Hydrogen producer Air Products and FuelCell Energy, Inc. said Tuesday that construction has begun on an advanced hydrogen energy demonstration station.
Funded in part by the U.S. Dept of Energy, the station aims to demonstrate a tri-generating clean energy system that can provide low-cost hydrogen, electric power and heat from a single, integrated unit.
The unit will use FuelCell Energy’s Direct FuelCell (DFC) power plants and Air Products’ gas separation technologies.
Air Products will build the customized power plant component and provide the hydrogen-containing steam for separation, as well as the equipment needed to separate hydrogen and compress it to the desired pressure levels.
The DFC produces electric power and heat for cogeneration, in addition to hydrogen for industrial applications and fuel cell vehicles.
The system has an estimated output of over 250 kW of green power and about 300 pounds of hydrogen daily.
It will be fueled by anaerobic digester gas from industrial or municipal wastewater treatment facilities, as well as natural gas and propane.
Construction is expected to be complete in 2007, with testing scheduled before the end of 2008.