Power Generation
Fuel cells generate clean, efficient, reliable electricity for nearly any power need.
From data centers to hospitals, communications networks, retail sites, municipal facilities, and more, fuel cell systems are already deployed across the country.
Fuel cells generate electricity through an electrochemical reaction, not combustion, and are able to utilize a wide-range of fuel sources – including natural gas, methanol, and hydrogen.
Power Generation
Fuel cells offer a unique combination of benefits and are complementary, not competitors, to other electricity generation technologies. Commercially available fuel cell systems include different technologies, such as low-temperature and high-temperature, as well as a range of size options, with capacity to scale to multi-megawatt (MW) and gigawatt (GW) configurations.
Fuel cells can provide primary power, backup power, or combined heat and power (CHP) to a facility. They can be installed as part of the electric grid, or in parallel to it, ensuring reliable power without disruption due to grid failure or blackouts. Fuel cells can produce electricity on-site directly to customers, without the efficiency losses of long-range grid transmission, or provide an energy storage option.
Fuel cells generate low to zero emissions, depending on the fuel source, and are exempt from air quality permitting in numerous states. Most stationary fuel cells run on natural gas, connecting directly to the nation’s existing natural gas infrastructure. Fuel cells can also operate using hydrogen, biogas, methanol, and other domestic feedstocks; and can partner with solar, wind, and other renewable technologies.
Fuel cells are highly efficient, typically reaching fuel to electricity efficiency of 60 percent, nearly double the efficiency of the electric grid. Capturing and utilizing the byproduct waste heat for space heating, hot water, or even cooling or refrigeration, increases overall energy efficiency to more than 90 percent. In buildings, fuel cell CHP units can reduce facility energy service costs by 20% to 40% compared to conventional energy technologies.
Many fuel cells are designed to operate in water-balance, with no consumption or discharge of water in normal operations, saving precious resources.
Fuel cell systems also take up much less space in proportion to other clean energy technologies, a huge benefit in urban areas or where land is expensive. A 10 MW fuel cell installation can be sited on approximately an acre of land compared to about 10 acres required per MW of solar power and about 50 acres per MW of wind.
Fuel cells are extremely quiet, so they can be installed indoors or outdoors without noise disruption. Fuel cells are rugged and durable, providing power in sites that are either hard to access or are subject to inclement weather.
FCHEA member companies collectively have tens of thousands of fuel cell systems deployed around the world and offer products in all sizes and fuel cell technologies.
Hydrogen Safety
Hydrogen systems are as safe, if not safer, than conventional fuel systems, including gasoline and natural gas. Hydrogen is ubiquitous in the universe. On Earth, hydrogen is a molecule consisting of two atoms and has a propensity to bond with other molecules.
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