FuelCellsWorks

DFC-H2 System is Based on FuelCell Energy’s Clean Fuel Cell Power Generation Technology

DANBURY, Conn. — FuelCell Energy, Inc. (Nasdaq:FCEL), a leading manufacturer of high efficiency ultra-clean power plants using renewable and other fuels for commercial, industrial, government, and utility customers, today announced subcontract awards totaling $2.1 million from Air Products (NYSE:APD). The prime contract to demonstrate a renewable hydrogen fueling station was awarded to Air Products by the California Air Resources Board and supported by the South Coast Air Quality Management District, and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The project is to demonstrate an Air Products’ concept which incorporates FuelCell Energy’s DFC-H2® technology in a hydrogen fueling station.  The DFC-H2® can produce clean power, heat and renewable hydrogen.

The hydrogen will supply the state-of-the-art hydrogen fueling station developed and to be installed by Air Products at the Orange County Sanitation District’s (OCSD) wastewater treatment facility in Fountain Valley, California. The system will be fueled with biogas from wastewater treatment operations and produce 300 kilowatts of power and up to 300 pounds of hydrogen per day. This hydrogen could be used for early market fuel cell applications such as back up power and forklifts and is sufficient to fuel roughly 100 fuel cell cars. The electricity will be available for use by OCSD for its operations.

“The award of the prime contracts giving rise to the announced subcontracts is a clear acknowledgement by DOE and California of the importance of using a renewable resource such as biogas to generate energy,” said Christopher Bentley, FuelCell Energy’s Executive Vice President of Government Research & Development Operations. “Our research indicates that hydrogen efficiently produced as a byproduct by the DFC-H2® can be less costly than hydrogen produced by other methods and can enable the expansion of ultra-clean, hydrogen production systems worldwide, while providing the benefits of distributed power generation.”

During the past two years under the ongoing DOE program, FuelCell Energy and Air Products have developed a co-production test unit and successfully validated the test unit in 2009 at FuelCell Energy’s research and development facility. The test unit produced hydrogen and power meeting the predeployment testing objectives in advance of its siting at OCSD.  Details on Air Products’ hydrogen fueling station technologies are provided at www.airproducts.com/h2energy.

About FuelCell Energy, Inc.

DFC® fuel cells are generating power at over 50 locations worldwide. The company’s power plants have generated over 450 million kWh of power using a variety of fuels including renewable wastewater gas, biogas from beer and food processing, as well as natural gas and other hydrocarbon fuels. FuelCell Energy has partnerships with major power plant developers and power companies around the world. The company also receives funding from the U.S. Department of Energy and other government agencies for the development of leading edge technologies such as fuel cells. For more information please visit our website at www.fuelcellenergy.com

About Air Products

Air Products (NYSE:APD) serves customers in industrial, energy, technology and healthcare markets worldwide with a unique portfolio of atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, performance materials, and equipment and services. Founded in 1940, Air Products has built leading positions in key growth markets such as semiconductor materials, refinery hydrogen, home healthcare services, natural gas liquefaction, and advanced coatings and adhesives. The company is recognized for its innovative culture, operational excellence and commitment to safety and the environment. In fiscal 2009, Air Products had revenues of $8.3 billion, operations in over 40 countries, and 18,900 employees around the globe. For more information, visit www.airproducts.com.

Written by Kimberly Donnelly

The town has reached a settlement agreement with Connecticut Light & Power (CL&P) that puts a fuel cell project at the schools one step closer to reality.

“It’s a good deal. I’m very happy with the agreement,” said First Selectman Gayle Weinstein earlier this week.

The Board of Selectmen met last Thursday, March 4, and agreed to allow Ms. Weinstein to sign an agreement with CL&P that allows Weston to “net meter”— add together — its electric accounts at Weston High School and Weston Middle School.

CL&P had asked the town to physically connect the electric meters at the two buildings, which would have cost an estimated $900,000. The town, in turn, asked the Department of Public Utility Control (DPUC) for a declaratory ruling allowing the town to combine its energy usage at the middle and high schools by simple accounting (adding the two accounts together) instead.

On Feb. 8, the DPUC issued a draft ruling allowing the town to aggregate electric consumption at the high school and middle school and to apply that net amount against electricity generated by a fuel cell the town wants to install at the middle school.

The DPUC’s ruling stated not only could the town combine usage numbers at the two schools, but it could also include electricity delivered to other town buildings in calculating how much electricity is used.

The following week, however, CL&P filed an exception to the draft ruling, based in part, Ms. Weinstein said, on this broader-than-asked-for allowance.

And so, the first selectman said at last week’s selectmen’s meeting, “we came to a compromise.”

“With this agreement, what CL&P is saying is we’d be able to net meter without having to physically connect [the electrical lines] … which would save us the supplier charges” at the high school, Ms. Weinstein said. There will likely be no supplier charges at the middle school, she added, because the fuel cell will take care of the power there.

Under the agreement, the town also does not have to pay additional distribution charges at the middle school. Because the town will still be using CL&P’s transmission lines at the high school, it will still pay distribution and transmission charges for that building’s electric consumption. “The discount will be on the supply side,” Ms. Weinstein explained.

“What CL&P is offering, which I was very happy about … is they are going to credit us on the supply side at the retail rate, which is significant for us — it’s about a 40% to 50% savings” compared to the wholesale rate, she said.

Weston has asked United Technologies to build and install a 400-kW fuel cell at or near the middle school. It is estimated the fuel cell would provide 95% of the electricity needed for both Weston High School and Weston Middle School, all of the heat for the pool at the middle school, a significant amount of the heat and hot water for the middle school, and all of the air conditioning for the middle school.

“To the extent the alternative generation [by the fuel cell] reduces demand … at the middle school, [Weston’s electric bill] would be reduced accordingly,” Ms. Weinstein said.

Because of the agreement reached with CL&P, Ms. Weinstein and CL&P representatives went before the DPUC last Friday, March 5, and the town withdrew its request for a declaratory ruling.

CL&P asked for and received from the DPUC a protective order, sealing the settlement agreement.

When asked why it had requested the agreement be sealed, Mitch Gross, spokesman for CL&P, said only it was done “at request of our attorneys.”

“I’m very happy with the agreement. It’s absolutely in Weston’s best interest,” said Ms. Weinstein. “The fact that CL&P asked for a protective order proves that.”

TOKYO —A research firm has estimated Japan’s market for fuel cells will expand 99-fold from fiscal 2009 to 1.61 trillion yen in fiscal 2025 due to uptake of the technology for housing and vehicles. Fuel cell systems for housing will serve as a driving force for the market until fiscal 2018 before the spread of fuel cell vehicles in competition with hybrid gasoline-electric and electric cars, the Fuji-Keizai Group says in a recent survey report.

Fuel cells generate electricity through reactions between hydrogen and oxygen without emitting carbon dioxide and are seen as a promising tool to reduce such emissions.

The market is estimated to expand from 16.3 billion yen in fiscal 2009 ending this month to 99.6 billion yen in fiscal 2015 and exceed 300 billion yen in 2020, supported by growing demand for fuel cell systems for housing.

As the fuel cell vehicle diffusion gains momentum later, fuel cell demand may reach 990 billion yen for automobiles and 507 billion yen for housing in fiscal 2025.

Fuel cells for vehicles and housing may thus account for more than 90% of the market in fiscal 2025. The remaining fuel cells may be used for mobile phones and other portable machines.

YARMOUTH, Maine (AP) ― The town of Yarmouth could become the test site for an inventor’s proposal for a commercially viable way to extract hydrogen gas from water.

Hydrogen can be used as a clean source of energy, but the production of industrial quantities of the gas requires large amounts of fossil fuels.

The Portland Press Herald says the pilot project would use effluent from the Yarmouth wastewater treatment plant and hydroelectricity from the Royal River to extract hydrogen from water. The gas could then be used to power the plant and perhaps other town buildings.

Ronny Bar-Gadda of Genesys LLC of San Jose, Calif., says Maine’s small population and interest in energy independence and climate-change issues make it an appealing laboratory.

While countries like Germany, Japan and America have embraced fuel cell technology, the UK has until now lagged behind with high capital costs serving as a major barrier to widespread adoption of fuel cell technology.

Tom Sperrey, UPS Systems’ Managing Director, is forecasting significant commercial growth for the UK fuel cell industry. Tom Sperrey believes the UK fuel cell landscape is to change in the next 12 months as costs fall with new products entering the market.

“2010 is bringing with it a new wave of fuel cell activity. Already new products are launching into the market and companies continue to show interest in learning more about fuel cells and adopting clean technology. We are currently discussing fuel cell system roll-outs with several major corporates and NGOs.”

“Under a grant from the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) we are part of a consortium working to develop new technologies that reduce the use of expensive materials in fuel cells. As these developments are rolled out commercially, we expect capital costs to fall and make the technology financially attainable for more businesses.”

“Growth hotspots at present are traffic signalling, remote monitoring and security using smaller hydrogen and methanol fuel cells with power ranges between 25W to 150W for prime power and up to 15kW for standby power. Because smaller fuel cells are reliable, durable and portable, they are better suited to these types of applications.”

“In these growth hotspots, fuel cells offer extended runtimes, for example, a fuel cell equipped with a 28 litre canister of methanol can easily operate equipment continuously for up to six months without human interference, therefore reducing the costs of manpower, transport and materials costs associated with sending someone to replace batteries on a regular basis.”

“Smaller units have the potential to revolutionise the UK fuel cell industry. They are suitable for a range of applications and are proven technology in a growing number of commercial installations. With falling capital costs, and increased savings through lower running and maintenance costs, these smaller units are beginning to achieve widespread adoption across the UK. As capital costs fall, further applications become viable and create greater demand for fuel cells as an alternative and sustainable source of power.”

In summary, Tom’s prediction for 2010 is:
• Costs for smaller fuel cells will continue to fall
• Fuel cell growth hotspots will be in low power applications
• When servicing is taken into account, fuel cell extended runtimes give businesses a much cheaper source of power
• By working together with our research partners, we are helping to develop technology that drives down fuel cell capital costs even further.