FuelCell Energy to build pilot plant at Mercedes-Benz site

FuelCell Energy Inc. of Danbury said it has formed a partnership with an international energy company, a public power utility and a major automaker to build and install a fuel cell power plant at the Mercedes-Benz production facility in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

The $2 million-plus, 250-kilowatt pilot

The four companies include Southern Co., Alabama Municipal Electric Authority, FuelCell Energy and Mercedes-Benz U.S. International Inc.

The power plant uses FuelCell Energys Direct FuelCell(TM) stack in a unique design developed by MTU Friedrichshafen, a subsidiary of DaimlerChrysler and partner of FuelCell Energy.

The objective of the project is to study the performance of new technology to further the advancement of environmentally friendly energy sources.

Alabama Power Co. will enter into a special customer partnership with Mercedes-Benz U.S. as the fuel cell plant will be located in the service territory of this Southern Co. subsidiary.

Southern, Alabama Municipal and FuelCell Energy will provide funding 161 the fuel cell power and Southern Will serve as project manager.

Mercedes-Benz U.S. will provide the resources and venue for the demonstration site to simulate actual field operating conditions during the project.

All partners will share in the knowledge gained in the demonstration of the power plant under actual field operations, and FuelCell Energy will apply the knowledge gained toward the design of future commercial Direct FuelCell plants.

The fuel cell plant will operate for at least a year, and the companies were to continue to operate the project on the Mercedes-Benz U.S. site.

Southern and Alabama Municipal have

options to negotiate exclusive arrangements for the sale, distribution and service of FuelCell Energys commercial power plants elsewhere.

MTU Fried Friedrichshafen has licensed FuelCell Energy, technology while FuelCell Energy has licensed MTU's power plant design, known as the "hot module."

The plant will convert pipeline natural gas to AC electricity at an efficiency of about 50 percent. It will feed the Mercedes-Benz production facility power distribution system.

In addition, the entire plant will be skid mounted, making it easier to transport to different locations for additional demonstrations.

MTU is currently conducting a 250 kilowatt commercial field trial at Bielefeld, Germany, generating electricity to the local grid processing steam for a university and heat for district heating.

The growing demand for clean, efficient power in the United States and elsewhere is driving interest in fuel cell technology.

Because fuel cells use an electrochemical reaction rather than combustion to generate electricity, electrical efficiencies are high and emissions are minimal, making them an environmentally friendly method of producing electricity, officials said.

FuelCell Energy (www.fce.com) develops fuel cell power plants in the range of 250 kilowatt to 3 megawatts mid larger for stationary power generation.

The companys Manufacturing facility is located in Torrington.

The Mercedes-Benz U.S. plant in Tuscaloosa manufactures the M-Class sport utility vehicle.