Ballard delivers 175-kW fuel cell system for Californian biomass project

Feb 28, 2013 - Canadian fuel cell maker Ballard Power Systems (TSE:BLD) said Wednesday it had sold a 175-kW ClearGen distributed generation fuel cell system to the Blue Lake Rancheria Tribe of Humboldt County, California.

The ClearGen system will work in combination with a biomass gasifier and syngas purification unit as part of an integrated biomass-to-fuel cell power solution. The system is expected to double the efficiency of traditional biomass-to-power generation systems.

The integrated system will use locally-grown timber by-product as feedstock to produce syngas through the pyrolysis gasification technology. The syngas is then purified and transformed into high-quality hydrogen stream that can power the ClearGen fuel cell system.

The electricity generated by the plant will be used to cover the power needs of the Tribe’s commercial enterprises. By-product heat will be used for the heating of a nearby pool.

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