ML050480083
| ML050480083 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Millstone  |
| Issue date: | 08/03/2004 |
| From: | US Dept of Energy (DOE) |
| To: | Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| References | |
| Download: ML050480083 (6) | |
Text
DOE - Fossil Energy: DOE's Fuel Cell R&D Program Page 1 of2 V
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'So we're creating the National Climate Change Technology Inltlative.to fund demonstration projects for cutting-edge technologies, such as fuel cells.
President George W. Bush June 11. 2001 More Database of F Projects 3 National Ener Laboratory W MORE INFO W Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cells W Molten Carbonate Fuel Cells Fuel cells are an energy user's dream: an efficient, combustion4ess.
virtually pollution-free power source, capable of being sited In downtown urban areas or in remote regions. that runs almost silently, and has few moving parts.
X Solid OxIde Fuel Cells Using an electrochemical process discovered more than 150 years ago, W
Solid State Energy fuel cells began supplying electric power for spacecraft In the 1960s.
Conversion Alliance Today they are being used in more down-to-earth applications: to provide on-site power for banks. police stations. and office buildings. In the near future, fuel cells could be propelling automobiles and asowing homeowners to generate electricity In their basements or backyards.
Program Contz Samuel Bionc Office of Fost (FE-22)
U.S Dept.of DC, Washingt 301-903-591c
,I Mark William!
National Ener Laboratory PO Box 880 U.S. Dept. of VW. Morganti 304-285-4741 IM 1111111 Go to DOE Home Page Fuel cells operate much like a battery, turning oxygen and hydrogen into electricity In the presence of an electrically conductive material called an electrolyte.
Unlike a battery, however, fuel cells never lose their charge. As long as there Is a constant source of fuel -
usually natural gas for the hydrogen and air for the oxygen -fuel cells will generate electricity.
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CP&Afflr DOE's Stationary Power Fuel Cell Program The U.S. Department of Energys Office of Fossil Energy 2
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I Is partnering with several fuel cell developers to develop the technology for the stationary power generation sector v
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- that Is, for power units that can be connected Into the electricity grid primarily as distributed generation units.
Water Heat Industry participation is extensive, with more than 40 percent of the program funded by the private sector. If CO2 the joint government-Industry fuel cell program Is successful, the world's power Industry will have a revolutionary new option for generating electricity with efficiencies, reliabilities, and environmental performance unmatched by conventional electricity generating approaches.
For most of the 1970s and early 1980s. the federal program included development of the phosphoric acid fuel cell system, considered the 'first generation of modem-day fuel cell technologies. Largely because of the federal program. United Technologies Corporation and is subsidiaries manufactured and sold phosphoric acid fuel cells around the worid.
In the late 1980s, the department shifted Its emphasis to advanced generations of fuel cell technologies.
specifically the molten carbonate and solid oxide fuel cell systems. The goal Is to ready these technologies for Initial commercial entry by 2003. Federal funding for these technologies Is concluding, and private commercial manufacturing facilities have been and continue to be built. Commercial entry Is expected In the near future.
White the Initial generations of fuel cells Win continue to develop the market and spur Interest In fuel cell technologies, the focus of the Department of Energy's fuel cell program is now to develop a much lower cost fuel cell - the target Is $400 per kilowatt -that can significantly widen market acceptance of future fuel cells (see below).
Fuel Cell Benefits Fuel cells are one of the cleanest and most efficient technologies for generating electricity. Since there Is no combustion, there are none of the pollutants commonly produced by boilers and furnaces. For systems designed to consume hydrogen directly, the only products are electricity, water and heat.
http://www.fossilkenergy.gov/programs/powersystems/fuelcells/index.htmI
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DbE - Fossil Energy: DOE's Fuel Cell R&D Program Page 2 of 2 When natural gas or other hydrocarbons are used, fuel cells produce some carbon dioxide, though much less than would be created If the fuel was burned. Advanced fuel cells using natural gas, for example, could potentially reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 60% compared to a conventional coal plant and by 25%
compared to today's natural gas plants. Moreover, the carbon dioxide is emitted In concentrated form which makes its capture and sequestration much easier.
Fuel cells are so clean that. In the United States, 20 states have financial Incentives. In fact, the South Coast Air Quality Management District In southern California and regulatory authorities in Massachusetts and Connecticut have exempted fuel cells from air quality permitting requirements. Some 14 states have portfolio standards or set asides for fuel cells and there are major fuel cell programs In New York (NYSERDA). Connecticut (Connecticut Clean Energy Fund), Ohio (Ohio Development Department), and California (California Energy Commission.) In addition, some states have favorable policies which Improve the economics of fuel cell projects. For example, some 36 states have net metering, and 14 states have net metering for fuel cells.
Fuel cells are also Inherently flexible. Uke batteries In a flashlight, the cells In fuel cells can be stacked to produce voltage levels that match specific power needs, from a few watts for certain appliances to multiple megawatt power stations that can light a community, Cost - the Major Hurdle So why aren't fuel cells being Installed everywhere there is a need for more power?
The primary reason is cost. Fuel cells developed for the space program in the 1960s and 1970s were extremely expensive and Impractical for terrestrial power applications. During the past three decades. significant efforts have been made to develop more practical and affordable designs for stationary power applications. But progress has been slow. Today, the most widely marketed fuel cells cost about $4,500 per kilowatt; by contrast, a diesel generator costs $800 to 51.500 per kilowatt, and a natural gas turbine can be even less.
Recent technological advances, however, have significantly Improved the economic outlook for fuel cells.
The U.S. Department of Energy has launched a major Initiative - the Solid State Energy Conversion Alliance (www.seca.doe.gov) - to bring about dramatic reductions In fuel cell costs. The goal Is to cut costs to as low as
$400 per kilowatt by the end of this decade, which would make fuel cells competitive for virtually every type of power application. The Initiative signifies the Department's objective of developing a modular, all-solid-state fuel cell that could be mass-produced for different uses much the way electronic components are manufactured and sold today.
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PageOwner. office orcommcncations Page updated or: August 02.2004 Employee Directory I Conlact Us I Privacy Notice I FOIA I Site Map http://%vwvw.fossil.energy.gov/programs/powersystems/fuelcells/index.htmI
//20 8/3/2004
DOE - Fossil Energy: Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell Technology Page 1 of2 HOME LABS & FACILITIES ABOUT US NEWS/EVENTS
> Coal & Natural Gas Power Home > Coal & Natural Gas Power Systems > Fuel Cell R&D > Maoten Caroonate Fuel Celts Systems Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell Technology
> Carbon Sequestration
~ yrgn&OhrCen Molten carbonate fuel cells ame designed to operate at
>Hydrogen & Other Clean higher temperatures than phosphoric add or proton Fuels exchange membrane fuel cells and can achieve higher fuel-to-electricity and overall energy use efficiencies than t*.
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In a molten carbonate fuel cell, the electrolyte Is made up
> Natural Gas Regulation of lithium-potasslum carbonate salts heated to about 1,200 degrees F (650 degrees C). At these temperatures, the
> Electricity RegulatIon salts melt Into a molten state that can conduct charged particles, called Ions, between two porous electrodes.
> Petroleum Reserves SEARCH A&.ncad 5si rar New Fuel Cel Continue Prod Ernissions En More Database of F Projects National Ener Laboratory W Go to DOE Home Page Molten carbonate fuel cells eliminate the external fuel processors that other fuel cells need to extract hydrogen from the fuel. When natural gas is the fuel, methane (the main ingredient of natural gas) and steam are converted Into a hydrogen-rich gas inside the fuel cell stack (a process called -internal reforming). At the anode. i hydrogen reacts with the carbonate Ions (C03) to produce water, carbon dioxide, and electrons. The electrons travel through an external circuit - creating eledricity - and return to the cathode. There, oxygen from the air and A moltc1 carbonate luel Cell Sta is lsserMned In ts carbon dioxide recycled from the anode react with the housng pncr to shipment.
electrons to form C03 Ions that replenish the electrolyte and transfer current through the fuel cell, completing the circuit.
Molten carbonate fuel cells can reach fuel-to-eledrtclty efficiencies approaching 60%, considerably higher than the 37-42% efficiencies of a phosphoric add fuel cell plant. When the waste heat is captured and used, overall thermal effidendes can be as high as 85%.
Improved efficiencies are one reason why molten carbonate fuel cells offer significant cost reductions over phosphoric add technology. Another is that the electrodes of a molten carbonate fuel call can be made of nickel catalysts rather than the more costly platinum of phosphoric add systems. The elimination of the external fuel reformer also contributes to lower costs.
Molten carbonate fuel cell development can be traced back to the late 1950s when Dutch scientists G.H.J.
Broers and J.AA. Ketelaar began experimenting with laboratory-scale fuel cells using electrolytes of fused (molten) carbonate salts. In the 1960s, engineer Francis T. Bacon - a direct descendent of the 17th century literary giant - began working on a 'free molten" electrolyte fuel cell. In the mid-1 960s3 the U.S. Army tested several small molten carbonate fuel cells -100 watts to 1,000 watts - made by Texas Instruments that were designed to run on 'combat gasoline' using an external reformer.
The U.S. Department of Energy began Ks cooperative molten carbonate fuel cell research program with Industry In the 1970s, focusing on scaling up the concept to utility-size stationary power units. By 2003, FuelCell Energy, a molten carbonate developer, had progressed to the threshold of commercializing Its technology, and the Energy Department began concluding Its R&D program on molten carbonate fuel cell technology.
FuelCell Energy has signed agreements to build and site nearly a dozen molten carbonate fuel cell systems in the United States. Asia. and Japan. These Include:
Y Renton, Washington, where a 1-megawatt power plant will be located at the King County wastewater treatment facility and fueled by wastewater digester gas. Scheduled to begin operations In the fall of 2002. the project Is co-funded by a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Y Los Angeles. California, where the city's Department of Water and Power has ordered three 250-kilowatt plants, the first of which was shipped to the utility's downtown headquarters In July. 2001.
Y Cadiz. Ohio, where Northwest Fuel Development Inc.. based on Lake Oswego. Oregon, will operate a 250-kilowatt fuel cell on coal-mine methane gas from the Harrison Mining Corporation and supply electricity back to the mining operation.
One of the first key tests of a coal gas-fueled molten carbonate fuel cell could take place in the Energy Department's Clean Coal Technology Program. FuelCell Energy Inc. will supply a 2-megawatt Direct Fue]CeIrTM power plant to Kentucky Pioneer Energy L.L.C., a subsidiary of Global Energy Inc., which plans to construct a $432 million, 400-megawatt coal gasification power plant In Clark County. Kentucky. The fuel cell portion, estimated at S34 million, will be 50 percent funded by the Energy Department.
http:/tw vwv.fossil.energy.gov/programs/powersystems/fuelcells/fuelcellsmoltencarb.html 8/3/2004
'DOE - Fossil Energy: Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell Technology Page 2 of 2 Meeting Fuel Cell and Distributed Generation Standards The molten carbonate fuel cell Is the latest of eight distributed generation technologies to receive approval under California's Rule 21 since it became effective In 2001. Rule 21 aims to significantly reduce the time, cost, and complexity of utility approval with prescriptive requirements jointly developed and accepted by the state's utilities. This Rule 21 standard could serve as a model for utilities and utility commissions In other states seeking to streamline their distributed generation application process.
In May 2003. FuelCell Energy announced that its Direct FuelCellS (DFC) power plant is now state-cerlified to meet the Califomia Air Resources Board's (CARB) stringent new distributed generation emissions standards for 2007. By meeting this standard, the Company's sub megawatt DFC power plant Is categorized as an 'ultra-dean' technology, exempting it from air pollution control or air quality district permitting requirements by CARB.
In addition, this certification qualifies the Company's products for preferential rate treatment by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) such as the elimination of 'exit fees' and 'standby charges' for customer electric generation.
In May 2003. the company's DFC300A power plant was certified to meet the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) products safety standard for stationary fuel cell systems. ANSIZ21.83. Collectively, these three certifications will reduce the time and cost for Installation of Fuel Cell Energy's DFC power plants and enhance the products' acceptance throughout the United States.
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'DOE - Fossil Energy: Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Technology Page 1 of2 s
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> Natural Gas Regulation Electricity Regulation Petroleum Reserves Home > Coal & Natural Gas Power Systems
- Fuel Cell R&D > Solid Oxide Fuel Cells Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Technology Solid oxide fuel cells differ In many respects from other fuel cell technologies. First, they are composed of all-solid-state materials
- the anode, cathode and electrolyte are an made from ceramic substances. Second, because of the all-ceramic make-up, the cells can operate at temperatures as high as 1800 degrees F (1000 degrees C). significantly hotterthan any other major category of fuel cell.
This produces exhaust gases at temperatures Ideal for cogeneration applications for use In combined-cyde electric power plants. Third, the cells can be configured either as rolled tubes or as flat plates and manufactured using many of the techniques now employed today by the electronics Industry.
advanced Searm E New Fuel Cel Continue Prox Emissions En More f
Database of F Projects National Ener Laboratory W Program ContE Samuel Bionc Office of Foss (FE-22)
U.S Dept. of DC, Washingi 301-903-591C Mark Williamr National Ener Laboratory PO Box 880 U.S Dept. of WV. Morgantc 304-285-4741 pressure coitwted heat and power fuel cell vSstem Although a variety of oxide combinations have been used for solid oxide electrolytes, the most common to date has been a mixture of zirconium oxide and calcium oxide. Formed as a crystal lattice, the hard ceramic electrolyte Is coated on both sides with specialized porous electrode materials.
At the high operating temperatures, oxygen Ions are formed at the 'air electrode' (the cathode). When a fuel gas containing hydrogen Is passed over the fuel electrode (the anode), the oxygen Ions migrate through the crystal lattice to oxidize the fuel. Electrons generated at the anode move out through an external circuit, creating electricity. Reforming natural gas or other hydrocarbon fuels to extract the necessary hydrogen can be accomplished within the fuel cell, eliminating the need for an external reformer.
The fuel-to-electricity efficiencies of solid oxide fuel cells are expected to be around 50 percent. If the hot exhaust of the cells Is used In a hybrid combination with gas turbines, the electrical generating efficiency is likely to approach 60%. In applications designed to capture and utilize the system's waste heat, overall fuel use efficiencies could top 80-85%.
Go to DOE Home Page The technical roots of solid oxide technology extend as far back as the late 1930s when Swiss scientist Emil Bauer and his colleague H. Preis experimented with zirconium, yttrium, cerium, lanthanum. and tungsten as electrolytes - although the earty research showed little success. By the late 1950s, small-scale research Into solid oxide fuel cells was being carred out by researchers In the Netherlands and by Consolidation Coal Company in Pennsylvania and General Electric In New York. Much of the research, however, was short-lived as melting. short-circuiting, and high electrical resistance Inside the cell materials created numerous technical hurdles.
One company, Westinghouse Electric Corporation, however, continued to study solid oxide fuel cells. and In 1962. one of the first federal research contracts by the then newly-formed Office of Coal Research in the Department of the Interior was granted to Westinghouse to study a fuel cell using zirconium oxide and calcium oxide.
Today Westinghouse - now Siemens Westinghouse Power Corporation - is In the final stages of a joint government-industry development effort to produce a tubular configuration of a solid oxide fuel cell. Multiple ceramic layers are bonded together as a tube. Multiple tubes link to form bundles: bundles link to form sub-modules for small power systems; and submodules rink to form a generator for larger power plants.
In September 2001, Siemens Westinghouse announced that It would site its commercial solid oxide fuel cell manufacturing facility In the Pittsburgh area. The company selected a 22-acre site for its 430,000-square-foot facility about four miles from its R&D facility near Churchill. Pennsylvania. An Initial section of the plant is expected to begin fabricating commercial-scale solid oxide fuel cells by the end of 2004.
Fuel CelIlTurbine Hybrids The high-temperature operation of a solid oxide fuel cell and its capability to operate at elevated pressures makes it an attractive candidate for linking with a gas turbine In a hybrid' configuration. The hot, high pressure exhaust of the fuel cell can be used to spin a gas turbine, generating a second source of electricity.
The world's first solid oxide fuel celllgas turbine hybrid system Is at Southern Califomia Edison for operation at the National Fuel Cell Research Center In Irvine, California. The hybrid system includes a pressurized solid oxide fuel cell module integrated with a microturbinelgenerator supplied by Ingersoll-Rand Energy Systems (formerly Northern Research and Engineering Corp.). The system has a total output of 220 kW, with 200 kW from the fuel cell and 20 from the microturbine generator. This proof of concept demonstration Is expected to demonstrate an electrical efficiency of around 55%. Eventually, such hybrids should be capable of electrical efficiencies of 60-70%.
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