More Cogenerating Fuel Cells | Green Energy News

July 4, 2004 – Vol.9 No.15

MORE COGENERATING FUEL CELLS.

It’s been thought for some time that small fuel cell generators would first enter the marketplace as alternative-to-power-grid energy solutions for homes or small businesses. Operating on piped-in natural gas, or trucked-in propane, the units would provide electricity, heat and hot water with very low emissions and at high efficiency.

Fuel cell developer Plug Power comes to mind in this market niche.

Now there’s the possibility of another reason to rapidly introduce small stationary fuel cells: To extend reserves of natural gas.

Though world supplies of natural gas are expected to last longer than oil, the depletion of natural gas is in some ways more problematic than oil.

While oil is shipped easily as a room temperature liquid by pipeline, or across the oceans by ship, natural gas, chilled and liquefied is hazardous to transport and, of course, pipelines can’t be built across the Atlantic or Pacific.

So, if your region isn’t connected by land, or short distance by water, to an abundant supply of natural gas, expect its cost to get very high as supplies run out.

Using natural gas more efficiently - reducing its consumption - would help relieve the strain on supplies, and that’s where fuel cells could come in.

Last week this publication noted that Nuvera Fuel Cells and Takagi Industrial would be building small cogenerating fuel cells. Now, IdaTech and partner RWE Fuel Cells have announced that they have been joined by heating equipment manufacturer Buderus Heiztechnik GmgH (Buderus) in a program to develop a commercial 5-kilowatt combined heat and power (cogenerating) fuel cell system.

The fuel cell cogenerator would take advantage of IdaTech’s modular fuel cell design that can be used to build fuel cells up to 50-kilowatt capacity.

Buderus has been part of the Bosch group since 2003. Bosch has plans to form a new company with Buderus to be known as BBT Thermotechnik GmbH. The company will have more than 10,000 employees and will be the largest heating products supplier in Europe.

Visit IdaTech at http://www.idatech.com/ , RWE at http://www.rwe.com/ (see RWE World, Fuel Cells) Buderus at http://www.buderus.com/ and http://www.buderus.net/ and Plug Power at http://www.plugpower.com/ .