Operation of the Siemens SOFC Generators CHP100 and SFC5 in a Mechanical Factory

Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs) are a promising technology for distributed electricity generation and cogeneration. Most of the installations of SOFC are small size fuel cells (of the order of decades of watts or few hundred watts) in laboratories. There are very few installations of commercial scale SOFC plants. In this paper the operating results obtained with two SOFC plants are presented. These plants, whose nominal electric power is 100 kW and 5 kW respectively, produce heat and power to contribute to the energy requirements of the Turbocare factory in Torino, Italy.