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Ceramic Fuel Cells

Changing the way energy is generated


Ceramic Fuel Cells (CFU:AIM) is a world leader in commercialising solid oxide fuel cell technology to generate efficient, low-emission electricity from widely available natural gas and renewable fuels.
The firm develops, manufactures, and markets small-scale, micro- combined heat and power (micro- CHP) units under the brand
name BlueGEN that co-generate electricity and heat for homes and businesses. There is an enormous global potential for this technology: fuel cell micro-CHP technology and applications have taken off in Japan in the aftermath of March 2011’s Fukushima nuclear accident and subsequent electricity rationing, by offering users near-independence from grid supplied energy.
Looking at other markets it is officially recognised as increasingly likely there will be power shortages in the UK by 2016 as many coal-fired plants are retired under the European Union’s Large Combustion Plant Directive and few replacements come on to the grid in the short to medium term. Germany also faces energy shortages and rising electricity prices due to a post-Fukushima government U-turn on atomic power, which is only partly offset by an installation programme of wind power, so threatening the efficiency of the German industrial base.


UNIQUE PRODUCT

BlueGEN has the world's highest electrical efficiency from a small- scale generator, delivering up to 60% electrical efficiency and 85% total efficiency including heat for hot water. Its technology also by more than two-thirds, when compared to coal fired electricity generation. There is no other comparable product for on-site energy generation in the world. Hundreds of BlueGEN units have been installed in nine countries around the globe and together have already reached more than three million combined operating hours.
Ceramic Fuel Cells was founded in Australia in 1992 as a spin-out from the CSIRO, an Australian Government research institute. Today the firm employs about 120 staff with operations in Australia, Germany and the UK. More than £160 million has been invested in research and development and product commercialisation to date, including installations of hundreds of units with longstanding customers EWE and E.ON (EOAN:DE).
The UK is one key market because of its grid feed-in-tariff structure. BlueGEN is the only fuel cell eligible for the UK feed-in-tariff. Germany and the Benelux countries are others, since the governments there have substantial budgets to promote the use of energy and carbon efficient generators. Germany, for example, offers a €13,000 subsidy for each unit installed by small and medium- sized enterprises (SMEs) in the state of North-Rhine Westphalia, where BlueGEN enjoys strong support. Grid companies Alliander in Germany and National Grid (NG.) in the UK financially support BlueGEN and Ceramic Fuel Cells has excellent relationships with both firms. In its target markets, the £42 million cap has built networks of installers, distributors and direct sales covering all regions. Other important partners are regional governments, local energy companies, energy services companies (ESCOs) and housing associations.


ENERGY AND COST EFFICIENT

BlueGEN units are predominantly installed in housing estates, schools and SMEs with high energy needs, such as bakeries, hairdressers and workshops. They generate electrical energy and heat behind the meter for use on site, so valuing the electricity generated at the customer’s own retail price at rates typically to three times higher than the prevailing wholesale rates. For every 100 energy units going in, BlueGEN turns 60 into electricity and 25 into hot water, for total energy efficiency of 85% and a world-leading primary energy efficiency at any scale.
Housing associations, in partnership with an ESCO that fully funds the installation, are obvious users of BlueGEN because it is so energy and cost efficient. An ESCO is a commercial or non-profit business that provides the implementation of energy savings projects.
One BlueGEN unit in an apartment block, supplying up to five flats from one unit, allows the ESCO to offer guaranteed discounts on energy bills for tenants. If BlueGENs were used on more of the UK’s housing estates, fuel poverty for low income families, who unfortunately often pay the highest tariffs through pay-as-you-go meters, would be greatly reduced. Unlike other fuel cell products, BlueGEN is highly compatible with various low-carbon heating solutions, such as biomass and heat pumps, so it can be installed almost anywhere where there is an existing gas connection.


BRITISH CAMPAIGN

In June this year, Ceramic Fuel Cells launched its fully funded ‘Free BlueGEN’ campaign in the UK. Aimed at BlueGEN’s main potential users, schools, SMEs and housing associations, the goal is to deliver energy savings of at least 20%, as well as greener energy by saving three to four tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. The Anne Veck salon in Oxford (see picture below, right) saves much more than this, with measured reductions of around 100% on grid electricity and around 25% on gas. To see full details go to www.bluegen.info/Anne_Veck.
For the right installation locations, funders will fully finance the installation and take the feed-in tariff instead of normal repayments. This initiative is similar to the government’s Green Deal, but much simpler. Eligible end users only pay for the running costs and reap the benefits from savings on their energy bill. So far, applications for more than 350 units have been received.


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SynQuasi