Encouraging the use of fuel cells to provide heat and power

Encouraging the use of fuel cells to provide heat and power

Fuel cells: Providing heat and power in the urban environment

Research Theme 2 - Decarbonising Modern Societies
Project ID - IT1.36

Principal contact: Dr Jim Halliday

The following information is available on this project:

Powell, J.C., Peters, M.D., Ruddell, A. & Halliday, J. (2004) Fuel Cells for a Sustainable Future?
Tyndall Working Paper 50

Technical Summary

Combined heat and power (CHP) plants, in which the heat produced as a consequence of electricity generation is used to provide local heating, offer significantly enhanced overall efficiencies, and therefore reduced CO2 emissions, compared to conventional centralised generation. In an urban environment, however, the noise and emissions of local pollutants associated with conventional CHP plant may be unacceptable. Fuel cell technology is ideal for CHP plants as it offers high fuel efficiency coupled with negligible impact on local air quality.. In the context of Climate Change, perhaps their its most important advantage is that owing to their the high efficiency and ability to use low- or zero-carbon fuels, they offering the potential for reduction of the current unsustainable growth in anthropogenic CO2 emissions.

Unfortunately, fuel cells are currently too expensive to be commercially viable. Although improvements in technology can be expected to reduce costs, the introduction of fuel cell CHP (FCfuel cell CHP) could be further facilitated by identifying and exploiting favourable 'niche' applications, for example by ensuring that plants are sited so as to optimise the match between plant output and the local demand for both heat and power; which varies significantly according to consumer. There is scope for optimisation not only on the supply side, but also on the demand side by encouraging changes in consumers' energy use patterns. The project will seek to identify barriers to widespread implementation of small-scale (less than 1 MWe) fuel cell CHP in a range of urban environments, considering technical, environmental and socio-economic aspects. The project's outputs will define the existing scope for fuel cell CHP, identify the conditions required for increased future penetration, and assess the associated social and environmental benefits.