U.S. Department of Energy

DOE, Westinghouse to Continue
Development of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell

The agreement continues a government-industry energy partnership that began in the early 1970s when engineers first developed the concept of an all-ceramic, high-temperature fuel cell. Fuel cells, which operate much like batteries, produce electric power and heat by an electrochemical reaction, rather than combustion.

Today's agreement calls for Westinghouse and DOE to share the costs of a phased development effort that will scale up the solid oxide technology, beginning with initial design and testing of a 250-kilowatt system and culminating with a prototype 2.5 megawatt power unit.

In addition to DOE, Westinghouse will partner with Southern California Edison, Ontario Hydro, Praxair, the Gas Research Institute, and others in carrying out this project.

The entire development effort is expected to cost $202 million over the next five-and-a-half years, although it will be carried out in phases to provide the Federal government with checkpoints to monitor progress and assess the continuing feasibility of the developmental effort. If the entire project proceeds as planned, Westinghouse and its development partners will provide nearly $119 million -- or nearly 59% of the total costs -- with DOE supplying the remainder.

The joint R&D agreement was signed today by Rita Bajura, Director of DOE's Federal Energy Technology Center, which will oversee the project, and Aris Melissaratos, Vice President of Science, Technology and Quality, at Westinghouse. Congressmen Mike Doyle (D-PA) and a representative from Sen. Rick Santorum's (R-PA) office -- Joseph Kuklis, Projects Associate -- participated in the ceremony. Much of the technology development and fuel cell fabrication will take place at the Westinghouse Science and Technology Center in Pittsburgh.

The ultra-efficient and environmentally clean nature of fuel cells make the technology one of the most attractive energy options for future power generating plants. Westinghouse envisions ultimately linking its solid oxide fuel cells with high-efficiency gas turbines, creating a natural gas-fueled power plant that would attain fuel-to-electricity efficiencies of 70 percent or more. The best large utility-size natural gas combined cycle plants operate at about 60 percent efficiencies. Higher efficiencies, such as those projected for the solid oxide development effort, will enhance economics and reduce greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide.

Water and waste heat are the only other exhausts from the plant. DOE has estimated that for every one megawatt of electricity generated by fuel cells, 100,000 pounds of sulfur dioxide and 41,000 pounds of nitrogen oxides emissions could be reduced annually. This makes fuel cells especially attractive in areas which are experiencing urban smog and acid rain.

Today's agreement calls for Westinghouse to develop further improvements to their "tubular" solid oxide design that are intended to reduce costs and improve reliability -- two factors critical to future commercial acceptance. Engineers will work on improving the technology itself, focusing largely on the development of a pressurized solid oxide fuel cell generator that can achieve the fuel-to-energy efficiencies, and on improved manufacturing techniques that will also lower production costs.

Working with a utility advisory committee, Westinghouse will also select a series of host sites for progressively larger, pre-commercial fuel cell installations. The initial system development will involve a single fuel cell module with one stack of tubular cells and a "micro-turbine" generator. Later, site tests of larger fuel cell-gas turbine systems will be conducted, building on the hardware and experience gained from preceding tests.

Ultimately, Westinghouse plans to design, fabricate and test a 2.5 megawatt integrated fuel cell-gas turbine generator made up of four submodules, eight stacks, and a two-shaft gas turbine generator. This system -- the prototype for future commercial-scale systems -- will be configured to attain the highest possible efficiency and total power output.

-End of TechLine-