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NEWS : Off-Grid Construction Site Taps Into Hydrogen Fuel Cell Tech To Power Operations

The kit for the fuel-cell is stored within a shipping container.
Siemens Energy

A building site for a major infrastructure project in the U.K. has started to use a zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell for heat and power, removing the need for diesel generators.

• Siemens Energy said the hydrogen fuel cell system would be used on a site in the county of Lincolnshire, England, which serves the Viking Link Interconnector project.
• The site was not due to be connected to the grid “for at least six to eight months,” the company said, and so required an off-grid system. The new technology “provide(s) enough heat and power for the construction village during that time, removing the need for diesel generators.”
• Installed in August 2020 by Siemens Energy, the system’s kit is contained in a shipping container. Reusable pipes have been installed to carry hot water from the module to areas of the site where it’s needed, while a battery storage system is also in place to help boost efficiency and “smooth the peaks in power demand.”
• The plan is for the fuel cell to eventually use “green hydrogen,” a term that refers to hydrogen produced from renewable sources.
• Siemens Energy added that the fuel cell’s sole by-product from producing power from hydrogen was water, which would prevent the emission of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and other particulates.
• “This project shows that zero emission power generation has reached a point where it can viably replace off grid diesel generation and remove these health risks to the benefit of all.”

For full news article, read from CNBC.COM