AFC Energy expands into German power market

The AIM-traded firm said preliminary engineering work commenced in Brunsbüttel on 6 April, with representatives from Covestro - formerly Bayer Material Science - plantIng and AFC Energy present.

It said the engineering work, designed to review whole of system engineering, integration and project costing, was being led by AFC Energy and was framed around the installation of an initial 1MW alkaline fuel cell system at the Brunsbüttel site with hydrogen sourced from Covestro's hydrogen grid.

Power generated would be sold into the local power grid under long term power purchase agreements.

The proximity of the company's fuel cell system to the hydrogen source also offered the potential to materially expand the project in due course.

AFC’s board said the scheme was “very much consistent” with its focus on partnering with large energy-intensive industrial partners to utilise surplus industrial grade hydrogen from localised facilities to generate long term, clean power with a resultant reduction in environmental greenhouse emissions.

It said importantly, work conducted in recent months at AFC Energy to demonstrate acceptance of lower industrial grade hydrogen in the fuel cell, together with the material improvements evidenced in fuel cell longevity, power output and stack design, were all critical to the initiation of the project.

The engineering work underway included the assessment of the utilisation of hydrogen from Covestro´s hydrogen sources to generate an initial 1MW of power using AFC Energy's fuel cell systems.

It also involved the investigation of a potential further expansion of the fuel cell plant into a larger-scale commercial installation and the power output therefrom, and integration of the company's fuel cell system with other innovative third party technologies.

The review would be conducted over several months with input from all partners, AFC’s board explained.

“AFC Energy is pleased to strengthen our position in the German power market at Covestro Industrial Park Brunsbüttel,” said chief executive officer Adam Bond.

“Covestro and AFC Energy have been in dialogue for much of 2016 with regards the potential siting of an AFC Energy fuel cell system at the Brunsbüttel facility, one of the largest of Covestro's 30 industrial parks around the world, and we hope to see this relationship extend over many years and be a catalyst that will drive momentum behind fuel cell deployment not only in Germany, but also the rest of Europe.”