Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Studies Effectiveness of New Fuel Cell Technology

Today when speaking about alternative energy sources, the images of solar panels and windmills often come to mind.  But in the future, you might envision a refrigerator-like box, about 5 feet 6 inches tall, replacing your air conditioner or heat pump. The machine houses fuel cells that draw hydrogen molecules out. Then, through an electrochemical process that combines the hydrogen molecules with oxygen, the unit generates up to 5Kw of electricity for use throughout an entire home.

“So there’s a lot of heat and energy that’s produced by the result of even running an air conditioner,” said Annie Haas, public information officer for energy research at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. “What a fuel cell can do is take that waste heat that is produced and turn it into electricity. It converts the waste heat from the heat and cooling system to power the building.”

This new energy source is quickly making a name of itself across the country, especially in the Pacific Northwest.

The Department of Energy awarded a $2.8 million grant to ClearEdge Power of Hillsboro, Ore., allowing the company to place 10 of the units. And PNNL will study the data for the next five years to determine the cost savings and benefits of the new technology.

ClearEdge is installing its combined heat and power fuel cell systems in commercial buildings, such as grocery stores, car dealerships, elementary schools and community colleges in California and Oregon, said Mike Upp, ClearEdge Power’s vice president of marketing.

According to Upp the average price for a unit ranges from $55,000 to $75,000 depending on the complexity of the installation.

“I think the first place you’ll see them is multi-unit housing,” Upp said. “I think you’ll see a lot of them in schools because schools of course are focused on alternative energy.”

Whitney G. Colella, a senior research engineer at PNNL, said it is more economical and environmentally friendly to install combined heat and power fuel cell systems in building with high electricity and heating demand throughout the day and throughout the seasons.

Each unit has a high-speed Internet data feed, allowing researchers at PNNL continuous access to analyze each the system’s performance. The project team will monitor the electrical power output, heat output, operating voltage, operating current, temperature of the water being sent to the building from the fuel cell system, temperature of the water entering the system, the water flow rate entering the system, the flow rate of the fuel into the system, and the time that the system is non-operational or operating below stated specifications.

“PNNL’s independent analysis of this data will help to quantify the reliability, longevity and long-term performance of these systems over time,” Colella said.

The federal portion of funding for this award was provided through DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy-Fuel Cell Technologies Program.

“The thing about fuel cells is they are available now, people are using them,” Haas said. “So at the end of the day if can look at the data and fuel cells are more energy efficient and cut carbon dioxide emissions it can be another option for commercial buildings.”

PNNL will provide its analysis in a report to DOE’s Fuel Cell Technologies Program.

“Really, my personal opinion, its about establishing a business case.” Haas said. “If you can save energy you can also save money out of the pocket. If we can help provide the data … not only does it have these awesome green benefits, but you are going to save some money too.”

by Veronica Sandate Craker
Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

http://www.tricitiesbusinessnews.com