EV World Feb. 9 2002 (excerpt) .... The solid oxide fuel cell will likely be the third fuel cell to
reach the market. It is being developed by a small company
in Calgary, Canada called Global Thermoelectric. GLE.TO
now manufactures thermoelectric generators which are of
small output but extremely reliable and are used by telephone
systems in remote areas, by natural gas pipelines for cathodic
protection, and by companies in oil and gas exloration
projects, all of which uses are remote from existing grids and
can be relied on for reliable operation unmanned for months
or years.
In addition to this market, the GLE.TO fuel cell in larger, 10
kw to 175 kw sizes can be used for supplying electric and
thermal energy for residential and small commercial and
industrial loads. Its design objective is a 60% efficiency but it
has not yet released data on its current operating efficiency.
Delphi, the car parts manufacturer recently spun off General
Motors, is working on a 42 volt auto electric system to
replace the current 14 volt system. It contemplates using the
GLE.TO fuel cell as the generator for the system because it
can run on either hydrogen or gasoline. BMW and Renault
are not as optimistic about the feasibility of a PEM fuel cell
for vehicle propulsion until hydrogen is as available
everywhere as gasoline is now. They contemplate using an
internal combustion engine with dual fuels -- hydrogen, where
it is available and gasoline when it is not.
The SOFC, which can supply auto electric power on either
fuel, will complement its dual fuel design for propulsion and
will have several advantages including being able to run your
radio and air conditioner with your internal combustion engine
not running, locating car auxilliaries where you could not
locate them when belts and pulleys are required to supply
mechanical energy, and using electrically actuated valves to
carry out timing that would not be possible with belted
power. It could shut off half the cylinders while cruising at
highways speeds.
GLE.TO has not released cost data on its fuel cell but it
needs no noble metals for catalysts as does the PEM fuel
cell. Nor does it need extensive auxilliary devices or balance
of plant (BOP) as does the PEM and the MCFC fuel cell.
Westinghouse, now owned by Siemens, is developing a
tubular fuel cell which operates at 1000 degrees. However
GLE.TO is developing an RTESP SOFC which is one
operating at reduced temperatures of 650 to 700 degrees
Centigrade which will permit it to use common stainless steel.
Its electrolyte is ceramic and its electrodes are ceramic.
These all seem to be low cost materials.
While GLE.TO has not released its estimated costs, its costs
are likely to be lower than those of the other two. Instead of
a large expensive external reformer such as that of the PEM
fuel cell, its reformer is the size of a "knockwurst" and located
within the stack assembly. Instead of roughly two-thirds of
the cost in BOP, GLE.TO's BOP is largely the cost of an
inverter to change the power to alternating current from direct
current if that is needed.
The Fuel Cell as the Environmentalist's Dream
Last, but certainly not the least of the fuel cell's benefits is the
benefit of clean air. The amount of Nox, Sox2 and particulate
matter is an order of magnitude below even the proactive
Federal Vision 21 standard.
If power is generated from reformed natural gas, however,
the greenhouse gases problem will still exist but will be far
less. Carbon dioxide emissions are a direct function of the
weight of the hydrocarbon fuel used. But fuel cells, with their
greater efficiency will use less fuel per mile and per kilowatt
hour generated.
So with fuel cells, the amount of carbon dioxide emitted into
the atmosphere will be only one half or one third of the
carbon dioxide currently emitted by Carnot cycle devices
such as the coal fired steam turbine, the gas turbine, the
microturbine, the gasoline reciprocating engine and the diesel
engine.
How about the Capstone 30 kw or Parallon 75 kw
microturbines? They are not strong contenders in my opinion.
They have a fuel efficiency of only 25% or so,They are noisy,
and they pollute.
When fuel cells become available, which are able to compete
with other alternatives on cost and reliability, the politicians
are likely to act to set pollution standards so high as
effectively to prohibit new Carnot cycle installations. In five
years we will likely see this for loads of 10,000 kw and
below.
The Department of Energy has contracted with FCEL to
develop a combined cycle or hybrid fuel cell/gas turbine in
the range of 10,000 to 40,000 kw with a blinding 80%
electrical efficiency. When it is commercially available,
perhaps in 2015, the combined cycle gas turbine will also
become no longer necessary for even the largest loads and
will take their place in books on the history of technology..
Look for some stationary fuel cells at your distributor
commencing maybe as early as 2002 and some fuel cells in
you car dealer's show room perhaps by 2004 or 2005. Look
for large scale marketing of stationary fuel cells by 2005 and
fuel cell powered cars by 2010.
END STORY
evworld.com ... Fuel Cell Power Generation Primer - Part 3
EV World Feb. 9 2002
Here's an example of what they are saying about Solid Oxide Fuel Cells , in Paris France lately ...
reseaupaco.org ... Global Thermoelectric is referenced on page 6 |
