Ceramic Fuel Cells
Encyclopedia
Ceramic Fuel Cells Ltd is an Australia
n fuel cell
technology company, based in Melbourne
. The company produces the "BlueGen" gas-to-electricity generators. CFCL's develops solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology to provide reliable, energy efficient, high quality, and low-emission electricity from natural gas and renewable fuels. CFCL is developing SOFC products for small-scale on-site micro combined heat and power (m-CHP) and distributed generation units that co-generate electricity and heat for domestic use.
(CSIRO) and a consortium of energy and industrial companies.
In 2009 a production facility opened in Noble Park
, Melbourne and another one in Heinsberg
, Germany, which won the North Rhine-Westphalia
's economic development agency NRW.INVEST
award for innovation.
by 18 tonnes.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n fuel cell
Fuel cell
A fuel cell is a device that converts the chemical energy from a fuel into electricity through a chemical reaction with oxygen or another oxidizing agent. Hydrogen is the most common fuel, but hydrocarbons such as natural gas and alcohols like methanol are sometimes used...
technology company, based in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. The company produces the "BlueGen" gas-to-electricity generators. CFCL's develops solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology to provide reliable, energy efficient, high quality, and low-emission electricity from natural gas and renewable fuels. CFCL is developing SOFC products for small-scale on-site micro combined heat and power (m-CHP) and distributed generation units that co-generate electricity and heat for domestic use.
History
Ceramic Fuel Cells Ltd was formed in 1992 by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research OrganisationCommonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation is the national government body for scientific research in Australia...
(CSIRO) and a consortium of energy and industrial companies.
In 2009 a production facility opened in Noble Park
Noble Park, Victoria
Noble Park is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 26 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Greater Dandenong...
, Melbourne and another one in Heinsberg
Heinsberg
Heinsberg is the capital of the district Heinsberg in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated near the border with the Netherlands, on the river Wurm, approx...
, Germany, which won the North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...
's economic development agency NRW.INVEST
NRW.INVEST
NRW.INVEST is the economic development agency of the German State of North Rhine-Westphalia . It deals with the acquisition of and support for foreign investors and the international marketing for NRW as a business location....
award for innovation.
Products
The first marketed product of the company is "BlueGen" a solid oxide fuel cell which creates electricity and heat by passing natural gas over ceramic fuel cells. BlueGen is 85% efficient and is reported to cut the average Australian home's annual carbon dioxide emissionsGreenhouse gas
A greenhouse gas is a gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone...
by 18 tonnes.