ITM Power plc Injection of Hydrogen into the German Gas Distribution Grid 04 December 2013

RNS Number : 6226U

ITM Power PLC

4 December 2013

("ITM Power" or "the Company")

ITM Power (AIM:ITM), the energy storage and clean fuel company, is pleased to announce that, with its partners Mainova Aktiengesellschaft and NRM Netzdienste Rhein-Main GmbH, the Company has injected hydrogen into the German gas distribution network. The ITM Power rapid response electrolyser plant has been delivered and commissioned ahead of schedule and the compliance and permitting work has been completed to enable the incorporation of hydrogen via the compliant mixing plant.

According to an announcement made in Germany by the Thüga Group:

"During the current commissioning phase of the Thüga Group's power-to-gas demonstration plant, the system injected the first ever electrolytically generated hydrogen into the Frankfurt am Main gas distribution network. This represents the first ever plant to convert electricity into hydrogen and subsequently inject the hydrogen into the German gas distribution network. "The system worked as planned, so much so that we will go into trial operation in the very near future ahead of final commissioning at the start of 2014" Michael Riechel, Member of the Board of Thüga Aktiengesellschaft said.

By the end of 2016, the partners will have gained experience of how the system works under real-world conditions. The project partners are badenova AG & Co. KG, Erdgas Mittelsachsen GmbH, Energieversorgung Mittelrhein GmbH, erdgas schwaben gmbh, ESWE Versorgungs AG, Gasversorgung Westerwald GmbH, Mainova Aktiengesellschaft, Stadtwerke Ansbach GmbH, Stadtwerke Bad Hersfeld GmbH, Thüga Energienetze GmbH, WEMAG AG, e-rp GmbH and Thüga Aktiengesellschaft, which acts as project coordinator. The operational phase will be accompanied by scientific partners, whose involvement is being funded by the Hessian Ministry for the Environment, Energy, Agriculture and Consumer Protection.

H2 Injection without Compression

The core of the system is an ITM Power proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyser. The electrolyser converts electrical energy into chemical energy, which in turn facilitates the storage of electricity. A gas mixing plant ensures that the proportion of hydrogen in the natural gas stream does not exceed two per cent by volume, the technically permissible maximum value when a natural gas filling station is situated in the local distribution network. The electrolyser supplies the hydrogen-methane mixture at the same pressure as the gas distribution network, namely 3.5 bar. "We were thus able to avoid using a compressor and save costs," said Riechel.

The plant is located on the premises of Mainova Aktiengesellschaft in Schielestraße in Frankfurt am Main. The project partners decided to deploy a PEM system, as this technology, in comparison with alkaline systems, uses water rather than a potassium hydroxide solution, and is therefore more environmentally friendly. In addition, the system can respond more quickly to changes in the electrical load. A further advantage is the unit'scompact design (2.45m high, 6m long, 3.30m wide, weighing 10 tons). The power consumption of the electrolyser is 315 kilowatts. It produces about 60 cubic meters per hour of hydrogen and thus in one hour can feed 3,000 cubic meters of hydrogen-enriched natural gas into the network.

Power-to-Gas Project Platform

13 companies of the Thüga Group have combined their collective know-how and capital in a project platform to invest jointly in the development of power-to-gas storage technology. The focus is on testing the feasibility of power-to-gas technology. The companies are confident that in the long-term, this offers the greatest potential for storing excess renewable energy. To this end, the group is collectively developing, building and operating its own demonstration plant in Frankfurt am Main over a three-year period (2012 - 2016). The plant converts electricity into hydrogen and then stores this in the gas distribution network. Overall, the partners will invest more than EUR1.5m. The project is financially supported by the Hessian Ministry for the Environment, Energy, Agriculture and Consumer Protection. Following the first phase of this project, the partners will consider a second project, in which hydrogen will be generated and combined with carbon dioxide to form synthetic methane to be directly injected and stored in the natural gas grid. For more information see www.energie-und-wende.de."

ITM Power has deployed its PEM Electrolysis P2G plant at the Mainova Aktiengesellschaft site in Schielestrasse, Frankfurt am Main where the compliant gas mixing and grid injection infrastructure designed and built by NRM was already in place. This plant is part of the Thüga Group's Power-to-Gas (P2G) project as previously reported, which was jointly commissioned by 13 partners within the Thüga Group to investigate P2G energy storage. The install also includes a monitoring facility and visitor's reception so that members of the Thüga Group can examine the performance of the plant.

Phil Doran, MD of ITM Power GmbH commented: "ITM Power is delighted to be have performed the first ever injection of hydrogen into the German gas grid using a PEM electrolyser with our partners in the Thüga Group, and look forward to the official commissioning early next year."

BlueGen units to be used in Virtual Power Plant Project in The Netherlands

19 June 2012

Tuesday 19 June 2012

View a Bluegen overview here

BlueGen units to be used in Virtual Power Plant Project in The Netherlands

Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited (AIM / ASX: CFU) - a leading developer of high efficiency and low emission electricity generation products for homes and other buildings - is pleased to announce a project in The Netherlands to create a Virtual Power Plant using Ceramic Fuel Cells' BlueGen gas-to-electricity generators.

BlueGen units are planned to be installed with customers across the Netherlands to create a new community of distributed energy producers, connected through the internet and operated as a Virtual Power Plant.

Ceramic Fuel Cells is supporting its distribution partner BlueGeneration that is working on the project with Liander and IBM. This team will start designing a platform on which the Virtual Power Plant can run. During the design phase BlueGeneration, Liander and IBM will design the technical requirements and define the use cases for the platform.

Liander is a Dutch regional network operator, distributing electricity to 3.0 million customers and gas to 2.3 million customers in a large part of the Netherlands. IBM will provide the necessary system integration to control the BlueGen units remotely. IBM's extensive experience in the field of Smart Grids enables the collaboration to implement and scale up the platform.

The project partners have entered the first phase of the project, with three BlueGen units installed with energy consultants' KIWA Gastec for testing at their facilities in Apeldoorn. The aim is to test the compatibility with the designed systems and to have a closed and regulated environment for the first tests. During this test phase of approximately one year the influence of extreme modulation cycles will also be examined as well as the impact for the grid operator.

The tests at Kiwa began in April 2012. The partners are currently developing the Virtual Power Plant design, and intend to scale up the project in the second half of this calendar year and into 2013.

A Virtual Power Plant is a cluster of distributed electricity generation units, controlled and operated by a central entity using integrated software systems. A Virtual Power Plant allows power generation to be modulated up or down to meet peak loads and balance intermittent power from wind or solar, with higher efficiency and more flexibility than large centralised power stations.

By incorporating the Virtual Power Plant in Lianders' Smart Grid, Liander will be able to locally balance the demand and supply of electricity. The end customers will benefit from lower energy costs.

Ceramic Fuel Cells' Managing Director Brendan Dow said:

"Clearly, energy generation systems of the future will involve projects like this. We are delighted that companies like Liander and IBM, as well as our partner BlueGeneration, have seen the benefit of pursuing this virtual power plant, which has our highly-efficient BlueGen units as its cornerstone."

Peter van der Sluijs, Liander said:

"In the future we expect more and more customers to produce their own power and coordinate their energy use locally. Virtual power plants are a big step towards more sustainable energy system where local generation has a critical role."

Matthijs Guichelaar of BlueGeneration said:

"This project is the example of how future flows of energy and IT can provide a solid base for renewable and distributed generation. The flexibility of the BlueGen and its high efficient electricity production makes it a very suitable component for the new Smart Grid. When the usage of biogas becomes available, the system will also be carbon neutral. This enables the agricultural sector to efficiently convert their biogas into electricity."

The BlueGen product uses ceramic fuel cells to turn natural gas into electricity and heat for hot water, with each unit capable of producing more than three times the electricity needed to power the average Dutch home. (In The Netherlands an average home consumes an estimated 3,500 kilowatt hours of electricity per year.)

Surplus electricity can be sold back to the grid or used in supplementary applications such as charging electric cars, as well as having the additional benefit of providing heat for domestic hot water use. BlueGen units generate electricity with the highest electrical efficiency of any small scale generating technology in the world, reducing energy bills and cutting carbon emissions.

In the Netherlands customers are allowed to export electricity to the grid when they have a surplus and take it back from the grid later when they need it without being charged with energy tax on this energy. This tax-free interchange has a maximum of 5000 kWh per year.

According to a report from US analyst firm Pike Research, virtual power plant capacity will increase by 65 percent between 2011 and 2017, rising from 55.6 gigawatts (GW) to 91.7 GW worldwide during that period. In a more aggressive forecast scenario, the capacity growth is up to 126 percent during the same period.

Releasing the report in November 2011, Pike Research senior analyst Peter Asmus said: "Virtual power plants essentially represent an 'Internet of Energy', tapping existing grid networks to tailor electricity supply and demand services for a customer. They maximize value for both the end user and distribution utility, primarily through software innovations."(1)

ENDS

Mastervolt Soladin 600 Grid-Tie Inverter including PC link

Mastervolt Soladin 600 Grid-Tie Inverter including PC link

Designed for solar panels up to 600 watts. Easy installation

Buy At www.orionairsales.com

The Soladin 600 is a grid connected inverter for connecting solar panels (or wind turbines) to your existing electrical system. The successful Soladin 600 Solar inverter, some 6000 of which have already been sold by Mastervolt for small 4-6 module based grid connected solar systems. The Soladin 600 offers a simple solution when connecting solar panels to your household mains supply. With it's light weight and compact size, the Soladin 600 can be installed inside existing meter cupboards or in outbuildings (but it is not suitable for outdoors). Connection to the input of the inverter is provided by 2 dedicated DC power plugs. The output should be connected in accordance with the electrical requirements for the country of installation.

The Soladin 600 is equipped with 230V and DC connections and designed for mounting inside homes. The solar inverter is fitted with two MultiContact DC terminals for easy plug&play installation. All Soladin’s are fitted with a communication port for remote monitoring and an advanced yield indicator at the front. The wide input range makes them a flexible system solution.This inverter is supplied for UK use and comes complete with DC input plugs, PC-link connection and Monitoring/Logging software. In "Hybrid" systems (those involving both wind turbines and solar PV), use the standard Soladin 600 inverter, keeping the installation simple and very neat.

The Mastervolt Soladin 600 inverter has a power rating of 600 Watt continuous with an input voltage window between 40-125V DC.

Product Key Feature's

600Wp capabilty
Excellent price/performance ratio
Exclusive lightguide power indicator
G83 approved for use in the United Kingdom
Suitable for most types of wind turbines
Free downloadable PC monitoring software
5-year warranty
Wide input range makes for a flexible system solution
Quick and easy install with mounting bracket (included)
2 dedicated DC power plugs
input voltage window between 40-125V DC
mini string inverter

Technical Data

Model Soladin 600

Article number
Operating temperature
- 20 to 50 °C (full power up to 40 ° C)
Storage temperature
- 20 ° C to 70 ° C
Relative humidity
Max. 95% non-condensing
Electronics have anti-moisture coating
Protection degree
IP 23 (for indoor use)
Safety class
Class II double insulated
Galvanic isolation
Class II HF transformer
Enclosure
UL 5V fire retardant ABS/PC
Mounting
Wall mounting, bracket included
Dimensions
92 x 72x 225 mm
Weight
2 kg
Warranty
5 years


Input

Nominal power
600 Wdc
Startup power
1 Wdc
Operating voltage range
35 – 150 Vdc
Full power voltage range
65 – 125 Vdc
Max. current
8 A
Max. short circuit current
12 A
Connectors
MultiContact 4 mm type

Multicontact “pigtail” adapters included


Parallelling
Multiple units can be operated in parallel to increase output power


Output

Nominal power
600 Wac
Grid Voltage
230 V (185 – 264 V programmable)
Frequency
50 Hz (48 – 52 Hz programmable)
Cos Phi
0.99
Standby power consumption
<0,05 Wac
Max. efficiency
93%
Connection
1,8 meter of AC wire

Sheffield has big hopes to become the UK’s very first self-sufficient energy city

Apparently Sheffield has big hopes. In fact, the city is hoping to become the UK’s very first self-sufficient energy city, according to UK energy minister Chris Huhne. On top of all of this, this deal has already been given Huhne’s full support.

While the energy minister was visiting the city, he stopped by the University of Sheffield. It is here where they are working on world leading research in sustainable technology. Overall, the goal is to come up with technology that can help a city become fully sustainable.

His visit to this city follows an announcement made by the Sheffield City Council and energy company E.ON. They have announced that they are working hard to form a city-wide partnership that will help the city produce enough renewable energy to become self-sufficient. Overtime, the long-term goal would be for the city to produce enough energy that it could even sell some excess energy back into the national grid.

So this brings up the question, why is E.ON choosing to partner with Sheffield over other cities. Apparently E.ON has chosen Sheffield because of its international expertise on developing renewable energy technology, pretty much meaning that E.ON has faith that Sheffield has the willpower to make such a scheme work.

This is a big deal in the making. The overall goal of the government would be to see other cities make these kind of deals with other energy companies. Overtime, all cities could become self-sufficient and, thus, would be able to supply their own energy. Then all of the excess energy that the UK makes could be sold to other countries.

Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited Ceramic Fuel Cells to exhibit at Ecobuild 2011

Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited Ceramic Fuel Cells to exhibit at Ecobuild


London Stock Exchange Aggregated Regulatory News Service (ARNS)
February 23, 2011
RNS Number : 6850B Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited 23 February 2011 23 February 2011 Ceramic Fuel Cells to exhibit BlueGen gas-to-electricity generator at E.ON's stand at Ecobuild Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited [AIM/ASX:CFU], a leading developer of high efficiency and low emission electricity generation units for homes and other buildings, is to exhibit its BlueGen gas-to-electricity generator at E.ON's stand at the forthcoming Ecobuild trade show.

This is the first time that BlueGen has been made available for public viewing in the UK. BlueGen uses ceramic fuel cells to turn natural gas into electricity and heat for hot water. BlueGen units can generate electricity far more efficiently than the current power grid, providing significant cost savings to energy bills and large carbon savings. Ecobuild, which is to be held at the ExCeL exhibition and conference centre in the London's Docklands from 1 March to 3 March 2011, is the world's biggest event for sustainable design, construction and the built environment and the UK's largest construction event of any kind. On 22 December 2010 Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited announced that it had sold three BlueGen gas-to-electricity generators to E.ON, one of the UK's leading energy companies and that the two companies are continuing to develop fully integrated power and heating products for the UK market. Investors or media interested in learning more about BlueGen or receiving a demonstration at Ecobuild should contact Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited. www.ecobuild.co.uk/index.html Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited Mark Way +44 7786 116991 About Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited: -- Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited is a world leader in developing fuel cell technology to provide highly efficient and low-emission electricity from widely available natural gas. -- Ceramic Fuel Cells is developing fully integrated power and heating products with leading energy companies E.ON UK in the United Kingdom, GdF Suez in France and EWE in Germany. -- During 2010 EWE placed a conditional order for up to 200 integrated micro CHP products Ceramic Fuel Cells' patented technology. -- Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited has also sold 55 BlueGen gas-to-electricity generators to major utilities and other foundation customers in Germany, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Japan, Australia and the USA. -- Ceramic Fuel Cells is listed on the London Stock Exchange AIM market and the Australian Securities Exchange (code CFU). www.cfcl.com.au About E.ON: -- E.ON is one of the UK's leading power and gas companies - generating and distributing electricity, and retailing power and gas - and is part of the E.ON group, one of the world's largest investor-owned power and gas companies. E.ON employs more than 15,000 people in the UK and more than 88,000 worldwide.

Offshore Wind Farm in UK begins generating power from its first turbine

Walney Offshore Wind Farm, located 15km west of Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria, UK, began generating power from its first turbine in January 2011. The turbine is connected to the national grid through an offshore transformer at Heysham.

The project consists of 102 turbines being installed in two phases, Walney I and Walney II. Estimated at £1bn, the project will deliver 367.2MW of combined energy sufficient to power more than 320,000 households in UK.


It is owned by Dong Energy (50.1%), Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE-25.1%) and a consortium of PGGM and Dutch Ampère Equity Fund (24.8%).

Dong Energy is the leading partner and operator of the wind farm. It has signed a 15-year long term power purchase agreement (PPA) with the consortium of PGGM and Dutch Ampère Equity Fund for the purchase of the consortium's share of electricity from the project.

The company plans to sell power purchased from the consortium and the environmental benefits received from the British Government in the local market.

Plant details

Walney is being constructed along a north-west to south-east direction. It will cover an area of approximately 73km².

Walney I and II will each have 51 Siemens turbines with a rated capacity of 3.6MW. The turbines will be 749m-958m apart and installed in rows.

Turbines installed at Walney I will have a rotor diameter of 107m and are 137m tall to the tip of the blade.

Walney II will have turbines with a rotor diameter of 120m. They will have a maximum height of 150m to the centre of the hub.

The turbine arrays will be connected by underwater sea cables to an offshore substation where the voltage will be stepped up from 34kV to 132kV before being exported to an onshore substation.

"Dong Energy is the leading partner and operator of the wind farm."
Development

The project was initially 100% owned by Dong Energy. In December 2009 SSE acquired 25.1% share in the project, which was followed by a consortium of PGGM and Dutch Ampère Equity Fund acquiring 24.8% in December 2010.

The consortium paid £16m to acquire the share. It will also share the project construction cost on a pro-rata basis. The purchase price, however, did not include payment for transmission assets which will be owned by a separate operator in future.

Dong Energy will provide interim finance to the consortium for their share of the construction cost. PGGM / Dutch Ampère Equity Fund will provide external financing to Dong Energy upon completion of the project.

Construction

Construction of Walney I commenced in March 2010. The monopiles were laid by jack-up vessels Vagant and Goliath operated by Belgium-based GeoSea.

The first monopole was installed in April 2010. The export cable was shipped to the site at the same time.

The monopiles are placed 30m deep into the seabed. Each monopile is 56m tall and weighs 550t.

The Walney I offshore substation was placed within the wind farm area. It weighs 1,100t and was erected in June 2010.

Seajacks Kraken and Seajacks Leviathan owned by Seajacks UK have been contracted for the turbine installations in Walney I and Walney II respectively. Sea Worker, a jack-up barge operated by A2Sea, has already installed five wind turbines at the site.

The first turbine was installed in July 2010. It is now generating power for the national grid. All the turbines of Walney I had been installed by December 2010.

The construction vessel Pompei is placing stones at a radius of 15m around the foundation to mark the cable and turbine installation positions.

Walney II is scheduled to begin installations in March 2011. It is expected to come online by the end of the year.

The turbines in Walney II will be placed 25m-30m deep, which will require longer and heavier monopiles weighing up to 800t.

Onshore cabling work is underway in Cleveleys near Blackpool.

Power generated by Walney II will be brought onshore in front of Thornton gate through a 132kV underwater cable. It will be connected to a new substation which is currently under construction along the route to Hill House Industrial Estate.

The cargo ship Annette owned by SAL was contracted to deliver the monopoles to the site.

Stemat 82, a cable installation vessel, is being used to install the array cables in the seabed. The cables are placed in the J-tube and protected with a layer of rocks to prevent scouring.

Walney Wind Farm contractors

Seabed Power was awarded the contract for transporting and installing more than 92km of 33kV array cables for Walney I. The cables were supplied by the nkt cables group.

"Dong Energy plans to extend the Walney offshore wind farm by a further 750MW."
Seabed Power was also responsible for laying 44km and 43km of 132kV export cables in two different routes. The cables were supplied by Prysmian Group in a €24.5m contract. Prysmian was also awarded a €18m contract to supply similar 132kV cables for Walney II.

The offshore substation steel structures and jackets were contracted to Bladt Industries in 2009. The first set for Walney I was delivered in May 2010 while the second set is underway construction.

The aluminium hydraulic cylinders were manufactured by Holmatro.

Powerstream Electrical Services built the onshore substation at Heysham in a contract worth $1.1m in June 2010.

Other major contractors to Walney I are EEW-Special Pipes Construction (SPC) Rostock for the manufacture of 51 monopiles, Visser & Smit Marine Contracting (VSMC) for the Stemat 82 cable lay vessel, Tekmar Solutions for a cable protection system, Proserv Offshore for cleaning of the marine growth around the pile and Ledsham for the construction of an 11kV substation for Siemens.

Walney II contractors include A2Sea and Ballast Nedam for installation of the foundations, Norway-based Draka Norsk Kabel (DNK) for installing the inter-array cables and associated logistics and Offshore Marine Management (OMM) for termination and testing of inter-array cables.

Dong Energy signed an agreement with Associated British Ports (ABP) to use 18 acres of the Barrow area for handling essential components of the wind turbines during construction.

Audit of the barge and tugs used in the project is being carried by Specialist Marine Consultants.

NIRAS was contracted for a number of consultation works related to the project, including geophysical surveys, management of installations, logistics planning and so on.

Future

Dong Energy plans to extend the Walney offshore wind farm by a further 750MW. The company signed a lease agreement with the Crown Estate in May 2010. The proposal is expected to be submitted for planning consent in 2013.

The extension is expected to cover an area of 145km². It will include one offshore substation, 33kV array cables, three core underwater offshore cables and an onshore connection point at either Heysham, Stanah or Penwortham substation.