A proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEFC) unit built by Ballard Generation Systems has begun field tests at NTT Telecommunications Energy Laboratories in Musashino City, Tokyo Prefecture, Japan. The unit is the fourth 250 kW PEFC to undergo field testing. The first was installed in the USA and the next two in Europe.
The field trial by NTT, in collaboration with Ebara and Ebara Ballard, involves a fuel cell cogeneration unit integrated with an Ebara absorption chiller. The field test will verify the performance of the fuel cell and the cogeneration system. Ebara Ballard manufactures and markets Ballard fuel cell power generation systems in Japan.
The PEFC fuel cell can achieve efficiencies of over 40 per cent while achieving nitrogen oxide emission levels below those of micro turbines. The fuel cell operates at a low working temperature and can easily be started and stopped, making it well suited to distributed power generation and for automobile applications.
NTT has been working on a new model for power generation since 1997. One of its aims is to increase its energy self-sufficiency by 30 per cent by 2010 using clean energy sources. The PEFC is expected to form part of that strategy.
