A Fuel Cell that Readies Us for the Future

Source: Elisa Wood | · ENERGY CHANGEMAKERS · | May 7, 2024

FuelCell Energy anticipates coming commodity markets with fuel cell installation for Sacramento, Calif. wastewater treatment plant

We need to make more renewable electricity. We need to reduce energy waste. We need to cut carbon dioxide (CO2). We need to create green hydrogen. We need to do many things to solve the climate crisis, which leaves us chasing many technologies to do the job.

So, it was fascinating to learn recently about a single energy resource, a fuel cell, and all that it does — and can do later, in a recent conversation with Mark Feasel, executive vice president and chief commercial officer for FuelCell Energy.

We spoke after clean-tech integrator Ameresco announced last month that it is using FuelCell Energy technology as part of a 13.4 MW cogeneration plant for the Sacramento Area Sewer District in California.

The $140 million facility will produce electricity and heat from biogas (methane), which is a byproduct of treating solids at the EchoWater Resource Recovery Facility. Ameresco describes this as an example of the circular economy in action. Waste is not discarded but is turned into an asset that displaces fossil fuel that would otherwise be needed to process the waste.

Ameresco says that the 2.8-MW carbonate fuel cell, which uses an electrochemical process to convert the biogas to electricity, improves the project’s overall system efficiency and reduces emissions.

Positioning for green hydrogen and CO2 markets

That’s what it does now. But the fuel cell also anticipates the future, positioning the facility for a time when green hydrogen and carbon dioxide markets gain traction, as Feasel explained.

To understand how this will happen, it’s important to understand the fuel cell’s outputs and the market for those commodities.