Fuel cells and cogeneration

Considering the environmental and economic challenges of the energy market, high-efficiency energy systems need to be developed and marketed. In this context, cogeneration - production of electricity and heat from a single source - makes perfect sense, as its overall conversion efficiency (electrical + thermal) exceeds 85%. Among the various technologies used, fuel cells have the major advantage of offering the highest electrical conversion efficiencies (over 35%). In addition, all fuel cell technologies can be used to design cogeneration systems with a very wide range of power spectrum: from a few kilowatts (domestic micro-cogeneration) to several megawatts (apartment buildings, commercial, public or industrial buildings). Moreover, the ability of some fuel cell technologies to operate at high temperatures (up to 1000 deg. C), allows the conversion of the heat generated into electricity via a combined cycle, which in this case offers conversion efficiencies of over 60%. Even if fuel cell technologies still require technological innovation to enhance performance and reduce production costs, the sales of domestic micro-cogeneration systems based on fuel cell technology have far outstripped those of competing technologies. This has been achieved thanks to public incentives (particularly in Asia) which have permitted this technology to emerge and to reach its technical and economic maturity