Fuel cell power plant for German government building A stationary fuel cell powe ...

Fuel cell power plant for German government building A stationary fuel cell power plant is to be installed at the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research government complex in Berlin. The 250 kW DFC250-EU power plant, from the US-based FuelCell Energy Solutions, has been sold to site developer BAM Deutschland under a public-private partnership. FuelCell Energy Solutions will manufacture and install the power plant which is expected to be operational in 2014. The company will also service and operate the power plant over a ten-year period from a service operations centre that is permanently staffed around the clock, 365 days per year. The power plant will meet approximately 40% of the electrical and 20% of the thermal load of the complex. A key benefit of the fuel cell in this application is the ability to provide both power and usable high-quality heat from the same unit of fuel, says FuelCell Energy Solutions. The heat at the Ministry will be used to generate steam for heating in the winter and will support an absorption chiller for cooling in the warmer months. Fuel cells can achieve up to 85% efficiency when used in combined heat and power mode, says FuelCell Energy Solutions. ‘Located near the Reichstag Parliamentary building and the offices of the German Chancellor, this office complex and its fuel cell power plant is in a prominent location for developing awareness of the benefits of efficient and environmentally friendly fuel cell power generated on-site,’ said Dr Markus Koch from BAM Deutschland. Alongside the fuel cell power plant, a variety of innovative energy concepts will be incorporated at the building, including thermo-active cooling/heating blankets in the ceilings, LED lighting technology and large-scale solar panels. An intelligent electricity network (ie smart grid) is planned to be incorporated throughout the 5.4 ha complex to manage the individual service elements.