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Many believe that the future inside energy conversion will be commercially viable solutions based on hydrogen and fuel cell technology. If that is the case then the future began on September 5th 2007 in the central part of Jutland, Denmark. On this date Dantherm Power A/S put the first commercial solution ever based on this clean and safe technology – a UPS-system - into service on the fiber-optic broadband network operated by the electrical power company EnergiMidt.
UPS is short for Uninterruptible Power Supply. It is an emergency power backup system that takes over immediately in case of failure in the main power supply. UPS-systems are crucial in maintaining steady uninterrupted power for the electronic equipment, transmitters and cooling systems inside the radio base stations taking care of the distribution and steady flow of data and information in IT and telecommunications networks.
Hydrogen stored in ordinary Cylinders instead of diesel
The fuel cell based UPS-systems developed by Dantherm Power A/S replaces traditional solutions using batteries or diesel generators to supply emergency power backup. It is powered by hydrogen distributed in ordinary garage type cylinders as safe and reliable as any other industrial gases.
Each fiber network node is equipped with 3 or more hydrogen cylinders supplying about 4 hours of 5 kW emergency power supplying -48VDC and 230VAC. The cylinders can be replaced during operation, and the UPS can run for days or even weeks if necessary.
Dantherm Power A/S and EnergiMidt are both participants in the joint Canadian/Danish fuel cell initiative, CanDan. So when EnergiMidt started rolling out the fiberoptic network offering about 170.000 customers extremely fast internet connections it was only natural to approach Dantherm Power for a commercially viable and reliable UPSsystem based on hydrogen and fuel cell technology.
 No harmful emissions or substances
EnergiMidt believed such a system would offer a number of advantages over traditional solutions, and the solution Dantherm Power came up with proved them right.
The environmental benefits are obvious. The only by-product when generating electricity from hydrogen is humid air. The fuel cells contain no harmful substances and the process is virtually noiseless. Quite the opposite of a messy, noisy diesel generator emitting loads of CO2, and the harmful chemical waste products found in worn out batteries.
The fuel cell based UPS-system has a lifetime of about 10 years performing several thousand startups delivering a constant and reliable power output. Whereas batteries have a limited lifetime degrading a little every time they are recharged or just in standby as well as being sensitive to storage temperatures.
EnergiMidt has calculated a total cost of ownership for the Dantherm Power hydrogen and fuel cell solution which is considerably cheaper than any traditional UPS-system making it a truly commercially viable solution.
Commercial solutions for heat and power in private households is next
When you take the environmental benefits and the socioeconomic implications into account Dantherm Power is convinced that it is only a matter of time before hydrogen and fuel cell technology based solutions find their way to other commercial areas. The company plans to continue its role as “first mover”. Dantherm Power has already Micro Combined Heat and Power solutions for private households and various transportation solutions based on fuel cell technology are well on the way at Dantherm Power A/S in Skive, Denmark. |