- Email: [email protected]
HPS and Zollner Elektronik sign Picea manufacturing deal
NEWS BEHALA, the Schiffswerft Herrmann Barthel GmbH shipyard, fuel cell manufacturer Ballard Power Systems, hydrogen tank supplier Anleg GmbH, maritime electronics company SER Schiffselektronik Rostock GmbH, battery specialist EST-Floattech BV, and shipping company Imperial Logistics International BV. The Elektra will set an example as a zeroemissions ship, especially in environmentally sensitive regions such as the Berlin-Brandenburg, Hamburg, and Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan regions. Alongside the construction and testing of the Elektra, the accompanying electric and hydrogen supply infrastructure will be developed in the inland waterways operating area. The E13 million (US$14.3 million) project – which began in April 2017, and concludes at the end of September – has been supported with E8 million ($8.8 million) in funding from the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI). It has been supervised and coordinated by Projektträger Jülich (PtJ, at the Forschungszentrum Jülich Research Centre) and the National Organisation Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NOW GmbH) [see also above item]. TU Berlin, Elektra project: www.marsys.tu-berlin.de/menue/forschung/elektra [in German] Projektträger Jülich: www.ptj.de/en/project-funding/nip NOW GmbH: www.now-gmbh.de
ZeroAvia unveils fuel cell powered prototype light aircraft, flight test
year. ZeroAvia says that, with a 2 tonne takeoff weight and six seats in a business-class arrangement, this is currently the world’s largest zero-emission aircraft flying without any fossil fuel support. The aircraft has completed a variety of test flights, validating key components and their integration into a complete powertrain system, and confirming the ‘fuel’ economy and maximum power delivery targets. ZeroAvia is initially targeting 500 mile (800 km) flights to serve the short-haul and commuter air travel markets, which make up nearly half of commercial flights worldwide. In addition to passenger transport, the company’s powertrain will have applications across other use cases including cargo, air taxi, agriculture, as well as across aircraft types including manned and unmanned fixed-wing and rotorcraft. The company plans to lease the drivetrain to customers and provide fuel and maintenance as part of its ‘power-by-the-hour’ business model, in which customers pay only for the hours that they use the drivetrain. This model emulates engine leasing options already popular in the aviation market. ‘With land transport rapidly decarbonising, fast-growing air transport is quickly becoming the leading emission source, so we must find ways to make aviation more sustainable,’ says Val Miftakhov, founder and CEO of ZeroAvia. ‘Using hydrogen produced from local renewable energy is the most practical way to enable zeroemission aircraft of commercially meaningful size on traditional 300 to 500 mile regional missions. It will also be more economical than conventional turbine engines, or even the battery-based systems, on the total cost basis.’ ZeroAvia: www.zeroavia.com
C
alifornia-based ZeroAvia has announced significant advances in developing a zero-emissions, hydrogen fuel cell electric powertrain for small aircraft, as it targets decarbonising aviation and reducing operational costs for aircraft serving the regional flights sector. ZeroAvia’s solution aims to deliver the same performance as a conventional aircraft engine, with much lower operating costs. The Silicon Valley startup plans to start supplying its platform to commercial operators and aircraft manufacturers in 2022, initially targeting regional flights up to 500 miles (800 km) in 10- to 20-seat fixed-wing aircraft. The company has been flight testing its powertrain prototype in a six-seat Piper M-Class airframe since February. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an Experimental R&D Certificate to the company’s Piper M-Class R&D platform earlier this 6
Fuel Cells Bulletin
SMALL STATIONARY
HPS and Zollner Elektronik sign Picea manufacturing deal
G
erman-based HPS Home Power Solutions GmbH has signed an agreement with Zollner Elektronik AG, which will now produce HPS’s Picea® energy storage systems. Bavarian company Zollner Elektronik will provide a ‘four-digit’ production capacity per annum in the coming years (i.e. in the thousands), to help accelerate commercialisation of the technology. ‘The cooperation with Zollner facilitates a rapid increase of lots with simultaneous security of quality standard in volume production. This
guarantees security of supply and robustness to our customers,’ says Zeyad Abul-Ella, Managing Director and founder of HPS. ‘Thus, HPS Home Power Solutions can match the numerous preorders quicker and accelerate the commercialisation of Picea intensively and in a focused manner. The production of Picea, the associated added value, and the associated know-how will remain in Germany.’ HPS has developed integrated systems for storing and using solar photovoltaic (PV) energy in single- and multi-family homes. Its first system, Picea – launched at several German trade fairs in early 2018 [FCB, April 2018, p5] – combines a battery, electrolyser, and fuel cell with a solar energy input to provide energy storage, heating support, and indoor ventilation in one compact product. High-performance energy management allows it to meet the complete electrical energy needs of a single-family home, and all the ‘waste’ heat is used to provide the house with heat and hot water, lowering the cost of heating. The first systems were delivered to customers earlier this year [February 2019, p7]. HPS recently announced a multi-year stack supply agreement with Canadian-based Ballard Power Systems, under which Ballard will supply FCgen®-1020ACS air-cooled PEM fuel cell stacks to power the Picea system [June 2019, p7]. HPS Home Power Solutions GmbH: www.homepowersolutions.de/en Zollner Elektronik: www.zollner-electronics.com
LARGE STATIONARY
Bloom’s AlwaysON Microgrid solution for grid outage resilience
C
alifornia-based Bloom Energy has launched the AlwaysON Microgrid, a simplified microgrid solution with attractive financing, which is designed to make it easier and more convenient for companies to protect themselves from extended grid power outages and escalating grid electricity rates. The AlwaysON Microgrid solution is designed to provide customers with a path to energy resiliency in the face of future outages at a predictable cost. Bloom Energy is a leading provider of microgrid solutions, with more than 85 microgrids already deployed, which collectively helped customers withstand more than 550 grid outages during 2018. The AlwaysON Microgrid solution is being introduced as the US continues
September 2019
ZeroAvia unveils fuel cell powered prototype light aircraft, flight test
year. ZeroAvia says that, with a 2 tonne takeoff weight and six seats in a business-class arrangement, this is currently the world’s largest zero-emission aircraft flying without any fossil fuel support. The aircraft has completed a variety of test flights, validating key components and their integration into a complete powertrain system, and confirming the ‘fuel’ economy and maximum power delivery targets. ZeroAvia is initially targeting 500 mile (800 km) flights to serve the short-haul and commuter air travel markets, which make up nearly half of commercial flights worldwide. In addition to passenger transport, the company’s powertrain will have applications across other use cases including cargo, air taxi, agriculture, as well as across aircraft types including manned and unmanned fixed-wing and rotorcraft. The company plans to lease the drivetrain to customers and provide fuel and maintenance as part of its ‘power-by-the-hour’ business model, in which customers pay only for the hours that they use the drivetrain. This model emulates engine leasing options already popular in the aviation market. ‘With land transport rapidly decarbonising, fast-growing air transport is quickly becoming the leading emission source, so we must find ways to make aviation more sustainable,’ says Val Miftakhov, founder and CEO of ZeroAvia. ‘Using hydrogen produced from local renewable energy is the most practical way to enable zeroemission aircraft of commercially meaningful size on traditional 300 to 500 mile regional missions. It will also be more economical than conventional turbine engines, or even the battery-based systems, on the total cost basis.’ ZeroAvia: www.zeroavia.com
C
alifornia-based ZeroAvia has announced significant advances in developing a zero-emissions, hydrogen fuel cell electric powertrain for small aircraft, as it targets decarbonising aviation and reducing operational costs for aircraft serving the regional flights sector. ZeroAvia’s solution aims to deliver the same performance as a conventional aircraft engine, with much lower operating costs. The Silicon Valley startup plans to start supplying its platform to commercial operators and aircraft manufacturers in 2022, initially targeting regional flights up to 500 miles (800 km) in 10- to 20-seat fixed-wing aircraft. The company has been flight testing its powertrain prototype in a six-seat Piper M-Class airframe since February. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an Experimental R&D Certificate to the company’s Piper M-Class R&D platform earlier this 6
Fuel Cells Bulletin
SMALL STATIONARY
HPS and Zollner Elektronik sign Picea manufacturing deal
G
erman-based HPS Home Power Solutions GmbH has signed an agreement with Zollner Elektronik AG, which will now produce HPS’s Picea® energy storage systems. Bavarian company Zollner Elektronik will provide a ‘four-digit’ production capacity per annum in the coming years (i.e. in the thousands), to help accelerate commercialisation of the technology. ‘The cooperation with Zollner facilitates a rapid increase of lots with simultaneous security of quality standard in volume production. This
guarantees security of supply and robustness to our customers,’ says Zeyad Abul-Ella, Managing Director and founder of HPS. ‘Thus, HPS Home Power Solutions can match the numerous preorders quicker and accelerate the commercialisation of Picea intensively and in a focused manner. The production of Picea, the associated added value, and the associated know-how will remain in Germany.’ HPS has developed integrated systems for storing and using solar photovoltaic (PV) energy in single- and multi-family homes. Its first system, Picea – launched at several German trade fairs in early 2018 [FCB, April 2018, p5] – combines a battery, electrolyser, and fuel cell with a solar energy input to provide energy storage, heating support, and indoor ventilation in one compact product. High-performance energy management allows it to meet the complete electrical energy needs of a single-family home, and all the ‘waste’ heat is used to provide the house with heat and hot water, lowering the cost of heating. The first systems were delivered to customers earlier this year [February 2019, p7]. HPS recently announced a multi-year stack supply agreement with Canadian-based Ballard Power Systems, under which Ballard will supply FCgen®-1020ACS air-cooled PEM fuel cell stacks to power the Picea system [June 2019, p7]. HPS Home Power Solutions GmbH: www.homepowersolutions.de/en Zollner Elektronik: www.zollner-electronics.com
LARGE STATIONARY
Bloom’s AlwaysON Microgrid solution for grid outage resilience
C
alifornia-based Bloom Energy has launched the AlwaysON Microgrid, a simplified microgrid solution with attractive financing, which is designed to make it easier and more convenient for companies to protect themselves from extended grid power outages and escalating grid electricity rates. The AlwaysON Microgrid solution is designed to provide customers with a path to energy resiliency in the face of future outages at a predictable cost. Bloom Energy is a leading provider of microgrid solutions, with more than 85 microgrids already deployed, which collectively helped customers withstand more than 550 grid outages during 2018. The AlwaysON Microgrid solution is being introduced as the US continues
September 2019