So I was planning on doing the first annual 'Fuel Cell Year in Review' sometime this month, but I've been busy plotting the global takeover by high temp PEM. More about that when I get rid of that darn cloak of silence. But while I've been procrastinating, things have been popping, and not just hydrogen dirigibles.
Hopefully I'll be able to go into more detail shortly on these events:
Biggest dollar deal: Abu Dhabi, the largest emerite in the UAE and home of the capital Abu Dhabi city, has funded a clean energy project to the tune of $15 billion which includes (you fuel cell fans note the difference between 'renewables' and 'clean energy') solar, wind, and hydrogen. The hydrogen production facility will have the capacity to produce 420 MW of electricity by reforming natural gas and sequestering 90% of the CO2. The plant is due to come on line in 2012, so hopefully there's plenty of time to squeeze some fuel cell action rather than giving it all up to hydrogen combustion turbines (are you listening waste hydrogen market seekers?)
Next big deal: Along the waste hydrogen lines, HydroGen has managed to talk electronics and consumer DMFC leader into signing as the Asian distributor for its yet-to-be-built 400 kW - 4 MW olde tyme technology PAFC plants. Samsung is clearly jealous of POSCO's deal with FuelCell Energy and is aware of Korea's $.28 feed-in tariff and pro-DG spark spread. I wish them luck.
Commercial News: German Smart SFC Fuel Cells is booking lots of wholesale orders for its small RV APU methanol fueled units, in the 300W range. It has a handle on the distribution of the methanol cartridges throughout the EU. Excellent for getting FCs in the public domain.
Ballard Stays on Top: Ballard signs up its second forklift power OEM (first was Excide for a tribrid) in Danish H2 Logic just in case Plug never gets it together with the Cellex and GH packages)
To Be Continued...
Showing posts with label FuelCell Energy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label FuelCell Energy. Show all posts
Friday, January 25, 2008
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Year End News: Nippon in India, FCE Partial Victory
Nippon Oil has stepped off the shores of Honshu in its quest for mCHP markets, surfacing in beautiful, bustling, downtown Mumbai. It is currently in negotiations with Bharat Petroleum (BPCL) to bring its ENEOS (there is nothing like a fuel cell product with a real live trade name) residential cogeneration product to India. Could NOC be eyeing the not so shabby grid-challenged Indian residential market? We'll have to see how this plays out - LPG predominates in India, so it would be a bigger win for the Sanyo Technology NOC recently purchased (see FuelCellIntel Nov. posting) than for Ballard whose stack is used in the NOC kerosene-fueled product. Ebara Ballard is licensed to manufacture the Ballard stacks in Japan when they go commercial in 2009-2010, so Burnaby, BC won't be filled up with Ballard manufacturing facilities (that's an optimistic thought).
And while we're on optimistic thoughts, FuelCell Energy finally got some business approved by the Connecticut DPU. The optimism is needed because the orders approved are for only 16.2 MW of the 68 MW worth recommended last spring. I thought the 68 was a stretch, and FCE's manufacturing capacity has been pushed to the limit with outstanding California (Linde) and Korean (POSCO) orders in the pipeline, and its changeover to the advanced (20% more power output) Direct Fuel Cell product manufacturing. There will be another review of the CT projects in January, but I'd say the future still looks pretty rosy for FCE.
And in Europe, watch for Morphic eating little FC firms and while it extends its continental reach from north to south. It may have a rational plan and enough expertise and financing to bring fuel cells to the EU people, so I wish the enterprise luck.
I hope everyone has safe and happy holidays, particularly today - Boxing Day and the first day of Kwanzaa. May the next year be cleaner, greener, and more peaceful for all despite the wonders of endless political debate and lack of constructive policies and action.
And while we're on optimistic thoughts, FuelCell Energy finally got some business approved by the Connecticut DPU. The optimism is needed because the orders approved are for only 16.2 MW of the 68 MW worth recommended last spring. I thought the 68 was a stretch, and FCE's manufacturing capacity has been pushed to the limit with outstanding California (Linde) and Korean (POSCO) orders in the pipeline, and its changeover to the advanced (20% more power output) Direct Fuel Cell product manufacturing. There will be another review of the CT projects in January, but I'd say the future still looks pretty rosy for FCE.
And in Europe, watch for Morphic eating little FC firms and while it extends its continental reach from north to south. It may have a rational plan and enough expertise and financing to bring fuel cells to the EU people, so I wish the enterprise luck.
I hope everyone has safe and happy holidays, particularly today - Boxing Day and the first day of Kwanzaa. May the next year be cleaner, greener, and more peaceful for all despite the wonders of endless political debate and lack of constructive policies and action.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Tuesday's News rife with FC Commercialization
I hope to make some individual posts on the recent news, perhaps tonight. But to sum up:
FuelCell Energy, while still waiting on orders for its CT Project 100 68 MW worth of installations and the still holding Freedom Tower potential, has had its partnership with German Gas Giant Linde bear its first fruit. Linde secured 4 orders for California wastewater treatment totaling 3.9 megawatts. the units are the new technology (20% more power) DFCs, 3/1.2 MW and 1/300 kW. Linde has a bunch (100's) of ww plants as customers, primarily in Germany, but otherwise scattered around the world. CA offers the biggest subsidy, but this bodes well for the future.
Hydrogenics, following fellow canuck Ballard's lead by leaning down its non-FC power business, recently laying off a bunch test equipment employees, has received a follow-on order for 3 of its German midi-buses. The buses will be used in a high-profile Water and Clean development conference in Spain next summer. It's still a shame that FCs remain so low-profile in the US.
In Japan, Matsushita(Panasonic) and Toshiba FC both announced plans for gearing up to mass-produce their mCHP systems to the order of 10,000/year by 2010/2011. Ebara made a similar non-specific announcement with their own Ballard-licensed production, and Nippon Oil clearly has plans (and the resources) to do the same with its recently purchased Sanyo technology and production facilities. They are all assuming they will be able to bring down the reformer cost by then, whether they move to HT PEM or find another solution. Or else they'll have a lot of residential fuel cell systems for sale cheap to anyone with a bunch of hydrogen.
And lastly, on my home front, UMass Amherst garnered a seed grant from the NSF of $1.5M to begin a fuel cell research program, with $10's of millions more in a couple years if they do it right. They'll be trying to figure why fuel cell electrolytes work. I say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. But then again, I wouldn't turn down the money.
FuelCell Energy, while still waiting on orders for its CT Project 100 68 MW worth of installations and the still holding Freedom Tower potential, has had its partnership with German Gas Giant Linde bear its first fruit. Linde secured 4 orders for California wastewater treatment totaling 3.9 megawatts. the units are the new technology (20% more power) DFCs, 3/1.2 MW and 1/300 kW. Linde has a bunch (100's) of ww plants as customers, primarily in Germany, but otherwise scattered around the world. CA offers the biggest subsidy, but this bodes well for the future.
Hydrogenics, following fellow canuck Ballard's lead by leaning down its non-FC power business, recently laying off a bunch test equipment employees, has received a follow-on order for 3 of its German midi-buses. The buses will be used in a high-profile Water and Clean development conference in Spain next summer. It's still a shame that FCs remain so low-profile in the US.
In Japan, Matsushita(Panasonic) and Toshiba FC both announced plans for gearing up to mass-produce their mCHP systems to the order of 10,000/year by 2010/2011. Ebara made a similar non-specific announcement with their own Ballard-licensed production, and Nippon Oil clearly has plans (and the resources) to do the same with its recently purchased Sanyo technology and production facilities. They are all assuming they will be able to bring down the reformer cost by then, whether they move to HT PEM or find another solution. Or else they'll have a lot of residential fuel cell systems for sale cheap to anyone with a bunch of hydrogen.
And lastly, on my home front, UMass Amherst garnered a seed grant from the NSF of $1.5M to begin a fuel cell research program, with $10's of millions more in a couple years if they do it right. They'll be trying to figure why fuel cell electrolytes work. I say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. But then again, I wouldn't turn down the money.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
One Regime Change Down, One To Go
I've been deeply involved in high-temp PEM for the last week, but outside of another sale (and another press release) by FuelCell Energy of three of the apparently old technology DFC 300 units (described as 250 kW rather than the newer 300 kW - maybe FCE is concentrating the newer stacks into the 1.2 MW configuration and shipping what they have to fuel cell friendly Korea).
But the real big news came overnight from Australia, and it's not the CE certification that CFCL's NextGen mCHP system has received to facilitate EU marketing, should it finally come up with a deliverable system. We finally achieved the much-needed regime change at one of the only two major nations not to sign on to Kyoto: three cheers for Australia voting to oust anti-Kyoto John Howard form office.
The new prime minister will be pro-environment labor party leader Kevin Rudd. He has stated that his first order of business will be to ratify Kyoto.
So maybe now, CFCL will return to its homeland and start making plans for commercialization there in addition to Kyoto-friendly Europe.
Which country will be next?
Back to that left-over turkey (not one of the new influx of wild turkeys sporadically roaming the suburbs as well as the backwoods of New Englan) and cranberry sauce (homemade from local cape Cod cranberries) sandwich.
Later.
But the real big news came overnight from Australia, and it's not the CE certification that CFCL's NextGen mCHP system has received to facilitate EU marketing, should it finally come up with a deliverable system. We finally achieved the much-needed regime change at one of the only two major nations not to sign on to Kyoto: three cheers for Australia voting to oust anti-Kyoto John Howard form office.
The new prime minister will be pro-environment labor party leader Kevin Rudd. He has stated that his first order of business will be to ratify Kyoto.
So maybe now, CFCL will return to its homeland and start making plans for commercialization there in addition to Kyoto-friendly Europe.
Which country will be next?
Back to that left-over turkey (not one of the new influx of wild turkeys sporadically roaming the suburbs as well as the backwoods of New Englan) and cranberry sauce (homemade from local cape Cod cranberries) sandwich.
Later.
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