whispergen & e.on

Posted this email and got this reply if anyone is interested:

Dear Andrew,

In March 2010 E.On announced they are bringing to the Uk market Whisper Gen.

This week in Reuters they stated from Winter 2011 they would be deploying Whisper Gen in quantities of 80k over 5 years.

How does this work with CFU?s product & E.On?

It is clear Whisper Gen is more a Boiler with the added benefit of producing some power when switched on, whereas CFU?s product is an electricity generating device with some added benefit of using the waste heat.

I would say the Whisper Gen is the more marketable product TODAY as it is more recognisable to the average consumer.

Any insight you can provide would be really interesting to hear,
______________________________________________
Dear Andrew
Thanks for your note.
Whispergen is a NZ company that makes a Stirling engine mCHP unit. It's a different technology to fuel cells, with different outputs and a different value proposition. The product is mainly a heater, that produces a small amount of power (about 6-8kW of heat for every 1kW of electricity). It has a low electrical efficiency - less than 15%; by contrast, CFCL's product produces more power than heat, with extremely high electrical efficiency (peak of 60% - the highest in the world). A Stirling engine is an appropriate solution for homes that need a lot of heat. The constraint is that if the heat cannot be used, the product must be turned off - whereas CFCL's products generate power constantly, all year round.
E.ON UK is developing a portfolio of small scale generating and mCHP products, including Whispergen's product, as well as our fuel cell product. They recognise that different products will be suited to different market segments. We think that's a good thing - it shows E.On is serious about developing the mCHP market. And it is a very large market - eg 8 million home boilers sold per year in EU alone (about 1.5m in the UK). There is ample room for both us and Whispergen, and likely other providers also.
PS if you'd like some more background, I have attached a note from May 2008 reporting on a field trial of various mCHP units performed by the UK Carbon Trust, including Whispergen units. It's a bit dated now but it has some very useful data and findings from real-world trials.
Once again thanks for your note.
Regards
Andrew Neilson
Group General Manager - Commercial
CERAMIC FUEL CELLS LIMITED
Tel: +61 (0)3 9554 2300
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.cfcl.com.au

A mini power station in your home? www.cfcl.com.au/Bluegen