – through its US subsidiary eZelleron Inc – is collecting crowd-funding via Kickstarter.com to prepare for its first series production of the company’s kraftwerk portable charger. By mid-February the company had reached US$1.2 million in pledges (from 9200 backers), more than double its goal of $500 000 well before the 5 March deadline. The kraftwerk portable charger – the size of a pack of cigarettes, and weighing just 200 g
February 2015