Cummins trials solid oxide fuel cell technology
Cummins trials solid oxide fuel cell technology
07-AUG-2009
Stationary on-site power units based on solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC)technology and with a generation capacity of around 100 kW will becommercially available in 7–10 years, according to Xin Li, a TechnicalSpecialist with Cummins Power Generation. SOFC products for transportapplications ready for market much sooner.
The company's history with fuel cells dates back as far as the 1960sbut was renewed in late 2001, when the company began an associationwith the US Department of Energy's Solid State Energy ConversionAlliance (SECA) programme. Cummins elected to focus its research anddevelopment on SOFC technology due to its potential to be costeffective while operating cleanly and efficiently on existinghydrocarbon fuels – as well as hydrogen as it becomes more widelyavailable.
In 2007 Cummins Power Generation was one of six industry teams involvedin the DOE SECA programme to successfully complete the Phase One testsof the first SOFC prototypes. 'These units offered the potential to bemanufactured at costs approaching to conventional stationarypower-generation technology', said Xin Li. The resulting SOFC powersystem (developed with Versa Power) has the potential to directlyreplace its diesel powered generator sets in many applications and canprovide virtually silent power with significantly lower fuelconsumption and exhaust emission than existing generator sets.Additional benefits projected include higher reliability and lowermaintenance than today's systems, says Cummins.
The prototype unit tested for SECA produced 3 kW of electrical powerwhile operating on commercial pipeline natural gas and ran flawlesslyfor over 2000 hours at Cummins Power Generation's test facility inMinneapolis, Minnesota demonstrating an efficiency of over 37%.
Commenting on the advantages of the SOFC system Xin Li said: 'In thecase of CHP, in addition to the significant green credentials, thepossible financial savings to the consumer are considerable. Forexample, for home CHP applications the natural gas-powered SOFC systemcan deliver over 70% efficiency which, when converted to current homepipeline natural gas prices, represents half the cost of regular supplyelectricity.'
https://www.cospp.com/display_article/367499/122/ARTCL/none/NEWS/1/Cummins-trials-solid-oxide-fuel-cell-technology/