FuelCell Energy Inc. in Danbury has won a $2 million federal energy contract to tweak its process for storing hydrogen at pressures high enough to be applied commercially to hydrogen-vehicle refueling stations.
The maker of fuel cells that electrochemically convert hydrogen into electricity said it got the contract from the U.S. Department of Energy.
FuelCell Energy’s edge in landing the contract, officials say, is that its proprietary process relies on compressing the hydrogen and maintaining it under extreme pressure.
In most commercial applications, hydrogen typically must be processed at locations apart from where it is needed, like at refueling stations. Compressing the highly flammable gas simplifies transport and storage, FuelCell Energy says.
FuelCell Energy says it caught DOE’s eye in May 2009 with a demonstration that compressed hydrogen to 3,000 pounds per square inch (psi) – good enough for most industrial applications.
But under this new contract, the company must refine its technology within the next three years to compress hydrogen to 12,000 psi, the level suitable for hydrogen vehicle refueling.
 “Our existing fuel cell technology provides a unique and economically compelling approach to generating clean power, usable heat and hydrogen,” said Christopher Bentley, FuelCell Energy executive vice president. “Capturing and storing this excess hydrogen byproduct from the fuel cell potentially opens new markets for our fuel cell technology.”
