NY Company Performs Second U.S. Demonstration Of Natural Gas-Based Fuel-Cell System
A small research venture called Plug Power (Latham, MY), announced on Dec. 23, 1998, that it successfully demonstrated a natural gas-based fuel-cell system, an important step in its goal of making the technology available for residential use in two years.
Plug Power's demonstration of a fuel cell powered by natural gas was the second in the United States. In November 1998, NUI Corp. and Energy Partners LC claimed the first successful U.S. demonstration of a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell operating on hydrogen produced from natural gas. Working cooperatively under the name NuPower, they called this a major step in the commercialization of the product.
More than 70 million homes already use natural gas for heating and cooking in the United States alone. If this technology is successful, these consumers will eventually be able to use to meet all their energy needs—including electricity—from natural gas. By coupling the use of low-cost fuels like natural gas with the high efficiency of fuel-cell technology, it is estimated consumers can reduce electricity costs as much as 20% from what they now pay for electric utilities, Plug Power representatives say.
The residential-sized PEM system tested by Plug Power includes a fuel-cell stack, power conditioner, and a fuel processor developed by Britain's Johnson Matthey PLC. The system produced more than 4 kw of electricity this week at the company's development facility near Albany, NY.
Plug Power, a joint venture of Detroit-based DTE Energy Co. and Mechanical Technology Inc., said the operation of a complete system using natural gas was an important step toward bringing Plug Power's residential units to market by January 2001.
"Plug Power's mission is to become the first company to make and profitably sell one million fuel-cell systems," says CEO Gary Mittleman. "The achievements of the past six months play a large role in our realization of that endeavor."
Earlier this month, Plug Power said it had received a $3 million award from the New York State Research and Development authority calling for delivery of 80 residential-sized fuel-cell systems over the next 30 months.
Energy Partners spokeswoman Morna McGann says the fuel cell demonstrated by NuPower in November used a natural gas reformer built by Epyx Corp. to produce hydrogen to create electricity. She said Energy Partners has also tested a methanol version using a Johnson Matthey processor. NuPower plans to develop and market a line of stationary PEM fuel cells fueled by natural gas and propane for residential and commercial applications.
Energy Partners is already marketing 2 kw to 20 kw units for R&D purposes. The first of these, a 20 kw unit, was delivered to Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in October 1998 for use in a hybrid electric vehicle. McGann said another unit had been donated to Texas Tech University's FutureCar Research for installation in a Chevrolet Lumina to be entered in the 10-day FutureCar Competition in June 1999.
Plug Power representatives said that the company's natural-gas system uses the same design as its 7-kw fuel-cell prototype, which has operated since June 1998 on hydrogen. The prototype was the first PEM fuel-cell system to provide for a home's complete electricity needs independent of a utility grid.
This week, Plug Power integrated a Johnson Matthey HotSpot natural gas fuel processor into its fuel-cell system. The AC electricity generated from the fuel cell was used to power part of the company's laboratory facility. Last month, representatives of Plug Power said that the company operated a methanol-based fuel-cell power generation system.
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