This data-file captures the generation profiles of c100 fuel cell power plants, installed to-date in the US. Total fuel cell generation has been rising at a rate of 0.15TWH per year since 2010, almost entirely powered by natural gas.
An acceleration of fuel cellsis seen by many commentators in the future green hydrogen economy. We are more excited by behind the meter systems to compensate for the overbuilding of renewables. But what operating assumptions are reasonable, based on past data?
Advantages and disadvantages of fuel cells are summarized based on past projects’ operating parameters. We find fuel cell sysems are 2-3x more efficient than gas turbines at small scale. However, fuel cells’ flexibility and longevity is lower. Surprisingly, we also find that the electrical conversion efficiency of fuel cells deteriorates markedly over time.
A subset of the data is split out for Bloom Energy, the leading manufacturer of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells, which operates 30% of all fuel cells in the US. Leading companies in fuel cells are screened here, based on evaluating their patent filings.