www.reuters.com
Aug 20, 2010
Telecommunications networks require reliable backup power solutions that can operate for hours or even days when the utility grid fails due to severe weather conditions, natural disasters, or poor grid quality. Typically diesel generators and lead acid batteries are used for providing backup. However, fuel-cell systems are increasingly being considered as a superior backup solution. fuel-cells are cleaner and quieter than diesel generators, and they can reduce the number of batteries required at telecom sites. fuel-cells also have the advantage of being less prone to theft and more resilient to extreme outdoor temperatures.
In 2008, The US Department of Energy (DOE) released a funding opportunity announcement, targeting commercialisation of stationary fuel-cells for communications backup. In 2009, a consortium led by Sprint Nextel, along with proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel-cell makers ReliOn and Altergy, as well as hydrogen and fuel storage supplier Air Products and Chemicals Inc., and others, was awarded $7.3 million from the US DOE.
The program calls for the deployment of 260 new hydrogen fuel-cells (HFC). Also, 70 hydrogen fuel-cells shall be retrofitted from a low pressure bottle swap solution to a new medium pressure solution that employs onsite refueling. The chart below shows the breakdown by state, led by the two most fuel-cell friendly states, California and Connecticut.
The program provides a one-time cost offset to accelerate commercial deployment of a large number of fuel-cell backup systems, which provides incentive for Sprint to make the near-term investment. The program requires long run time, defined as 72 hours backup, which is intended to establish a critical mass of HFC units, and storage modules and delivery infrastructure. With Air Products' involvement, the program has the dedication and focus of a major gas supplier with the capabilities to bring both storage and delivery to the stationary backup market. The program also requires deployment over a short period of time, less than two years to ensure critical mass happens sooner.
The early feedback from Sprint is that the program is poised for success and that it will serve as a blueprint for the telecom industry to utilise PEM fuel-cells for backup power. This makes 2010 the year when the fuel-cell industry appears poised to prove out a well established technology in a legitimate wide-scale commercialisation opportunity.
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