· Ceres Power announces progress of its latest 5kW stack and V5 SteelCell® technology at Tokyo Fuel Cell Expo
· New 5kW stack platform with increased power density, reduced start-up times and vibration tolerance has potential to address automotive applications
· SteelCell®V5 test results also show significant advancements in efficiency, and lower degradation
Ceres Power Holdings plc (LON:CWR) has today unveiled a new 5kW stack platform and the latest advancements of its SteelCell® V5 at Fuel Cell Expo in Japan – the world’s most advanced market for fuel cells. Dr Subhasish Mukerjee, Director of Fuel Cell Development, updated the international fuel cell community on the significant progress that the SteelCell® technology has made in terms of power density, efficiency, degradation, start-up times and in vibration testing. These technological updates consolidate the Company’s position in its target markets including Data Centres, Residential, Commercial and Automotive.
Highlights of the latest V5 and 5kW stack platform developments include;
– 5kW stack provides double the power/litre compared to the existing 1kW stack; up to ~500W per litre
– Modular nature of 5kW stack allows for significant scale up to power applications from 5 to 100’s kW generation
– SteelCell® V5 enables net system efficiencies of 60%, with no combustion, offering approximately double the efficiency of conventional combustion engine technology without harmful emissions
– Demonstrated robustness with over 3600 thermal cycles without failures or significant degradation (equivalent to c.10 years of daily use)
– Fuel-flexible properties make SteelCell® the ideal technology for running on the natural gas infrastructure we have today, and is future-proofed as it can already operate on hydrogen, bio-fuels and other sustainable fuels.
Greater scale, improving technology
With more than a doubling in power density – the amount of power generated per unit volume -the 5kW configuration of the SteelCell® has compelling economies of scale compared with Ceres Power’s 1kW platform. The fuel-flexible 5kW stack is now capable of producing ~500W per litre in a stationary power configuration. Additionally, with the latest V5 SteelCell® technology, target system efficiencies of ~60% from fuel in to AC power out can be achieved while steady state degradation rates are approximately <0.2% for every thousand hours of operation, which is in-line with the best in the world.
The unique properties of the SteelCell® enable start-up times and robustness to vibration which make it commercially viable for automotive applications such as range extenders for electric vehicles, as well as opening up significant opportunities for global OEMs that need to convert to combustion-free technologies.
Growing markets and applications
In less than two years, five global OEMs have signed joint development agreements to work with the SteelCell® including Cummins, Honda and Nissan.
Driven by growing customer demand for increased power, the larger cells and stack size Ceres Power has developed enable it to significantly expand applications for its technology beyond mainstream residential and commercial uses to emergent, high-growth markets that require higher power.
Ceres Power is developing a modular 10kW power-only system for Cummins and the US Department of Energy (DoE) which will work in a number of environments, not least for power-hungry data centres that are fundamental to the global growth of the cloud computing industry.
As part of the EVRE (Electric Vehicle Range Extender) programme with Nissan, the robustness of the SteelCell® is being further developed. This opens up opportunities in the accelerating e-mobility market beyond small to medium-size electric vehicles, into areas such as commercial and public transport where the fuel-flexible SteelCell® is well-positioned to capitalise on changing infrastructure and public demand.
Mark Selby, Chief Technology Officer, said:
“This is an exciting time for Ceres Power and the fuel cell market as a whole. As polluting combustion technologies are displaced, cleaner electrochemical technologies that offer flexibility and resilience, such as the SteelCell®, are increasingly in high demand.
We have been very pleased with the technological advancements that we have made with the V5cell and are constantly striving to make further improvements to address the demand we are seeing from our commercial partners.
Phil Caldwell, CEO said:
“We have a world-class technology team at Ceres and these advancements in the SteelCell® technology, allied to our work with our OEM partners, further demonstrates that we are becoming a global leader in the fuel cell market. We are establishing the SteelCell® as a new class of fuel cell that is highly efficient, fuel flexible and cost effective, which offers a real alternative to replace conventional combustion engine and power generation technology in an increasingly electric future”
