FuelCell Energy

NASDAQ-listed FuelCell Energy leverages its proprietary solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) and carbonate fuel cell technologies for 1) natural gas and biogas-based distributed power generation, 2) distributed hydrogen production, 3) hydrogen-based energy storage and power generation, and 4) carbon capture. As of June 2021, the company primarily offered natural gas-based SOFC power generation systems, while other avenues, including hydrogen applications, remain in various stages of development.

For distributed hydrogen production, the company has developed a process by which gas separation technology can be added to its natural gas-based SOFC power generation systems to capture hydrogen that is not used in the electricity generation process (hydrogen is a byproduct of the natural gas-to-electricity conversion process) which the company refers to as “SureSource Hydrogen''. 

In March 2020, the company announced the development of its first and only (as of June 2021) commercial SureSource Hydrogen plant at the Toyota facility in Long Beach, California. The 2.3-megawatt plant is expected to produce around 1,200 kilograms of hydrogen per day for on-site vehicle fueling with enough electricity generated to completely power the Toyota facility with any excess exported back to the Southern California Grid.

The company also claims to be developing a hybrid reforming-electrolysis technology that uses carbonate fuel cell stacks in electrolysis mode combined with in-stack reforming of natural gas or biogas to produce hydrogen while extracting carbon dioxide from the hydrogen stream—generating a hydrogen energy product with properties similar to relatively clean blue hydrogen. 

Additionally, the company also claims that its solid oxide stacks can alternate between electrolysis and power generation mode, allowing electricity from renewable sources to be stored as hydrogen and regenerated on-demand. The company also claims that its SOFC platform is capable of generating power using pure hydrogen fuel instead of natural gas and biogas. As of June 2021, the company has yet to commercialize these applications.