WESTWOOD, Mass.--Fuel cell developer Acumentrics Corporation has completed installation of a 5kW solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) system at the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, midway between Cleveland and Akron, Ohio.  The system, the second installed in the Park by Acumentrics, makes the Park’s environmental education facility grid-independent and able to operate in the case of a power failure.  

The Acumentrics system is sponsored by the U. S. Department of Defense, the National Park Service, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and First Energy, the local electric utility in the Cuyahoga area. 

“The installation of a second system at an existing customer site confirms the value proposition that SOFC units can be depended on in remote and sensitive locations,” said Gary Simon, Acumentrics’ CEO.  “Parks are environmentally sensitive locations where an extra premium is placed on the clean and efficient power that SOFCs provide.” 
Acumentrics’ SOFCs can directly utilize hydrocarbon fuels at very high efficiencies as well as operate on clean fuels such as hydrogen.  The system at Cuyahoga will be run on natural gas and is expected to providing heat and power to the facility virtually maintenance-free.

Cuyahoga Park was established as the nation's 57th national park in 2000 and draws more than 3.3 million visitors per year.  The approximately 33,000-acre park links the urban centers of Cleveland and Akron, preserving the rural character of the Cuyahoga River Valley.  

Acumentrics' unique, durable, fuel-flexible tubular ceramics-based fuel cell technology has exceeded performance standards in U.S. Department of Energy Solid-State Energy Conversion Alliance (SECA) Phase I tests, demonstrated the ability to operate for 1300-hours on synthetic JP-8 fuel, become the first biogas-fueled SOFC system in an installation at the innovative GlashusEtt environmental information center in Stockholm, and received a 2007 New England Innovation Award from the Smaller Business Alliance of New England.  Acumentrics also sells rugged, uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) to the military and other mission-critical markets.