Stationary Fuel Cell Systems Analysis
Stationary fuel cell system.
NREL's technology validation team analyzes the performance of stationary fuel cell systems operating in real-world conditions and reports on the technology's performance, progress, and challenges. This analysis includes multiple fuel cell types—proton exchange membrane, solid oxide, phosphoric acid, and molten carbonate—with system sizes ranging from 5 kW to 2.8 MW.
Stationary fuel cell systems are used for backup power (see related analysis results), power for for remote locations, stand-alone power plants for towns and cities, distributed generation for buildings, and co-generation (in which excess thermal energy from electricity generation is used for heat). Systems are currently in operation in states across the nation. One of the leading markets is in California, where NREL works in partnership with the National Fuel Cell Research Center and the California Stationary Fuel Cell Collaborative to analyze and report on stationary fuel cell installations.
Participating partners share raw data with NREL via the Hydrogen Secure Data Center. NREL engineers perform uniform analyses on the detailed data and then report on their findings. While the raw data are secured by NREL to protect proprietary information, individualized data analysis results are provided as detailed data products to the partners who supplied the data. The results are also aggregated into publicly available composite data products (CDPs) that show the status and progress of the technology, but don't identify individual companies.
Composite Data Products
The following CDPs focus on the use of fuel cells in stationary applications.
- Stationary Fuel Cell Systems Deployed by Year
CDP STAT 01, 4/4/2013: PowerPoint | JPG - Stationary Fuel Cell System Count by Status
CDP STAT 02, 4/4/2013: PowerPoint | JPG - Location of Stationary Fuel Cell Systems Analyzed
CDP STAT 03, 3/25/2013: PowerPoint | JPG - Stationary Fuel Cell System Count and Capacity by Fuel Type
CDP STAT 04, 4/4/2013: PowerPoint | JPG - Fuel Cell Capacity
CDP STAT 05, 4/4/2013: PowerPoint | JPG - Stationary Fuel Cell Capacity and Average Costs
CDP STAT 06, 4/9/2013: PowerPoint | JPG - Distribution of Stationary Fuel Cell Install Cost with and without Incentives
CDP STAT 07, 4/4/2013: PowerPoint | JPG - Stationary Fuel Cell Install Cost over Time with and without Incentives
CDP STAT 08, 4/4/2013: PowerPoint | JPG - Stationary Fuel Cell Install Cost by Fuel Type with and without Incentives
CDP STAT 09, 4/4/2013: PowerPoint | JPG - Installed Capacity and Fuel Type Deployment
CDP STAT 10, 3/26/2013: PowerPoint | JPG - Total Incentive per kW by Year in 2010 Dollars Deployment
CDP STAT 11, 4/4/2013: PowerPoint | JPG - Average System Size Installed per Year by kW Deployment
CDP STAT 12, 4/4/2013: PowerPoint | JPG - Installed Fuel Type by Year Deployment
CDP STAT 13, 4/4/2013: PowerPoint | JPG
Publications
These publications provide more information about NREL's stationary fuel cell analysis activities and capabilities.
- Stationary Fuel Cell System Composite Data Products: Data Through Quarter 4 of 2012. Chris Ainscough, Jennifer Kurtz, and Genevieve Saur. (May 2013)
- Secure Data Center. Introductory fact sheet about the Secure Data Center at NREL's Energy Systems Integration Facility. (August 2012)
- Stationary Fuel Cell Evaluation. Jennifer Kurtz, Keith Wipke, Sam Sprik, Todd Ramsden, and Chris Ainscough. Presented at the 2012 Annual Merit Review and Peer Evaluation Meeting. (May 2012)
More Information
Learn about NREL's other technology validation efforts. Subscribe to the biannual Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Technology Validation newsletter, which highlights recent technology validation activities at NREL.
