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CEO Interview with R. Daniel Brdar of FuelCell Energy, Inc.
posted on July 28, 2010 11:12
The Wall Street Transcript has recently published its Alternative Energy and Utilities Report offering a timely review of the sector to serious investors and industry executives. This special feature contains expert industry commentary through in-depth interviews with public company CEOs, Equity Analysts and Money Managers. The full issue is available by calling (212) 952-7433 or via The Wall Street Transcript Online.
Topics covered: The Case for Natural Gas - Energy Policy and the Climate Bill - Infrastructure Build-out and Clean Cities projects - Global Outlook for Alternative Energy Sectors - Geographical Differences and Opportunities in Alternative Energy Technology Adoption and many more.
In the following brief excerpt from the Alternative Energy and Utilities Report, analysts discuss the outlook for the sector and for investors.
R. Daniel Brdar was named CEO of FuelCell Energy, Inc., in 2006 and Chairman in January 2007. Mr. Brdar has over 24 years of combined technology development and new product introduction experience in a variety of executive positions. He previously held management positions at General Electric, where he focused on new product introduction programs for GE's Power Systems business unit, and he was Product Manager for its gas turbine technology. Prior to GE, Mr. Brdar was Associate Director, Office of Power Systems Product Management at the U.S. Department of Energy. He earned his B.S. degree in engineering from the University of Pittsburgh.
TWST: Would you begin with a brief overview of your company?
Mr. Brdar: We've been around for a long time, been around for 40 years. What our company does is we focus on manufacturing large-scale, ultraclean stationary fuel cells, really targeting industrial, commercial and utility-scale applications. And the product that we make is one that provides clean, efficient, cost-effective energy for our customers. And we do that through a technology that electrochemically converts a fuel, like a biogas or natural gas, into clean electricity. It's a product that we developed in combination with the U.S. Department of Energy, so we now have this commercial product that we're manufacturing in our home state of Connecticut and shipping around the world. Internationally, the largest market for our products is in Asia.
TWST: Tell us a bit about your Korean partner.
Mr. Brdar: POSCO Power, they are the largest independent power producer in Korea. They are a subsidiary of POSCO, which I believe is the fourth-largest steel company in the world. They partnered with us exclusively for the Korean marketplace, because they bring the local access and the local capability, and we bring the products and the technology. And in the longer term, there are a lot of synergies because some of the primary components of our product are nickel and stainless steel. So being part of a steel company, there are a lot of long-term synergies that we can build off of.
TWST: What do you think sets you apart from your competitors, and what advantages are you able to offer to your customers?
Mr. Brdar: Our products have the highest electrical efficiency of any power generation equipment in their size. That high efficiency means that we're going to use less fuel to make a kilowatt-hour of electricity than any other product, which really contributes significantly to our cost competitiveness. But also because of that high efficiency, it means that we're also going to have lower emissions of greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide, compared to other technologies. We've also developed a product with one of our strategic partners, Enbridge, a Canadian-based natural gas transmission company, specifically for the natural gas distribution system that has electrical efficiencies in excess of 65%, which is greater than what can be done with any power generation equipment of any size. Our products are also very quiet, and since we don't combust the fuel, we have virtually no harmful emissions, which means you can site or locate the product and have it operate on a continuous basis almost anywhere, even a downtown urban area like New York City or Los Angeles. And this just can't be done with traditional combustion-based power generation products like engines and turbines. And then among fuel cell companies in particular, we're the only company that's producing commercial megawatt and multimegawatt power plants. Our products range in size from as small as 300 kilowatts, which will be enough power for about 150 homes, all the way up to 2.8 megawatts. And we are doing projects at the utility scale that use multiple 2.8 megawatt units that can be put together for projects of up to 40 megawatts to 50 megawatts in size.
TWST: Your revenues were down 33% in Q1 compared to the same period last year. What factors caused the decline, and what strategies do you have in place to grow revenue this year?
Mr. Brdar: Like most companies, our revenues were really impacted by the slowdown in the economy and the lack of financing for our customers. Since we're making capital equipment, there is a long lead time associated with the purchase and delivery of our equipment, typically eight to 10 months. So what you saw in first quarter of this past year, with the reduced revenue, really was a direct reflection of slowdown in orders from the U.S. market that happened in 2009, largely just driven by the credit crisis and the inability of our customers to get financing. Fortunately for us, our market in Asia has continued to grow, so we ended up entering the fiscal year with the highest backlog in our history, largely driven by orders from Asia. Going forward, our growth is really going to come from several areas. Earlier this year, South Korea passed a national renewable portfolio standard that specifically includes fuel cells operating on natural gas.
The Wall Street Transcript is a unique service for investors and industry researchers - providing fresh commentary and insight through verbatim interviews with CEOs and research analysts. This special issue is available by calling (212) 952-7433 or via The Wall Street Transcript Online
FuelCell Energy to Supply Fuel Cell for Power Generation at Frozen Food Processing Plant
posted on July 28, 2010 11:08
FuelCell Energy, Inc. a leading manufacturer of high efficiency ultra-clean power plants using renewable and other fuels for commercial, industrial, government, and utility customers, today announced the sale of a 300 kilowatt DFC300 fuel cell power plant and five year service contract. LOGANEnergy, a dedicated fuel cell energy services company, will purchase and install the fuel cell power plant at the frozen food processing facility of Carla's Pasta in South Windsor, CT.
Carla's Pasta has been providing quality frozen pasta and pesto products for 29 years. Customers of Carla's Pasta can expect quality, first and foremost, quickly followed by customer service and sales support. As a frozen food processor that is dependent on 24/7 reliable power, the distributed generation aspect of fuel cells was appealing to the owners of Carla's Pasta. Electrical power is generated at the point of use which provides increased reliability, power quality and energy security.
"We operate our frozen pasta and pesto plant 24 hours per day and were attracted by the fuel cell power plant's reliability and energy security as it generates power right on our property," said Sergio Squatrito, Vice President, Operations, Carla's Pasta. "The high efficiency of the fuel cell power plant decreases our fuel and electrical costs, and lowers our carbon footprint. Our environmental stewardship is further enhanced with the installation of these fuel cells as the energy generation process emits virtually zero harmful pollutants."
The fuel cell power plant is expected to provide 60 percent of the energy needs of the recently expanded Carla's Pasta facility. The fuel cell power plant will generate ultra-clean base load electricity and will be configured to recover the byproduct heat from the fuel cell energy conversion process. The byproduct heat will be used for facility heating and heating hot water for the production process and general facility needs. This combined heat and power (CHP) configuration can achieve up to 80% efficiency, which is more than twice as efficient as power delivered via the transmission grid. The power plant is expected to be operational by mid 2011.
Sam Logan, Jr., CEO LOGANEnergy, commented, "We are providing a fully functional turn-key fuel cell power plant for our customer, Carla's Pasta. Partnering with FuelCell Energy allows us to offer our customers economical power generation that is highly efficient, environmentally friendly and reliable."
The purchase of this fuel cell power plant was partially funded by a $750,000 grant from the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund (CCEF). The CCEF, created in 2000 by the Connecticut Legislature, promotes, develops, and invests in clean energy sources for the benefit of Connecticut ratepayers.
"This installation illustrates the success of public and private partnerships that work together to provide reliable clean energy solutions for manufacturing employers based in Connecticut such as Carla's Pasta," said Richard Shaw, Director Business Development FuelCell Energy, Inc. "The grant from the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund is another example of the support for fuel cells in the State of Connecticut, helping to move the State to the forefront of clean power generation."
LOGANEnergy is a dedicated fuel cell energy service company, specializing in designing and developing fuel cell projects. Founded in 1993, LOGANEnergy's worldwide portfolio exceeds 11 megawatts of fuel cell capacity with more than 150 installations at 100 sites.
About FuelCell Energy
DFC(R) fuel cells are generating power at over 50 locations worldwide. The Company's power plants have generated over 500 million kWh of power using a variety of fuels including renewable wastewater gas, biogas from beer and food processing, as well as natural gas and other hydrocarbon fuels. FuelCell Energy has partnerships with major power plant developers and power companies around the world. The Company also receives funding from the U.S. Department of Energy and other government agencies for the development of leading edge technologies such as fuel cells.
19th 0f June 2010
CeCom Germany-Consortium is happy to report that our members continue at the leading edge in the development of advanced technical ceramics. In this case new electronic dielectric formulas have been developed by our participating university professors and their staffs. These new dielectric formulas have demonstrated a capability to operate at temperatures once thought not to be possible. Specifically electronic chip capacitors, can now be built to operate at temperatures up to 260 degrees centigrade with excellent electrical characteristics and reliability. Specimens of these new products are being tested with good results for demanding applications. Some of these are; electronic inside jet engine compartments, under-the-hood automotive engine control circuits, down-the-hole electronics for oil and gas exploration, as well as harsh aerospace applications.
News June 23rd. 2010
Thin-Film Material Increases Power Production in Fuel Cells
This diagram shows the experimental setup used by Prof. Yang Shao-Horn and her team. The circles in the background represent tiny thin-film electrodes made of a material called strontium-substituted lanthanum cobalt perovskite, or LSC (whose crystal structure is diagrammed at top left). The diagram shows the lab setup used to measure the catalytic activity of the LSC. The circular cutout shows how oxygen molecules (O2) are exchanged on the LSC surface. (Illustration by postdoctoral researcher Eva Mutoro)
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In many cases, thin layers of a material - which may be just a few molecules in thickness -exhibit properties different from solid blocks of the same material. But even though this is a known phenomenon, the nature of the difference the MIT team found in the behavior of thin films of a mineral called perovskite - in this case, deposited as a thin layer on the surface of a crystal of zirconia - "was very much unexpected," says Yang Shao-Horn, associate professor of mechanical engineering and materials science and engineering at MIT, who led the research. The work was done in collaboration with Hans Christen and Michael Biegalski at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
In fuel cells, a fuel such as hydrogen or methanol reacts in the presence of a catalyst, releasing its energy chemically rather than being burned. As a result, they can produce electricity from fuel without releasing greenhouse gases or other pollutants, and so are considered a promising alternative approach for generating electricity. And unlike batteries, which need to be recharged in a time-consuming process, a fuel cell can be refueled quickly.
The main barrier to achieving greater efficiency in fuel cells, which are considered a promising way of supplying electricity for future transportation or stationary power systems, is the slow rate of oxygen production from the cathode, one of the two electrical terminals in the device. In present fuel cells, the rate of oxygen production is the limiting factor in the power output of the device. Many teams are pursuing ways of improving the efficiency and reducing the costs of the two major kinds of fuel cells: solid-oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) and proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). This work addresses potential improvements in the cathode in SOFCs, which could find application in large-scale systems such as electric power plants. The new research suggests that this activity can be increased by up to a hundredfold by using thin films of certain perovskite compounds.
Previous research had found the opposite, that thin films of some perovskite materials were a hundred times less reactive than the bulk material, Shao-Horn says. The new results are published online in the German journal Angewandte Chemie; the lead authors are former student Gerardo la O' and postdoctoral researcher Sung-Jin Ahn. The work was supported by the NSF, the U.S. Department of Energy, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology.
By creating the kind of high-purity thin films of material used in this study - in this case, as thin as 20 nanometers, or billionths of a meter - it is possible to study the details of how the surface of the material reacts in much greater detail than has been possible in research with bulk materials. This research shows that unique thin-film characteristics can enhance catalytic activity.
"To our knowledge, this is the first time these thin films have been shown to exhibit" the increased activity, Shao-Horn says. The team is continuing research to verify their hypothesis about the reasons for the increased activity, and to explore a family of materials that may exhibit similar properties. "We are working on determining why" the activity level is so high, Shao-Horn says, suggesting that the increased reactivity of the material may result from a stretching of the surface. This may change the content of oxygen vacancies or the electronic structure of the material, possibilities that are being examined in Shao-Horn's group.
While many fuel cells use electrodes made from precious metals such as platinum, the electrodes in this experiment are made from relatively abundant materials such as cobalt, lanthanum and strontium, Shao-Horn says, so they should be relatively inexpensive to produce. In addition, this material works at much lower temperatures than existing SOFC electrodes, which could be an advantage because "at lower temperatures, material degradation can be much reduced," she says. Whereas current cells work at temperatures of 800 degrees Celsius or higher, the new approach might lead to materials that could work at 500 degrees Celsius, as was the case in these tests.
This work is just the first step, however. Shao-Horn stresses that this is the beginning of a new fundamental research area, and could lead to exploration of a whole family of possible compounds in search of one with an optimal combination of high catalytic activity and high stability. This highly reactive material could find a home in places other than fuel cells: for instance, in high-temperature sensors and in membranes used to separate oxygen from nitrogen and other gases, she says.
Latest NEWS and installed power plants on PoscoFuelCell Energy, Korea
Electricity is being supplied to various industrial facilities through fuel cell. Fuel cell has come into the spotlight as necessary future source of energy. Even right now, fuel cell facilities are increasing in number of every field. Use of fuel cell has spread through households, hospitals, schools and communications facilities, not mention power plants
POSCOFuelCell is where our future is. Installed Plants:
Nowon, Seoul 2.4MW
Dangjin,Chungnam 2.4MW
Suncheon, Jeonam 4.8MW
Ilsan, Kyonggi 2.4MW
Incheon 2.4MW
Becco, Busan 1.2MW
NEWS: 3/11/10
A Connecticut Fuel Cell company achieves a milestone accomplishment in long term, ultra efficient, green energy production.
A manufacturer of high efficiency, ultra-clean power plants using natural gas reported its power plant attained an average electrical efficiency of 62.5 percent. By comparison, traditional power plants have an average efficiency of about 40%.
The equipment up-time, over a 12 month period was 93 percent and reduced greenhouse gas emissions up to 45 percent with only trace amounts of pollutants being created. This large scale system produced 2.2 megawatts of continuous electricity, enough to power approximately 1,700 homes.
This remarkable achievement was made possible by the use of fuel cell technology which does not combust or burn the natural gas, but rather uses an electrochemical process to extract the energy from the gas and convert it into electricity
News.
This report is available for download.
A Member of the CeCom-Germany Consortium is interviewed in New York by ABC
See Richard C. J. Somerville a distinguished Professor Emeritus and Research Professor at the University of California and a recognized worldwide expert on climatology as he appeared on nationwide TV in the U.S. His insightful Copenhagen Diagnosis report is available for download.
1. The Four Big Questions of Global Warming Scientist Richard
Somerville on urgent facts and "ski slopes."
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/video/warming-planet-9847553
2. Disinformation and Medical Metaphors for Climate Change Scientist
Richard Somerville on tobacco company and psychological barriers.
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/video/global-warming-fix-9847616
3. Our Global Warming Game of Chicken Global roulette, journalistic
challenge, and the tropopause.
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/video/tipping-point-climate-change-9847648
The interview includes material from the recent research report, The Copenhagen Diagnosis, as well as the link to www.copenhagendiagnosis.com where this report is available for free download.
Ceradyne, Inc. Receives Phase I
Award for Next Generation Ceramic Missile Radomes
COSTA MESA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)- Ceradyne, Inc. (Nasdaq:CRDN) announced that it has been awarded a $342,000 research phase I contract by NAVAIR, China Lake, California, to develop a next-generation high-performance ceramic missile radome (nose cone). The material will be a variation of Ceradyne's silicon nitride (Si3N4) advanced ceramic technology. Ceradyne intends to subcontract certain tasks to the Boeing Corporation.
Dr. Biljana Mikijelj, Ceradyne R&D Director, is the principal investigator on this program. Dr. Mikijelj stated, we are very pleased to have received this research award in order to develop next-generation ceramic missile radome materials. Ceradyne's Scottdale, plant is a dedicated state-of-the-art production ceramic radome facility producing not only the ceramic missile radome blank, but the high-precision diamond-machined finished component.
Although phase I will be completed in 2010, we anticipate other phases over a 3-year period will be awarded.
Ceradyne develops, manufactures, and markets advanced technical ceramic products and components for defense, industrial, automotive/diesel, and commercial applications. Additional information about the Company can be found at www.ceradyne.com.
Except for the historical information contained herein, this press release contains forward-looking statements regarding future events and the future performance of Ceradyne that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Words such as "anticipates," "believes," "plans," "expects," "intends," "future," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties are described in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended dated December 31, 2008 and its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q as filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Contacts: Ceradyne, Inc.
Joel P. Moskowitz Chief Executive Officer ++1 714-549-0421
or
Silverman Heller Associates Phil Bourdillon/Gene Heller ++1 310-208-2550
CBS NEWS Feb. 18, 2010
The Bloom Box: An Energy Breakthrough ?
CBS) In the world of energy, the Holy Grail is a power source that's inexpensive and clean, with no emissions. Well over 100 start-ups in Silicon Valley are working on it, and one of them, Bloom Energy, is about to make public its invention: a little power plant-in-a-box they want to put literally in your backyard.