FuelCell Energy, Inc. (NasdaqNM:FCEL) is developing a cost-efficient system to separate pure hydrogen from a gas mixture that then can be sold as fuel for hydrogen vehicles or industrial uses. The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has awarded FuelCell Energy $1.36 Million to advance this Electrochemical Hydrogen Separator (EHS) project for use with the company’s Direct FuelCell (DFC) power plants.
According to the company, unlike other means of separating hydrogen which rely on compression, FuelCell Energy’s proprietary EHS technology has no moving parts. As a result, it is anticipated to be significantly more reliable and efficient than conventional methods. EHS is expected to save up to one-half of the energy required when compared to conventional compression based-methods of hydrogen separation.
A subscale prototype EHS unit developed by FuelCell Energy is currently operating at the University of Connecticut Global Fuel Cell Center. This test was made possible through a $600,000 grant provided by the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund under its operational demonstration program. The subscale EHS system currently produces 1200 liters per hour of pure hydrogen. With the DoD award, the unit will be scaled up by a factor of 25 and will operate in conjunction with a sub-megawatt DFC power plant in Danbury for testing.
“This contract award combines our expertise in ultra-clean and high efficiency power generation from our DFC products with the strength of our electrochemical separation technology,” said Christopher R. Bentley, Executive Vice President, Government Research and Development Operations for FuelCell Energy. “This product has the potential to support the market demand for fuel cell automobiles as well as onsite hydrogen supply for industrial applications.”
Loading...