News
The PSA (purification system) has been tested and is ready to be shipped
The ClearGen process uses the pressure swing adsorption (PSA) technology to purify the hydrogen supplied from SARA refinery. The PSA permits to enhance concentrationof hydrogen from 75% (vol) to 99.9% (vol).
Principle of pressure swing adsorption (PSA)
The process is based on the difference of affinity of gases for an adsorbent material under pressure.
In our process the adsorbent has no affinity to hydrogen but has strong affinity to other gases present in mixture (hydrocarbons). Basically, the gas mixture under pressure from refinery entersthe bottom of one of the PSA vesselfilled with adsorbentand the hydrocarbons adsorb on the adsorbent while hydrogen flows to the top of the vessel and is sent to the fuel cell.
Adsorption capacity is dependent on pressure and the adsorbent has an equilibrium loading where no further adsorption is available, so the adsorbent needs to be regenerated.
As our process is continuous, the PSA is composed of pairs of vessels working together in cycle mode: on vessel will be pressurized in adsorption phase, the other one will be depressurized in regeneration phase.
The ClearGen PSA
The ClearGen PSA is manufactured by the company Xebec. It is composed of 6 vessels of approximatively 6m3 and 5 synchronized rotary multi-way valves thatpermit to handle the different gas flows.
The full PSA system is now manufactured, assembled and tested. The equipment is now ready to be shipped to Martinique.
operating costs. This is the main component of the Aquipac’s remuneration and is paid according to the achievement of a production goal.The PPE covers the variable operating costs mainly related to hydrogen supply.
Such contract allows the project to demonstrate ability for fuel cell to following electrical standards as well as stacks replacement strategy to meet the target of 15 years operation.
ElectricityFeed in tariff is set and validated by CRE
The French energy regulatory authority (CRE-Commission de Régulation de l’Energie) officially validated the price and the contract for the supply of electricity between Aquipac and the grid operator EDF SEI. This validation is mandatory for the realization of such a project according to French legislation.
The PPA (Power Purchase Agreement) is based on 15 years operation and production linked to forecast hydrogen production provided by the refinery.
The remuneration includes a guaranteed power premium (PPG) and a proportional price of energy (PPE). The PPG remunerates fixed assets at a rate of 11% and offsets amortization and fixed
The two 500 kW fuel cell has passed the FAT successfully
The ClearGen fuel cell is a proton exchange membran fuel cell (PEM) that has a maximum net power of 1MW and is composed of two power banks of 500 kW.
The principle of PEM fuel cell :
The fuel cell is an electrochemical equipement that produces electricity through an oxydoreduction reaction. A fuel cell is thus composed of two electods (anodeand cathode) and an electrolyte.
In the PEM fuel cell the fuel is hydrogen and the only reaction by-products are water and heat according to the following reaction :
H2 + 1/2 O2 >> H2O
In the PEM fuel cell the electrolyte is a solid membrane that permits protons conduction.
The ClearGen fuel cell :
The ClearGen fuel cell is manufactured by Ballard.Each power bank corresponds to a modified 40’ HC containerseparated into an electrical part and a process part. This permits to avoid the presence of any H2(highly flammable gas) in the electrical room that could lead to safety issues. The only equipements located out of the power banks are air coolers that permit to evacuate the heat produced by the reaction.
Both fuel cells of 500 kW has been tested separatly at Vancouverin Ballard factory.
They both runned at full power for 8 continuous hours respecting the requested effiency of 47%.Gross power, net power, hydrogen flow, water flow start-up duration have been monitored and checked according to specifications.Sara and HDF staff were onsite for theFAT approbation, and a first training has been done to explain the fuel cell operation.