Blue World Technologies launches next-generation methanol fuel cell system for stationary power generation
06 February 2023
Following the start of series production of fuel cells in December 2022, the Danish fuel cell developer and manufacturer Blue World Technologies is now launching the CellPack Stationary, a methanol fuel cell-based power generator. The CellPack Stationary is specially developed for the telecommunication industry, an industry that every year installs hundreds of thousands of smaller gensets to keep people around the world connected.
The CellPack Stationary is based on high-temperature PEM fuel cell technology and has a system efficiency of 38-40%. When powered by renewable methanol, CellPack Stationary has carbon-neutral operation.
The CellPack Stationary can also be adapted to other demands such as electric vehicle charging or power supply for low-quality- or off-grid installations.
The CellPack Stationary can be delivered as a 5-, 10-, or 15-kW system for installation either as a backup, supplemental, or primary power source depending on customer need.
We are, with the many advantages of the CellPack Stationary system compared to fossil-based gensets but also other fuel cell solutions in the market, presenting a strong green alternative for power generation. In general, the fuel cell technology has great potential in various markets, especially within heavy-duty transportation and the maritime sector, but that are still years from commercial roll-out. On the market for smaller gensets, we can make a significant difference now bringing down CO2 emissions and air pollution. So, this is where we start, one generator at a time.
—Mads Friis Jensen, Co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer of Blue World Technologies
With a small footprint, the CellPack Stationary consists of a base unit combined with either one, two, or three 5 kW power modules depending on the customer’s power need. The system can be installed as a hybrid solution combined with renewable energy sources such as solar cells or wind turbines. As the fuel cell system only has a few moving parts the noise and vibration levels are very low making it ideal for installation in densely populated areas.
At the fuel cell factory in Aalborg, Denmark, Blue World Technologies currently has an annual cell production capacity of 15 MW. This corresponds to 3,000 CellPack Stationary systems, giving the company a solid base to enter the market for smaller power generators. Within the next couple of years, the annual production capacity of the factory is expected to more than triple as the company anticipates a growing demand for diesel genset replacements while the company will also start large-scale deployment of fuel cells to other markets.
Looking at one of the 'other markets' that includes enabling fast charging for EVs.
Massive transient loads on the local grid have to be dealt with one way or another, so the notion that EVs simply use electricity generated at the time is false.
Presently the easy way to deal with it would be to stick in a diesel generator, but that has obvious downsides.
Fuel cells do the job much more cleanly.
An over-emphasis on efficiency is not conducive to real world solutions, as in any case you are not talking about powering EVs solely by this means, with consequent efficiency losses, but only when the load peaks.
' Researchers in the same study claimed that 20 million EVs will add “60–95 TWh of annual electricity demand and 10–20 GW of peak load, requiring 12–18 GW of renewable generation capacity and over 1 million public chargers.”'
https://www.plugpower.com/hydrogen-for-ev-charging-stations-will-get-more-evs-on-the-road/
And it is perfectly practical to produce the hydrogen locally, and renewably, for the system, as hydrogen gives inherent storage, unlike to directly power EVs as peak loads mean that the required areas for solar etc become prohibitive.
It was never EVs or Fuel cells, but technological systems combining in various ways all the tools at our disposal to deal with GHG and pollutants.
Posted by: Davemart | 06 February 2023 at 01:39 AM
I proposed them to make such a solution for off-grid charging of battery electric heavy construction machinery.
Say you invest in BEV diggers etc. for tendering for inner-city construction jobs where noise and local environment is a big deal. There you may be able to charge them from the grid. But they you need the machines for highway construction far away from electrical infrastructure. Here comes the high power FC charger with a mighty fuel tank to the rescue.
PS. A charger for heavy machinery obviously needs higher power output. Preferably >100 kW continuously for charging 3-5 machines overnight.
Posted by: Thomas Pedersen | 06 February 2023 at 04:40 PM
How is this better than methane power fuel cell used by Bloom Energy?
Posted by: dursun | 06 February 2023 at 08:12 PM
Hi dursun
Bloom uses SOFC cells, which are rather different to the PEM cells used here, which as they are high temperature get relatively high efficiency for a OEM, perhaps comparable to SOFC.
Without the detailed specs of both systems, my remarks should be taken only as generalisations, based on what I have read around the subject.
So SOFC tend not to like being ramped up and down, and to cost more, so are usually more suited to providing constant power.
PEMs are usually cheaper, with considerable flexibility, although for applications like cars still need buffering with batteries, as they don't much like really fast ramps.
SOFCs also don't use the rare and expensive elements as PEMs do.
So my answer would be, that it depends on the application which works better.
Posted by: Davemart | 07 February 2023 at 02:27 PM