Fuel cell focus | Bloom reports SOFC market lead
SOFC company Bloom Energy says it is “by far” the market leader in the stationary fuel cell market according to a new report from Frost & Sullivan, Stationary fuel cell growth opportunities, which notes, according to Bloom that it “has dominated the stationary solid oxide fuel cell market since it commercialised the technology in 2010.” The report also says that solid oxide is the leading technology for stationary fuel cells.
The USA, Japan, and South Korea will remain the leading markets for stationary fuel cells, the report says, and Bloom has a significant market presence in both the USA and South Korea. The stationary fuel cell market consists of approximately 50 active players, but the top four account for 85.2% of total installed capacity, according to Frost & Sullivan. With a 44% global market share, Bloom leads the top four companies, followed by Doosan-HyAxiom, FuelCell Energy and Panasonic.
“Our analysis shows the prospect of robust growth in stationary fuel cells and that it will happen in markets where Bloom Energy is already present,” says Jonathan Robinson, the author of the report. “Solid oxide fuel cells, Bloom’s signature
technology, will continue to be the leading factor in the market’s expansion.”
Frost & Sullivan says that data centres are the key to future fuel cell market growth, and Bloom is already well positioned in that sector. Data centres are energy intensive and their operators are both looking to get power according to a timetable that local electric utilities can’t meet and secure low carbon energy sources to reduce their use of fossil fuels.
“There has never been a more perfect situation for Bloom than the data centre market,” says Jeff Barber, vice president of sales - global data centres, at Bloom Energy. “These customers are in the business of providing access to significant amounts of reliable power, and that access is now sporadic and, many times, inadequate. Bloom has the reliable and predictable power solution these critical facilities demand, with or without a utility presence. Many utilities are quoting these customers 6 to 10 years for additional generation, transmission, and sub-station capacity. Bloom eliminates this ‘time to power’ barrier, enabling the developers and their tenants to bring the facility online years ahead of the centralised utility.”
Above: Bloom Energy SOFC installation
Among recent SOFC orders reported by Bloom Energy is a 2.5 MW installation for Perenco to be installed at Wytch Farm in Dorset, England, the largest onshore oil field in western Europe, where it will be used to support Perenco’s baseload requirements. It will be the first deployment of Bloom fuel cell technology in the UK. Bloom sees the agreement with Perenco as another major step in its expansion in Europe, following a recent sales agreement for northern Europe with Elugie, a marketing partnership agreement with Telam for Spain and Portugal, and SOFC sales to Cefla and Ferrari in Italy announced in 2022.
Fuel cell success at Friedrichshafen
Rolls-Royce’s tests of its first mtu fuel cell demonstrator have proven that the system can provide uninterruptible power in the event of a blackout. Dr Philippe Gorse, responsible for the development of the mtu fuel cell system at the Power Systems business unit of Rolls-Royce,
which employs PEM technology, said: “The 250 kW system we built at our headquarters in Friedrichshafen and tested for about a year absolutely met our expectations. During the blackout simulation, the system immediately and consistently provided the requested power.” The interaction of fuel cell modules, batteries and power grid was the focus of the tests to demonstrate the ability the fuel cell system to provide an uninterruptible power supply for data centres. It is black-start capable, meaning it can be started without being connected to a power grid. Tests of peak load power delivery, ie, when a highly fluctuating demand is met by the fuel cell system for an extended period
Left: mtu fuel cell demonstrator
in parallel with the power grid, were also successfully carried out.
Rolls-Royce mtu fuel cells will be deployed as part of the publicly funded Enerport II project. This will see Duisport, one of the world’s largest inland ports, commission during 2024 a new terminal with a hydrogen-based energy supply network. Most of the electrical and thermal energy required in the port will eventually be supplied directly on site from hydrogen in a CO2
-neutral
manner. This will be achieved by using two mtu fuel cell systems and two combined heat and power plants equipped with mtu Series 4000 hydrogen engines.
The project is supported by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection.
Ballard PEM fuel cells for critical stationary power
Ballard Power Systems has announced an order for 3.6 MW of its PEM fuel cell systems from a “European provider of clean energy solutions” for critical stationary power applications. Ballard says it expects to deliver 36 x 100 kW systems in 2023 and 2024.
The fuel cell systems will provide zero- emission stationary power generation for a range of applications, including construction, EV charging, and datacentres.
This order is said to represent a progression of the relationship between Ballard and the customer following the successful initial roll-out of stationary power units powered by Ballard fuel cells.
Prior to this latest purchase order, Ballard had supplied this end-user with approximately 1.2 MW of fuel cells.
“We are seeing growing market interest for zero-emissions critical power generation for
16 | July/August 2023|
www.modernpowersystems.com
off-grid applications and applications where grid congestion makes grid availability unreliable,” said David Mucciacciaro, Ballard’s chief commercial officer. “Displacing traditional diesel generators with an emissions-free alternative will require creative solutions. Fuel cell-based electricity generators offer high reliability and long run-time, while also cutting carbon emissions and improving local air quality and noise levels.”
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