| Copyright: | Business Wire | | Source: | Business Wire | | Wordcount: | 996 |
Business Editors/Energy Editors/High-Tech Editors
LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 15, 2008--The 2007 European Energy Technology Innovation of the Year Award is presented to Ansaldo Fuel Cells (AFCo) for its innovative molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) design suitable for a wide range of power generation applications.
“Till now AFCo has started five prototype plants using its advanced MCFC technology, which offers a novel potential answer to the problem of switching between fuels, with high efficiency and negligible emissions,” explains Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Hema Sarathy. “These power plants can use any kind of hydrogen and carbon monoxide-based fuel including ethanol, diesel, biogas, syngas, natural gas and pure hydrogen because of its pioneering design which enables multi-fuel ability.”
After a successful demonstration phase AFCo is presently involved into a product industrialization and development programme that, by integrating R&D efforts and field experience made so far, will lead to build a new generation of power plants targeting the medium to high output power markets.
Three product classes will be available at the end of this process:
MW class plant Single Vessel:
Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell plant for different applications: Utility, Industrial, Distributed Power generation. The plant is based on a pressurized Fuel Cell System made of a 1 MW base block hosted in a single pressurized vessel and integrated with reformer and turbine systems. Purification units will be developed for different fuels. The MW class unit will be designed as a building block for larger power units, taking in account both accessibility to main components, maintainability and a good plant compactness.
0.25 MW class Compact Plant:
MCFC transportable, multifuel plant for different applications (Remote installations and Military). The plant is based on a pressurized Fuel Cell System with 2 stacks, integrated with a microturbine while fuel treatment will vary depending on applications. The plant layout is designed to maximise compactness and easy transportability.
0.5 MW class Single Vessel:
Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell plant for different applications: Distributed generation, Remote installations, Waste to Energy. The plant is based on a pressurized 0.5 MW Fuel Cell System hosted in a single pressurized vessel and integrated with reformer and turbine system. Purification units will be developed for different fuels. The 0.5 MW unit is considered as the first step of a product development leading to larger power generation units.
“All plant classes will benefit of the fuel flexibility of MCFC systems by using a modular integrated reformer that can be customised to match the selected fuel, thus enabling multi-fuel ability, besides utilising waste heat from the stack,” notes Sarathy. “Enhanced efficiency can be achieved through integration with a micro turbine in a hybrid configuration which will also allow the plant to start up with no grid connection – the twin stack configuration distinguishes Ansaldo’s fuel cell design from the competition as this arrangement separates critical components and induces cost savings.”
Recently AFCo has signed two agreements. The first one, with the American L3-CPS for the application of its product to the American military market. The second one with Enel, the leading Italian power generation company, to develop, build and test an integrated trigeneration system with a molten carbonate fuel cells generation plant using Ansaldo Fuel Cells technology. The agreement launches a major partnership between Ansaldo Fuel Cells and Enel, involving the development of molten carbonate fuel cells. The agreement covers the joint construction by mid-2009 of a highly efficient plant, with capacity of around 0.5 MW, at Enel’s research centre in Livorno, which will able to supply electricity as well as heating and cooling energy. Ansaldo Fuel Cells will install new components and solutions at the plant, which will provide superior performance compared to other demonstration plants completed successfully in recent years. The partnership also covers the joint development of certain system components, notably the interface between the fuel cells and the electricity grid. The project represents an important part of Ansaldo Fuel Cells’ current “Product Development Plan,” which should provide the company with a product “ready to market” in the near future.
The Frost & Sullivan Award for Technology Innovation of the Year is presented to the company that has demonstrated technological superiority within its industry. This Award recognises the ability of the company to successfully develop and introduce new technology, formulate a well-designed product family, and make significant product performance contributions to the industry.
Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards recognise companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research in order to identify best practices in the industry.
About Ansaldo Fuel Cells
Ansaldo Fuel Cells, a Finmeccanica Company controlled by Ansaldo Energia, was spun off from Ansaldo Ricerche in 2001, after over two decades of R&D activity on molten carbonate fuel cells. Finmeccanica has entrusted its subsidiary Ansaldo Fuel Cells, the only company in Europe that has invested heavily in the development of molten carbonate fuel cells, with all activities relating to this sector, with the aim of developing, producing and selling the product, in line with the Group’s growth strategies.
About Frost & Sullivan
Frost & Sullivan, a global growth consulting company, has been partnering with clients to support the development of innovative strategies for more than 40 years. The company's industry expertise integrates growth consulting, growth partnership services, and corporate management training to identify and develop opportunities. Frost & Sullivan serves an extensive clientele that includes Global 1000 companies, emerging companies, and the investment community by providing comprehensive industry coverage that reflects a unique global perspective and combines ongoing analysis of markets, technologies, econometrics, and demographics. For more information, visit www.awards.frost.com.
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