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The opening of the solid oxide fuel cell facility at the University of Toronto at Mississauga (UTM) today marks Canada's first installation of solid oxide fuel cells in a university student residence as well as the world's first multi-unit installation.

"The University of Toronto at Mississauga is proud to be a leader in adopting emerging energy technologies," says Ray deSouza, chief administrative officer at UTM. "We are committed to environmentally friendly practices in the midst of extraordinary campus expansion, and installing fuel cell technology to power student residences is one way we are doing this. We want our campus to be a site where innovative technology can be applied and evaluated, where research into these vital energy alternatives can flourish and where teaching and public education initiatives can develop."

The facility houses four 5-kilowatt solid oxide fuel cell systems developed by Fuel Cell Technologies Ltd. These systems will serve as a primary source of combined heat and power for 12 townhouse units in the UTM student residence complex, providing a clean, environmentally friendly source of energy.

The $2-million project will generate 20 kilowatts of "clean" power for the townhouse units. If the units require more than 20 kilowatts of power, the energy will come from the Ontario power grid. The solid oxide fuel cell systems are connected to the power grid, but can operate even if the grid goes down. If a blackout occurs, for example, the residence units will remain at power.

The low-emissions fuel cell systems will operate on natural gas at the start of the project. During this time, the only greenhouse gas emissions from the process will be carbon dioxide in quantities much less than that of any other fossil fuel energy source from traditional grid power systems. Other emissions will include heat and water. During the latter phase of the project, one of the 5-kilowatt units will operate on hydrogen gas, contributed by Air Liquide Canada, producing no greenhouse gas emissions.

The average efficiency for traditional methods of energy, such as coal and nuclear, is approximately 30 per cent. Immediately, the solid oxide fuel cell systems are expected to exceed this by 10 per cent and grow to between 65 and 70 per cent efficient when heat recovery is considered.

This solid oxide fuel cell project is sponsored by the Government of Canada's Hydrogen Early Adopters Program, UTM, Fuel Cell Technologies Ltd. and Air Liquide Canada. The project forms another part of the GTA Hydrogen Village program, a partnership among industry, government and academia committed to accelerating the commercialization of hydrogen and fuel cell technology in Canada.

http://www.utoronto.ca

Posted 20th April 2006