DANBURY, CONN.—FuelCell Energy Inc., a global leader in the development and manufacture of high temperature hydrogen fuel cells for clean electric power generation, announces an advanced fuel cell stack design that boosts the power output of its Direct FuelCell (DFC) power plants by 20 percent. The company is incorporating the enhancement across its entire line of power plants. This enhancement reflects the commitment of FuelCell Energy to provide its customers with ultra-clean and reliable distributed power—efficiently and economically.
By improving thermal management of electrochemical activity within the fuel cell stack, the company has increased the power output from each cell, and can produce more electricity from the same basic power plant components. The 20 percent increase in electric power output, combined with the company’s progress in its value engineering and ongoing cost-reduction programs, are key components in the company’s plans to reduce the cost per kilowatt hour for their DFC power plants, which will ultimately lead to higher cost savings for their customers.
Manufactured in FuelCell Energy’s commercial production facility in Torrington, Conn., DFC power plants consist of one or multiple stacks, depending on system configuration and customer power requirements. All of the company’s DFC systems use common cell components. As a result, the fuel cell output improvements increase power output across the entire product line. The DFC3000 power plant increases to 2.4 megawatts (MW) from 2 MW. Similarly, power output of the DFC1500MA rises from 1 MW to 1.2 MW and the DFC300MA from 250 kW to 300 kW.
Validation tests of the enhanced cell stack in a DFC power plant confirmed the increased output, and the company has begun incorporating the enhanced design in its production line. DFC products operating at the increased power output will be available for shipping as early as the second calendar quarter of 2007, and the company is now accepting customer orders for these products.
“By optimizing our existing product lines we are able to give customers greater control over their energy costs,” says Tony Leo, Vice President of Application and OEM Engineering for FuelCell Energy. “And in the process, we are learning how to more easily optimize future product lines, ensuring that technology developed by FuelCell Energy is at the forefront of the industry.”
Go to FuelCell Energy.
