Molten Carbonate Fuel Cells: A High Temperature Fuel Cell on the Edge to Commercialization

The HotModule®, a collaborative effort utilizing the Direct FuelCell® technology of FuelCell Energy, Inc. and the Hot Module® balance of plant design of MTU CFC Solutions GmbH, is a stationary sub-megawatt carbonate fuel cell power plant in the power range of 250 kW_el. Its function and reliability has been verified meanwhile in many field test applications within a test program started in 2001. Whereas the focal points of the early field test plants were the demonstration of function and reliability, some of the following projects are aiming at the demonstration of a variety of fuels, as for example methanol and digester gas. In total 14 of the highly integrated HotModule systems were installed so far within this European field trial program until July 2005.