Energy Leaders Today: The Power of Fuel Cells

The Power of Fuel Cells
================================================================================
Joan Tupponce on 19/07/2010 17:22:00
 
Sam Logan was surprised when an engineer suggested he use a fuel cell for power
generation when he was developing biogas production sites in the early 1990s.
“I had never heard of a fuel cell except as in an aircraft fuel bladder,” he
said. “I was very, very intrigued by this technology.”
Developed in the 1960s with the Gemini and Apollo space programs, fuel cell
technology converts chemical energy into electricity. Fuel cells are more
efficient power generators and provide clean energy, unlike incumbent oil and
gas technologies.
“The technology allows us to move in new directions, away from oil and gas to
cleaner energy and more efficient use of resources,” Logan said.
Today, LOGANEnergy Corp. (LEC) is a recognized world leader providing fuel cell
solutions for clean energy services. Logan started the company in 1994. It
markets systems from 250 watts up to multi-megawatt capacities with a primary
focus on providing fuel cell solutions to commercial energy consumers.
“We are now in our third decade of providing those types of solutions,”
Logan said.
LOGANEnergy identifies markets where fuel cells can be used and targets customer
projects in those vertical markets. The company provides design, installation,
operations and maintenance services for fuel cell projects across 13 time zones,
from Hawaii to the United Kingdom.
Interest in the benefits of fuel cells continues to grow.
“Fuel cells have few moving parts as the power block generates electricity
through an electrochemical reaction rather than combustion,” Logan said.
“Because of the absence of combustion, there are no harmful emissions, meaning
fuel cells offer sustainable energy solutions that produce clean power and
heat.”
In some cases, LOGANEnergy, a service company, not a manufacturer, owns the fuel
cell at the customer site, providing the company with energy services. In other
cases, LEC sells the fuel cell directly to the customer. .
Fuel cells are now used in commercial and industry applications. As they are
scaled down, there will be more demand for the technology in the residential
industry.
“They are expensive for residential use,” Logan said. “Price points are
linked to the size of capacity of a system. On a kilowatt basis, the larger you
get, the more cost effective you become.”
Currently LEC is focusing on backup fuel cell systems as well as larger scale
systems that provide prime power.
“We are not involved in portable systems such as laptops,” he said. “We
are, however, doing a lot of work to get small units prepared for commercial
release into the residential marketplace but that’s probably about three years
away.”
Logan has been steadily growing his company, strategically hiring experts from
the fuel cell industry.
“Today our core leadership has a total of over 100 years of experience in the
fuel cell industry,” he said. “Our brand is recognized as a company with
broad-based technological experience and knowledge.”
When Logan started his business, there was only one fuel cell product and one
commercial manufacturer. Now there are up to 50 companies with various fuel cell
products.
“We work with a dozen different vendors [and different fuel cell
technologies],” Logan said. “We know all the fuel cell technologies and all
the applications that can be used. We match the customer application with the
best fuel cell product.”
Over the years, LEC has developed close working relationships with different
manufacturers.
“We really work for the customer,” Logan said. “OEM relationship
management is a big part of our business.” LEC also works with a variety of
vendors such as R.C. Knox/Bruce Murray which underwrites property casualty
insurance for LEC’s installed properties.
The federal government, especially the Department of Defense, is one of LEC’s
largest customers. Over the years, the company has received numerous contracts
from the Army Corps of Engineers to test fuel cells across the U.S. and in the
United Kingdom, Iceland and Puerto Rico. In 2005, LEC opened a subsidiary in
Edinburgh, Scotland, Logan Energy Ltd., and in 2008, took on an investor. The UK
firm recently installed a couple of large projects, one for the City of London
and another for a large electric utility.
“In the United States, companies still want low-cost solutions to suit their
immediate goals, whereas in the United Kingdom they rate carbon reduction and
clean energy as more important than cost,” observes Logan. “There is growing
social awareness about cleaner air, water and energy in the power industry and
fuel cells have a strategic role in helping that come about.”
When it comes to lowering greenhouse gas emissions, Europe has put steadfast
regulations in place. Any new construction has to achieve a certain carbon
footprint.
“Each year that gets stiffer,” Logan said. “Developers have to figure out
how to use energy systems on large buildings that will give them a lower carbon
footprint. Fuel cells can do that.”
The company is currently doing a great deal of work with 5 to 35-kilowatt small
scale backup generators for cell phone towers, emergency responders’
communication networks and various remote applications.
“The fuel cells are powered by hydrogen stored in pressurized cylinders at the
site,” Logan said. “They only come on when there is a utility upset. They
take the place of diesel generators. With fuel cells you don’t have the same
service and maintenance concerns as you do with diesel backup systems and they
are clean, quiet and more reliable.”
LEC designs small scale refueling stations capable of generating hydrogen at the
point of need. For example, a fork truck operating on batteries may need three
sets of batteries a day, one in the lift truck and two in standby.
“That’s very expensive,” Logan said. “If you take out the battery and
replace it with a fuel cell with a hydrogen storage tank, you can refuel
quickly.”
Always on the forefront of new technologies, LEC has its eyes on the future. The
company is expanding into energy storage (LEC transfers electricity into
hydrogen for storage) and mobile fuel cell generators. It is also integrating
solar systems with fuel cells.
“The fuel cells provide the base load and the solar system is used to provide
peaking demand at the facility,” Logan explains.
As the President of the Fuel Cell Seminar and Exposition Board of Directors,
Logan feels the fuel cell industry has been overshadowed by the solar and wind
powered industries.
“The fuel cell industry hasn’t done a good job of telling its story,” he
said. “Because of the number of companies with vastly different fuel cell
products and applications, the industry is more of a mosaic than a single
face.”
During his term, he hopes to promote government policy as well as awareness of
fuel cell technology.
“We are grateful for federal and state incentive programs like those managed
by the Self Generation Incentive Program in California -and the Connecticut
Clean Energy Fund that help transform the market by providing grants for fuel
cells and other alternative energy products,” Logan said. “As a society we
are creating more and more air quality issues and ground water pollution.
Changes need to be made. Our industry can make a significant contribution to a
model environment.” ELT