Connecticut-based FuelCell Energy has secured an order from Texas-based oil and gas firm ExxonMobil for long-lead fuel cell stack module equipment and engineering support.
ExxonMobil plans to use the equipment and support for the potential demonstration of modular point source carbon capture at one of its facilities. Although the company has not made a final investment decision, ExxonMobil says the order is a crucial step in equipment procurement and module engineering work.
The demonstration project is expected to be a full-scale prototype of the modules utilized in large-scale systems for industrial and commercial point source carbon capture applications.
Carbonate fuel cells will be used in the modules to capture and concentrate carbon dioxide streams efficiently. The combustion exhaust from external sources, such as a flue stream, will be directed towards the fuel cell, which will then electrochemically react with fuel and air to produce power while also capturing and concentrating carbon dioxide for permanent storage or utilization.
“FuelCell Energy continues to gain confidence in achieving large-scale commercialization of FuelCell Energy’s carbonate technology for industrial and commercial point source carbon capture,” said Jason Few, President and Chief Executive Officer of FuelCell Energy. “We believe that this technology will address one of the largest environmental challenges of today, CO2 emissions from industrial and commercial exhaust streams and power generation.”
“We see market demand across various commercial and industrial segments to scale and commercialize our unique carbon capture solution, which captures carbon dioxide from various exhaust streams, while generating additional power and hydrogen,” Few adds. “We believe our carbon capture solution is the only solution that can capture carbon while producing electricity and hydrogen at the same time. Traditional amine solutions penalize power output by 20-35 percent of total power production."
