Abstract
Catator AB has constructed, commissioned and evaluated a combined fuel-cell and heat-pump system (ComfortPower). The basic idea behind the project was to demonstrate the possibility to achieve ultrahigh thermal efficiencies when combining fuel-cell technologies and heat pumps. Moreover, the system should provide a great flexibility with respect to the fuel mix and should in addition to heat provide surplus electricity and cooling. The system was built on a HT-PEM platform (high temperature polymer electrolyte fuel cell from Serenergy a/s), which was operated by Catators proprietary Optiformer technology. The power generator was combined with a heat pump module (F1145-5, 230 V), supplied by Nibe. The system was packaged into a cabinet (1.65 x 0.6 x 0.6 m) comprising the power module, the heat pump, all necessary balance-of-plant components and the control system. The power output from the fuel-cell system was around 1.35 kW, which enabled operation of the heat pump compressor. By utilizing surplus heat energy from the fuel cell it was possible to achieve a favourable operation point in the heat pump system, resulting in a high overall COP (coefficient of performance). The heat output from the system was as high as 10 kW whereas 6 kW cooling could be
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Silversand, Fredrik
[1]
- Catator AB, Lund (Sweden)
Citation Formats
Silversand, Fredrik.
ComfortPower. Design, construction and evaluation of a combined fuel-cell and heat pump system.
Sweden: N. p.,
2010.
Web.
Silversand, Fredrik.
ComfortPower. Design, construction and evaluation of a combined fuel-cell and heat pump system.
Sweden.
Silversand, Fredrik.
2010.
"ComfortPower. Design, construction and evaluation of a combined fuel-cell and heat pump system."
Sweden.
@misc{etde_1004314,
title = {ComfortPower. Design, construction and evaluation of a combined fuel-cell and heat pump system}
author = {Silversand, Fredrik}
abstractNote = {Catator AB has constructed, commissioned and evaluated a combined fuel-cell and heat-pump system (ComfortPower). The basic idea behind the project was to demonstrate the possibility to achieve ultrahigh thermal efficiencies when combining fuel-cell technologies and heat pumps. Moreover, the system should provide a great flexibility with respect to the fuel mix and should in addition to heat provide surplus electricity and cooling. The system was built on a HT-PEM platform (high temperature polymer electrolyte fuel cell from Serenergy a/s), which was operated by Catators proprietary Optiformer technology. The power generator was combined with a heat pump module (F1145-5, 230 V), supplied by Nibe. The system was packaged into a cabinet (1.65 x 0.6 x 0.6 m) comprising the power module, the heat pump, all necessary balance-of-plant components and the control system. The power output from the fuel-cell system was around 1.35 kW, which enabled operation of the heat pump compressor. By utilizing surplus heat energy from the fuel cell it was possible to achieve a favourable operation point in the heat pump system, resulting in a high overall COP (coefficient of performance). The heat output from the system was as high as 10 kW whereas 6 kW cooling could be provided. The thermal efficiencies measured in experiments were normally around 200%, calculated on the lower heating value of the fuel. A number of fuels have been investigated in the fuel cell system, including both gaseous (natural gas/LPG) and liquid fuels (alcohols and kerosene). Indeed, the system has a wide fuel flexibility, which opens up for a variety of applications in campus villages and buildings. This study has demonstrated the possibility to reduce the carbon dioxide footprint by a factor of 2 over conventional boilers in heating applications. In addition the unit can be operated on a variety of fuels and can produce cooling and electricity in addition to heat. A fully working system has been designed, packaged and fitted with an advanced control system. The addressable market for the system is huge in countries where fuel gases are used for heating, which indeed is the normal case. In countries like Sweden, where the electricity grid is relatively much more developed than the gas distribution grid, the market potentials are less favourable. A simple energy analysis, however, indicate a higher global thermal efficiency when using distributed heat production (ComfortPower) compared to a normal heat pump utility using electricity from the grid produced at an overall moderate efficiency (normally 30- 40%) in a central power plant. The reason for this finding is that the residual heat from the power plants cannot be used in distributed heat pump utilities. The large-scale similarity would be to combine district heating with heat pumps. This would, however, demand a duplicate infrastructure, which is uncommon - at least outside Sweden. Continued work should be directed to a careful optimization of the system to gain additional efficiency. Minor system modifications involving balance-of-plant components should also be undertaken. The thermal efficiency in the system is expected to reach 225-250% following such measures. In addition to these efforts a long-term test should be performed to gain information on reliability and system stability. This test should preferably be performed with biogas as the fuel. By exchanging the HT-PEM with a SOFC (Solid Oxide Fuel Cell) it would be possible to reach thermal efficiencies close to 300%. This potential achievement is explained by a relatively higher electric efficiency in a SOFC-system (around 50% instead of 30%). The SOFC-technology is less mature than the PEM-technology even if improvements are made rapidly. The continued work should also address the choice of fuel cell from a theoretic viewpoint as an addition to the system related studies proposed on the existing system}
place = {Sweden}
year = {2010}
month = {Dec}
}
title = {ComfortPower. Design, construction and evaluation of a combined fuel-cell and heat pump system}
author = {Silversand, Fredrik}
abstractNote = {Catator AB has constructed, commissioned and evaluated a combined fuel-cell and heat-pump system (ComfortPower). The basic idea behind the project was to demonstrate the possibility to achieve ultrahigh thermal efficiencies when combining fuel-cell technologies and heat pumps. Moreover, the system should provide a great flexibility with respect to the fuel mix and should in addition to heat provide surplus electricity and cooling. The system was built on a HT-PEM platform (high temperature polymer electrolyte fuel cell from Serenergy a/s), which was operated by Catators proprietary Optiformer technology. The power generator was combined with a heat pump module (F1145-5, 230 V), supplied by Nibe. The system was packaged into a cabinet (1.65 x 0.6 x 0.6 m) comprising the power module, the heat pump, all necessary balance-of-plant components and the control system. The power output from the fuel-cell system was around 1.35 kW, which enabled operation of the heat pump compressor. By utilizing surplus heat energy from the fuel cell it was possible to achieve a favourable operation point in the heat pump system, resulting in a high overall COP (coefficient of performance). The heat output from the system was as high as 10 kW whereas 6 kW cooling could be provided. The thermal efficiencies measured in experiments were normally around 200%, calculated on the lower heating value of the fuel. A number of fuels have been investigated in the fuel cell system, including both gaseous (natural gas/LPG) and liquid fuels (alcohols and kerosene). Indeed, the system has a wide fuel flexibility, which opens up for a variety of applications in campus villages and buildings. This study has demonstrated the possibility to reduce the carbon dioxide footprint by a factor of 2 over conventional boilers in heating applications. In addition the unit can be operated on a variety of fuels and can produce cooling and electricity in addition to heat. A fully working system has been designed, packaged and fitted with an advanced control system. The addressable market for the system is huge in countries where fuel gases are used for heating, which indeed is the normal case. In countries like Sweden, where the electricity grid is relatively much more developed than the gas distribution grid, the market potentials are less favourable. A simple energy analysis, however, indicate a higher global thermal efficiency when using distributed heat production (ComfortPower) compared to a normal heat pump utility using electricity from the grid produced at an overall moderate efficiency (normally 30- 40%) in a central power plant. The reason for this finding is that the residual heat from the power plants cannot be used in distributed heat pump utilities. The large-scale similarity would be to combine district heating with heat pumps. This would, however, demand a duplicate infrastructure, which is uncommon - at least outside Sweden. Continued work should be directed to a careful optimization of the system to gain additional efficiency. Minor system modifications involving balance-of-plant components should also be undertaken. The thermal efficiency in the system is expected to reach 225-250% following such measures. In addition to these efforts a long-term test should be performed to gain information on reliability and system stability. This test should preferably be performed with biogas as the fuel. By exchanging the HT-PEM with a SOFC (Solid Oxide Fuel Cell) it would be possible to reach thermal efficiencies close to 300%. This potential achievement is explained by a relatively higher electric efficiency in a SOFC-system (around 50% instead of 30%). The SOFC-technology is less mature than the PEM-technology even if improvements are made rapidly. The continued work should also address the choice of fuel cell from a theoretic viewpoint as an addition to the system related studies proposed on the existing system}
place = {Sweden}
year = {2010}
month = {Dec}
}