Next generation fuel cells key to new Finnish renewable energy system
15 May 2018Fuel cell manufacturer Elcogen (based in Estonia and Finland) has teamed up with fuel cell system developer Convion to power two CHP systems for the LEMENE smart grid project, led by energy company Lempäälän Energia.
The smart grid, which will also include a 4 MW PV array, an 8 MW biogas-fuelled engine and a battery, will deliver power to about 50 businesses in the industrial district of Marjamäki, south-western Finland.
The biogas fuelled CHP systems, with a total electrical output of 116 kW, will employ Elcogen solid oxide fuel cell stacks.
Lempäälän Energia Ltd’s LEMENE project, which started in summer 2017 and is due to be fully operational in summer 2019, aims to create an energy self-sufficient business district. It is being supported by the Finnish Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.
Elcogen’s fuel cells employ what it calls a “unique anode-supported ceramic technology to create solid oxide fuel cells with the market’s lowest operating temperatures.” The low temperatures mean the Elcogen cells can utilise low-cost materials suitable for mass manufacturing, while also achieving longer system lifetimes.
Convion shareholders include Wärtsilä.
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