Fuel Cell Research

Environmental Mission

Also check out these articles on Funroads.com to read what research in fuel cell types could mean to RVers.

As a world leader in the design and manufacture of power generation equipment and technology, Cummins Power Generation is working today to develop fuel cell technology for tomorrow.

In the fall of 2001, the DOE awarded Cummins Power Generation a cost sharing contract to develop and commercialize a 10 kW Solid Oxide Fuel Cell system for a wide range of commercial applications.

This initial DOE award of $20 million covers the first four-year phase of the project. Total DOE funding over the entire ten-year program will be $74 million. SOFCo-EFS Holdings LLC, a division of McDermott International, will provide the core fuel cell stack and reformer technology for the program. The cost share contribution from Cummins and SOFCo will total up to $75 million over the life of the contract.

Cummins Power Generation was selected for the contract based on its market share leadership in power generation in Recreational Vehicles (RV's), Commercial Mobile (e.g. utility boom trucks, fire trucks), and Telecom (remote or emergency power) markets, and its ability to bring the technology to the consumer.

The solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) power system will provide virtually silent power with significantly lower fuel consumption and exhaust emission than existing generator sets. Additional benefits will include higher reliability and lower maintenance than required by today's systems.

The program is working towards a clear goal of commercialization of SOFC technology, and the vision of a new family of power generation products demonstrating superior value for our customers. An engineering mock-up of the SOFC power system illustrates the team's vision in the form of a new RV power plant.

Design work to date indicates the feasibility of packaging the SOFC power system on a platform consistent with our most advanced existing Diesel RV gensets, with the SOFC hot section occupying a space envelope comparable to the existing engine, generator, cooling system and muffler.

The major subsections are packaged to provide effective thermal management. Controls and power electronics, including the 120VAC output inverter, are integrated consistent with our extensive experience in RV products. Balance of plant components - blower, fuel controls, fluid connections, are between the electronics and the "hotbox" housing the stacks, reformer, recuperator, manifolding, and thermal insulation

The result is a packaged SOFC power system configured to directly replace its diesel predecessor.

Cost reduction is major emphasis

A key objective of the program is to reduce the manufacturing costs associated with SOFC in order to price fuel cells near the costs of current premium diesel, gasoline and LP-powered generator sets. The target is to build a 10 kW system with a factory cost of $400/kW, which is competitive with current reciprocating engine systems of this size. Cummins expects that demand will increase for this cost-effective technology, and thereby significantly replace reciprocating engine technology.

Key to the SOFC power system will be unique multi-layer, co-fired planar SOFC stacks. This technology combines state-of-the-art SOFC materials with multi-layer ceramic (MLC) fabrication techniques used in the microelectronics industry. The cell and interconnect components are produced using traditional tape casting, punching, screen printing, lamination and co-firing operations. The benefit of this approach will be the development of high-volume, low-cost manufacturing of standardized high-performance SOFC stacks.

SOFC technology is environmentally friendly and highly social

A major advantage of SOFC technology is that it facilitates the clean and environmentally friendly use of fossil fuels such as natural gas, LP, gasoline and diesel fuel to develop power efficiently and with extremely low emissions. Fuel cells produce electrical power by oxidizing reformed fuel within a special ceramic substrate to produce direct-current electricity. The only waste products are water vapor and a small amount of carbon dioxide.

Even the best engine driven generator sets produce a characteristic sound that's unwelcome in many noise sensitive areas, such as campgrounds and residential neighborhoods. SOFC power systems demonstrate the potential for generating highly sociable power that's clean, but not heard.

Three-phase SECA Program

Phase 1 (2001-2005)
System design and engineering
Component design and development
SOFC materials and stack development
Prototype system meeting Phase I objectives demonstrated

Phase II (2005-2008)
Second generation design and engineering
Improved materials performance and stack optimization
Prototype system meeting Phase II objectives demonstrated

Phase III (2008-2011)
SOFC power system performance and cost developed to commercial level
Full production qualification
Commercial Product introduced to target markets

Fuel Cell Milestones

2002

• System Profile complete. The system profile is an evergreen description of the product vision. It describes the needs of the customer/market, and translates those needs into SOFC system specifications. This description will continue to evolve until the product is ready to be introduced to the market.
• Steady State Model. A system steady state model has been developed for use in analyzing and optimizing system performance.
• Transient Model. System transient models created to model thermal and mechanical reactions to transient conditions such as start-up or load changes.

2003

• Efficient single cell test methodology developed and correlated to speed evaluation of cell level materials and construction.
• Proof-of-concept (C1) hot box mechanical design complete.
• Reformer components for C1 hot box delivered.
• Fuel cell boost hardware ready for application.
• C1 hot box delivered to Cummins for assembly into C1 system.
• Initiated C1 simulated fuel cell system testing.

2004

• Successful fabrication of 15cm cell and interconnects demonstrated.
• Delivery of fuel cell stacks for C1 proof-of-concept system testing.
• Demonstrated stable steady state operation of the C1 system.
• Completed C2 (deliverable prototype) reformer components to hot box assembly.
• Completed C2 hot box assembly with simulators for testing.

2005

• Completed C2 balance of plant.
• Completed C2 control and power electronics integration.
• Operational testing and verification of C2 system with simulated stacks.
• Installation of C2 live stacks.

The SOFC power system development is supported through a contract (DE-FC26-01NT41244) with the United States Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Energy Technology Laboratory, a section of the DOE (www.seca.doe.gov). Project team members include Cummins Power Generation, and SOFco-EFS Holdings LLC, a McDermott/BWXT company (http://www.sofco-efs.com).

In addition to our SECA SOFC program, Cummins Power Generation has recently been awarded a contract under the auspices of the DOE's Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) office to to develop a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) auxiliary power system for heavy-duty trucks. This new application of fuel cell technology will sharply reduce engine idling time for America's 458,000 long-haul trucks, shrinking the trucking industry's fuel consumption while creating virtually no pollutants.

Trucking industry sources estimate that heavy (Class 7 and Class 8) trucks spend an average of six hours per day idling, primarily to keep engines warm and truck cabs warm or cool for driver comfort. These idling engines consume 840 million gallons of diesel fuel annually, creating an enormous opportunity for fuel savings. The SOFC-based auxiliary power units developed by Cummins Power Generation will operate on a new, ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel in 2006, providing a better, cleaner alternative to today's higher-emissions diesel fuels.

The Cooperative Development Agreement was placed through the DOE Golden, CO field office and provides Federal funding of $3.2 million over a three year period. Cummins Power Generation and their development partners contribute $1.6 million cost share for a total program of $4.8 million.

Cummins Power Generation's partners for this program are SOFCo-EFS Holdings, LLC (SOFCo), a leading developer of fuel cells, and International Truck & Engine, a leading manufacturer of heavy-duty trucks.