Focusing on Fuel Cells

Connecticut's two major manufacturers of fuel cells, South Windsor-based UTC Power and Danbury-based FuelCell Energy Inc., are contending for the right to determine the future of the state's energy market through a new program aimed at diversifying electric generation.
The companies plan to provide fuel cells for commercial developments seeking approval from the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund, which is administering Project 100. That program's goal is to provide 100 megawatts of electricity from renewable or alternative sources by 2008. The projects selected will be able to charge a 5.5-cent premium for electricity produced and take advantage of federal tax breaks. CCEF was formed by the General Assembly to encourage the development of clean energy in Connecticut. The group serves as a clearinghouse for information on government-sub- sidized programs and opportunities for businesses and was specifically named in the 2003 legislation authorizing Project 100 as the administrator.
The CCEF has approved 19 megawatts of power for the project and on Aug. 15 will open bids to fill the remaining 81. The companies might pitch about 80 to 90 megawatts of fuel cell projects, including two in Bridgeport that would use FuelCell Energy products.
The CCEF will decide on the projects by November.
While there may be some wind and other projects mixed in, fuel cell-derived energy is taking center stage.
Fuel cells are gaining in popularity because they generate less pollution than conventional power systems, use hydrogen instead of fossil fuels to make electricity and are efficient. But the cost of producing fuel cells is prohibitive and there are questions about what their best use will be. How they work
Mike Brown, UTC Power's vice president of business development and general counsel, said, at its core, a fuel cell is like a battery with an anode on one side, a cathode on the other and an electrolyte between. The anode and cathode are similar to the positive and negative posts of a car battery and the electrolyte is a chemical that forces electrons to flow in a specific direction.
UTC Power is a division of Hartford-based United Technologies Corp.
There are five basic types of fuel cells differentiated by the type of electrolyte in use, he said, but they operate on the same principle. ? Hydrogen is piped into the fuel cell. As the hydrogen flows into the anode, a catalyst helps separate the gas into protons and electrons.
? Only the protons are able to move from this point through the electrolyte to the cathode, where oxygen is combined with the protons through a chemical reaction to produce pure water and heat.
? The electrons, left behind, are directed through an external circuit in the form of electric current.
While industry experts and some environmentalists tout fuel cells as a clean energy source, the system creates some pollution, because many companies rely on hydrocarbons, such as natural gas, to create the hydrogen, according to Steve Szymanksi, business development manager for Wallingford-based Proton Energy.
Proton Energy makes equipment used to separate hydrogen from water, which Szymanksi said, eliminates much of the pollutants from the process. Proton recently unveiled New England's first hydrogen filling station in Vermont, which uses a wind-powered turbine to make the electricity used to separate the hydrogen from water at the site. The drivers of experimental cars and buses that use fuel cells will be able to fill up their tanks with pure hydrogen at this station.
Szymanksi said another reason companies are using natural gas is because there is a distribution system set up for it. But eventually, he said, there will be a system for hydrogen distribution.
Fuel cells on the go
Proton's fueling station is aimed at the car industry, which is looking to adopt fuel cells to cut down on pollution and the need for gasoline. Project 100 is not involved with transportation projects.
Brown said UTC Power has put fuel cells in Hyundais and Nissans and has several buses, including ones