Stationary applications

The range of power in stationary applications extends from a few kW to a MW. 

The supply of technical pylons, such as mobile network anteimas, parabolas, etc. in isolated locations (not coimected to the grid) and/or difficult to access, poses a problem of autonomy and maintainabihty. Fuel cells, either PEMFCs or SOFCs, could provide more satisfactory solutiorts than accrrmrtlator batteries. In this context, the project PEPITE, firranced by the ANR, examined a prototype combining photovoltaic panels, an electrolyzer, hydrogen and oxygen tanks and a fuel cell [DAR 10a DAR 10b MYR]. 

Co-generation applications can also be envisaged from the point of view of electricity production alone if we combine high-temperature batteries with thermal machines, such as microtuibines, Stirhng engines, etc. The heat is then valorized and turned into electricity [GAY 12]. 

Fuel cells are being developed for stationary use at either the small residential or commercial level or at the larger commercial level to provide a power source as well as supply backup electricity. In addition, much of this development uses excess heat from electricity production in combined heat and power (CHP) fuel ceU systems. These stationary applications are being tested in real-world applications in hopes of marketing them in the near future. 

While there are multiple options for fuel cell types, the only two types actively being pursued are the proton exchange membrane and 

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). 

ReliOn of the United States is one of the first fuel cell companies to commercialize its product. The I-IOOO is a IkW backup PEM fuel cell power system that runs on compressed hydrogen. ReliOn currently has more than 550 kW of its technology installed globally. Their hot-swappable Modular Cartridge Technology allows for increased reliability, ease of maintenance, and most importantly, scalability, which increases commercial potential (ReliOn 2006). 

Ballard, a company known for developing fuel cells for vehicles, also is developing small stationary fuel cell systems for backup power generation as well as CHP. The AirGen is the world s first portable backup power generator specifically designed for indoor use. The 1 kW unit can provide power for up to 15 h off of one compressed hydrogen 

---

The PAFC is, however, suitable for stationary power generation, but faces several direct fuel cell competitors. One is the molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC), which operates at "650°C and uses an electrolyte made from molten potassium and lithium carbonate salts. Fligh-teinperature operation is ideal for stationary applications because the waste heat can enable co-generation it also allows fossil fuels to be reformed directly within the cells, and this reduces system size and complexity. Systems providing up to 2 MW have been demonstrated. 

This trade-off may not even occur in some cases. Membranes used in the PEMFC have been developed for the chlor-alkali industry and have 40,000-hour durability (shutdowns are prohibitively expensive in stationary applications), require only 5,000-hour durability (corresponding Co 100,000 miles) for automotive applications. Hence, it maybe possible to develop less expensive membranes that still meet automotive requirements. 

Prater, K. B. (1996). Solid Polymer Fuel Cells for Transport and Stationary Applications. Journal ot Power Sources 61 105-109. 

Recently the development of Na/S batteries for car applications has been abandoned only Na/S batteries for stationary applications (load leveling) are still under development in Japan. Among the high-temperature batteries, the ZEBRA battery is the only system at present which is being commercialized for car applications. 

While the PEM fuel cells appear to be suitable for mobile applications, SOFC technology appears more applicable for stationary applications. The high operating temperature gives it flexibility towards the type of fuel used, which enables, for example, the use of methane. The heat thus generated can be used to produce additional electricity. Consequently, the efficiency of the SOFC is -60 %, compared with 45 % for PEMFC under optimal conditions. 

Analysis and modelling of the dynamic behaviour of the catalyst is useful to closely describe the performance during start up, shut down and load variation of stationary applications, and of critical relevance for SCR-NH3 of mobile diesel engine emissions. Use of dynamic models for exhaust transients has not been extensively reported in the literature for the design of improved catalysts, although it is a very valuable method. On the contrary, as will be discussed later, use of this tool to derive mechanistic implications is much less convincing. 

Low-temperature activity promotion is an issue in mobile (diesel) applications, but may not be a critical issue in several stationary applications, apart from those where the temperature of the emissions to be treated is below 200°C (for example, when a retrofitting SCR process must be located downstream from secondary exchangers, or in the tail gas of expanders in a nitric acid plant). In the latter cases, a plasmacatalytic process [91] could be interesting. In the other cases, the use of NTP together with the SCR catalyst is not economically viable. However, the synergetic combination of plasma and catalysts has been shown to significantly promote the conversion of hazardous chemicals such as dioxins [92], Although this field has not yet been explored, it may be considered as a new plasmacatalytic SCR process for the combined elimination of NO, CO and dioxins in the emissions from incinerators. 

Forzatti, P. (2000) Environmental catalysis for stationary applications, Catal. Today 62, 51. 

In contrast, a catalytic reaction pair of tetralin dehydrogenation/naphthalene hydrogenation (Equation 13.3) is another choice for stationary applications. Although the storage densities of tetralin are relatively low (3.0 wt%, 28.2 kg-H2/m3), rates of absorbing and desorbing hydrogen... 

Dehydrogenation activities, compared for tetralin and decalin [5,12] under the same superheated liquid-film conditions over the same Pt/C catalyst, exhibited around 3.9-63 times preference of tetralin (Table 13.3), which can certainly be ascribed to advantageous adsorption due to the a-bonding capability of its aromatic part [17-19]. It was, thus, confirmed experimentally that tetralin is superior to decalin as the organic hydrogen carrier for stationary applications in terms of rapid hydrogen supply or power density, provided that the density of fuel storage is unimportant. 

As the volatilisation flux strongly depends on the absolute contaminant mass, the volatilisation mass flux divided by the total amount of DDT in the first level of the ocean model is examined instead. This parameter is called volatilisation rate. It reflects the proportion of the mass abundant in the oceanic surface layer that was volatilised within one model time step. It depends upon how much of the DDT is dissolved in water and upon wind speed and sea surface temperature. The volatilisation on the other hand would mainly mirror the deposition and emission pattern, because those are supersposed onto the volatilisation defining patterns and dominating because of the stationary application in the scenario. 

The modular design of the HyPM fuel cells allows scaling for higher power requirements using a variety of configurations, such as series and parallel systems. Potential applications for the technology include vehicle propulsion, auxiliary power units (APU), stationary applications including backup and standby power units, combined heat and power units and portable power applications for the construction industry and the military. 

The Shell studies imply that fuel cell sales will start with stationary applications to businesses that are willing to pay a premium to ensure highly reliable power without utility voltage fluctuations or outages. This demand helps to push fuel cell system costs below 500 per kW, providing the era of transportation which drives costs to 50 per kilowatt. But, can the high-reliability power market really drive transportation fuel cell demand and cost reductions, especially for proton- exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells ... 

In contrast to the operation of vehicles, electricity and heat for stationary applications can be generated by the combustion of solid biomass without upstream biomass conversion to pure hydrogen (or methanol, BTL or DME). The efficiency of the direct use of solid biomass is generally higher. The overall efficiency of a solid-biomass-fuelled heat and power (CHP) plant is typically about 70% to 80% direct combustion of solid biomass (e.g., wood chips, wood pellets) in suitable boilers for heat generation only can reach an efficiency of more than 90%. 

Today s rapidly increasing activities on hydrogen focus mostly on vehicle applications and less on stationary applications. For fuel cells, stationary applications are also relevant, but natural gas will be the dominant fuel here. The dominance of the transport sector is also reflected in the hydrogen roadmaps developed, among others, in the EU, the USA, Japan, or at an international level. Whereas in the beginning, onsite or decentralised production options based on fossil fuels or electricity are seen as the major option for hydrogen production, later on central production options will dominate the market. Here, several options could play a role, from coal, with carbon capture and sequestration, through natural gas and renewables (wind, biomass) to nuclear. A C02-free or lean vision can be identified in every roadmap. The cost... 

Hydrogen storage in stationary applications and fuel stations... 

Achieving a high gravimetric storage capacity is one of the greatest challenges in automotive and mobile applications. However, for stationary applications, the... 

In stationary applications, the cost targets for fuel cells, at approximately 3000/kW, are not as stringent as in fuel-cell cars. For instance, the costs of MCFCs and SOFCs are currently in the range of 8500- 20 000/kW. The start-up time and the load... 

It is clear that a broad mass market is not expected until after 2010 (Gummert and Suttor, 2006). But there are already a number of pilot and demonstration systems installed worldwide. It is very difficult to obtain a complete overview of installations because, on the one hand, the data are published by different players, such as utilities, manufacturers or users for their own fuel cells and, on the other hand, if an installation does not work, no data are published or sometimes the system is shut down. Nevertheless, Fuel Cells 2000 have set up a fuel cell database for stationary applications. Most entries are from the USA, but it should be pointed out that Japan installed 480 stationary plants in 2005 alone (Fuel Cell Development Information Centre, personal communication, 2006). 

So the greatest challenges are in the mobile sector, but the pressure to act is much greater here as well, owing to oil scarcity, pollutants from vehicles, noise nuisance, etc. Compared with stationary applications, the alternative technologies in the mobile sector are also much poorer. This is why fuel-cell vehicles remain a possibility, despite the enormous sectoral changes that accompany this alternative. The question is when will they achieve market penetration One of the main obstacles that will have to be overcome is the attendant position of both the automobile industry and the infrastructure industry concerning the investment. Which one is prepared to... 

The following section presents the major outcomes of the HyWays project, whose overarching aim was to develop a validated European hydrogen roadmap and an action plan for introducing hydrogen in transport as well as stationary applications, and to demonstrate how hydrogen can contribute to sustainability. HyWays... 

---