Market introduction of PEM-Fuel Cell Technology for residential applications

In April 2009 Toshiba introduced its PEM (Polymer Electrolyte Membrane) Fuel Cell Systems for residential buildings to the Japanese market and has sold more than 40,000 units since that point. In November 2012 a PEM Fuel Cell unit from Toshiba started operation at RWE in Duisburg. This installation represents the first of this type in Europe. Until August 2014 the unit reached more than 15,000 hours of successful operating and testing as well with H- and L-gas. The unit also shows a very high reliability without any degradation in the performance. The unit was built for residential use by Toshiba from Japan. The rated electrical and thermal outputs are 700 W and 1 kW, respectively, at a hot water supply temperature of 61°C. During the test run it was possible to confirm the performance data and, in particular, the low emissions proposed by the manufacturer. The following article will describe the innovative design and show the results of the test run and give an estimation about the usability of this innovative CHP system.