Energy moving into the future

The fuel cell:

A technical report.

Managing global energy supplies is increasingly becoming a

key issue for the future of mankind. If present usage levels are
sustained, fossil energy resources created over several hundred
millions of years will be used up within just a few generations.
The future of energy supply lies in opening up renewable energy
sources and developing new technologies such as the fuel cell.

Fuel cells can revolutionize

the energy sector

New prospects
created by an old idea.

2
3

The fuel cells potential

For decades, the internal-combustion engine has been
a hallmark in the history of the automotive industry
and of stand-alone energy supply. To most users, it has
so far been the only appropriate solution to drive cars
or generate power at remote sites. Fuel cells offer, for the
first time, the chance to replace the combustion engine
in a number of applications and thereby avoid harmful
emissions.
For the energy industry, they open up the option of
sustainable, resource-saving supply, and thanks to
their ecological soundness many diverse applications.
This includes applications in the mobile sector and all
areas of the energy industry.
The fuel cell looks back on a long track record. As
early as 1839, an Englishman, Sir William Robert Grove
(1811 1896), constructed the first fuel cell. Its further
development proved such an arduous task that Groves
concept was only used in isolated applications for nearly
100 years. His fuel cells featured electrodes made of
platinum sitting in a glass tube with their lower end
immersed in dilute sulfuric acid as an electrolyte and
their upper part exposed to hydrogen and oxygen inside
the tube. This was sufficient to produce a voltage of
1 volt. To turn the fuel cell into a really efficient source
of power, substantial technical efforts had to be made.
Over 160 years have lapsed since the fuel cell was invented. Its true potential as the energy converter of the
future has only recently manifested itself. Today, it is on
the point of commercial use.

Sir William Grove

(1811 1896) constructed
the first fuel cell

Groves historic fuel cell (1839)

A powerful concept for

resource-saving harnessing of energy

The fuel cell

principle.
4
5

Fuel cells generate electricity from hydrogen and oxygen without any harmful
emissions and therefore in an extremely environmentally friendly way. Heat is
produced in varying amounts and, as a by-product, water.

Operating principle of the fuel cell

A proton exchange membrane is
coated with a thin platinum catalyzer layer and a gas-permeable
electrode made of graphite paper.
Hydrogen fed to the anode side
ionizes into protons and electrons
How a fuel cell works

Electrical
load
Reaction water

Hydrogen

Oxygen

Excess
hydrogen

Excess
oxygen

Anode

Cathode
Electrolyte

at the catalyzer. The protons pass the

catalyzer layer, while the electrons
remaining behind give a negative
charge to the hydrogen-side electrode. During the proton migration,
a voltage difference builds up between the electrodes. When these
are connected, this difference produces a direct current that can drive
an engine, for example. Finally, the
protons recombine with the electrons and the oxygen into water at
the cathode.
Besides the recovered electric
energy, the only reaction product is
water. Additionally, heat is produced
by the electrochemical reactions and
the contact resistances in the fuel
cell, which can be used for space or
service water heating.
The voltage of a single non-operated cell is about 1.23 V (volts). In
operation, this level falls to about
0.6 to 0.7 V under load. As this level

is too low for practical applications,

a sufficient number of cells is connected in series to obtain a usable
voltage. They may add up to 800
cells in larger-sized plants.
The line-up of cells is equivalent
to a stack, and this word has become
a technical term generally used for
this arrangement.
It is characteristic of fuel cells that
they generate a DC voltage. To allow
practical use, it has to be transformed
into an AC signal. This is done by
downstream DC/AC converters.

mg/Nm3 (mg / standard cubic meter)

Source: HEW

350
BHPP

FC

300
250
200
150
100
50
0
NOx

CO

CHx

Comparison of emissions
Compared with established technologies block heat and
power plants (BHPP) or other power plants fuel cells (FC)
boast very low emission levels.

Benefits of fuel cells

Fuel cells convert hydrogen and oxygen into
electric energy. At the same time, heat is produced that lends itself to supplying process
heat, producing hot water and delivering heat
to buildings. If operated as co-generation units
(combined heat and power generation CHP),
fuel cells reach energy conversion rates of up
to 80 percent and can therefore make a sustainable contribution to energy saving.
Compared with conventional techniques,
the use of fuel cells holds additional promise.
This includes high efficiencies even where
plant capacity is small, constant efficiency
under part load, simple and modular design,
low maintenance expenses and a level of
hazardous substance emissions so low that it
cannot be achieved with any other technique.
As hydrogen is directly converted by electrochemical reactions, the efficiency of fuel cells is

unlike traditional energy conversion processes

not limited. Fuel cells can therefore reach much
higher efficiencies than internal-combustion
engines.
Fuel cells are also effective under part load.
Unlike in conventional systems, the efficiency
remains largely constant until 50 percent full
load. This has merits for plants which are frequently operated under part load (e.g. motor
vehicles in inner-city traffic).
Carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) result from
use of carbonaceous fuels. These include all
fossil energies such as coal, oil and natural gas.
As fuel cells will in the medium and long term
use fossil resources (natural gas) as an auxiliary
fuel, their use also leads to carbon dioxide
emissions. But thanks to combined heat and
power generation and the high efficiencies,
CO2 emissions will be lower than in conventional systems.

Efficiency
Theoretically
Fuel cell
Practically
Coal-fired plant

Gas turbine

50 percent part load

Full load

Part-load efficiencies of fuel cells

The operating parameters of fuel
cells look favorable even under part
load. As opposed to conventional
plants, efficiency remains constant.
This qualifies fuel cells for use in
units frequently run on part load
(e.g. vehicles in inner-city traffic).

Five fuel cell technologies are at present being developed.They differ in

their electrolyte structure, working temperature and fuel requirements.
Their designations refer to the electrolyte used.

The fuel cell technique is on the point of

commercial use in many areas

Fuel cell types

and applications.
Electrical efficiency in percent

Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC)

80
SOFC-, MCFC-Combined-cycle power plant
70

6
7

60
SOFC, MCFC
50
40

Combined-cycle power plant

PAFC

PEFC

30
Gas turbine

Gas engine
20
10
0
0.01

Future: upper values

Present: lower values
0.1

10

100

300

1,000

Electric power output in MW

Solid oxide fuel cells are designed for use

in all areas of electricity supply. At working
temperatures up to 1000 C, they have
potential for highly efficient energy supply. In particular if combined with moderately priced gas turbines, SOFC cells
can in future also be used to construct
small-scale generation plants with efficiencies comparable to those of natural
gas fired combined-cycle power plants.
Mini-plants for residential and small commercial applications are being developed
by Swiss Sulzer Hexis AG, and larger-sized
plants with capacities between 250 kW
(kilowatts) and 20 MW (megawatts) by
Siemens Westinghouse.

Fuel cell efficiency

The efficiency of fuel cells is not limited by the Carnot process as hydrogen
is directly converted by electrochemical reactions. Fuel cells can therefore
attain considerably higher efficiencies than comparable internal-combustion
engines.
Natural gas

Waste heat
exchanger

Fuel cell

Fuel cell types

Type

Electrolyte

Special features

Applications

SOFC

Solid Oxide
Fuel Cell

Solid zirconia

Direct power production

from natural gas, ceramics

Central and stand-alone

CHP generation

MCFC

Molton Carbonate
Fuel Cell

Molten
carbonates

Complex process control,

corrosion problems

Central and stand-alone

CHP generation

AFC

Alkaline Fuel Cell

Aqueous
potash lye

High efficiency,
pure H2 and O2 only

Space operations,
defense

PAFC

Phosphoric Acid
Fuel Cell

Phosphoric acid

Limited efficiency,
corrosion problems

Stand-alone CHP
generation

Proton exchange
polymer
membrane

High flexibility in operation,

high power density

Vehicles, stand-alone
CHP generation
(small-scale)

Generator
Compressor

PEMFC Proton Exchange

Membrane Fuel Cell

Turbine

SOFC fuel cell with gas turbine

Replacing the gas turbine combustion chamber
by a fuel cell leads to a hybrid process, raising the
gas turbines efficiency from less than 30 percent
to over 60 percent.

Unconverted fuel gas

and reaction gas

Load

CO2

Chemical reactions in each fuel cell type

900 1,000 C

SOFC

H2O
CO
H2

O2

N2 , unconverted O2
and reaction gas

CO2
600 650 C

MCFC

H2O
CO
H2

60 120 C

CO32

O2
CO2

AFC

H2O
H2

OH

PAFC

160 220 C
20 120 C

H2

160 220 C
20 120 C

H2

H+

PEMFC
H+

O2

H2O
O2

H2O
O2

N2 , unconverted O2
and reaction gas

Electrolyte
Fuel gas

Anode

Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell (MCFC)

Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cell (PAFC)

Molten carbonate fuel cells working at

temperatures between 500 C and 600 C
are being developed for industrial applications. They permit electricity generation with high efficiencies (approx. 55
percent) and simultaneous production
of process steam, offering excellent
potential for industrial combined heat
and power generation. In Germany, a
prominent developer of this technology
is MTU, and in America, Fuel Cell Energy
is foremost.

Opportunities for phosphoric acid fuel

cells working at temperatures around
200 C are in combined heat and power
production. Administrative buildings,
hospitals, indoor pools but also large residential estates are potential applications.
Over 180 plants supplied by American
manufacturers ONSI are operated worldwide and have in part already been
decommissioned after reaching their
expected service life. They are proof of
the vast interest in using the fuel cell
technology. Still, experience with this
technique has given rise to some doubts
about its further success. They concern
the limited potential for saving manufacturing costs, and technical restrictions
resulting from the need to constantly
maintain temperatures. Besides ONSI,
Japanese companies Fuji and Toshiba
work on this method.

Alkaline Fuel Cell (AFC)

Alkaline fuel cells are distinguished
by a combination of low working temperatures and high efficiencies. They are
favored for niche applications in the
space industry or the maritime sector,
e. g. to drive submarines. The demands
this cell type makes on the purity of
hydrogen and oxygen clearly limit the
practical scope of use. This fuel cell type
is developed by ZeVco (Zero Emission
Vehicle Corporation) and others in
Germany; worldwide, IFC (International
Fuel Cell) and Fuji work on it.

Cathode

Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell

(PEMFC)
Employing fuel cells in the end user market is seen as a particularly interesting
opportunity. About 25 percent of primary
energy consumption in Germany are
accounted for by space heating and hot
water supply, so that use of fuel cells as
CHP plants would contribute to energy
saving. That temperature levels are relatively low in the supply of hot water for
space and service water heating opens
up a range of applications for lowtemperature cells with proton exchange
membranes.
PEM fuel cells are used in the Berlin
demonstration project. With an electric
power output of 250 kWel , this is their first
commercial-scale application in Europe.
The success of this project will be an
important prerequisite for marketing
planned from 2004 onwards.

Process
heat

Energy consumed in Germany to supply heat

About 25 percent of the primary energy consumption of 492 x 10 6 tons of hard-coal equivalent were used in 1998 to meet space heating
and hot water needs.

34 %
57 %
9%
Hot
water

Space
heating

Hydrogen stores renewable energies

The futures name

is hydrogen.
8
9

Hydrogen is not freely available in nature. Chemical and

electrochemical processes will therefore long have to be used
to recover it.
Making hydrogen available

able in low-load periods. Electrolyzer

Industrial sources are, for example, che- outfits can be employed to produce
hydrogen out of it and use it in peak
mical industry operations. The excess
H2 produced in synthesis gas manufac- load periods to cover electricity needs
ture has already found its way into the or supply vehicles with H2.
energy supply sector, and can in future
Recovering hydrogen from renewable
be used more widely. The same applies energies is today still seen as a future
to electric energy that is freely availoption. Economic reasons will continue

Natural gas reformation

Water vapor

to reduce it to niche applications for

some time. Fossil energy sources such
as natural gas and mineral oil appear
to be the most promising sources for
hydrogen production in the medium
term. This requires treatment socalled reformation processes to be
installed upstream of the fuel cell.

Water vapor

Shift converter

Fuel cell

Product water

Anode off-gas (H2)

Reformer reaction

Shift reaction

Total

Renewable energy

Electrolyzer outfit

Excess electricity

Industrial sources

Electrolyzer outfit

Natural gas reformation

Reformer

H2
storage

Methods of
hydrogen recovery

Hydrogen production through

reformation
Reformation is a multi-stage process transforming hydrogen-containing energy
sources into hydrogen-rich gases. As this
process consumes energy, it results in
drawbacks to the energetic overall efficiency of a fuel cell process.
In a first step, natural gas is split in a
reformation reaction into a gas mix consisting of three parts hydrogen (H2) and
one part carbon monoxide (CO). In addition to process heat (+205.8 kJ/mol, i. e.
kilojoules per mol), this requires feeding
of water vapor as a coreactant. In a second step, the remaining CO is, with the
help of steam, oxidized to carbon dioxide
(CO2) in a shift reaction. It releases a further free hydrogen molecule. The final
product is a gas mix consisting of four
parts H2 and one part CO2 which can be
directly used in the fuel cell.
The shift reaction is exothermic, i.e.
connected with a release of energy
( 42.3 kJ/mol). This energy can be employed
to partly cover the energy demand of reformation. PEM fuel cells are normally highly
sensitive to CO contained in the fuel gas.
Carbon monoxide is regarded as a catalyzer
poison. These fuel cells therefore necessi-

Fuel cell

tate removing residual CO in a third or

even fourth treatment stage, which is
done in a process called selective oxidation.
The entire gas treatment process involves a 20 to 30 percent loss of energy,
which detracts from the efficiency of the
fuel cell process. Losses are lower when
high-temperature fuel cells are used.
They permit internal reformation of the
fuel inside the fuel cell, which leads to
hardware savings and efficiency advantages. But the price paid for these benefits is that expensive materials with high
temperature resistance have to be used.

State of the art

Fuel cells have reached a maturity today
that allows building complete plants in
commercially usable sizes. They serve as
demonstration units for their manufacturers to test and optimize their plant
configurations, and help their operators
mainly energy utilities gain initial experience with this new technology. This
is also the purpose of the Berlin fuel cell
project. Demonstration projects should
not be confused with commercial fuel cell
applications. This needs further years of
development and operating experience.
With a view to mobile applications, this
means in particular that a decision has
to be made which energy resource will in
future be needed either hydrogen is
directly used, or methanol serves as an
intermediate solution. For stationary
applications, efficient and compact
reformers will have to be developed that
allow low-cost conversion of natural gas
into hydrogen-rich gas.
Many companies have committed to
working intensively on development.
Even well-renowned manufacturers nevertheless assume that both mobile and
stationary serial products will not be
commercially available until after 2004.

A variety of applications

Description of the
PEM fuel cell.
PEM fuel cells boast simple design
and uncomplicated manufacture.

6
1 Flow field plate
(fuel supply)
2 Hydrogen supply
3 Membrane electrode
assembly
4 Air supply
5 One fuel cell
pulled apart
6 Stack consisting of
several cells

Design of a PEM fuel cell

A fluorine-containing polymer
membrane is the outstanding
feature of the PEM fuel cell design.
Vaporized with a catalytic precious
metal and covered by a gaspermeable graphite electrode, it is
enclosed by two bipolar plates.

Simple and low-cost

Merits of PEM fuel cells

A fluorine-containing foil, vaporized with a catalytic

precious metal and coated with a gas-permeable
electrode made of graphite paper, is enclosed by two
bipolar plates made of metal or graphite. Grooves
milled or pressed into the plates allow feeding of
hydrogen and oxygen or air to the anode and cathode.
The simple design of the PEM fuel cell suggests that
manufacture will in future be low-cost, permitting
mass production as usual e. g. in the automotive
industry.

PEM fuel cells outperform competing technologies

in a number of ways that speak in favor of their good
marketing potential. The following aspects are core
to its superiority:
PEM fuel cells are appropriate for mobile and stationary use. Their versatility in application suggests
synergies, with cost benefits lying with stationary
applications.
PEM fuel cells have the highest power density compared with competing technologies, with potential
for further development. This allows building small,
space-saving systems as required for remote-site
applications.

Watts / liter

PEM fuel cell applications in power supply range

from mini-systems generating a few watts via standalone units in combined heat and power to applications in stand-by power supply a universally usable
technology.

1,200
1,000
800
600
400

Development of
the power density
of PEM fuel cells

200
0
1989

1991

1993

1995

1997

A proud European cooperation venture

The Berlin 250 kW

PEM demonstration project.
10
11

The Berlin fuel cell project managed by Bewag is the first of its kind in
Europe.The project is the first to employ the PEM technology in the
200kW class in Europe.Three further plants are being installed as part of
a field test one plant in Switzerland was commissioned in fall 2000,
another plant in Belgium in spring 2001, and a fourth unit will take up
operation in the Netherlands in the second half of 2001.

Project venture and project costs

Five energy utilities participate in the
Berlin fuel cell project: Bewag as the project
leader, lectricit de France (EdF) Paris,
Hamburgische Electricittswerke AG (HEW)
Hamburg, Hanover-based PreussenElektra
Aktiengesellschaft (now E.ON Energie AG,
Munich) and Vereinigte Energiewerke Aktiengesellschaft (VEAG) Berlin. Canadian manufacturers Ballard Generation System (BGS)
supplied the plant, and ALSTOM delivered
the complete system.

ALSTOM regards the Berlin project as an

important step towards commercial-scale
introduction of fuel cells. The company
has plans for the future to jointly produce
comparable plants in series with its partner
Ballard in a new Europe-based company.
They will hinge on successful completion
of the Berlin demonstration project.
Project costs amount to an approximate
3.8 million. The innovative character of
the project and its expected favorable impact
on the European economy persuaded the
European Commission to financially assist
this project. It contributes 40 percent of the
project costs. The remainder is taken by
ALSTOM (around 10 percent) and the power
suppliers in charge (around 50 percent).

Air

Return flow district

heating network 230 kWth
Turbo-supercharger

Start-up air

Off-gas
Gas treatment
Natural
gas

Air cooler
4 H2 + CO2

Reformer

Shift
converter

CO
converter

Fuel cell
250 kWel

H2 from electrolyzer outfit

Anode/cathode off-gas
Reaction water

Make-up water

Project description

gas with a turbo-supercharger helps to

largely avoid this additional station service
Natural-gas based PEM fuel cells consist
requirement.
of three partial systems: Gas treatment to
The process design provides for output
convert natural gas into hydrogen, the fuel
of heat for heating purposes. Cooling water
cell stack, and the downstream AC/DC
runs through the cell in a primary cooling
converter generating an AC voltage.
The system applied in Berlin follows this cycle which transfers its energy via a heat
basic design. If compared with competing exchanger to the connected district heatsystems, however, it differs not only in the ing network. In the absence of any heat
fuel cell type. The complete fuel cell system load, a stand-by cooler is used to ensure
including the upstream gas treatment unit sufficient re-cooling of the primary cooling
works under pressure. The four bar opera- cycle.
An AC/DC converter sits downstream of
ting pressure allows compact plant design
with reduced volumes of building materials. the fuel cell. It transforms the DC output
For the stack, this means a boost in power signal of the fuel cell into an AC voltage
and efficiency compared with atmospheric signal utilizable for mains feeding.
The plant has a package design, with the
operation.
container housing all modules needed for
After entering the plant, the natural gas
the process: gas treatment, fuel cell and
is stripped of sulfur, reformed, and then
stripped of carbon monoxide (CO) by way inverter. Operation additionally requires
of oxidation to carbon dioxide (CO2) in the the natural gas service connection, the
shift reactor and the following conversion hook-up to the district heating system, the
piping for process gases such as nitrogen
stages. Subsequently, the gas mix four
and compressed air, and the demineralized
parts hydrogen (H2) and one part carbon
water supply.
dioxide (CO2) is fed to the fuel cell. Any
H2 not utilized in the fuel cell serves to
heat the reformer. The steam additionally
needed for reformation comes from condensate recovered from the off-gas of the
fuel cell. Under part load, demineralized
water from the neighboring heat plant
is used to balance any potential water
shortage.
Pressurized operation requires compression of natural gas and process air needed
in the fuel cell. It is particularly the energy
required to compress the air that triggers
a distinct increase in station service needs.
Utilizing the energy contained in the off-

400 V 3~

Process of the 250 kW PEM fuel cell plant

Besides use of the PEM fuel cell, the typical feature
of the plant is that the process is pressurized.
It allows compact design but requires increased
maintenance input.

The fuel cell plant functions as an integral

part of the existing Berlin-Treptow heat
plant of Bewag. This heat plant with its
two 12.7MW steam boilers and an 18.7MW
hot water boiler supplies to a local heating
system with a maximum demand of 25 MW.
Minimum demand in summer is 500 kW.
A bypass allows to connect the fuel cell
with the existing district heating system.
A heat exchanger is used for heat removal
to the return flow. Part of the return flow is
this way heated by about 10 K, usually
from 65 to 75 C. The temperature level of
the return flow that is low throughout the
year is, in connection with the high heat
demand, the prerequisite for fully reclaiming the heat rejected by the fuel cell.
The fuel cell is dimensioned for an electric power output up to 250 kW. This is
sufficient to cover the entire electricity
needs of the heat plant. The demand is
occasioned by the pumps recirculating
the heating water, the driving gear of the
burner ventilators and other loads necessary to ensure operation of the heat plant.

Project goals
With this project, the partners pursue the goal of
testing all qualities of the system in a comprehensive
measuring program. In addition to the usual measuring devices for temperature, flow and electric parameters, a gas chromatograph is used that allows to
judge the reformation and conversion rates of each
gas treatment step. These are some central functions
of the measuring program:
Evidencing operational safety
Electric efficiency (approx. 35 percent),
evidencing that the course is constant
Efficiency of each component reformer, stack
and inverter
Aging behavior and voltage drop
Part load behavior
Theoretical degradation (conversion of all existing
energies into heat) after 40,000 hours
Evidencing long-term functional security of the
stack and plant
Review availability and reliability
Transient and start-up behavior
Optimum linkage into power and heat supply
systems

Fuel cell container

All components needed to operate the fuel cell
are housed in a container. What must be added
are the connections to natural gas, heating,
demineralized water, nitrogen and compressedair pipes.
Cooling compartment
Steam reformer
DC/AC converter

The measurement program will take approximately

twelve months. This phase will be followed by threeyear continuous operation to allow conclusions on
long-term operating behavior.

Fuel cell stack

Humidifier module
Shift reactor module
Electrical compartment

Approval procedure
The technical review by the German Technical Control
Association TV Rhineland/Berlin-Brandenburg was
core to the approval process. The reviews comprised
individual testing of components and groups, safety
checks and functional testing. Tests are being carried
out in compliance with both the new European directive for pressure devices and the Canadian CSA (Canadian Standards Association) directive. Their aim is to
conduct, if possible, all tests that will later be required
for the ultimate serial product.

Return flow temperature in C

Steam
boiler
12.7 MWth

Steam
boiler
12.7 MWth

Hotwater
boiler
18.7 MWth

90

Max
heat
demand
25 MWth

60
30

75 C

Berlin-Treptow heat plant

The fuel cell is run as an
integral part of the heat plant.
A bypass ties it into the district
heating system.

Fuel
cell
230 kWth

Flow
85 C

0
0

65 C
Flow: max 70 C
Average temperature: 58 C

Return flow
75 C

3,094

5,279

7,500

hrs p.a.

12
13

Stand-alone, demand-guided power supply

has ceased to be a utopia

Solutions for
tomorrows world.
Liberalization of the European power market has for many
companies thrown up the question whether energy supplies
in their usual form still tally with market developments.
Will investments in large-scale generation plant and extensive
distribution networks continue to pay back in future?

Future prospects
14
15

a complementary energy supply network with a focus on stand-alone

Large power plants, not always locafacilities can in future be installed.
ted close to customers, have so far
These facilities will evolve in response
been the hallmark of power supply.
to demand, clearly reducing investEnergy has been transported to users
ment risks. Plans provide for numerover cost-intensive transmission and
ous small generating plants operated
distribution systems.
In addition, inner-city power plants in an interconnected system of standalone service. Experts call them virtuhave been used in big cities such as
Berlin or Hamburg. Besides producing al power plants, or micro-grids. Fuel
power, they have also served to provide cells will be an essential component
heating services. This has created dis- of such stand-alone structures. They
trict heating systems with large ground will be deployed close to the point of
use for direct heat and power supply,
coverage.
with natural gas used as the predomAlternatives are now emerging for
inant energy source in the initial
commercial clients with the advent
phase. A precondition of this will be
of stand-alone facilities such as wind
that appropriate fuel cells can be
turbines, micro-turbines and block
easily integrated into existing supply
heat and power plants. If linked to
systems without detracting from the
a modern communication system,

Electricity

well-being and living quality of consumers.

For large-scale uses such as satellite
towns or big residential buildings,
mainly large generating units of the
size of the Berlin demonstration plant
will be employed, while small facilities
are predestined for inner-city applications where height limitations need
to be respected. The plants will back
up one another, and be linked through
the existing public system or local
distribution networks. An efficient
communication system will monitor
operation of the individual components.

Natural gas

Fuel cell
Heat

Fuel cell
Fuel cell
Heat

250 kWel

1 to 5 kWel

Fuel cells for stand-alone energy supply

For larger-scale loads, plants with larger-sized
capacities are used. Where served facilities
are small, it is recommendable to deploy units
with their output limited to the demand of
the respective facility.

The history of the fuel cell

1839 Fuel cell first described by
Fuel cells make an important contribution
to energy supply in the 21st century

Sir William Grove

1860 First U.S. fuel cell patent (Vergnes)

A rsum.

1897 Nernst for the first time applies yttrium-doped zirconium for a bulb

The changed energy market environments

and availability of new, efficient generation
systems suggest that the structures of energy
supply will shift.

1902 Reid for the first time describes an

alkaline fuel cell

1935 W. Schottky delivers a theoretical

treatise on SOFCs

1938 Baur and Preis for the first time

publish SOFC experience

1954 F. T. Bacon presents a 150W fuel cell

Schlesisches Tor

1956 6 kW high-pressure fuel cell of

F. T. Bacon
Fuel cell
exhibition

1958 The Westinghouse SOFC program

hk
sc
Pu

starts

e
le
al
in

Eichenstrasse /
Puschkinallee 52

1959 The Allis Charmers Manufacturing

Treptower Park

Company uses a 15 kW fuel cell to

drive a tractor

1961 Fuel cell development for the Apollo

An important contribution toward
practical application

The Hessian fuel cell a demonstration project 1993 1998

Fuel cells will play a key role as an

element of a future, sustainable energy supply infrastructure because they
are energy-efficient and environmentally friendly. Their successful market
launch will largely depend on the
availability of products suitable for
practical use. Besides further development work, this will require practical testing. The Berlin demonstration
project has made an important contribution in this respect. It is open for
visits on the grounds of the fuel cell
exhibition.

The project of Hessische ElektrizittsAG (HEAG), Darmstadt, and the Institute of Chemical Technology of the
Darmstadt Technical University
enjoyed financial assistance from the
Hessian Ministry of Environment,
Energy, Youth, Family and Health:
During the project term between 29
June 1993 and 28 April 1998, the fuel
cell generated an electric power output of 5,462,951kWhel and a thermal
output of 6,866,506 kWhth.

Pay a visit to Bewags fuel cell

exhibition
Eichenstrasse 7/
corner of Puschkinallee
12435 Berlin-Treptow
S-Bahn station: Treptower Park
Subway station: Schlesisches Tor
/ Bus 265
Open Mondays through Fridays
10:00 to 18:00 hours,
Saturdays and Sundays
13:00 to 17:00 hours
Phone +49 30-267-1 11 38
Fax +49 30-267-1 03 13

mission starts (1.4 kW, 200 C, potash

lye, 3.5 bar)

1962 1 kW PEMFC plant for the Gemini

space program

1962 Double electrode concept for alkaline

fuel cells by Justl

1967 United Technology Corp. (UTC)

produces a 12.5 kW PAFC

1983 UTC in New York produces a

4.8 MW plant

1986 Westinghouse manufactures a

5 kW SOFC stack

1992 11 MW PAFC plant in Japan

1992 Westinghouse manufactures a
25 kW SOFC plant

1996 Energy Research Corp. (ERC)

manufactures a 2 MW MCFC plant

Bewag Aktiengesellschaft
Puschkinallee 52
D 12435 Berlin
E-mail bewag@bewag.com
Internet www.bewag.de

Phone
Fax
E-mail
Internet

Information:
+49 30 -267-111 38
+49 30 -267-1 03 13
innovationspark@bewag.com
www.innovation-brennstoffzelle.de
www.fuelcellpark.com

May 2001

Fuel cell exhibition

Eichenstrasse 7/corner of Puschkinallee
12435 Berlin-Treptow
S-Bahn station: Treptower Park
Subway station: Schlesisches Tor / Bus 265
Open Mondays through Fridays
10:00 to 18:00 hours,
Saturdays and Sundays
13:00 to 17:00 hours