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Telecom companies worldwide are investigating the option of producing the power needed onsite with fuel cells, while staying grid-connected to use the grid, where available, as backup power in case of an emergency only. Among the available technical options, DC based backup power systems have had huge success in telecom markets, thanks to the higher efficiency than the AC power systems, because of fewer conversion cycles required for energy storage. The proposed work assesses a natural gas operated SOFCNa- NiCl2 battery hybrid system, both electronically and thermally integrated. A hybrid system combining a 0.5 kW SOFC and a 4.5 kW Na-NiCl2 has been experimentally evaluated.

With new technologies emerging and the existing ones evolving, the basis for having large centralised Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plants is slowly diminishing. Beside the increasing energy demand and the need to reduce CO2 emissions, the use of smaller decentralised CHP plants is becoming more interesting. Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC), thanks to their fuel flexibility (hydrogen, natural gas, propane, etc), are suitable to the above mentioned aims. From a storage point of view, in order to ensure increasing penetration of technologies related to renewable energies in decentralized generation, innovative devices that permit storage of energy must be considered. The most effective solution is the combination of renewable energies and secondary batteries. The paper explores the benefit of a hybrid system which combines the SOFC technology and a high temperature battery in a first step of the development process. A proper strategy is proposed using simulation and experimental results.

In the framework of a private research program the development of a compact proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer system with a capacity of 300 Nl/h was developed. In this paper, the electrochemical properties of electrolyzer stack (10 cells of 100 cm2 geometrical area) were investigated at different temperatures. Overall stack efficiencies of 73% and 85%, at 60 A and 70 degC, with respect to the low and high heating value of hydrogen, respectively, were obtained. These results confirmed the successful scale-up of a previous lab-scale device.

In the framework of a national research program the development of fuel cell systems ranging from 1 to 5 kW of power and based on either solid polymer (PEFC) or solid oxide (SOFC) technology are in progress. In this paper, the demonstration of pre-commercial PEFC systems fed with hydrogen and developed in cooperation with NUVERA is described. The systems have been evaluated in order to determine theirs limits and capacity in relation to start-up time, response time, consumption, efficiency, reliability, etc. It has currently reached 2,000 working hours of continuous performance with variable loads that simulate those of a typical residential dwelling.

Actual trend in stationary energy sector is the zero-emissions-home, in which aim is to limit or avoid taking energy from the grid. The production of energy on-site requires the use of innovative, low environmental impact technologies. To this end, a small laboratory-house was built in which a photovoltaic (PV) plant with an energy-storage battery system is installed, a fuel cell (FC) system of 1.2 kW and a solar thermal panel for the production of sanitary water. The main focus of this activity is to study the integration of unpredictable sources and FC for a possible intake of surplus energy. The project aims at evaluating the energy savings possible by testing and analysing different configurations and/or different combinations of the energy sources. A domotics system is implemented both to manage energy consumption and to increase the comfort and safety of the house. Two separated electric circuits are designed: Energy-Side-Management (ESM), including the energy sources, and Demand-Side-Management (DSM) including the load. The domotics system is the interface between ESM and DSM. Different scenarios can be simulated using several switches, allowing to disconnect a portion of the plant when is not required to study it.

Ni-doped perovskite anodes have been investigated for direct oxidation of hydrocarbon in IT-SOFC. Perovskite materials are characterized by mixed electronic-ionic conductivity that combined to the high intrinsic catalytic activity of Ni allows to achieve high reaction rates in both direct oxidation and internal reforming processes while minimizing the cracking and carbon deposition processes. Suitable power densities of about 300mW*cm-2 for the direct oxidation of propane were achieved at 800{degree sign}C. Temperature programmed reduction analysis carried out in methane on a reduced catalyst has shown that Ni-doped perovskite has good catalytic activity at higher temperatures than 600{degree sign}C in absence of humidity. No carbon formation was observed in the discharged catalysts as confirmed by XRD analysis that however showed a modification of the perovskite structure.

Hydrogen systems appear as strong contenders to replace batteries in the emergency backup or uninterrupted power supply (UPS) markets. Cost-effective alternatives able to face traditional technologies (such as lead acid batteries and engine-generator sets) that have demonstrated good reliability, flexibility and durability are currently examined by telecommunication wireless operators. In this study is reported a feasibility study for an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) system based on 5 KW class PEM Fuel Cell Power Module in order to compare this solution with a conventional UPS battery based system. A commercialized Power Module was tested to analyze operational performance, time response with variable load, cold start, consumption, efficiency, quality of power.

Polymer electrolyte fuel cell stacks assembled with Johnson Matthey Fuel Cells and SolviCore MEAs based on the AquivionTM short-side chain, chemically stabilized perfluorosulfonic acid membrane were investigated in the framework of the Autobrane EU project. Electrochemical experiments in fuel cell short stacks were performed under automotive conditions at pressures of 1-1.5 bar abs. over a wide temperature range, up to 130 {degree sign}C, with varying levels of humidity (down to 18% R.H.). The stacks using the first set of large area MEAs showed elevated performance in the temperature range from ambient to 100 {degree sign}C (cell power density in the range of 600-700 mWcm-2) with a moderate decrease above 100 {degree sign}C. The performances and electrical efficiencies achieved at 110 {degree sign}C (cell power density of about 400 mWcm-2 at an average cell voltage of about 0.6 V) are promising for automotive applications. Further optimization of stack components to maximize the high temperature performance is currently underway.