A local high-tech company has scooped a $14-million deal to import 400 fuel-cell units, a revolutionary technology that could change the face of power supply in South Africa.
The United States-manufactured units use a chemical reaction between hydrogen, oxygen and a catalyst to create energy with water as a by-product. Their potential applications include rural households, cellphone towers, and back-up power in hospitals and businesses — particularly those hit by the increasing power blackouts.
The 400 units, to be imported by IST Holdings, are sufficient to supply power to 1 300 homes. They will be subsidised through a $3-million grant awarded to IST and its US supplier Plug Power, by the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
The hydrogen used in the cells can be derived from various sources, including natural gas, liquid petroleum gas and phosphoric acid. In certain cases waste materials can be used to produce the gas.
Fuel-cell technology is relatively environmentally friendly, in that it produces energy without combustion, resulting in cleaner emissions and consuming fewer natural resources.
It is being used in prototype applications to power vehicles, cellphones, homes, commercial properties, laptops, household appliances and industrial machinery such as forklifts.
More than 2 000 units have been installed worldwide. Five are operational in South Africa, including at a hospital, three universities and a research institution.
“It’s a given. Fuel cells are the technology of the future,” said IST chief executive Harry Coetzee, explaining that the IFC grant would help develop the market for fuel-cell technology while costs were relatively high.
IST has placed an initial order of 80 fuel-cell units with Plug Power for this year and plans to import all 400 cells over the next three to four years. Once complete, the project will represent the largest number of commercial fuel cells to be installed in a developing country.
Coetzee said the cells normally retailed at about $20 000, but with the grant finance from the IFC would sell in South Africa for about half that.
IST intends targeting the fuel cells at the telecommunications and health sectors. One likely application is to power cellphone towers and another for back-up energy in hospitals.
Plug Power’s chief marketing officer, Mark Sperry, said the company is excited about bringing its technology to South Africa through its partnership with IST. “We expect this initiative to positively impact business and other customers who are regularly affected by power outages resulting in decreased reliability throughout their networks and infrastructure,” said Sperry.
Plug Power is based just outside New York and has delivered more than 550 fuel-cell units to customers worldwide. The 80 units ordered by IST for this year represent the largest purchase order for the company from one of its international distributors to date.
Coetzee said IST would import two kinds of units from Plug Power, the 5kW Gencore fuel cell, which is fed by a tank containing hydrogen, and the 5kW Gensys, which runs off hydrogen generated from liquid petroleum gas.
“The first Gensys units are only now becoming available, so we are expecting them in the next couple of months,” he said. He added that IST, which had already installed five units, imported the fuel cells fully assembled, but, as demand increased, there was potential for the units to be assembled or even manufactured in South Africa.
Wits Professor Willie Cronje said fuel cells were definitely something to consider in the long term. “We know fossil fuels are going to run out and people are looking at other solutions,” he said. “These guys [IST] are bringing something into the country that we can buy and install at home to be less dependent on City Power or Eskom.”
The $3-million grant from the IFC is the first under the Fuel Cell Financing Initiative for Distributed Generation Applications, a $54-million project funded by the Global Environmental Facility.
The project’s long-term goal is the creation of sustainable markets for fuel cells in developing countries. Said the IFC’s director for environment and social development, Rachel Kyte: “This project will not only provide a clean energy source in South Africa but will also provide reliable electricity to remote areas of the country.”
Fuel cells have been identified as having tremendous potential as an alternative energy source. A number of trials and prototype developments are under way across the world to harness the new technology.
According to www.fuelcells.org, cells are being developed for use in cars, buses, boats, trains, vending machines, vacuum cleaners, road signs, laptops and cellphones, in addition to an electricity source for properties.
At the end of last year, three Mercedes-Benz Ciatro fuel-cell buses were introduced to the Beijing transport system as part of a two-year trial to demonstrate the viability of fuel-cell power in public transport.
Commented the CEO of Ballard Power Systems, John Sheridan: “China, with its booming economy and the fastest growing auto market in the world, is in a perfect position to be an important leader in making fuel-cell technology the ultimate zero-emission automotive solution.”
Nine cities in Europe conducted trials with the same buses between 2002 and 2004.
Late last year, the Canadian-based Hydrogenics Corporation announced that it had concluded successful field trials using fuel-cell power packs to replace the lead acid batteries that power forklifts. The multibillion-dollar forklift market has been identified as an early adopter of fuel-cell technology, because of limitations in productivity imposed by current batteries.
In November last year, the German company Masterflex AG received its first order for fuel-cell propelled bicycles. The city of Herten in North Rhine-Westphalia has ordered a fleet of bikes to be used as part of its tourism plans for this year’s Football World Cup.
Also in November, the Home Energy Station 3 prototype was unveiled by Honda and Plug Power. The system uses natural gas to power the daily running of fuel-cell vehicles such as the Honda FCX, as well as providing electricity for an average sized house.
In November last year, the Santa Rita Jail in California installed a 1MW fuel cell that provides 90% of base-load power, to be used in conjunction with its 1,18MW solar power system.
How it works
In essence, a fuel cell resembles a battery, writes Lloyd Gedye. Yet unlike a battery it does not run down or require recharging if there is a constant supply of fuel.
The fuel in question is hydrogen, converted into electricity and heat, with the only by-product being water.
Fuel cells have two electrodes around an electrolyte. Hydrogen is fed on to the anode of the cell, while oxygen is fed on to the cathode.
With the aid of a catalyst, the hydrogen atoms split into protons and electrons. The protons pass through the electrolyte and the electrons create a separate current that can be used before they return to the cathode to be reunited with the hydrogen and oxygen in a molecule of water.
Because the cell relies on chemistry rather than combustion, the emissions are far cleaner. If the fuel-cell system includes a “fuel reformer”, it can use hydrogen from any hydrocarbon fuel.