Harnessing the power of hydrogen Fuel cell for

The UK’s largest fuel cell system has been installed at a landmark redevelopment project in central London.

HARNESSING THE POWER OF HYDROGEN

The fuel cell installation, which was designed and integrated by Edinburghbased Logan Energy, has been undertaken at The Crown Estate’s £400 million, 270,000 sq ft (25 000m2) mixed-use Quadrant 3 scheme. The 300 kW molten carbonate fuel cell forms part of one of the world’s most sophisticated central energy systems, which serves more than half-a-million square feet of offices, retail, residential, restaurant, and hotel space in the Regent Street Quadrant area.

This is the first molten carbonate fuel cell to be installed in the UK, and the most efficient fuel cell installation in Europe, emitting 38 per cent less CO2 than using electricity from the grid and heat from efficient gasfired boilers.

Fuel cell power provides the most efficient combined cooling, heat and power distributed energy schemes, and was chosen to help the project meet its clean air and carbon reduction targets. The 300 kW fuel cell CHP installation – supplied by FuelCell Energy in Connecticut – runs on natural gas, with no combustion products such as NOx, SOx and particulates, and saving 350 tonnes of CO2 emissions per annum.

The heat from this fuel cell installation will be used for facility heating and cooling, resulting in maximum efficiency and cost savings for The Crown Estate’s customers. The overall efficiency of the installation is estimated at 83 per cent, but with a higher electrical contribution than other types of distributed generation.

Fuel cells have the potential to revolutionise the way we power our world, offering cleaner, more-efficient alternatives to the combustion of gasoline and other fossil fuels. They could one day replace the internal-combustion engine in vehicles and can already provide power in stationary and portable power applications because they are energy-efficient, clean and fuel-flexible.

Because the oxidation of the fuel in a fuel cell is an electrochemical reaction and not combustion, the exhaust emissions are ultra low in NOx, SOx and particulates.

Fuel cells produce DC electricity which is stabilised and then converted, using an inverter, to AC. All fuel cells produce water as a by-product so the exhaust can be condensed and water produced. This is generally of a high purity and can be cleaned to produce de-ionised water.

The Quadrant 3 scheme’s pioneering sustainable features have been key to attracting its first office tenant to its 18,600m2 (200,000 ft2) of Grade A space. Generation Investment Management, the independent investment management firm dedicated to long-term, sustainable investing, has signed a 15-year lease for the 1980m2 (21,300 ft2) top floor space.

Endorsing Quadrant 3, Al Gore, chairman of Generation Investment Management, said: “Generation is delighted to be The Crown Estate’s anchor tenant in this exciting building. The AirW1 office space and associated public realm development showcases

their ongoing and increasingly sophisticated commitment to sustainability. We are very pleased to be able to continue our partnership with The Crown Estate, whose emphasis on sustainability is fully aligned with our own values and investment philosophy.”

Quadrant 3 also breathes new life into two 1930s Art Deco restaurants, which were once home to the pre-eminent Atlantic Bar and Grill and Titanic Restaurant. Timber veneer, gold leaf architraving, marble, brass, mirrors, ceilings, and even original wallpaper have been meticulously catalogued, removed and restored by expert artisan craftsmen, before being put back together again like a complex jigsaw.

“Occupiers are increasingly looking to operate more sustainably, and this includes factoring in the green credentials of their premises,” says Alastair Smart, The Crown Estate’s Head of Development. “The fuel cell is a real flag in the sand, demonstrating what is possible in terms of energy efficiency and carbon reduction, and it will only enhance the building’s reputation as a world-leading example of sustainable development.”

Energy for TfL

Logan Energy is a market leader in providing energy-efficient solutions that harness the power of hydrogen. Its previous projects include Transport for London’s prestigious Palestra Building in Southwark, where a fuel cell power plant has been operating successfully since it was commissioned in February 2010.

The fuel cell forms part of an integrated tri-generation system providing electrical energy, heat and cooling to the Palestra building. It is the largest capacity fuel cell operating in London.

As part of their commitment to reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions TfL (Transport for London) commissioned the project in 2008; at that time they estimated a reduction in carbon emissions of 40 per cent and a cost saving of £90,000 per annum as a result of the CCHP installations.

The system is capable of providing 200kWe and approximately 263kWth energy to the building services installations, operating at a system efficiency of 36 per cent.

A system connects the fuel cell power module to existing systems to distribute heat and electricity to associated plant and equipment including an absorption chiller, hot water storage system and the main electrical building distribution system. Emissions from the fuel cell system are significantly less than traditional generation processes and NOx levels of <1 ppmV and CO < 2 ppmV are expected; all others emissions such as SOx, particulates and non methane hydrocarbons are negligible.

Last autumn Logan Energy announced that it would install a fuel cell power plant from FuelCell Energy Solutions GmbH – the German-based joint venture between FuelCell Energy and the Fraunhofer IKTS Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems – at the 20 Fenchurch office development in central London, due for completion next year.

“This project demonstrates that fuel cell based energy centres are able to compete with all other forms of distributed generation, even without government subsidy, and will play an increasingly significant role in the reduction of carbon emissions and electrical power resilience in the UK,” says Bill Ireland, chief executive and chairman of Logan Energy Ltd. “We are presently negotiating several MW-scale projects which make commercial sense as companies strive for control over rising utility prices, lifecycle cost and carbon reduction, and security of supply.” n

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