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DTE Energy’s Hydrogen Power Park Partnership

DTE Energy of Detroit, Michigan, has been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy as its partner in a first-ever hydrogen power park project that will demonstrate how non-fossil fuel-based energy can work, from the generation of hydrogen to its transmission, storage, distribution, and conversion into electricity or fuel for transportation.

Over the next three years, the company will develop, build, and operate an integrated hydrogen energy system capable of delivering 15,000kW-hours of electricity per year.

The system will run on hydrogen generated from renewable resources. During off-peak operating hours, electricity from landfill gas or conventional central-station power (as a benchmark) will be used in an electrolysis process to produce hydrogen gas from pure water. The hydrogen will be compressed and stored for later use.

During peak operating hours, the stored hydrogen will be used to operate a 50kW fuel cell and a 25kW Stirling engine or advanced reciprocating engine. The electricity produced will be used to offset the energy requirements of a typical office park, while the heat generated will be used to supplement existing heating and cooling systems.

DTE expects to install 600kW of electric power during the first phase of the project next year, with additional generation in the following three to four years.

DTE will partner with several leading technology providers, including Plug Power, a fuel cell development and manufacturing company in which it has a 28% stake. In addition, DTE’s Systems Operations Center will gather, analyze, and document the engineering data and safety standards to operate the system and each of its components.

Visit www.dteenergy.com.

H Power Ships Commercial HCore-500 Units

H Power Corp. of Belleville, New Jersey, has begun shipping its direct hydrogen-fueled product lines with five commercial HCore-500 units from its Monroe, North Carolina, plant to Naps Systems Oy, a leading solar power system company based in Finland.

The HCore-500 is a hydrogen-fueled 500 watt, 48 volt DC power source that can be configured for indoor or outdoor use. Multiple HCores can be combined to create customer-specific solutions, featuring voltage outputs of 120VAC 60Hz or 48VDC – up to 2kW. Naps will adapt the units for industrial users’ battery charging. The company intends to use some of the units in international telecom pilot applications.

“Our systems are designed to run with the hydrogen-fueling infrastructure that is available today, using standard compressed gas cylinders of the sort available at your local welding store,” said Paul G. McNeill, vice president of business.

Visit www.hpower.com.