WASHINGTON, July 12 (UPI) -- In an increasingly oil-expensive economy, where companies are seeking out smarter alternative energy sources, a new fuel cell technology is promoting a more efficient electrical efficiency rate -- billing itself as a near-future option for both military and commercial uses.
Ansaldo Fuel Cells, an Italian-based Finmeccanica company, is producing a new fuel cell design intended to be economically and environmentally viable for use in military and maritime applications, hospitals, and even in the support of the pulp and paper manufacturing industry in Italy.
Fuel cells directly convert fuel-stored chemical energy into electricity and heat - operating similar to a car battery. Cells can generate electrical power continuously, as long as a fuel (typically hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (air) are fed to the cell's electrodes.
According to exports, the major advantage of fuel cells is the ability to operate with different fuels - enabling prospects for potentially high conversion capabilities and low emissions rates.
"Fuel cells have been around for a long time, the trick is can you make them commercially viable," said Dr. Stephen Bryen, president of parent-company Finmeccanica.
Ansaldo says it can.
The company has been working on fuel cells for the last 20 years and started prototypes for their current first generation Molten Carbonate fuel cells about 10 years ago. The most recent generation of mature technology has been up and running in an Italian-based plant for the past four years, he told United Press International.
Ansaldo operates plants in Italy and Spain, and is currently in the process of opening one in Turkey. It also has plans to put a Molten Carbonate fuel cell on a cargo ferry operating between Greece and Turkey by 2008.
"Ansaldo's hydrogen-based Molten Carbonate fuel cells are very efficient at converting the chemical energy of the fuel into electrical energy -- It has a 50 percent electrical efficiency rate and if we consider the heat it produces, it can go as high as percent efficiency," said Bryen.
"Compare this to the 20 percent efficiency rate for a gas turbine engine and you can see that hydrogen fuel cells are a smart alternative energy source."
One big benefit of the MCF is that it does not hold connectivity to the electric grid, meaning that the cell can be started even during a power outage, according to Dr. Ing. Bartolomeo Marcenaro, of business development at Ansaldo.
"The real advantage of our technology is it can rapidly start-up within a minute," said Bryen.
The stand-alone aspect of the technology's hydrogen fuel cell enables it to produce electricity, heat and air-conditioning. Additionally it can be fueled by waste material, which makes it ideal for use on military bases and within the defense industry, as well as on passenger ships.
At present the pulp and paper-manufacturing industry is utilizing fuel cell technology by fueling it with byproducts of the manufacturing process in Italy, to produce electricity and heat. The Italian government is currently sponsoring a demonstration using the Ansaldo fuel cell.
According to Dr. Ing. Giovanni Vespasiani, chief executive officer of Ansaldo, using this type of technology enables significant cost savings in the disposal of waste and benefits by leaving behind no pollutants.
The biggest expense for pulp and paper mills is buying energy. With the cell, waste products can be used to generate energy, without burning any material surplus energy can be sold to the power grid.
"It can turn toxic waste into energy," said Bryen.
Although Ansaldo is primarily targeting the U.S. defense sector during the introductory period, the company says that there are several other major target areas it is seeking to expand to including providing power to deal with emergency disasters when main power grids fail.
Emergency services, hospitals, police, and social services would be set to benefit from an MCF, along with developing countries such as India and China.
"These countries have huge power requirements and also have a lot of remote areas and biomass to get rid of," making the technology suitable for environmentally efficient energy generation, said Bryen, adding that AFCo is due to speak with the likes of the World Bank and other aid organizations who are showing interest at present.
Ansaldo is working on partnering with more U.S. companies. "We are looking to expand cooperation both in the defense and civil arenas," said Bryen.
With a $160 million investment in the last five years, the company is forging ahead with working on defraying the costs of the fuel cell technology. Working on a program to reduce costs, Bryen said that the company has already been able to half the cost, expecting to trim down costs by another 30 percent by 2008.
At present for a one megawatt plant, the rough cost of the Molten Carbonate fuel cell is about $2.5 million, said Bryen. "That price may go down depending on how much we produce, a lot of things do bring the whole costs lower," he added.
However, he emphasized the significant savings in energy utilization as a result of using the Ansaldo fuel cell technology to generate electricity, heat and even air conditioning.
"This money stays in the U.S. and works in the U.S., it's not going to Saudi or anywhere else, but stays here and benefits the community" he also emphasized, a benefit of not paying for expensive foreign-produced oil to generate precious energy.
"It is going to be a very effective technology as this goes into full production, pricing will get better," said Bryen.
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