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Toyota, NREL Collaborate to Advance
Megawatt-Scale Fuel Cell Systems
Cooperative research project will
study the scaling and integration of fuel cell systems for
stationary power generation
PLANO, Texas (Aug. 24, 2022)
– Toyota Motor North America (Toyota) is collaborating with the U.S.
Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
to build, install and evaluate a 1-megawatt (MW) proton exchange
membrane (PEM) fuel cell power generation system at NREL’s Flatirons
Campus in Arvada, Colorado.
This 3-year, $6.5 million collaboration
is funded in part by DOE’s
Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office in the Office of Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Energy and supports DOE’s
H2@Scale vision for clean hydrogen across multiple applications
and economic sectors.
The 1-MW fuel cell system integrates
multiple Toyota fuel cell modules into a larger system to provide
responsive stationary power. Through a previous collaboration, NREL
has demonstrated the use of an automotive fuel cell system to provide
carbon-free power for a data center. This new system is at a
significantly larger scale, generating about 15 times more power and
capable of direct current and alternating current output.
Toyota leveraged its over 25 years of
fuel cell development experience as it designed the 1-MW system,
expanding on expertise from the light duty fuel cell electric vehicle
market. Toyota is providing the fuel cell modules and is working with
systems integrator, Telios, for the design, balance-of-plant and build
of the system for delivery to NREL. Toyota has developed an integrated
control system to manage operation of the fuel cell modules to
maximize efficiency and system life. The system demonstrates a
simplified design as a drop-in replacement to a conventional
generator.
“Achieving carbon neutrality requires all
of us to explore new applications of zero-emission technology,
including how that technology will integrate with other systems, which
the project with NREL will identify,” said Christopher Yang, group
vice president, Business Development, Fuel Cell Solutions, Toyota.
“The application of our modules in deployments of this magnitude shows
the scalability of Toyota’s fuel cell technology, whether it is a
single fuel cell module for one passenger vehicle or multiple systems
combined to power heavy-duty equipment.”
NREL researchers will push the operational
boundaries of the fuel cell system design to identify performance
limitations and degradation over time, generating valuable
real-world data to aid with development of future applications.
Research and development will also include assessing how the system
performs when integrated with energy storage and renewable energy
generation systems, such as solar photovoltaic and wind.
“We will study the scaling of PEM fuel
cell systems for stationary power generation to understand what the
performance, durability and system integration challenges are,” said
Daniel Leighton, an NREL research engineer and principal
investigator on the project. “This fuel cell generator system also
creates a new megawatt-scale fuel cell research capability at NREL.”
The fuel cell generator is part of the
Advanced Research on Integrated Energy Systems (ARIES)
megawatt-scale hydrogen system being designed and commissioned at
NREL’s Flatirons Campus. The flexible system — which includes a
1.25-MW PEM electrolyzer, 600-kg hydrogen storage system and 1-MW
fuel cell generator — provides a platform to demonstrate direct
renewable hydrogen production, energy storage, power production and
grid integration at the megawatt scale.
The fuel cell generator system will be
installed this summer, and the full system will be commissioned
later in 2022.
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the
cultural fabric in the U.S. for more than 60 years, and is
committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility
through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our nearly 1,500
dealerships.
Toyota directly employs more than
39,000 people in the U.S. who have contributed to the design,
engineering, and assembly of nearly 32 million cars and trucks at
our nine manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 10th plant in
North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for
electrified vehicles. With the more electrified vehicles on the
road than any other automaker, a quarter of the company’s 2021
U.S. sales were electrified.
To help inspire the next generation
for a career in STEM-based fields, including mobility, Toyota
launched its virtual education hub at www.TourToyota.com with an
immersive experience and chance to virtually visit many of our
U.S. manufacturing facilities. The hub also includes a series of
free STEM-based lessons and curriculum through Toyota USA
Foundation partners, virtual field trips and more. For more
information about Toyota, visit
Green Play Ammonia™, Yielder® NFuel Energy.
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