pnnl project with nuvera, plug power for refrigerated trucks
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4Fuel Cells Bulletin September 2013
existing fuel cell powered forklift fleet is served by Air Products’ hydrogen fueling technology and infrastructure, including an outdoor liquid hydrogen storage and compression system, along with piping to multiple indoor fueling dispensers [FCB, November 2012, p7].
It is anticipated that the new logistics centre, which will be as large as the current vehicle assembly plant, will receive about 240 semi-trailer truck deliveries daily, and the fuel cell-powered lift trucks will handle nearly 3 million automotive parts per day.
Plug Power, Latham, New York, USA. Tel: +1 518 782 7700, www.plugpower.com
Air Products, Hydrogen Energy: www.airproducts.com/h2energy
Mercedes-Benz US International: www.mbusi.com
PNNL project with Nuvera, Plug Power for refrigerated trucks
A new project led by the US Department of Energy’s Pacific
Northwest National Laboratory will demonstrate tractor trailers whose transport refrigeration units (TRUs) are powered by hydrogen PEM fuel cells supplied by Nuvera and Plug Power. The four trucks will be deployed to transport perishable and frozen foods to grocery merchants in Texas, California, and New York.
The fuel cells will do the work normally done by a small diesel engine, which keeps the cargo at the proper temperature while the trucks are making deliveries. Quiet operation and zero emissions from the TRU will mean that trucks can make deliveries at any time of day. Each truck will still be equipped with a main diesel engine for propulsion.
‘This is a great application for a fuel cell. A fuel cell can potentially provide a clean, quiet, and efficient alternative by powering the electric motor,’ says Kriston Brooks, the PNNL researcher leading a team to oversee and evaluate the two-year programme.
Massachusetts-based Nuvera Fuel Cells and Plug Power in Albany, New York will each receive $650 000 from DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy; the companies will provide matching funds and labour. Each fuel cell powered refrigerated trailer will run for at least 400 h at each demonstration site, delivering goods from the distribution centres to stores or other outlets.
In one project, Nuvera will work with Thermo King, a manufacturer of transport temperature
control systems for a variety of mobile applications, to develop the refrigeration unit to keep the truck cool using Nuvera’s Orion™ PEM fuel cell stack. That truck will make deliveries for a Sysco food distribution facility in Riverside, California and for a San Antonio, Texas food distribution centre for the H-E-B grocery store chain [FCB, August 2009, p4].
In the other project, Plug Power will work with Carrier Transicold and Air Products to equip trucks making deliveries for a Sysco food distribution facility on Long Island, New York. The trucks will be equipped with Plug Power’s GenDrive® PEM fuel cell product [see the Plug Power feature in FCB, December 2011].
Both the Sysco and H-E-B facilities already use forklifts powered by hydrogen fuel cells, part of a trend fostered by DOE to increase industrial use of the technology. At both companies, the infrastructure to provide hydrogen for the fuel cells is already in place; the hydrogen is generated onsite from natural gas and water using Nuvera’s PowerTap™ hydrogen generator and refueling system. For the site using Plug Power technology, the hydrogen will be supplied by Air Products using an outdoor hydrogen dispenser.
Contact: Mr Kriston Brooks, Applied Materials Science Group, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington, USA. Tel: +1 509 372 4343, Email: [email protected], Web: http://mcsr.pnnl.gov
Nuvera Fuel Cells, Billerica, Massachusetts, USA. Tel: +1 617 245 7500, www.nuvera.com
Plug Power, Latham, New York, USA. Tel: +1 518 782 7700, www.plugpower.com
Thermo King: www.thermoking.com
Sysco: www.sysco.com
H-E-B: www.heb.com
Carrier Transicold: www.transicold.carrier.com
Air Products, Hydrogen Energy: www.airproducts.com/h2energy
Latest telecom backup power trial for Acta, Chinese distribution
Italian-based Acta SpA has signed a contract with a new customer for a
trial of its Acta Power backup power system, for a second major mobile telecoms company at a base station in the Philippines. Acta has also signed a distribution deal with Shanghai Sunwise Energy Systems to target the
Chinese backup power and energy storage markets.
The Acta Power self-recharging backup power system incorporates a hydrogen PEM fuel cell from FutureE Fuel Cell Solutions (based on a Ballard stack) and Acta’s low-cost onboard hydrogen generation technology [FCB, May 2013, p4]. The modular system is available with a 2 kW or 4 kW power output and with a 500 or 1000 L/h alkaline hydrogen generator. It includes a wireless GSM communication module for remote management, control, alarm and assistance. The system uses filtered rainwater for its water supply, and avoids the cost and logistical barriers of hydrogen delivery to remote base stations. It competes on cost against diesel and battery solutions, and avoids the theft risk associated with diesel, battery, and methanol fuel cell systems.
The first Acta Power trial in the Philippines was announced in July [FCB, July 2013, p1], building on trials in Africa [FCB, June 2013, p6] and Australia, all with major mobile telecom operators, and a separate renewable energy storage trial in the UK [FCB, August 2013, p7].
The new Philippines trial is in partnership with Lead Core Technology Systems Inc (LCTSI), which specialises in battery systems and engineering support services for telecoms and other industries. LCTSI will be Acta’s engineering and client services partner, responsible for installation and technical management of the trial, as well as promotion of the installed system within the client’s organisation. The trial unit will be shipped in October, and undergo initial testing onsite for one month prior to a two-month live trial at a grid-connected telecom base station.
‘We have seen a strong level of interest in the capabilities of the Acta Power among the major mobile phone operators in the Philippines, and we are delighted to be entering our second trial agreement there,’ says Acta’s chief executive Paolo Bert [see the Acta feature in FCB, September 2012]. ‘We believe there is an outstanding business opportunity in the region for our unique backup power system.’
Meanwhile, Acta has signed a non-exclusive distribution agreement for the Chinese backup power and energy storage markets, with Shanghai Sunwise Energy Systems. ‘We have received many enquiries for our products in China, and we look forward to being able to exploit commercially this enormous and difficult market thanks to the great experience Sunwise has gained in the Chinese hydrogen market,’ says Paolo Bert.
The new partnership aims to strengthen distribution of Acta’s electrolysers and the Acta Power backup power system in the Chinese
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