[September 22, 2003] SatCon Delivers Prototype PCS For 75-kW Fuel Cell Power Generation Unit SatCon Technology Corporation, a developer and manufacturer of electronic power control systems, today announced that it has delivered a prototype power conditioning system (PCS) for a 75-kW fuel cell power generation unit for a petrochemical plant application. A second unit purchased from SatCon is planned to be delivered to the plant site later this month. SatCon's PCS units condition the electricity from the fuel cell into useable electricity. Both systems purchased from SatCon are being tested this fall. As part of an announced project for the on-site generation of electricity, the manufacturer is planning to install a one-megawatt system, using 14 fuel cell modules, within the next year. If the test proceeds as planned, a complete 35-megawatt system, consisting of approximately 500 fuel cell modules, is slated to be operating in 2007. The petrochemical plant generates hydrogen as a by-product of its chemical and plastic production. Currently that hydrogen is used as heating fuel but the use of it to generate electrical power is of much higher value. With this technology electrical power could be produced from the hydrogen generated in everyday industrial activity. This could support a new distributed power generation network, sometimes referred to as the new hydrogen economy. The Secretary of the US Department of Energy, Spencer Abraham, was recently quoted in the New York Times as saying, What we're trying to do is to take a really significant, game changing leap forward and introduce hydrogen and fusion as major sources of 21st century energy production. David Eisenhaure, SatCon's president and chief executive officer, said: We have invested heavily in the electronics technology for alternative energy and are now ready to capitalize on that investment. Alternative energy systems, the new hydrogen economy, renewable energy - we've heard about these initiatives in the past and SatCon has been working on them for many years and we are now beginning to see orders for our products. We believe that with our dependence on foreign oil, utility grid outages and the need for cleaner, more reliable power, alternative energy systems now represent a major market opportunity. SatCon produces PCS's for the complete range of alternative energy applications including the hydrogen economy, fuels cells, photovoltaics and energy storage systems. SatCon's power conditioning systems can provide industrial, commercial, military and electric utility customers with the solutions they need regardless of the power generation system they choose. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]