Status of the Solid Oxide Fuel Cell System Development at Wärtsilä

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1 Status of the Solid Oxide Fuel Cell System Development at Wärtsilä Fuel Cell Seminar Phoenix Jerri Laine Innovation Manager Wärtsilä Finland

2 Wärtsilä Fuel Cell Program Wärtsilä s fuel cell R&D program is to develop and commercialize SOFC based power units for distributed power generation and for marine auxiliary power. We focus on design and engineering of fuel cell systems. System integration and application know-how are key areas where Wärtsilä s expertise is utilized. Wärtsilä is currently developing first commercial demo units in the kw power class in 2008 / Larger commercial products in the kw power range are planned to follow after 2010.

3 Why SOFC? Fuel cells Area of interest Electrical efficiency η [-] Steamand gas turbines Diesel engines Otto engines Plant Power [MW] Pro-environmental solution No noise, particles, VOC, NOx and SOx emissions

4 Wärtsilä s SOFC history First 50 kw biogas field unit First 20 kw natural gas prototype First 50 kw natural gas prototype First 20 kw methanol field unit First 20 kw biogas field unit 1-5 kw SOFC test system Start-up FC feasibility study kw SOFC conceptual study Start-up

5 WFC 20 α-prototype, Main features 1. Power conversion and system control compartment 2. Fuel cell compartment, start-up burners, and air heat exchanger 3. Fuel processing compartment; sulphur removal and pre-reforming reactors, afterburner, steam generator, and heat exchanger 4. Cold box module; air compressor, anode gas re-circulation 5. Water treatment, fuel flow controllers, and heat management actuators

6 WFC 20 α-prototype, Operational experiences The WFC20 alpha prototype unit has been operated for 1096 hours current fed to the electric grid for over 800 hours. After the start-up procedure, the system has been operated unattended on stable operating conditions. The realized net AC power production surpassed the rated 17.4 kw level, and the targeted 52% DC efficiency of the stacks was exceeded. Relatively high stack efficiency with low fuel utilization provides a good basis for achieving the targeted 42% overall electrical efficiency. Additional burner was needed to manage the reformer temperature level The highest achieved gross power was 21.5 kw.

7 WFC20 alpha power output during 1096h Burner broken Anode recycle pump broken Short circuit in hot box Nominal power

8 Second generation 20 kw SOFC for biogas applications

9 Biogas SOFC field test location

10 Landfill Gas Fuel Cell Process Landfill gas based power production unit 19 kwe, kwh Electrical efficiency (LHV) 43%, overall efficiency 73-76% Produced heat that is not used internally will be fed to district heating Landfill gas brings additional requirements compared to natural gas Fuel is diluted: ~40% CH 4, 34% N 2, 26% CO Undesirable impurities such as tars, chlorine compounds and siloxanes, requires quite heavy gas clean-up Fluctuations in gas composition (± 15%) Gas clean-up accomplished through adsorption on activated carbon at room temperature

11 Marine field test - METHAPU Validation of Renewable Methanol Based Auxiliary Power System for Commercial Vessels

12 METHAPU objectives Modify 250kW SOFC concept to marine conditions -> 20kW test unit installation Modify marine vessel to suite marine SOFC installation Constructional modification, Fuel bunkering, storage and distribution, Fuel cell room solutions for methanol use Introduce a renewable and sustainable onboard fuel, methanol Assess short-term and long-term environmental impacts of the application by Life Cycle Assessment methodology Act as a springboard for future research on larger marine SOFC units and methanol based economy More detail in

13 Fuel Cell markets Biogas: Water treatment facilities Food industry Industrial agriculture Landfills Backup power: Hospitals Banks Data centers The authorities Combined heat & power: Offices Hotels Small-scale industry Marine Applications

14 Biogas SOFC applications added value Biogas SOFC have investment subsidies & feed-in tariffs Biogas treated as renewable fuel Fuel cell has technology bonus SOFC can utilize low methane content fuels at various power ranges at good efficiency Biogas is local and cheap Natural gas / oil price will increase High efficiency

15 Biogas markets in Europe Germany United Kingdom Italy Spain France Netherlands Austria Denmark Poland Total biogas production (ktoe) Belgium Greece Finland Czech Republic Ireland Sweden Hungary Portugal Luxemburg Slovenia Slovakia Estonia Source: EurObserv'ER 2007

16 Lessons learned from Photovoltaic and wind markets after years from first demonstrations the industry enters the growth stage Wind and PV market growth Market (M$/a) PV Market (M$/a) Wind Market (M$/a)

17 Stationary fuel cell market expectations In the growth stage the prices remain relatively constant and profits can be made limiting factor seems to be the manufacturing capacity Stationary Fuel Cell markets M$/a PV Market PV Price ($/kw) Wind turbine market Annual sales (M /a) Price ( /kw) M$/a Price of turine ($/kw)

18 Conclusions The integration of 24 planar SOFC stacks to build first 20 kw planar SOFC power unit has been demonstrated Extensive know-how gathered for system requirements Presentation on stack parameter requirements on Thursday, 8:30, DEM-41-1 The upcoming units will provide extensive experience over SOFC in marine and biogas applications Strong focus on R&D and on the development of manufacturing processes will be continued before commercialization The SOFC s become true competitors to conventional technologies in power ranges of kw, when SOFC s reach an investment price of /kw The mass market tipping point starts at a price level of /kw

19 Wärtsilä fuel cell program Acknowledgments for collaboration and for the close to 80 partners and suppliers within Wärtsilä Fuel Cell Program