Fuel Cell Technology’s Coming Of Age

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.earthtechling.com/2011/12/fuel-cell-technologys-coming-of-age/

Fuel Cell Technology’s Coming Of Age

by Lauren Craig, December 1st, 2011

Until very recently, fuel cells were considered largely a non-grid technology. But, technological improvements in the areas of reliability, efficiency, and the ability to use multiple fuel sources have started to change that perception. Danbury, Connecticut-based FuelCell Energy‘s (FCE) role in the fuel cell industry dates back to the 1970s, when the company began performing extensive research and development into fuel cell technology for military applications. Since then, FCE has commercialized its patented Direct Fuel Cell (DFC) technology, and generated over 900 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity at over 50 installations worldwide.

As policymakers continue to scratch their heads about the costs and benefits of this still-emerging technology, FCE is trying to keep busy. The company recently announced the completion of the world’s largest grid-tied fuel call generation facility, which provides 11.2 megawatts (MW) of generation capacity for an investor-owned utility in South Korea. But, what is perhaps even more significant is FCE’s claim that it has driven the price of fuel cell power down to about 15 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh), which is competitive with grid power in many U.S. markets.
image via Fuel Cell EnergyWhat does this mean for the company, the state of the fuel cell industry and the future of grid power? To find out, we spoke with Tony Leo, FCE’s Vice President of Application Engineering and New Technology Development.

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Tony Leo: The system consists of four http://www.fuelcellenergy.com/dfc3000.php">DFC3000 2.8-MW units, each of which is a standard product of ours. We manufactured the fuel cells at our production facility in Connecticut and shipped them to http://www.posco.co.kr/homepage/docs/eng2/jsp/s91a0010001i.jsp">POSCO’s assembly facility in South Korea. They then built the power plant one unit at a time, so the customer scaled up the power capacity of the facility in a sequential manner. Korea has a Renewable Portfolio Standard program that establishes a high price for power, so the benefit to the utility is really an economic one. The price of Renewable Energy Credits fluctuates, but fuel costs are much higher there than in the U.S. After incentives, they are earning around $.20 per kWh.

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[LiberalEsto]

1. Do they run on natural gas?

The problem is that despite the gas industry's claims to the contrary, they are running low on easily available sources of natural gas.

If there was plenty of gas reserves available, it wouldn't be cost-effective for them to use fracking technology, with all its attendant problems, to obtain natural gas. The cost of this gas is going to be MUCH higher than we are accustomed to pay. And that doesn't include all the environmental damage and risks to health.

I used to write marketing materials for a segment of the natural gas industry, including case studies on fuel cells. There had been issues, when I last wrote about them, with how efficient fuel cells were in generating electric power.

Fuel cells can be made far more efficient if technology is included to recapture the excess heat created by the generating process. This captured "waste" heat can be used to heat boilers to supply hot water for the facility that is using the fuel cells.

My concern, however is that despite the strides in increasing fuel cell efficiency, the price of natural gas in the future may make their use prohibitive.

[OKIsItJustMe]

2. They can, yes

http://www.fuelcellenergy.com/dfc300ma.php

DFC300 (300 kW)

FuelCell Energy’s DFC300 system is a self-contained electrical power generation system capable of providing high-quality baseload power up to 300 kW, with 47% electrical efficiency, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Unlike other fuel cell products, DFCs internally reform readily available fuels such as natural gas and anaerobic digester gas into the hydrogen gas required to power the fuel cell system. This http://www.fuelcellenergy.com/technology.php">internal reformation process is key to the DFC's ability to operate at such high electrical http://www.fuelcellenergy.com/benefits-fuel-cell-technology.php">efficiency.

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