Promising Technology
The fuel cells have long been considered a promising technology, and markets are recently started to grow. In Japan, the FC micro-CHP (1 kWe) market has now reached 80 000 installations. In Europe, however, the market is still very limited, even if countries like England, Sweden and Finland start to put big incentives in production of SOFC, since l’OMS has established the total decrease of CO2 emissions for 2050. The larger capacity fuel cells (> 50 kW) are not yet implemented while there is a great potential for this product.
Most of the operational SOFC’s (> 50 kWe) are used for the production of electricity, while heat and other co-products are wasted. By responding better to customer needs and demands, the competitiveness of stationary SOFC units can be significantly improved, which is the aim of INNOSOFC project. For example, next generation SOFC systems could also be used within the horticulture wherein all products, electricity, heat, CO2, and water, can be fully utilized. The high total efficiency of this technology leads to higher reduction of primary energy consumption and higher CO2 reduction compared to competing technologies.
The market potential for SOFC systems is large. In horticulture in the Netherlands alone, there is presently a capacity of 3,000 MWe of gas engine CHPs, which could be replaced by more efficient SOFC systems. The application analysis in WP 2 will focus on these new applications and end-users, allowing for a broader target audience. It will allow for a system better tailored to customer groups.
It expected that the new ENTSO-E (the European Network of Transmission System Operators) network code with requirements for all generators will be published and put into force in 2015-2016. The intermediate power class for distributed generation (10-100 kW) developed in INNO-SOFC is a crucial one for the effective implementation of a decentralized, efficient, renewables-oriented and participatory energy and social infrastructure. In fact, most enterprises, residential blocks, hospitals and educational centres, require a base load power supply in that range. Furthermore, most small-scale renewable energy plants convert less than 100 kW primary energy: not only privately owned solar PV panels, but above all the several biogas and syngas producing farms distributed over the hinterlands. On the long run distributed energy based on locally available biofuels will have a strong impact on the introduction of electricity in developing countries, especially in agricultural areas of Asia and Africa. The INNOSOFC system, when produced for low cost, will be especially suitable for this purpose. To provide a compatible cogeneration system that fits in with these requirements and renewable fuel gas production rates is of tremendous importance to provide the fine network of multiplying, small-scale energy producers with intelligent power generators, back-up and modulation systems, for the development of a truly smart grid which will be safe, secure and reliable.
SOFC represent the progress, the future.