The U.S. Department of Energy awarded FuelCell Energy Inc. a $6.0 million “cost share” award to continue research on megawatt-class solid oxide fuel cell power plants that generate electricity from coal “syngas,” the term used to describe a gaseous mixture produced from coal.
FuelCell is testing the technology at its Danbury headquarters.
“We believe this technology can provide an industry-leading electrical efficiency of approximately 60 percent and still provide usable heat for combined heat and power applications, resulting in total estimated thermal efficiency between 80 and 85 percent,” said Tony Leo, vice president advanced technology development at FuelCell Energy.