EnBW and Siemens plan first ever megawatt-class fuel-cell power plant with sights set on up to 70 percent efficiency
- From: "lkgeo1" <lkgeo1@xxxxxxx>
- Date: 12 Sep 2006 09:11:52 -0700
EnBW and Siemens plan first ever megawatt-class fuel-cell power plant
with sights set on up to 70 percent efficiency
Publication Date:12-September-2006
11:00 AM US Eastern Timezone
Source:FuelCellWorks
EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG and Siemens Power Generation (PG)
are joining forces to build a highly-efficient fuel cell hybrid power
plant. Plans call for the construction of a megawatt-class
demonstration plant. The goal of this re-search project is to convert
up to 70% of the fuel energy into electricity. The nec-essary
groundwork is scheduled to be completed by 2008. This will provide the
basis for construction of an initial, small pilot plant, to be followed
beginning in 2012 by the planned fuel cell hybrid plant with an
installed capacity of one mega-watt. The efficiency of the hybrid
process is significantly greater than that of modern gas- and
steam-turbine power plants that reach an efficiency of approximately 60
percent. This high efficiency is to be achieved by combining a
high-temperature fuel cell with a gas turbine in the planned hybrid
plant in order to make more efficient use of the fuel and minimize
emissions.
The project is scheduled to run for an extended period, and involves
intensive back-ground research to optimize operation of stationary fuel
cells in conjunction with gas turbines making hybrid SOFC's a viable
alternative for commercial plants. After successful completion of the
project, this hybrid technology will become available roughly a decade
sooner than expected by experts today.
On the way toward realization of the first megawatt demonstration plant
using hybrid technology, Siemens will initially supply a
high-temperature SOFC fuel cell with a ca-pacity of five kilowatts.
"We look forward to laying the groundwork for broad application of
hybrid fuel cell technology in distributed and centralized power
generation in a long-term", said Norbert König, member of the group
executive management of the Siemens Power Generation Group. The DLR
institute will operate and analyze the SOFC.
"We are pleased to have found in Siemens a competent partner for this
maximum-efficiency future technology," said Dr. Thomas Hartkopf, EnBW
Vice President in Charge of Engineering. "This technology will bring
us a big step forward in our effort to extract more electricity from
less and less fuel, and to bring emissions down to lower and lower
levels." Since 2001 EnBW has operated a state-wide program to provide
funding for a wide variety of fuel cells. These fuel cells are being
used directly by cus-tomers and partners in real-world power
applications, which has allowed EnBW to draw corresponding technical
experience from the operation of more than 20 plants. Initial
experience with biogas-powered fuel cells has also been gained since
2006.
During the initial phase of the project, which is scheduled to run for
three years, the in-dividual components will serve as the basis for
development of an operating concept and a corresponding simulation
model. The associated control concept will be devel-oped by the
Institute for Aviation Engineering. The test components themselves will
be coupled together in the next phase of the project starting in 2009,
and the configuration will be optimized beginning in 2012.
To serve the aim of this project a special research working group was
established at the University of Stuttgart. With the continued support
of the Helmholz Association of Ger-man Research Centers it bundles the
resources of the German Aerospace Center in Stuttgart and the
University of Stuttgart. Spokesman of the research group is Prof.
Aigner of the Institute for Combustion Engineering of the DLR which
will make available the gas microturbine and laboratory facilities
operated by the institute.
In solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC), an electrochemical reaction converts
fuel energy di-rectly and very efficiently into electricity and heat.
In a hybrid power plant, the hot ex-haust gases exiting the fuel cell
are fed into the gas turbine, thereby reducing or totally eliminating
the fuel consumption of the turbine. The gas turbine makes it possible
to operate the fuel cell at increased gas pressure, which makes it more
efficient.
The "Stationary Fuel Cells" division of Siemens PG located in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the U.S. is a world leader in the field of
solid oxide fuel cells.
.
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