IBM and FuelCell Energy have partnered to improve the performance of FuelCell Energy’s technology using Foundation Models, a form of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), thereby supporting their efforts for a global transition to zero-carbon renewable energy sources.
“Our collaboration with IBM is an opportunity for FuelCell Energy to leverage emerging AI technology to improve our product performance for our customers and for IBM to extend its AI technology to the study of electrochemical catalytic processes,” said FuelCell Energy’s Chief Technology Officer, Tony Leo.
IBM will study and help FuelCell Energy increase the life of its fuel cells through optimal control of operational parameters and their cost-effectiveness for customers under the collaboration.
Using FuelCell Energy data, IBM will develop the Foundation Model to create device-level models, which will learn from the data and predict the technology's performance.
The procedure will not only create a data-based digital twin of the fuel cell, connecting various data sources, but also help provide an understanding of various operating parameters affecting the fuel cell's degradation for potential improvements.
“We hope that IBM’s AI will help FuelCell Energy replace the traditional, time-intensive, and expensive accelerated life testing process when it comes to electrochemical energy production to quickly and efficiently propel forward the world’s transition to clean energy,” said Alessandro Curioni, VP IBM Research Europe and Africa and Director of IBM Research Europe, Zurich.
