FuelCell Energy,
Danbury CN: FuelCell Energy has announced that the U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR) has awarded the company an additional $2.5 million to complete a land-based demonstration of its ship service fuel cell (SSFC) power plant and begin design work on a next generation ship-based prototype.
The goal of this project is to improve the power generation efficiency on board ships also known as ship hotel power, by using high-efficiency fuel cell technology. To meet the Navy's ship board power requirements, FuelCell Energy is adapting its Direct FuelCell (DFC) power plants to run on naval liquid fuels (diesel and jet fuel).
These liquid fuels, while convenient for storage on board ships, need to be de-sulfurized before being used as fuel in the DFC plant. As a result, FuelCell Energy has developed a fuel processing system that seamlessly removes the sulfur and converts the liquids into methane gas, which can be used as a fuel in the power plant — providing secure, 24/7 firm reliable power.
This award funds a proof-of-concept land-based demonstration of a carbonate SSFC power plant that will operate at much greater efficiencies than the Navy's traditional power plants such as diesel generators.
In addition, DFC power plants offer the additional advantage of maintaining their high efficiencies at reduced operating outputs, unlike diesel generators which lose efficiency when operated at partial load. The next generation of ship service fuel cell power plants will feature modular architecture, expected to result in lower costs and increased compatibility with more types of Navy and cruise ships.
“Fuel Cell Energy has demonstrated the ability to process Navy logistics fuel and generate power from a fuel efficient fuel cell system. This is a significant step forward in placing fuel cells systems on Navy ships. We are pleased our work with FuelCell Energy is continuing based on this contract modification,” said Anthony D. Nickens, Program Officer at the ONR. “This is an important initiative aimed at significantly increasing the efficiency of electric power generation in future naval vessels.”
In addition to their high efficiency, DFC power plants are an ideal solution for generating hotel power on ships and on islands that generate electricity from diesel fuel because of their ultra-clean and quiet profile.
The power plants are among the cleanest, quietest forms of generation possible and by generating power without combustion, minimal levels of harmful pollutants are produced, such as nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides and particulates.
“By enabling our DFC power plants to run on Navy logistics fuel, we continue to expand our fuel flexibility and allow additional markets like marine applications and island locations to use their existing diesel infrastructure to realize the benefits of ultra-clean and reliable fuel cell power,” said Bruce Ludemann, Senior Vice President Sales and Marketing, FuelCell Energy.
FuelCell Energy has created an innovative means of extracting hydrogen from hydrocarbon fuels through its internal reforming process which provides the highest electrical efficiencies of any fuel cell system.
The SSFC with its advanced reformer expands this capability allowing the DFC to run seamlessly on Navy logistics fuel. The next generation SSFC will focus its advanced concept design work on making the reforming process scalable for easy storage and transportation on a ship.
The project is part of an ongoing ONR vision for developing and deploying a megawatt size ship service fuel cell power plant. The company completed conceptual design and supporting testing of critical components for the marine module which federal formed the basis of the demonstration power unit. The unit is scheduled to complete testing in Danbury and be delivered to Naval Sea Systems Command's Philadelphia Detachment for further on-site testing and validation.
