Originally published February 22 2005
A new, highly efficient power converter for fuel cells makes cells cheaper to operate
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Researchers at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University have created a 97% efficient power converter that changes the low-voltage DC current produced by solid oxide fuel cells into high-voltage AC current. By running so efficiently, this power converter allows fuel cells to be smaller and less expensive to run, allowing cells to come much closer to the industrial and consumer market.
Researchers at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, working under a research grant managed by the National Energy Technology Laboratory, developed a highly efficient converter that can boost low DC (direct current) voltage produced by solid oxide fuel cell stacks to the higher voltage required for conversion to AC (alternating current) for household and commercial applications.
The boost is significant because it provides another technological step in reducing the efficiency, size, and cost of fuel cells.
Virginia Tech, which is applying for a patent on the technology, developed its converter in the Department of Energy's Solid State Energy Conversion Alliance (SECA) Program, created to hasten the development of solid oxide fuel cells so they could be affordably marketed for power generation.
"The significance of Virginia Tech's work is that it facilitates the downsizing of the fuel cell stack and boosts net power output, while at the same time reducing the size and cost of the electronic systems behind it---key technical objectives for maturing solid oxide fuel cell technology to commercial-market self-sustainable status," according to NETL Project Manager Don Collins.
Virginia Tech's device, when combined with highly efficient switching and digital control techniques, converts 22 volts to 400 volts at 97 percent energy efficiency.
The net effect is that fuel consumption, the size of fuel cell systems, and costs are reduced, thereby taking a significant step toward SECA's goal of 40--60 percent overall fuel cell efficiency at a cost of $400 per kilowatt by 2010.
As the nation anticipates unbridled growth in the demand for electricity in the near future, fuel cells are viewed as an attractive source of energy because they provide significant environmental, energy, and economic benefits.
Once their costs are reduced to the $400 per kilowatt level and efficiency goals are attained, fuel cells can be used as power generation resources in a variety of ways, such as onsite power for houses and commercial properties, transportation, and modular application by utilities.
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