Fuel Cell and Combined Heat and Power (CHP)

Faced with the environmental and economic challenges of the energy market, high-efficiency energy systems need to be developed and marketed. In this context, cogeneration – - the production of electricity and heat from a single source – - makes perfect sense, given its overall conversion efficiency (electrical + thermal) of over 85%.

Among the various technologies used, fuel cells have the major advantage of offering the highest electrical conversion efficiencies, in excess of 35%. What's more, all fuel cell technologies enable cogeneration systems to be designed for a very wide power spectrum: from a few kilowatts (domestic micro-cogeneration) to several megawatts (apartment blocks, shops, public or industrial buildings).

What's more, the ability of some fuel cell technologies to operate at high temperatures (up to 1,000°C) means that the heat produced can be converted into electricity via a combined cycle, with electrical conversion efficiencies that can exceed 60%.

Although fuel cell technologies still require technological innovation to enhance performance and reduce production costs, sales of domestic micro-cogeneration systems based on fuel cell technology have far outstripped those of competing technologies to date. This result has been achieved thanks to public incentives (particularly in Asia) that have enabled the emergence of this technology, whose technical and economic maturity is now a reality.