- Email: [email protected]
Third fuel cell submarine handed to German navy
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NEWS ‘We’ve had strong feedback from customers – namely the energy companies – that field trials are an important step in understanding our customers’ needs and gaining experience in actually integrating fuel cell units into an electricity network,’ explains Dow. He adds that these trials allow the company to feed back its findings into product development, which will ultimately lead to more efficient and reliable fuel cell units. Two demonstration units were dispatched to EWE last December, and installed and commissioned at the utility’s headquarters in Oldenburg, Germany in January, after receiving CE approval [FCB, January]. A unit was delivered to Powerco in New Zealand in June 2005, and is installed at Industrial Research Ltd in Wellington. A second unit is due to be delivered to a Powerco partner in Tasmania, once the partner has completed site works [FCB, November 2005]. Meanwhile, szencorp has installed a demonstration unit in its ground-breaking energyefficient commercial office building at 40 Albert Road in South Melbourne. The unit was installed late last year and commissioned in January [FCB, January]. In addition, one unit was installed at Energy and Telecommunications Training Australia (ETTA)’s premises in Chadstone, Melbourne in August 2005, before being moved into the szencorp site. CFCL has had discussions with ETTA about installing a NetGen unit at the latter’s site later this year. Contact: Ceramic Fuel Cells Ltd, Noble Park (Melbourne), Victoria, Australia. Tel: +61 3 9554 2300, www.cfcl.com.au
Third fuel cell submarine handed to German navy
T
he world’s newest fuel cell powered submarine has been delivered to the German Office for Defence Technology and Procurement (BWB) by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW) in Kiel, according to a report in Lloyd’s List. The U33 is the third of a series of four Class 212A submarines for the German navy built by HDW in Kiel and Nordseewerke in Emden, now both part of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems. The new submarine class is characterized by an air-independent propulsion system using a hydrogen PEM fuel cell power plant to produce electrical energy from oxygen and hydrogen stored in tanks in the vessel’s hull. The use of fuel cell technology will allow the submarine to cruise underwater for weeks without surfacing, 10
Fuel Cells Bulletin
whereas submarines powered by the traditional diesel-electric engine have to recharge their batteries on the surface every two days. Together with the extremely favorable noise and heat signatures and the boat’s detection and weapon systems, the fuel cell plant makes the 56 m long, 1450 tonnes displacement submarine virtually undetectable. The U33 will be commissioned in June. The first boats, U31 and U32, were delivered last September, and commissioned at the submarine base in Eckernförde in October. Delivery of the last in the series for the German navy, the U34, is scheduled for the end of this year. HDW has also received several export orders for similar submarines for the Greek and Korean navies, while two further subs are being built at Fincantieri for the Italian navy [FCB, November 2004]. Contact: Dr Jürgen Rohweder, ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, Hamburg, Germany. Tel: +49 40 1800 1308, Email: [email protected], www.thyssenkrupp-marinesystems.com
FCE power plant in Earth Day dedication at Montana clinic
C
onnecticut-based FuelCell Energy marked Earth Day 2006 on 22 April with the dedication of a highly efficient Direct FuelCell/Turbine® at the Billings Clinic in Montana. In February, FCE announced that this DFC/T power plant achieved a 56% electrical efficiency – a record-setting performance in a sub-MW class – for more than 800 continuous hours during initial testing at its Danbury facility. FCE has been developing the DFC/T® product following an initial Vision 21 Program contract award from the Department of Energy in 2000. The DFC/T system integrates FCE’s 250 kWe Direct FuelCell power plant with a 60 kWe microturbine from Capstone Turbine Corporation. Heat generated by the fuel cell is used to drive the modified microturbine to generate additional electricity. The supplemental microturbine power increases the electrical efficiency and reduces the cost of power generated, without the use of additional fuel. The combined-cycle DFC/T system has no combustion, which allows for ultra-clean performance. ‘This fuel cell power plant will help reduce energy costs for the clinic, which, like other businesses, has seen a stiff increase in heating and power costs in the past five years,’ comments Jim Duncan,
director of development & community affairs for the Billings Clinic. ‘We really have to tackle cost containment from every possible angle, whether it is medical liability insurance or energy efficiency.’ Contact: FuelCell Energy Inc, Danbury, Connecticut, USA. Tel: +1 203 825 6000, www.fce.com
Freudenberg-NOK buys FuelCon fuel cell test stations
T
he Michigan-based automotive sealing giant Freudenberg-NOK has recently purchased two fuel cell test stations from FuelCon Systems Inc in Vancouver, BC to support its ongoing fuel cell development program. The new stations enable Freudenberg-NOK to perform completely automated full frequency scans at its $30m Technical Concept Center in Plymouth, which it claims is the most extensive supplier-operated sealing and noise & vibration testing facility in North America. The highly sophisticated single-cell PEM fuel cell test stations will enhance the supplier’s efficiency, capability and accuracy in the development of fuel cell sealing technology. ‘Freudenberg-NOK has played an instrumental role in helping drive product and process development technologies that will aid fuel cells in becoming integrated into more markets,’ comments Theodore G. Duclos, VP of operations and technology for Freudenberg-NOK General Partnership. ‘Our expertise as a technology specialist in sealing, materials and processes has enabled us to become a preferred development partner for fuel cell technology.’ For more than 10 years, Freudenberg-NOK and its global partners have been driving the advancement of fuel cell technology for various applications and markets by continuing to invest in a number of R&D projects related to the technology. It has worked with several companies on a variety of projects, including the development of multiple highly engineered sealing solutions, which are customized to best fit each of their customer’s fuel cell stack characteristics. Founded in 1989, Freudenberg-NOK General Partnership is a joint venture between Freudenberg & Co in Germany and NOK Corporation of Japan.
Contact: Freudenberg-NOK General Partnership, Plymouth, Michigan, USA. Tel: +1 734 451 0020, www.freudenberg-nok.com Or contact: FuelCon Systems Inc, Vancouver, BC, Canada. Tel: +1 604 696 1290, www.fuelcon.com
June 2006
15/06/2006
16:04
Page 10
NEWS ‘We’ve had strong feedback from customers – namely the energy companies – that field trials are an important step in understanding our customers’ needs and gaining experience in actually integrating fuel cell units into an electricity network,’ explains Dow. He adds that these trials allow the company to feed back its findings into product development, which will ultimately lead to more efficient and reliable fuel cell units. Two demonstration units were dispatched to EWE last December, and installed and commissioned at the utility’s headquarters in Oldenburg, Germany in January, after receiving CE approval [FCB, January]. A unit was delivered to Powerco in New Zealand in June 2005, and is installed at Industrial Research Ltd in Wellington. A second unit is due to be delivered to a Powerco partner in Tasmania, once the partner has completed site works [FCB, November 2005]. Meanwhile, szencorp has installed a demonstration unit in its ground-breaking energyefficient commercial office building at 40 Albert Road in South Melbourne. The unit was installed late last year and commissioned in January [FCB, January]. In addition, one unit was installed at Energy and Telecommunications Training Australia (ETTA)’s premises in Chadstone, Melbourne in August 2005, before being moved into the szencorp site. CFCL has had discussions with ETTA about installing a NetGen unit at the latter’s site later this year. Contact: Ceramic Fuel Cells Ltd, Noble Park (Melbourne), Victoria, Australia. Tel: +61 3 9554 2300, www.cfcl.com.au
Third fuel cell submarine handed to German navy
T
he world’s newest fuel cell powered submarine has been delivered to the German Office for Defence Technology and Procurement (BWB) by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW) in Kiel, according to a report in Lloyd’s List. The U33 is the third of a series of four Class 212A submarines for the German navy built by HDW in Kiel and Nordseewerke in Emden, now both part of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems. The new submarine class is characterized by an air-independent propulsion system using a hydrogen PEM fuel cell power plant to produce electrical energy from oxygen and hydrogen stored in tanks in the vessel’s hull. The use of fuel cell technology will allow the submarine to cruise underwater for weeks without surfacing, 10
Fuel Cells Bulletin
whereas submarines powered by the traditional diesel-electric engine have to recharge their batteries on the surface every two days. Together with the extremely favorable noise and heat signatures and the boat’s detection and weapon systems, the fuel cell plant makes the 56 m long, 1450 tonnes displacement submarine virtually undetectable. The U33 will be commissioned in June. The first boats, U31 and U32, were delivered last September, and commissioned at the submarine base in Eckernförde in October. Delivery of the last in the series for the German navy, the U34, is scheduled for the end of this year. HDW has also received several export orders for similar submarines for the Greek and Korean navies, while two further subs are being built at Fincantieri for the Italian navy [FCB, November 2004]. Contact: Dr Jürgen Rohweder, ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, Hamburg, Germany. Tel: +49 40 1800 1308, Email: [email protected], www.thyssenkrupp-marinesystems.com
FCE power plant in Earth Day dedication at Montana clinic
C
onnecticut-based FuelCell Energy marked Earth Day 2006 on 22 April with the dedication of a highly efficient Direct FuelCell/Turbine® at the Billings Clinic in Montana. In February, FCE announced that this DFC/T power plant achieved a 56% electrical efficiency – a record-setting performance in a sub-MW class – for more than 800 continuous hours during initial testing at its Danbury facility. FCE has been developing the DFC/T® product following an initial Vision 21 Program contract award from the Department of Energy in 2000. The DFC/T system integrates FCE’s 250 kWe Direct FuelCell power plant with a 60 kWe microturbine from Capstone Turbine Corporation. Heat generated by the fuel cell is used to drive the modified microturbine to generate additional electricity. The supplemental microturbine power increases the electrical efficiency and reduces the cost of power generated, without the use of additional fuel. The combined-cycle DFC/T system has no combustion, which allows for ultra-clean performance. ‘This fuel cell power plant will help reduce energy costs for the clinic, which, like other businesses, has seen a stiff increase in heating and power costs in the past five years,’ comments Jim Duncan,
director of development & community affairs for the Billings Clinic. ‘We really have to tackle cost containment from every possible angle, whether it is medical liability insurance or energy efficiency.’ Contact: FuelCell Energy Inc, Danbury, Connecticut, USA. Tel: +1 203 825 6000, www.fce.com
Freudenberg-NOK buys FuelCon fuel cell test stations
T
he Michigan-based automotive sealing giant Freudenberg-NOK has recently purchased two fuel cell test stations from FuelCon Systems Inc in Vancouver, BC to support its ongoing fuel cell development program. The new stations enable Freudenberg-NOK to perform completely automated full frequency scans at its $30m Technical Concept Center in Plymouth, which it claims is the most extensive supplier-operated sealing and noise & vibration testing facility in North America. The highly sophisticated single-cell PEM fuel cell test stations will enhance the supplier’s efficiency, capability and accuracy in the development of fuel cell sealing technology. ‘Freudenberg-NOK has played an instrumental role in helping drive product and process development technologies that will aid fuel cells in becoming integrated into more markets,’ comments Theodore G. Duclos, VP of operations and technology for Freudenberg-NOK General Partnership. ‘Our expertise as a technology specialist in sealing, materials and processes has enabled us to become a preferred development partner for fuel cell technology.’ For more than 10 years, Freudenberg-NOK and its global partners have been driving the advancement of fuel cell technology for various applications and markets by continuing to invest in a number of R&D projects related to the technology. It has worked with several companies on a variety of projects, including the development of multiple highly engineered sealing solutions, which are customized to best fit each of their customer’s fuel cell stack characteristics. Founded in 1989, Freudenberg-NOK General Partnership is a joint venture between Freudenberg & Co in Germany and NOK Corporation of Japan.
Contact: Freudenberg-NOK General Partnership, Plymouth, Michigan, USA. Tel: +1 734 451 0020, www.freudenberg-nok.com Or contact: FuelCon Systems Inc, Vancouver, BC, Canada. Tel: +1 604 696 1290, www.fuelcon.com
June 2006