Wallenius Lines, a Swedish owned car carrier vessel is testing a fuel cell for auxiliary power.  Fuel cells are clean power sources - in this case fueled by methanol (alcohol).  Wallenius Lines has a major commitment to being green (using non toxic paint to reduce barnacle drag, handling bilge water carefully, reducing impact overall, etc.) and this is the next step in the journey.


"Wärtsilä’s WFC20 fuel cell ... onboard the ’Undine’,  ... is the first of its kind in the world ... during the test period provide auxiliary power to the vessel while producing close to zero emissions...."

Methanol can be made from biomass so can be a renewable fuel ... in addition to providing clean power.  The trails started in May 2010 and extend until November 2010.



Via:  Wallenius Lines  LINK

Bloom Energy Server - Lower Cost Fuel Cells

"The Bloom Energy Server ... is certainly interesting for its packaging, deep-pocketed backers, big brand customer names/testimonials and potential to provide clean energy, but its major technological innovation appears to resolve a problem that have long made fuel cells uneconomical. ... runs on Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs) which convert natural or biogas into electricity."

" ... company ... reportedly attracted ... backing from Silicon Valley venture capital firms such as Kleiner Perkins ... Energy Servers have been toiling away since the mid-2008 at ... Google and eBay. ..."

" ... its key component is made from sand. ... sand is cheap and plentiful ... Historically, the gating component in a hydrogen fuel cell, the most common type of fuel cell, has been platinum, which drives up the cost and makes them expensive to mass produce."

" ... been able to commercialize the technology and besides Google and eBay, get customer commitments from the likes of Staples, Walmart, Coke and Bank of America. ... proves that the Energy Server actually works. ..."

Via: SmartPlanet LINK

Connecticut Science Center Powered by Fuel Cell

"A 200kW UTC Power fuel cell ... at the new Connecticut Science Center in Hartford ... will generate 100 percent of the electricity demanded by the facility on an annual basis once operational ...

 will be the first such facility to generate most of its own energy on-site with ultra clean, quiet fuel cell power."

" ... reduce the burden on the New England power grid and its impact on the environment ... will prevent the release of more than 270 metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere annually by using the Model 200 PureCell® system rather than relying on a traditional fossil-fuel-burning powerplant ... one of the first fuel cell installations in the state to employ net metering, a process by which surplus power from the fuel cell is fed to the utility grid at night when the facility’s power demand is less."

Via: United Technologies Corp. LINK

Dedham Mass Whole Foods Powered by Fuel Cell and Solar Cells

 
Fuel cells are making there way to a food store near you - if you live in Dedham, Mass.

" ... newest and largest Whole Foods Market in New England ... in Dedham, MA. ... the first store in Massachusetts to generate on-site power with fuel cell technology (one of the cleanest forms of energy)! 90% of our power will be generated by this fuel cell - this is sometUnited Technologies logohing that we are very proud of."

" ... powered by a 400-kilowatt UTC Power fuel cell and a rooftop solar installation that will generate most of the store’s power and all of its hot water needs ..."

Via: WholeFoods LINK  and Via: Technologies Corp. LINK

Home Fuel Cells Coming to Japan

" ... Matsushita ... will claim first place in the race to put commercial home fuel cells on the market ... "

" ... can optimally provide 70 percent of the energy needs for a 1,280 square foot house with four people ... can reduce energy consumption by 22 percent and CO2 emissions by 12 percent as compared to all other power sources ... ".

" ... in this case, the cogeneration home fuel cell hooks up to the city’s natural gas lines, extracting hydrogen from the gas in a fuel-processing device ... hydrogen is combined with oxygen through a series of polyelectrolyte membranes, a process that creates electricity, heat, and water ... home fuel cell produces between 500 watts and a 1 kilowatt of electricity and captures the heat to warm a tank of water, used for showers, dishes etc."

" ... a contribution to Japan’s goals of reducing global CO2 emissions 50 percent by 2050."

" ... fuel cells require a great deal of energy; for example, this unit contains more than 2,000 components. Whether the production of the units negates the energy and CO2 savings gained by customers is unclear."

Check out this video ...

Via: Mother Nature Network LINK