NREL is a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.

ARRA Fuel Cell Deployment and 

Operation

FC Seminar

COM34-4

Jennifer Kurtz, Keith Wipke, 

Sam Sprik, and Todd Ramsden

10/20/2010

NREL/PR-5600-49764
Innovation for Our Energy Future

Contents

Overview of ARRA Fuel Cell Project

NREL Data Analysis Objectives

Deployment CDPs

Backup Power CDPs

Material Handling Technical CDPs

Summary
Innovation for Our Energy Future

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 

(ARRA) Fuel Cell Early Market Project

COMPANY AWARD APPLICATION

Delphi Automotive $2.4 M Auxiliary Power

FedEx Freight East $1.3 M Specialty Vehicle

GENCO $6.1 M Specialty Vehicle

Jadoo Power $2.2 M Backup Power

MTI MicroFuel Cells $3.0 M Portable

Nuvera Fuel Cells $1.1 M Specialty Vehicle

Plug Power, Inc. (1) $3.4 M CHP

Plug Power, Inc. (2) $2.7 M Backup Power

Univ. of N. Florida $2.5 M Portable

ReliOn Inc. $8.5 M Backup Power

Sprint Comm. $7.3 M Backup Power

Sysco of Houston $1.2 M Specialty Vehicle

Project Objective

Deploy ~1,000 fuel cells to 

accelerate the 

commercialization and 

deployment of fuel cells 

and fuel cell manufacturing, 

installation, maintenance, 

and support services

12 awards with >$40 million 

ARRA & ~$53 million cost share
Innovation for Our Energy Future

CDPs

DDPs

Composite Data Products (CDPs) 

•Aggregated data across multiple systems, 

sites, and teams

• Publish analysis results without revealing 

proprietary data every 6 months2

Detailed Data Products (DDPs) 

•Individual data analyses

• Identify individual contribution to CDPs

• Only shared with partner who supplied 

data every 6 months1

1) Data exchange may happen more frequently based on data, analysis, & collaboration

2) Results published via NREL Tech Val website, conferences, and reports

HSDC Data Flow

Results

Internal analysis 

completed quarterly

Bundled data (operation & 

maintenance/safety) 

delivered to NREL quarterly
Innovation for Our Energy Future

NREL Data Analysis Objectives – ARRA 

Demonstrations

•Independent technology assessment; focused on fuel cell system and 

hydrogen infrastructure: performance, operation, and safety.

•Leverage data processing and analysis capabilities developed from the 

fuel cell vehicle Learning Demonstration project and DoD Forklift Demo. 

•Establish a baseline of real-world fuel cell operation and maintenance 

data and identify technical/market barriers.

•Support market growth through analyses relevant to the value 

proposition and reporting on technology status to fuel cell and hydrogen 

communities and stakeholders
Innovation for Our Energy Future

2009 Q4 2010 Q1 2010 Q2 0

50

100

150

200

250

300

Delivered Quantity

Calendar Quarter

DOE ARRA1

 Funded Early Fuel Cell Markets: Delivered Units

APU

Backup Power

Material Handling Equipment

Stationary

Created: Aug-30-10 5:15 PM 1) American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

Delivered Fuel Cell Units & Deployment Sites

211

ARRA Forklift Site

ARRA Backup Site

ARRA Stationary Site

ARRA APU

Some site locations TBD
Innovation for Our Energy Future

2009 Q4 2010 Q1 2010 Q2 2010 Q3 2010 Q4 2011 Q1 2011 Q2 2011 Q3 2011 Q4 0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

Projected Operation Quantities

In Operation Quantity

Calendar Quarter

DOE ARRA1

 Funded Early Fuel Cell Markets: Units in Operation

APU

Backup Power

Material Handling Equipment

Stationary

Created: Aug-30-10 5:15 PM 1) American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

Fuel Cell Units in Operation

Current and Projected Quantities

1000

211
Innovation for Our Energy Future

Deployment & Operation Data

FC Backup Power

8

High level summary of operation

First cycle of CDPs (IA A & ARRA Sites)

Trends still developing

Many additional analyses planned for future 

CDP cycles
Innovation for Our Energy Future

Backup Power Sites

Backup Power Deployments

1-10

11-20

21-30

31-40

41-50

51-60

61-70

71-80

81-90

91-100

>100

NREL cdp_bu_03

Created: Sep-28-10 5:58 PM

State kW Capacity Sites

California 20 1

South Carolina 50 1

Utah 20 3

Site Capacity (line height proporational to installed site kW capacity)

Number of

Sites in State

2009 Q3 2009 Q4 2010 Q1 2010 Q2 0

5

10

15

20

25

10

14 14

24

Backup Units Deployed

Units Deployed

NREL cdp-BU-01

Created: Aug-12-10 2:04 PM

Units Deployed 24

Sites 5

Total Capacity 90 kW
Innovation for Our Energy Future

Backup Power Starts and Run Time

07/09 08/09 09/09 10/09 11/09 12/09 01/10 02/10 03/10 04/10 05/10 06/10 0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Starts

Calendar Month

Starts by Month

199 of 201

 Starts Successful (99%)

Starts

Conditioning1 Start

Successful Start

NREL cdp_bu_04

Created: Oct-08-10 1:40 PM

1) FC system conditioning is an automated operation for regular

system checks; activitated after long periods of no operation.

07/09 08/09 09/09 10/09 11/09 12/09 01/10 02/10 03/10 04/10 05/10 06/10 0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Calculated Runtime [hours]

Calendar Month

Run Hours by Month

88 Total Runtime Hours

Run Hours

Conditioning1 Hours

NREL cdp_bu_05

Created: Oct-08-10 1:24 PM

1) FC system conditioning is an automated operation for regular

system checks that are run after long periods of no operation.

Total Starts (Thru June 2010) 201

Total Successful Starts 199 (99%)

Total Run Time 88 hours

Total Hydrogen 12.4 kg

07/09 08/09 09/09 10/09 11/09 12/09 01/10 02/10 03/10 04/10 05/10 06/10 0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

Hydrogen kgs Consumed

Calendar Month

Cumulative Hydrogen Consumed by Month

12.4 kgs Total Consumed H2

4,873 scf Total Consumed H2

NREL cdp_bu_06

Created: Oct-08-10 12:28 PM
Innovation for Our Energy Future

Deployment & Operation Data

FC Material Handling Equipment

11

High level summary of operation

First cycle of CDPs

Trends still developing

Many additional analyses planned for future 

CDP cycles
Innovation for Our Energy Future

FCMHE Fall 2010 CDPs

Analysis Topics

Units Deployed, 

Operation Hours, 

Refueling, 

Maintenance, Safety, 

FC Performance, Site 

Usage

ARRA FCHMHE CDPs

22

ARRA & DLA 

Infrastructure CDPs

Data Files Analyzed 4

23,307 (1.7GB)
Innovation for Our Energy Future

MHE FC Units & Sites

2010 Q1 2010 Q2 0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

220

 14

122

 35

 49

122 136

206

Cumulative Units Deployed

Fuel Cell Units Deployed - ARRA

Class III

Class II

Class I

NREL cdparra_mhe_01

Created: Sep-22-10 5:07 PM

Sites 4

Operational MHE Units/Site 14 35 59 98

Operating Shifts/Site 2

9 hrs

3

8 hrs

2

8-10 hrs

2 

9 hrs

Facility Square Footage (1,000) 1,000 75 90 580

FC Units/MHE Unit 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0

ARRA Forklift Site

DoD Forklift Site
Innovation for Our Energy Future

FC Operation Summary

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

0

100

200

300

400

500600

700

800

900

1000110012001300

1400

1500

1600

17001800

1900200021002200

>2200

% Fuel Cell Stacks

Cumulative Fuel Cell Operation Hours - ARRA

65.9% FC Stacks > 1000 Hours

Min Fleet Average = 599 fuel cell hours

Max Fleet Average = 1338 fuel cell hours

NREL cdparra_mhe_02

Created: Sep-22-10 5:28 PM Fuel Cell Operation Hours

149,046 Total Hours Accumulated 66% FC Stacks > 1000 hours

2010 Q1 2010 Q2 0

10000

20000

30000

40000

50000

60000

70000

80000

90000

100000

Total Operation Hours

Fuel Cell Operation Hours by Quarter - ARRA

52613

96433

Total Hours = 149,046

NREL cdparra_mhe_11

Created: Sep-23-10 3:37 PM
Innovation for Our Energy Future

FC Daily Operation

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Average Daily Fuel Cell Operation Hours

% Fuel Cell Systems

Average Daily Fuel Cell Operation Hours per System - ARRA

50.4% Fuel Cell Systems Average 5-7 Hours Daily

NREL cdparra_mhe_24

Created: Sep-09-10 5:51 PM
Innovation for Our Energy Future

2009Q1 2009Q2 2009Q3 2009Q4 2010Q1 2010Q2 0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

Hydrogen Dispensed to Material Handling Equipment By Quarter - ARRA

Hydrogen Dispensed [kg]

 Cumulative Hydrogen Dispensed = 6,198 kg 

NREL cdparra_mhe_04

Created: Sep-30-10 3:39 PM

Hydrogen Fill Event Summary

2009Q1 2009Q2 2009Q3 2009Q4 2010Q1 2010Q2 0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

Fueling Events By Quarter - ARRA

Number of Fills

 Cumulative Fuelings = 13,329 

NREL cdparra_mhe_03

Created: Sep-22-10 5:55 PM

Total Hydrogen Dispensed 6,198 kg

Total Hydrogen Fill Events 13,329 fills
Innovation for Our Energy Future

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

2000

2200

Time (min)

Number of Fueling Events

Histogram of Fueling Times

ARRA

 13,329 Events 

 Average = 1.93 min 

NREL cdparra_mhe_06

Created: Sep-22-10 6:40 PM Fill data for class 1, 2, and 3 trucks

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2 0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800

2000

Amount Fueled (kg)

Number of Fueling Events

Histogram of Fueling Amounts

ARRA

 Average = 0.47 kg 

NREL cdparra_mhe_10

Created: Sep-22-10 6:41 PM Fill data for class 1, 2, and 3 trucks

Hydrogen Fill Event Rates and Amounts

Average Fill Time 1.9 minutes

Average Fill Amount 0.47 kg
Innovation for Our Energy Future

Tank Pressure Level at Fueling

Tank Pressure At Fill: ARRA

E F

28%

NREL cdparra_mhe_07

Created: Sep-22-10 6:18 PM

1. Some refueling events not recorded/detected due to data noise or incompleteness.

2. The outer arc is set at 40% total refuelings.

3. Full Pressure is either 3600 psi or 5000 psi.

Total refuelings1 Median Tank Pressure (At Fill) = 17% = 4106
Innovation for Our Energy Future

Refueling Time of Day

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

Refueling Time of Day - ARRA

Time of Day [hours]

Number of Refuelings

NREL cdparra_mhe_05

Created: Sep-22-10 6:12 PM
Innovation for Our Energy Future

Operation Time between Fueling

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

 Average of 4.1 op hours between fills 

Operating Time Between Fuelings - ARRA

Operating Hours Between Fuelings1,2

Count

NREL cdparra_mhe_08

Created: Sep-30-10 3:39 PM Excludes Data > 12 hours

1) Some fueling events not recorded/detected

due to data noise or incompleteness.

2) Data indicative of actual use and does not

represent the max capability of the systems.
Innovation for Our Energy Future

Average Daily Site H2 Dispensing

Hydrogen Use 0

10

20

30

40

Avg Daily kg

Hydrogen Use 0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

Avg Daily kg/system

Fill Frequency 0

20

40

60

80

100

Avg Daily fills

Fill Frequency 0

0.5

1

1.5

Avg Daily fills/system

NREL cdparra_mhe_22

Created: Sep-23-10 5:03 PM

Average Daily Dispensing Operations by Site - ARRA

Shaded areas represent the min and max site average hydrogen use and fill frequency
Innovation for Our Energy Future

Fuel Cell System Maintenance by Category

10%

13%

14%

23%

24%

Number of Events

Total Events = 789

73% were unscheduled

9%

17%

13%

28%

20%

Labor Hours

Total Hours = 1165

69% were unscheduled

Controls, Electronics, Sensors

Preventative maintenance

Thermal management

Energy Storage System

Fuel System

Other

Electrical

Operator Error

Air System

FC Stack

Scheduled equip upgrade

Air system

NREL cdparra_mhe_12

Created: Sep-22-10 7:00 PM

Forklift Maintenance By Category - ARRA

73% Unscheduled 

Maintenance Events

38% Events for Controls, 

Electronics, Sensors or 

Thermal Mgmt
Innovation for Our Energy Future

Average Fuel Cell System Maintenance by 

Quarter

10Q1 10Q2 0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Average FC Maintenance Events

Average # of Events per System

10Q1 10Q2 0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Average FC Maintenance Hours

Average Hours per System

Operator Error (Unscheduled)

Unscheduled

Scheduled

NREL cdparra_mhe_14

Created: Sep-30-10 3:27 PM

Average Fuel Cell System Quarterly Maintenance - ARRA
Innovation for Our Energy Future

Fuel Cell System Safety Reports by Quarter

2010 Q1 2010 Q2 0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Number of Reports

Fuel Cell System Safety Reports by Quarter - ARRA

Incident2

Near Miss1

NREL cdparra_mhe_26

Created: Sep-23-10 3:07 PM

1) Near Miss is an event that under slightly different circumstances could have become an incident

 -unplanned H2 release insufficient to sustain a flame

2) Incident is an event that results in:

 -a lost time accident and/or injury to personnel

 -damage/unplanned downtime for project equipment, facilities or property

 -impact to the public or environment

 -any hydrogen release that unintentionally ignites or is sufficient to sustain a flame if ignited

 -release of any volatile, hydrogen containing compound (other than the hydrocarbons uses as common fuels)
Innovation for Our Energy Future

Infrastructure Maintenance

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

storage

other

electrical

valves & piping

dispenser

preventative maintenance

system control & safety

H2 production unit

compressor

Infrastructure Maintenance Scheduled vs. Unscheduled 

Number of Maintenance Events by Category

Number of Events

Total Events = 173

71% were unscheduled Scheduled

Unscheduled

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450

storage

other

electrical

valves & piping

dispenser

preventative maintenance

system control & safety

H2 production unit

compressor

Number of Labor Hours by Category

Hours

Total Hours = 1599

73% were unscheduled Scheduled

Unscheduled

NREL cdp_mhe_19

Created: Oct-05-10 3:13 PM

Total Hydrogen Dispensed 19,831 kg

Total Hydrogen Fill Events 36,468 fills

Total FC Hours 251,177 hours

Maintenance Events 173 (71% 

Unscheduled)

Safety Incidents 0

ARRA & DLA Sites Combined

10Q1 10Q2 0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Average Site Maintenance Events

Average # of Events per Site

10Q1 10Q2 0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

Average Site Maintenance Hours

Average Hours per Site

Unscheduled

Scheduled

NREL cdp_mhe_20

Created: Oct-05-10 3:13 PM

Average Infrastructure Site Quarterly Maintenance

2010 Q1 2010 Q2 0

1

2

3

4

5

Number of Reports

Infrastructure Safety Reports By Quarter

Incident2

Near Miss1

NREL cdp_mhe_25

Created: Oct-05-10 3:13 PM

1) Near Miss is an event that under slightly different circumstances could have become an incident

 -unplanned H2 release insufficient to sustain a flame

2) Incident is an event that results in:

 -a lost time accident and/or injury to personnel

 -damage/unplanned downtime for project equipment, facilities or property

 -impact to the public or environment

 -any hydrogen release that unintentionally ignites or is sufficient to sustain a flame if ignited

 -release of any volatile, hydrogen containing compound (other than the hydrocarbons uses as common fuels)
Innovation for Our Energy Future

Summary

•206 MHE Units in operation at 4 sites with more than 

13,300 fills, 6,200 kgs dispensed, and 149,000 hours 

accumulated without a safety incident.

•24 BU Units (90 kW installed capacity) in operation at 5 

sites with 199 of 201 Starts successful and 88 total hours 

run time.

•Operation trends unclear because we are in early stage of 

deployment and analysis

•Many more sites coming on-line in the next 6-12 months

•Many more planned analyses like fuel cell durability, 

system reliability, and application value proposition
Innovation for Our Energy Future

Contact Information & Website

http://www.nrel.gov/hydrogen/proj_fc_market_demo.html

Jennifer Kurtz

jennifer.kurtz nrel.gov

303-275-4061

@