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Successful Test of FuelCell Energy's Ultra-Clean Power Plant Confirms Ability for Onsite Generation of Electricity and Air Conditioning

Posted on: Tuesday, 15 November 2005, 09:00 CST

Addition of Cooling for Combined Heat and Power Applications Enhances Value Proposition of DFC Power Plants

FuelCell Energy, Inc. (NasdaqNM:FCEL), a leading manufacturer of ultra-clean and efficient electric power generation plants for commercial and industrial customers, today announced its Direct FuelCell(R) (DFC(R)) power plant successfully completed a U.S. government test of its unit when operating in concert with an absorption chiller, expanding its combined heat and power (CHP) applications to air conditioning.

The findings affirmed that the DFC power plant can provide a significant amount of cooling by using its heat byproduct as energy for an absorption chiller. More efficient and environmentally favorable than conventional air conditioners, absorption chillers use less energy and provide cooling without the use of harmful ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).

FuelCell Energy provided a 250-kilowatt DFC300A power plant to the Fuel Cell Test & Evaluation Center (FCTec) in Johnstown, Pa. The unit was evaluated with a 20 ton absorption chiller (17.9 ton cooling capacity, estimated on fuel cell exhaust) manufactured by Broad, which specializes in absorption chillers powered by clean energy sources like fuel cells. In tests, the absorption chiller substantially exceeded its rated capacity of 17.9 tons -- generating a maximum of 19.5 tons of cooling -- when using the fuel cell's heat exhaust as its energy source.

"Integrating and optimizing a chiller with a fuel cell in many cases will afford higher overall efficiencies and better utilization of the fuel cell's waste heat," said Franklin Holcomb, CERL's fuel cell team project leader. "Our tests verified the effectiveness of DFC power plants in cogeneration applications for air conditioning. This can be a very strong economic driver for Department of Defense (DoD) installations that have long cooling seasons, or for specific building applications -- such as hospitals, which require continuous cooling."

The evaluation was completed in August after 1200 hours of testing at the FCTec site, which is operated by Concurrent Technologies Corporation (CTC) on behalf of the U.S. Department of Defense.

"Gaining the option of using the high value waste heat from our ultra-clean DFC power plants for absorption chilling air conditioning enhances their value proposition," said R. Daniel Brdar, FuelCell Energy's President and COO. "Using the heat to chill water for air conditioning can provide better economics for cogeneration, especially in markets with high electricity costs and warmer climates."

The project is supported by a three-way Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center's Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (ERDC-CERL), Concurrent Technologies Corporation and FuelCell Energy Inc. CTC is funded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, involving ERDC-CERL, whose role is to provide funding to CTC and evaluate test results to determine applicability of fuel cell power plants to DOD installations.

About Concurrent Technologies Corporation

CTC is an independent, nonprofit, applied research and development professional services organization providing management and technology-based solutions to a wide array of clients representing state and federal government as well as the private sector. Established in 1988, CTC operates from more than 35 locations with a staff of 1,400 employees. CTC operates the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Fuel Cell Test and Evaluation Center (FCTec) at its Environmental Technology Facility in Johnstown, Pa. FCTec is a national resource facility for the independent, unbiased testing and validation of fuel cell systems and components for both military and commercial applications. The FCTec's primary goal is to significantly accelerate the development and commercialization of fuel cell systems through comprehensive research, development, test and evaluation, integration, and optimization services. For more information about CTC, visit www.ctc.com.

About ERDC-CERL

The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) is the premier research and development facility for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It consists of seven laboratories (including CERL) at four geographical sites, with over 2,000 employees, $1.2 billion in facilities, and an annual research program exceeding $700 million. ERDC conducts research in both military and civil works mission areas for the Department of Defense and the nation. ERDC supports many critical missions for DoD related to conservation.

About FuelCell Energy

FuelCell Energy develops and markets ultra-clean power plants that generate electricity with up to twice the efficiency of conventional fossil fuel plants and with virtually no air pollution. Fuel cells produce base load electricity giving commercial and industrial customers greater control over their power generation economics, reliability and emissions. Emerging state, federal and international regulations to reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions consider fuel cell power plants in the same environmentally friendly category as wind and solar energy sources -- with the added advantages of running 24 hours a day and the capacity to be installed where wind turbines or solar panels often cannot. Headquartered in Danbury, Conn., FuelCell Energy services over 40 power plant sites around the globe that have generated more than 78 million kilowatt hours, and conducts R&D on next-generation fuel cell technologies to meet the world's ever-increasing demand for ultra-clean distributed energy. For more information on the company, its products and its worldwide commercial distribution alliances, please see www.fuelcellenergy.com.

Direct FuelCell, DFC and DFC/Turbine are registered trademarks of FuelCell Energy, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. The Company's sub-megawatt DFC fuel cell power plant is a collaborative effort combining its Direct FuelCell technology with a Hot Module(R) balance of plant design from MTU CFC Solutions, GmbH, a subsidiary of DaimlerChrysler.

This news release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the Company's plans and expectations regarding the development and commercialization of its fuel cell technology. All forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Factors that could cause such a difference include, without limitation, the risk that commercial field trials of the Company's products will not occur when anticipated, general risks associated with product development, manufacturing, changes in the utility regulatory environment, potential volatility of energy prices, rapid technological change, and competition, as well as other risks set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements contained herein speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any such statement to reflect any change in the Company's expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

Source: Business Wire

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