NEWS

6Fuel Cells Bulletin December 2013

cell technology at SOFC-XIII in Okinawa. Two technical papers (published in ECS Transactions, and available on the Ceres website) explained the performance advances demonstrated by its low-cost Steel Cell over the past year, particularly in relation to robustness, efficiency, and durability.

The papers support the internal test results that Ceres has achieved, which include increasing efficiency to >50% gross electrical efficiency (LHV) at the fuel cell module, with ongoing work to increase this further. In addition, accelerated testing of the Steel Cell technology shows robustness to thermal cycling and repeated emergency stops (redox) equivalent to twice the expected required design lifetime.

These findings corroborate the significant advantages of Ceres’ Steel Cell technology over traditional SOFC designs, to enable widespread commercial adoption in a broader range of applications, from residential systems to higher power applications.

Ceres Power, Horsham, West Sussex, UK. Tel: +44 1403 273463, www.cerespower.com

CFCL BlueGENs for Dutch Virtual Power Plant project, UK grid

Australian-based Ceramic Fuel Cells Ltd has sold 45 BlueGEN™ systems

for a large Virtual Power Plant (VPP) project in the Netherlands. CFCL is also partnering with National Grid in the UK to deliver 10 BlueGEN solid oxide fuel cell micro-CHP appliances for social housing projects.

The BlueGEN systems will be installed on the Dutch island of Ameland, in the largest VPP project in Europe. A substantial part of this project – with funding from the Dutch Wadden Fund – will install BlueGEN fuel cell micro-CHP appliances to generate electricity. Installations should begin in December, with all units installed by the end of March 2014.

Ameland aims to be CO2-neutral by 2020. The overall VPP project has a budget of nearly E1.8 million (US$2.4 million), and also involves the Municipality of Ameland, Republiq Power, Sustainable Ameland, local businesses and installers, and energy utilities Gasterra and Liander [FCB, May 2011, p4].

The VPP aims to measure the impact of fuel cell technology on Ameland’s power supply. It will also demonstrate that a local smart grid for power generation can be modulated up or down to meet peak loads, and balance intermittent power from wind or solar using fuel cells. It is envisaged that further fuel

cell micro-CHP units will be required to compensate for the varying energy output of the island’s 6 MW solar park.

Meanwhile in the UK, CFCL is partnering with National Grid Affordable Warmth Solutions to deliver 10 BlueGEN m-CHP systems for installation at social housing partners in the UK over the coming year. National Grid AWS will gift BlueGEN units to these partners in return for feed-in tariff payments, which will fund future projects to reduce social housing tenants’ fuel costs.

CFCL has been working for the past year with National Grid AWS. For a project at the Madeley Community Centre in north Staffordshire, the installed BlueGEN system has cut energy costs by £1212 in its first seven months, leading to savings for the centre and residents alike.

CFCL has also signed a deal with Synergy International in Estonia, to deliver 1000 BlueGEN systems over the next two years [see page 4].

Ceramic Fuel Cells Ltd, Noble Park, Victoria, Australia. Tel: +61 3 9554 2300, www.cfcl.com.au or www.bluegen.info

European Sales Office: Ceramic Fuel Cells BV, Heerlen, The Netherlands. Tel: +31 88 5445 070.

National Grid Affordable Warmth Solutions: www.affordablewarmthsolutions.org.uk

Bloom completes first international project, for SoftBank in Japan

California-based Bloom Energy has completed its first international

project, at a SoftBank facility in Japan. This is the first project to come out of the Bloom Energy Japan joint venture with Tokyo-based SoftBank Group, and will deploy a 200 kW solid oxide fuel cell Bloom Energy Server™ at SoftBank’s M-Tower facility in Fukuoka City, on the southern island of Kyushu.

Bloom Energy and telecom/internet company SoftBank established their joint venture in the summer [FCB, August 2013, p4]. Bloom Energy Japan was created to provide a reliable electricity alternative that is safe, clean, affordable, compact, and provides electricity 24/7 using highly efficient SOFC technology. It represents a new path for power generation in Japan, to address the country’s urgent need for clean, reliable, and affordable electricity as it transitions away from nuclear power.

Bloom Energy has installed its 100 and 200 kW SOFC Energy Servers for various blue-chip clients in its home market in the US, but the Japanese joint venture marks a major international expansion. The flexible, modular Bloom Energy Server – launched in the US in early 2010 [FCB, March 2010, p1] – can run on natural gas and biogas, and provides excellent efficiency.

Bloom has also recently installed power plants for two new food industry customers in California – at the Kellogg Company’s Eggo® waffle bakery in San Jose, and a 200 kW installation for the Ramar Foods manufacturing and packaging facility in Pittsburg.

Bloom Energy has more than 100 MW of its Energy Servers installed in the US, including 10 MW of power plants at Apple’s new data centre in Maiden, North Carolina [FCB, January 2013, p5] and 6 MW at an eBay data centre in Utah [FCB, October 2013, p3], and 17.1 MW total installed capacity for AT&T at sites in California and Connecticut [FCB, November 2012, p6]. The company recently inaugurated its new manufacturing centre in Newark, Delaware, with financial services giant JPMorgan Chase its newest commercial customer [FCB, November 2013, p6].

Bloom Energy Corporation, Sunnyvale, California, USA. Tel: +1 408 543 1500, www.bloomenergy.com

Bloom Energy Japan: www.bloomenergy.co.jp (in Japanese)

SoftBank Corporation: www.softbank.jp/en

Kellogg Company: www.kelloggcompany.com

Ramar Foods: www.ramarfoods.com

Omaha bank’s energy solution with PureCell from ClearEdge Power

First National Bank of Omaha has purchased a PureCell® Model 400

fuel cell system for its First National Technology Center in Omaha, Nebraska from California-based ClearEdge Power. The bank was the first data centre in the world to generate power using fuel cells when it installed four 200 kW power plants – precursors to the newly ordered ClearEdge system – in 1999 [FCB, July 1999, p2].

The new phosphoric acid fuel cell power plant, installed in the main floor, provides 400 kW of clean, efficient heat and power to the building. The installation of a new PureCell Model 400 system means that First National Bank of Omaha continues to benefit from the

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