HYDROGEN Fuel Cells for Stationary Applications
Hydrogen fuel cells are not just for cars; they offer advantages in a multitude of stationary applications.
Hydrogen fuel cells are not just for cars; they offer advantages in a multitude of stationary applications.
Today’s electric distribution systems (“grids”) of all sizes are faced with the need to integrate a large power contribution from renewable energy sources. The intermittent nature of most renewable sources complicates this task significantly; energy storage technologies can help resolve the problem.
“Power to gas” is a new technology which enables storage from intermittent renewable energy sources (RES), typically at utility scale. Electricity from solar, wind or other renewable generators is used to generate hydrogen, which is stored under pressure. Because the hydrogen is then available to (re-)generate electricity on demand, the intermittent renewably-generated electricity is now available whenever it is needed – it has become “dispatchable”. Power-to-gas has the advantages of low capacity cost, fast response, and very good scalability. It can be an important element for successful island or micro-grid operation.
Island grids are often located in regions with good conditions for wind and solar power generation. Utility-scale renewable energy systems at such sites can have lower costs than diesel generators, so it is attractive to provide a large fraction of grid power from wind and solar resources. However, the stochastic nature of these resources makes their integration particularly challenging:
Power to gas can help manage this challenges:
Today, PEM fuel cells for stationary applications are a mature, proven technology. They are especially cost-competitive with respect to batteries and diesel generators for backup and reserve power applications. In UPS systems, fuel cells are used to provide emergency power when the primary input power source fails.
FC-UPS technology has many advantages compared to standard batteries or diesel generators:
Together with partners, Swiss Hydrogen SA has developed and installed a UPS system for a major client.