The BPA unit supplied all of the base-load electric power required by the residence. The fuel was methanol and water. We expect the hundreds of large utilities as well as the electric co-operatives here in the Northwest to use fuel cells in remote locations where emergency propane or diesel powered backup generation and battery storage might otherwise be used. Originally invented in 1839, fuel cells use a chemical reaction to produce electricity from hydrogen-rich fuels, with heat and water as byproducts.
Fuel cells run quietly with no combustion cycle and no moving parts.
Northwest Power Systems integrates fuel cells with its patented fuel processor in complete power plant systems that can recover 90-percent of the hydrogen from liquid or gaseous fuels such as methanol, propane, methane, diesel, kerosene and gasoline. The company has seven employees. All Rights Reserved. Inc. All Rights Reserved.