FuelCell Energy, Inc. (NasdaqNM:FCEL) has announced an advanced 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.
By improving thermal management of electrochemical activity within the 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 integral to achieving FuelCell Energy’s $3,200-3,500/kilowatt (kW) cost target at the end of this calendar year for its DFC3000 power plant.
“We continue to realize results from our comprehensive cost reduction efforts,” said R. Daniel Brdar, FuelCell Energy President and CEO. “With additional technology-driven improvements we have under development, value engineering, supply chain development, and economies from volume production, we are positioned to meet the power needs of the broad market.”
“Today’s milestone demonstrates the ability of our people to execute our product development and cost reduction plans and is a major step in realizing the commercial potential of our products,” he said. “Our talented and dedicated engineers, technologists and manufacturing employees are concentrating on capturing the power — up to a 50 percent increase — that is inherent in our technology. Now that we’ve successfully captured the first 20 percent, we’re focused on achieving the balance in our ongoing product development plans.”
Delivering more power directly enhances the value of a DFC product to customers by reducing their cost per kilowatt hour (kWh).
Manufactured in FuelCell Energy’s commercial production facility, DFC power plants consist of one or multiple stacks, depending on system configuration and customer power requirements. All of the company’s products, unmatched in the industry for efficiency, use common cell components so the up-rated stacks increase power output across the product line. The DFC3000 power plant increases to 2.4 megawatts (MW) from 2 MW. Similarly, power output of the DFC1500MA rises to 1.2 MW and the DFC300MA to 300 kW.
Validation tests of the enhanced cell stack in a DFC power plant confirmed the increased output. 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.
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