Fuel cell stack producer PowerCell Sweden AB has delivered two S2 fuel cell stacks to the German research institute Fraunhofer IMM in Mainz. The stacks will be used for combined heat and power supply in a new extension building in Mainz, where Fraunhofer is developing hydrogen reformer technology.
Fraunhofer is one of Europe’s leading research organisations with 72 institutes and research facilities across Germany. The recently delivered fuel cell stacks will be used to secure the power supply in one of the organisation’s newly built laboratories in Mainz. The extension building belongs to Fraunhofer Institute for Microengineering and Microsystems, IMM, and is used for the development of chemical processes and reformer technology, i.e. technology for the conversion of various sorts of fuels into hydrogen. Since IMM is doing research on reformer technology, the laboratory has a strong interest in using and evaluating the fuel cell technology in central and real-life power applications.
The delivered PowerCell S2 stacks have a total effect of 2 times 25 kW and will be connected to Fraunhofer’s proprietary reformer for heat and power generation from natural gas.
“We see multiple emerging markets for fuel cells and reforming technology and want to test the technology in everyday applications”, professor Gunther Kolb said. “We chose fuel cells from PowerCell due to their unique technology, capable of running on reformate, that is hydrogen generated from reformed fuels, and their outstanding power density.”