Europe power plant fuel cells

The fuel eell is a nineteenth eentuiy invention in the twentieth eentury it heeame the heart of an eleetroehemical power plant and power souree, whieh is now in a stage of advaneed technology development. Its first and only applieation since the early 1960s, has been as an auxiliary power souree for spaee flights by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). During the past decade, development for terrestrial (eivihan and defense) applieations has led to its commercialization and research on utilization in a variety of applications. Programs in the United States, Japan, Europe, and some other eoimtries are focused on the development of fuel cell power plant/power sources for (1) base-load,... 

Nymoen, H., PAFC demonstration plants in Europe first results, Proceedings of the third Grove fuel cell symposium, London, 28.9. — 1.10. 1993, Journal of Power sources, Vol. 49, pp 63-77. 

Early expectations of very low emissions and relatively high efficiencies have been met in power plants with each type of fuel cell. Fuel flexibility has been demonstrated using natural gas, propane, landfill gas, anaerobic digester gas, military logistic fuels, and coal gas, greatly expanding market opportunities. Transportation markets worldwide have shown remarkable interest in fuel cells nearly every major vehicle manufacturer in the U.S., Europe, and the Far East is supporting development. 

United Kingdom ZeTek Power, an UK based company with plants in the US and Europe, is developing Alkaline fuel cells. They are putting AFCs in fleet vehicles and boats in Europe. AFCs are getting greater than 50% efficiency over most of the power curve (5-95%). Capital cost for the AFC stack is 300/kWe, and approximately 700 for the system. 

Among the dozens of demonstration plants, subsystems, test facilities, and other related hardware constructed or planned in the United States, Europe, and Japan in those years, three examples stand out. The first was the first megawatt-class fuel cell power plant the PC-19 phosphoric acid plant, built by United Technologies in South Windsor, Connecticut and tested during the first half of 1977. 

Two molten carbonate fuel cell demonstration plants have been started up in California (one in Santa Clara and one at the Miramar Naval Station, near San Diego). And developers of other technologies (e.g., solid oxide fuel cell power plants) are confidently talking about commercialization within a few years after 2000. In mid 1999, Siemens-Westinghouse was busy gearing up to build four 250-kW solid oxide fuel cell demonstration plants, two in Europe and two in the United States.7... 

Three SOFC power plants under way in Europe and US, guessing game about fourth 1 MW unit, Hydrogen Fuel Cell Letter, August 1999. 

As with the other fuel cell types, periods of pronounced ups and downs can be distinguished in R D for AFCs. Work in the United States, Europe, and a number of Asian countries evolved very vigorously after the 1960 demonstration of Bacon s battery and, more particularly, after the first flight of the Apollo spacecraft having the new power plant on board. 

The first demonstration-type buses having a fuel cell power plant were introduced toward the end of the twentieth eentury. In London, such buses started to operate in suburban eommuter transit soon after 2000. During 2001-2006, a program of the European Commission ealled Clean Urban Transport for Europe was run involving regular use of 27 fuel eell-powered buses in nine European cities. The success aehieved by this initiative led to the introduction of this type of bus transport in other eities of Europe, Asia, and North and South America. 

United Kingdom ZeTek Power, an UK based company with plants in the US and Europe, is developing alkaline fuel cells. They are putting AFCs in fleet vehicles and boats in Europe. 

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