NEWS

6Fuel Cells Bulletin June 2008

The company has installed production equip-ment for the new system in its plant in Kusatsu City, Shiga Prefecture, and is about to com-mence manufacturing. In fiscal 2010, further investments will be made to start full-scale com-mercialization of this system as a new environ-mental business.

The system is expected to carry a shipment price of more than ¥1m (US$9500), according to a Nikkei report, but Matsushita aims to lower it to half that by 2015. The firm intends to sell 10 000 units in fiscal 2010, rising to at least 100 000 units in fiscal 2015, which would give it a domestic market share of more than 30%.

For more on Panasonic, go to: www.panasonic.net

Dantherm, EnergiMidt provide uninterruptible Internet access

In Denmark, hydrogen and fuel cell technology developed by Dantherm

Power is enabling consumers to access the Internet at breakneck speeds even if the main power supply fails. The firm has put into service, on the fiber-optic broadband network operated by elec-tricity/broadband company EnergiMidt, an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system employing fuel cell technology.

The fuel cell powered UPS units replace traditional systems that use batteries or diesel generators to supply emergency backup power. The fuel cells run on hydrogen that is distrib-uted in ordinary garage-type cylinders, which the companies say is as safe and reliable as any other industrial gases.

Each fiber network node is equipped with three or more hydrogen cylinders, generating 5 kW of emergency power for about 4 h and providing a 48 Vdc and 230 Vac supply. The cylinders can be replaced during operation, and the UPS can run for days – or even weeks – if necessary.

The UPS system is capable of starting repeat-edly and delivering a constant and reliable power output, and has a lifetime of about 10 years. This is another advantage over batteries, which have a limited lifetime, degrading a little each time they are recharged or just in standby, and are also sensitive to storage temperatures.

Emergency power backup systems take over immediately when a main power supply fails. UPS systems are crucial in maintaining steady, uninterrupted power for the electronic equip-ment, transmitters and cooling systems inside the radio base stations – taking care of the distribution and steady flow of data in IT and telecoms networks.

Contact: Dantherm Power A/S, Skive, Denmark. Tel: +45 9614 3700, www.dantherm-power.com

Or contact: EnergiMidt A/S, Silkeborg, Denmark. Tel: +45 7015 1560, www.energimidt.dk

Morphic to test wind turbine/fuel cell systems

As part of the development of its fuel cell-based systems, Morphic

Technologies is planning to test a pro-prietary 20 kW wind turbine this year in the toughest conditions, on the island of Öland off the Swedish coast.

The company’s energy system is designed to convert, store and use energy from renewable sources. It converts energy from a wind turbine (or other power generator) into hydrogen, or other energy carrier through a chemical process. This fuel is then be stored and converted back into electrical energy later using fuel cells.

The system, which can produce electricity continuously, is suitable for small-scale facilities instead of diesel units, but larger facilities will also benefit from the technology by using it to store energy and supply electricity continuously from individual or larger groups of wind turbines.

Morphic says that all of the components in its energy system are developed for large-scale pro-duction. It is in discussions with various players, covering a range of potential applications.

‘The markets we are targeting will have high quality and performance requirements, so the tests applied to our products will be based on international standards,’ says president/CEO Jonas Eklind. ‘We will also be testing the wind turbine in applications that are, for instance, part of local energy supply for telecommunication base stations, in agriculture and for the electrifi-cation of villages in developing countries – all for the purpose of being able to offer a product that meets the customers’ stringent requirements.’

The test environment on Öland became possi-ble through a positive dialog with the municipal-ity of Mörbylånga, the research leaders at Station Linné, and the owner of Parboäng farm.

Contact: Morphic Technologies AB, Karlskoga, Sweden. Tel: +46 586 67390, www.morphic.se

large stationary

FCE, POSCO linkup boosted by more orders

POSCO Power in Korea has ordered 25.6 MW of power plants and mod-

ules from US-based FuelCell Energy.

FCE, which develops and produces station-ary molten carbonate fuel cells for commercial, industrial, municipal and utility customers, says that this order more than doubles its product backlog, and represents nearly $70m of sales scheduled for delivery during 2009.

In a market that imports 90% of its fuel, the Korean Ministry of Knowledge Economy is a strong proponent of the nation’s energy indepen-dence. Backed by the country’s commitment to energy independence and green power, early last year POSCO Power signed a 10-year manufac-turing and distribution agreement with FuelCell Energy [FCB, April 2007]. This latest transac-tion means that the company has ordered 38.2 MW of FCE products to date.

This order calls for FCE to initially ship complete power plants while POSCO Power completes the construction of its own 50 MW fuel cell balance-of-plant manufacturing facility, which is expected to be completed later this year. By mid-2009, all balance-of-plant manufactur-ing for the Korean market will be transitioned to POSCO Power, which will use fuel cell modules supplied by FCE.

The firms have also signed a ‘master service’ agreement covering all POSCO Power installa-tions, under which the companies will jointly service customers in the Korean market.

Contact: FuelCell Energy Inc, Danbury, Connecticut, USA. Tel: +1 203 825 6000, www.fuelcellenergy.com

Or contact: POSCO Power, Seoul, Korea. Tel: +82 2 3469 5909, www.poscopower.co.kr

CFC introduces next-generation HotModule

German-based CFC Solutions GmbH launched a new series of molten

carbonate fuel cells at the recent Hannover Fair. The HotModule HM 320 systems have been upgraded with a new design and higher power.

In the new model the maximum electrical power of the cell block is boosted by 45% to 363 kW (DC), and the system can now feed 345 kW of power into the electrical distribu-tion system (AC). The HotModule also boasts a higher level of heat generation: the new fuel cell achieves a thermal power output of 250 kW, a 38% increase.

The main source of the increased power levels is the new, larger construction. CFC revamped the stack and chose a square design in place of the cylindrical design of previous generations. The first model of the new series is already in production. The new generation also marks a decline in the price per installed kWh.

NEWS

June 2008 Fuel Cells Bulletin7

I N B R I E F

Hydrogen fuel cell APU for Icelandic whale-watching vesselIn Iceland, the whale-watching vessel Eldingrecently went back into service after being fit-ted with a hydrogen-fueled auxiliary power unit (APU) in addition to its regular diesel engine. The unit runs the navigation system, lights and other electrical equipment on board the boat.

Including the support equipment, the energy system is made up of a small fueling and hydrogen storage unit, based on the pier; the fuel cell; batteries; and an electrical monitor-ing system, compressed hydrogen tanks, ven-tilation unit, exhaust pipes and security vents. Hamburg-based Germanischer Lloyd (GL) cer-tified the fuel cell unit and its integration into the existing system on board the vessel.

‘The assessment of the fuel cell system according to our Fuel Cell Guideline was carried out successfully and in good coopera-tion with our project partners, Icelandic New Energy and Icelandic Hydrogen,’ explains Finn Vogler, project manager for risk assessment and mechanical analysis at GL. ‘This project dem-onstrates for the first time the use of fuel cell systems on a commercial seagoing vessel.’

Jon Bjorn Skulason, head of Icelandic New Energy (www.newenergy.is), the collaborative venture between companies, academia and the government that managed the installation, adds: ‘For us, it was a milestone today. This ship shows that this fuel works at sea.’

HyRaMP sees European regions and municipalities partner upRepresentatives from 22 European regions and municipalities met recently in Brussels for the inaugural meeting of the Regions and Municipalities Partnership on Hydrogen and Fuel Cells, HyRaMP.

HyRaMP aims to provide European regions and municipalities with a representative body that can put their points of view to the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Technology Initiative (FCH JTI) and all relevant stakeholders and decision-makers at both public and private level. The partnership will allow its members to play a key role in the implementation of strate-gies for the uptake of fuel cell and hydrogen technologies, and in particular the FCH JTI.

HyRaMP has also been cooperating with the Roads2HyCom and HyLights projects, to orga-nize a recent workshop in Brussels on regional development and hydrogen projects.

The European Hydrogen Association (www.h2euro.org) will run the HyRaMP secretariat for the first six months, to facilitate the creation of the organizational structure and a concrete collaboration with the Joint Undertaking for Fuel Cells and Hydrogen (FCH JTI), which is currently being discussed in the European Parliament and the EU Council.

‘Beside the HM 320, we plan to produce systems in the 400 kW and 500 kW class in the coming years, as well as in the megawatt range,’ says Michael Bode, MD for engineering at CFC Solutions, part of the Tognum Group.

Cell efficiencies of 55% electrical and 33% thermal make the new HotModule an efficient supplier of electricity and heat. In addition to increasing the power level, the developers designed the new systems for easier maintenance, with major components more readily accessible.

CFC Solutions systems are targeted at appli-cations that have a constant demand for elec-tricity and heat. Operating either alone or in combination with conventional energy plants to meet operating peak demand, the HotModule represents an energy-efficient and clean solution that can produce CO2-neutral electricity and heat when fueled with biogas or sewage gas. The HotModule is also very clean in operation in terms of other emissions, with figures of less than 0.01 ppm sulfur dioxide, 2 ppm nitrogen and 9 ppm CO negligibly small compared with conventional power plants.

Contact: CFC Solutions GmbH, Ottobrunn, Germany. Tel: +49 89 203042 800, www.cfc-solutions.com

HydroGen starts full-scale chlor-alkali unit

In the US, HydroGen Corporation, a designer and manufacturer of multi-

MW air-cooled phosphoric acid fuel cell (PAFC) systems, has successfully started up a full-scale commercial demonstra-tion power plant at the chlor-alkali facility in Ashtabula, Ohio, owned and operated by Ashta Chemicals.

The 400 kW PAFC unit serves as a field prototype for the multi-MW fuel cell plants currently being developed by HydroGen for near-term commercial deployment. It is designed to use by-product hydrogen generated by Ashta Chemicals to produce and feed electrical power back to the facility for its internal use.

The startup follows the successful design, engi-neering and construction of the fuel cell plant at the Ashta site, and the manufacture, delivery and installation of the PAFC module. The plant will now be taken through a program of test-ing and optimization. This will include tests of all startup, operational and shutdown modes at progressively higher power levels, followed by a reliability run to demonstrate system robustness under commercial operating conditions.

‘With this startup, we have validated our capability to design, engineer, manufacture and successfully commission a full-scale fuel cell

power plant at a representative potential cus-tomer site, in a key ‘hydrogen-available’ market segment – the chlor-alkali industry,’ comments John Freeh, CEO of HydroGen. ‘We believe that plant startup positions us for near-term commercial uptake of our multi-megawatt PAFC plants for the chemical industry, while giving us an operating platform from which to improve further the design of our systems.’

The project has been financed in part by funds from the Ohio Department of Develop-ment, which provided a grant of $1.25m to support plant design and construction.

Contact: HydroGen Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio, USA. Tel: +1 216 368 4774, www.hydrogenllc.com

Conn approves funding for FCE hybrid plant

In the US, Energy East Corporation and FuelCell Energy report that the

Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control (CDPUC) has approved its finan-cial commitment for the Direct FuelCell-Energy Recovery Generation (DFC-ERG) project in Milford. Energy East will provide 80% of the construction phase financing, and will acquire 80% of the completed project. The parties can now sign an energy purchase agreement with Connecticut Light and Power.

DFC-ERG Milford will produce 9 MW of ultra-clean electric power using three of FCE’s molten carbonate DFC3000 power plants in combination with a 1.8 MW pipeline turbo expander [FCB, March 2008]. The DFC-ERG system captures the heat by-product from the fuel cells for use in the turbo expander, which generates electricity using the pressure differen-tial between the transportation and distribution pipes at Southern Connecticut Gas’s gate station in Milford. The DFC-ERG has an electrical efficiency of approximately 60%, compared with 30–40% for other similarly sized, combustion-based power-generating systems.

‘We are excited to be working with Energy East on the largest DFC-ERG installation in the world,’ says R. Daniel Brdar, chairman/CEO of FCE. ‘This project, the first of its kind to be built in the US, has broad applicability to the distribution systems of local gas distribution companies all over the world.’

FCE’s partner in the development of the DFC-ERG, Calgary-based Enbridge, has identi-fied 40–60 MW of opportunities for the tech-nology in Toronto, Canada and northern New York, and another 200–300 MW in California and the northeastern US.