Vaillant Group presents first wall-hung fuel cells heating appliance
Hanover/Remscheid, 4 April 2011 – The heating, ventilation and air-conditioning specialist Vaillant Group today presented at the Hanover Fair a prototype of the first wall-hung micro-combined heat and power (CHP) system with fuel cells technology. The system supplies single-family houses with heat and electricity at the same time. Compared to customary CHP systems, the fuel cells heating appliance generates distinctly more electricity while using the same amount of energy. This significantly reduces household energy costs. Moreover, the fuel cells heating appliance developed by the Vaillant Group also clearly reduces the CO2 emission compared with currently available highly efficient technologies. This means that decentral combined heat and power based on state-of-the-art fuel cells technology can make a decisive contribution to the economic, environmentally friendly and safe energy supply of the future. The fuel cells heating appliance presented for the first time at the Hanover Fair is powered by natural gas and thus is conceived both for new buildings and the energy refurbishment of existing housing stock. The appliances will be tested in the Germany-wide Callux field test programme from the autumn of this year. "The Vaillant Group is one of the pioneers and technology leaders in the development of fuel cells heating appliances. We have been successfully developing in this sector for years," said Dr Carsten Voigtländer, CEO of the Vaillant Group. "With the fuel cells technology we are expanding our competence in the combined heat and power area and making an innovative input to efficient and sustainable decentral energy supply."
Energy centre on the wall
The robust and compact appliance generates highly efficiently 2 kW of heat and 1 kW of electricity at the same time. The technical basis of the system is solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC), meaning solid oxide or oxide-ceramic fuel cells that reach a working temperature of more than 800 degrees Celsius and enable an optimum use of natural gas. The Vaillant Group has tested several prototypes of the SOFC appliance in the laboratory since 2009, and last year more than 12,000 hours in continuous operation were achieved. In addition, we proved for the first time that based on the SOFC technology starting and stopping the system could also be done without noteworthy losses in electrical output. With the fuel cells heating appliance the Vaillant Group is using a technology that means a leap in the development of combined heat and power. Since they consist of only a few mechanical components and thus enable a space-saving and quiet-running solution and achieve very low CO2 and nitric oxide emissions, experts believe that SOFC fuel cells could assert themselves as the leading CHP technology in the long term. The Vaillant Group is responsible for the complete system development of the fuel cells heating appliances and cooperates with strong partners in industry and science such as Staxera GmbH and the Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems (IKTS) in Dresden. The development was supported by funds from the German Federal Ministry for Economics and Technology.
Fuel cells appliances in field test
In 2011 the Vaillant Group is providing field test appliances of the new system for the Germany-wide Callux fuel cells practical test programme. As part of the project of the future, which is being implemented jointly by partners in the energy sector and the heating appliance industry with the support of the German Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development within the framework of the Federal government's National Innovation Programme (NIP), about 800 fuel cells heating appliances will be tested in homes over a period of eight years.
You can obtain more information on the new fuel cells heating appliance at the
Hanover Fair in Hall 27, Stand E 51.
Please find here press pictures to download.
Contact
Dr Jens Wichtermann
Head of Corporate Communications
Vaillant Group
D-42850 Remscheid
Phone: +49 2191 18-2754
Fax: +49 2191 18-2895
Mobile: +49 175 2951810
jens.wichtermann@vaillant.de
www.vaillant.de
