FuelCell Energy Inc., Danbury, Connecticut, a design, manufacture, operation and service company for fuel cell power plants, announced the completion of awards from the U.S. Department of Energy regarding four previously disclosed projects, including carbon capture utilizing a carbonate fuel cell power plant and three projects related to the commercialization of solid oxide fuel cell technology. These four projects add approximately $24 million to backlog in the fourth quarter of 2015, which excludes cost share obligations, says the company.
“One of our competitive advantages is robust research and development, which, in the case of carbon capture, utilizes our commercial fuel cell plant in an alternate configuration to pursue a potentially sizeable market,” says Chip Bottone, CEO, FuelCell Energy Inc. “Advancing our solid oxide fuel cell commercialization is also exciting as we evaluate host sites and adapt the technology for storage applications.”
The projects include:
- Carbon Capture - This DOE project is to install a 2.3 megawatt fuel cell power plant configured for carbon capture adjacent to an operating coal-fired plant to capture a portion of the carbon emissions and destroy a portion of smog-causing nitrogen oxide (NOx), while also producing clean electricity. Carbon concentration and capture within the carbonate fuel cell is a side reaction of the natural gas-fueled power generation process. The DFC3000-based system installed under this DOE project will be the first of an expected two phase project at the selected site. The second phase, to follow this DOE project, would be to install eleven additional fuel cell power plants for a total project of 27.6 megawatts to capture approximately 700 tons/day of CO2 in total, while simultaneously generating about 648,000 kilowatt hours/day of clean power. FCE is in active discussions with a number of major utility companies to select the best coal power plant site for this system.
- Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) Commercialization with 400 kilowatt project - FuelCell Energy will install and operate a 400 kilowatt SOFC system located at a host site and connected to the electric grid. This project is a significant step in commercializing SOFC technology for sub-megawatt distributed power generation and energy storage applications, according to FCE. FCE recently began operation of a 50 kilowatt system incorporating the stack design and system configuration concepts that will be used for the 400 kilowatt system. Several potential hosts have expressed interest in providing the site for the project, and FCE says it is currently evaluating these options to determine the best location for the project.
- SOFC Manufacturing - The project targets cost reduction in the design and advancing the reliability, robustness and endurance of the fuel cells. It continues DOE-supported efforts which have refined the performance and economics of the SOFC technology, says FCE. The company adds, these efforts have led to industry leading levels of performance, durability, and cell size scale-up, which is critical to meeting affordability targets for stationary power generation systems.
- Electrolysis for hydrogen production - The SOFC stack will be adapted for hydrogen production using electrolysis through a solid oxide electrolyzer cell (SOEC) at very high efficiency and within established cost parameters. Hydrogen produced from SOEC can be stored and used for grid-power, hydrogen fueling stations or for industrial purposes as an alternative to natural gas reforming. SOEC can also be applied as a clean and highly efficient solution for storing excess power produced by intermittent technologies when their output exceeds the needs of the electric grid.
