BlueGen for Europe-Commercialisation of Ceramic Fuel Cells' residential SOFC Product

摘要

With 20 years SOFC experience and 6 years field testing experience (about 900000 operating hours with four field system generations), Ceramic Fuel Cells (CFCL) has developed a 2kW residential generator product, fully optimizing the prime advantages of SOFC technology-very high electrical efficiency and load modulation over a wide range with high efficiency. Bluegen, a modular electricity generator with heat recovery is based on CFCL's fuel cell module Gennex, consisting of a 51 layer stack with 204 anode supported cells in a 2x2 window-frame design, the heat management system (heat exchanger and start-afterburner), the pre-reformer and steam generator. Gennex is a "methane" fuel cell module (direct internal reforming of methane-the "chemical combined cycle") with a DC efficiency of around 68%. The fuel cell appliance BlueGen has a peak NET AC efficiency of 60% at 1.5kW output, and can be power modulated between 500W and 2kW with electric efficiencies between 40 and 60%. The combined thermal efficiency of the 2011 model is up to 85%. BlueGen obtained CE product certification in April 2010, and has been installed in 9 countries worldwide, but with primary focus on the European market, in particular Germany, The Netherlands and UK. The combined fleet of over 150 Bluegen and integrated systems installed to date has clocked up about 700000 operating hours. The earliest BlueGen installations have been running for over 13000 hours. There are some degradation variations between systems, but many systems show an efficiency degradation of about 1%/1000hrs after about 4000hrs operation. BlueGen is the first commercially available SOFC system in Europe through its distribution partners [1] and service providers who sell, install and maintain the systems. An internet platform bluegen.net provides BlueGen performance data and control functionality to customers and service companies. In January/February 2011, the manufacturing capacity in its Heinsberg facility has been extended from stack assembly to BlueGen assembly, with a current capacity of 1000 Bluegen systems per year, but readily extendable to 2500 system per year. In addition, Bruns Heiztechnik, BDR and Ideal Boilers produce integrated fuel cell heating systems (fuel cell + condensing boiler) in Germany, France and United Kingdom.