H2 fuel cell generators as chiller heat source
4th August 2024
JAPAN: Panasonic has begun an experiment to use heat produced during power generation using pure hydrogen fuel cell generators as a heat source for an absorption chiller.
The experiment will be performed at the company’s H2 Kibou Field facility in Kusatsu City, which uses renewable energy to supply the electric power required for production in Panasonic’s fuel cell factory.
Up until now, there has been a gap of 20°C between the maximum 60°C heat that can be recovered from pure hydrogen fuel cell generators and the minimum 80°C heat source temperature required for the operation of absorption chillers.
The new fuel cell generator produces heat at 70°C, which can be used as a heat source for the newly developed absorption chiller that can use low-temperature waste heat.
In the H2 Kibou Field facility, ten pure hydrogen fuel cell generators with improved hot water output temperature will be installed, along with one newly developed absorption chiller.
The equipment will be used for cooling and heating the facility’s administration building.
The H2 Kibou Field facility at Panasonic’s Kusatsu site uses 99 5kW pure hydrogen fuel cell generators, photovoltaic generators with an output of approximately 570kW, and storage batteries with a storage capacity of approximately 1.1MWh.
Through this demonstration experiment, Panasonic aims to achieve an energy efficiency of 95% by simultaneously utilising heat in addition to electric power. In addition, while heat utilisation has previously focused on hot water supply and heating, it will now be possible to use heat for air cooling through absorption chillers.
Improvements to the new Panasonic absorption chiller has lowered the minimum heat source temperature requirement by 10°C, from 80°C to 70°C, making it possible to utilize the heat produced by pure hydrogen fuel cell generators during power generation.
Further, chilled water generated by the absorption chiller will be used for the commercial air conditioners that cool and heat the administration building in the demonstration facility, reducing the air conditioning power consumption by 50%.
