Planned Fuel Cell Activities

On May 7, 2003, the Dow Chemical Company and General Motors annoimced that they are teaming to test a fuel cell system at Dow s largest manufacturing facility in Freeport, Texas. The project should be completed in two years at a cost of about 50 million. The fuel cells will produce as much as 35 MW of power. A representative for General Motors stated that its participation in the project is to reduce the cost of fuel cells and improve their durability so that we may put them in cars by the end of the decade.  

Additionally, in the near future, SECO will execute its first fuel cell project, the Texas LPG Fuel Processor Development and Fuel Cell Demonstration Program. The SECO led program, which was funded imder a competitive U.S. Department of Energy grant process, is a partnership of private and public entities including the Alternative Fuels Research and Education Division of the Railroad Commission of Texas Plug Power, Inc. UOP/HyRadix, Des Plaines, Illinois Southwest Research Institute the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the Texas Department of Transportation.  

Dow Press Release. May 7, 2003 http //www.dow.eom/dow news/corporate/2003/20030507c.htm Fuel Cells. http //www.platinum.matthey.com/applications/fuelcells.html 

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Additional employment opportunities may emerge if fuel cell manufacturing facilities are established in Texas. At present, there are no such facilities in the state, nor are there any announced plans for building such facilities. On the other hand, there are indications that such facilities wiU probably be built in "early adopter" markets. In fact, a representative of one manufacturer indicated that his company would consider building a plant in Texas if installations reached 50 MW (megawatts) per year. It should be noted that hydrogen production at the Dow plant in Freeport (see Planned Fuel Cell Activities section) is a natural by-product of an existing production process. This "production" would take place even if Dow had no interest in fuel cells. 

The hydrogen strategy is to focus on distributed hydrogen related energy systems, network with international activities (EU, lEA, Nordic), and connect with fuel cell activities in Finland. Finland s fuel cell strategy is a bit more developed, with plans to focus on systems, fuel cell demonstrations and applications, build a close relationship with industry to create a national fuel cell group, and network with international fuel cell initiatives. 

FCE plans to demonstrate a molten carbonate fuel cell/turbine hybrid system in late 2000. The balance of plant equipment employed in the 250 kilowatt test at ERC s facility will be modified to accommodate a fuel cell and a gas turbine. The turbine is to be powered by waste heat from the fuel cell. The goal of the test is to demonstrate that the hybrid system will realize high efficiencies. This activity is a part of the U.S. DOE Office of Fossil Energy Vision 21 Program. 

Virtually all of the lEA countries indicate that research into hydrogen and fuel cells is an important - and in most cases an increasingly important - element of their overall public policy and program planning activities, either as a purposely designed and funded hydrogen and fuel program (HFC),... 

Although Greece has no specific national plan on hydrogen and fuel cells, the topics have recently been included in the Creek national research agenda of the Operational Plan of Competitiveness published by the General Secretariat of Research and Technology of the Ministry of Development. Past research activities in Greece on these two topics have been funded primarily by EC funds. 

The BMW Company (which encourages an image more sporty than that of the rival Mercedes cars of Daimler-Benz) is also active in fuel cell-driven cars. However, their plans involve the use of liquid hydrogen, providing a range of 1000 km. 

The Japanese government is especially active in promoting the use of small, 1 kW, stationary fuel cell systems. In 2005 The New Energy Foundation (NEF) announced a goal of installing 400 units with subsidies of up to 6 million yen per unit (60-75% of the total cost). In 2006 and 2007, the program plans to install 1000 and 5000 units, respectively, with NEF subsidies of up to 3 million yen in 2006 and 2 million yen in 2007. Costs were expected to fall below 1 million yen by the end of the 3-year program. Initially, seven Japanese corporations, mostly utUity companies, were slated to receive the subsidies with fuel cells provided by Ebara Ballard and Toshiba Fuel Cell Power Systems (Adamson 2005). 

DOE EERE Fuel Cells Technologies Program Multi-Year Research, Development and Demonstration Plan Planned Program Activities for 2005-2015. http /Avwwl.eereenergy. gov/hydrogenandfuelcells/mypp/. April 2009... 

The PEMFC system has seen such an important development in the last ten years that it would be impossible to describe in few lines the extent of its application. The transport area is surely the most challenging. After fluctuating periods, serious advances have been made on the cost and efficiency levels. Daimler is announcing a well-planned market entry for a fuel cell vehicle in 2014. US and Japanese developers are also ready. Already there are several buses fleet in many European, American and Asian cities. Light portable applications have their niche markets and numerous PEMFC units are already in use for residential applications, most particularly in Japan. In Canada, the first commercial benefits from PEMFC systems have been registered in the three last years. Moreover, the intense research activity on membranes and the opportunities offered by higher operating temperatures and relatively low humidity open an important field of development. 

US Department of Energy. Fuel cell. In DOE multi-year research, development and demonstration plan planned program activities for 2005-2015. Available on http //wwwl.eere.energy.gov/hydrogenandfuelcells/mypp/pdfs/fuel cells.pdf... 

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