July 2004

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WISCASSET, ME - A renewable energy hydrogen backup power system for an environmental center in a small town in Maine - the first such system in the state - will include a novel electrolyzer that doesn’t need a compressor to squeeze the hydrogen for storage.

The electrolyzer, along with three 1 kW “Independence 1,000" fuel cell units manufactured by ReliOn (formerly Avista), Spokane, WA were ordered in late June by the Chewonki Foundation here and the Hydrogen Center in nearby Portland, ME as the system's key elements, marking the official launch of the project that had been several years in the making.

The “Hydrofiller 15" made by Avalence LLC, Milford, CT is an alkaline electrolyzer that produces 15 standard cu. ft. of hydrogen per hour at 3000 psi. Avalence is working on advanced designs that produce hydrogen at pressures of up to 10,000 psi, now with the help of an $100,000 DoE Small Business Innovation Research grant awarded in late May.

Other companies such as Proton Energy Systems, Inc., Wallingford, CT are already building hydrogen generators that produce pressurized hydrogen, but they are usually of the PEM type.

The electrolyzer and fuel cells are center pieces in the $250,000 backup power system for the 12,000 sq. ft. Center for Chewonki’s Environmental Education Center in Wiscasset - population 3,600 - that is scheduled for completion this coming winter. Electricity will come from roof-mounted solar panels, plus “green power” purchased from Maine Renewable Energy, according to the Chewonki release.

Enough Backup H2 Power for Four Days

The entire system generates enough hydrogen to run the center’s electric system for four days. The project “represents a significant step toward a society committed to a sustainable energy future,” said Peter Arnold, the project’s director and coordinator of all Chewonki renewable energy projects, including a biodiesel program.

Rick Smith, president of the Hydrogen Center, told H&fCL the team picked Avalence for the electrolyzer because of the high-pressure output - “much better for distributed power and backup power applications” - and because of “a terrific attitude on the part of everyone at Avalence.” Modularity was the key for choosing the ReliOn fuel cell with its six interchangeable 200 watt cartridges: “A component failure won’t cause a shutdown,” said Smith.

As journalist and author Ross Gelbspan (“The Heat is On”) told Chewonki’s sixth sustainable energy conference in May, “The hydrogen demonstration project here - along with the education program, the site displays and the outreach tours - constitute work that reverberates far beyond the immediate confines of coastal Maine. What you are doing is contributing to an invaluable storehouse of information so that when the world finally calls for truly sweeping changes, your efforts will help us know what really works and what does not.”

Contacts: Chewonki, Peter Arnold, 207/882-7323; Hydrogen Center, Rick Smith, 207/799-6960, info@chewonkih2.org.

Article reproduced on chewonkih2.org with permission.