1,000,000 kWh with Vaillant fuel cell heating appliances
Remscheid/Oldenburg, 1 December 2005
With one million kWh of electrical energy generated so far in its Europe-wide field test, Vaillant Group has achieved an important milestone in its development of fuel cell heating appliances. Because of their high energy efficiency these appliances are seen as the technology of the future in power-heat cogeneration. As the first heating technology manufacturer to do so, Vaillant has with its fuel cell heating appliances achieved in more than 330,000 operating hours the trailblazing mark of one million kWh of electricity and at the same time 2.9 million kWh of heat, and thereby gathered valuable experience for further development. The amount of power generated so far could supply almost 300 three-person households with electricity for a whole year.
Together with selected competent partners across Europe, the company is testing fuel cell heating appliances in blocks of flats, hotels, an indoor swimming pool, a car dealer's and other small businesses. The partners include energy supply companies such as EWE, E.ON Ruhrgas, Gasunie, VNG Verbundnetz Gas Aktiengesellschaft, Energie Baden-Württemberg EnBW, Stadtwerke Remscheid, Électricité de France, Salzburg AG and Erdgas Oberösterreich, as well as local installation companies.
One of the installations, in a block of flats in Oldenburg, is operated together with the energy supply company EWE. Its Chairman, Dr Werner Brinker, congratulated the head of the Fuel Cell programme unit at Vaillant, Joachim Berg, on the level achieved by the development . "Testing new technologies such as fuel cells has played an important role for us for years," he said. "Only with the aid of innovative solutions we can use our scarce resources more efficiently in future. We are very pleased that Vaillant has reached this important milestone with appliances that we are testing together."
Joachim Berg said: "For us as a system supplier of innovative concepts in the household energy sector, it is very important to develop the new technologies hand-in-hand with our future market partners. This is how we make ourselves fit for the future together. Therefore I thank Dr Brinker and the EWE, standing for all our other partners in the energy industry and the installation trade, for the constructive cooperation. Without them this important milestone would not have been achieved."
The prototypes developed by Vaillant and the American fuel cell company Plug Power generate a maximum electrical output of 4.6 kW and thermal output of 9 kW. This can cover the basic needs for power, hot water and heating in blocks of flats. Parallel to the field tests, which will continue until the end of 2006, the fuel cell technology is being developed continually with regard to costs and its practical maturity. Fuel cell heating appliances are not expected to be ready for the market before 2010.
Contact
Stefan Jakubik
Press Officer
Vaillant Group
42850 Remscheid
Germany
Phone: +49 2191 18-3731
Mobile: +49 171 9763231
Fax: +49 2191 18-2895
E-mail: stefan.jakubik@vaillant.de
www.vaillant-group.com
