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[August 2000]
Johnson Matthey announces Major Fuel Cell Demonstration Project with TXU Europe and Energy Partners
Johnson Matthey, the world leader in catalysts and catalysed components for fuel cells, has entered into an agreement with TXU Europe, a leading European energy company, and Energy Partners, a leading developer of Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) fuel cell systems, to construct and evaluate a micro combined heat and power (CHP) fuel cell system for residential applications. The project is being partly supported by the UK Government Department of Trade and Industry fuel cell programme.
The micro CHP units will produce 3kw of electrical power in addition to useable heat and will use a PEM fuel cell based on Johnson Matthey and Energy Partners' technologies. Hydrogen fuel will be provided by JM's award winning HotSpot TM gas processors which convert natural gas or LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) to hydrogen.
The initial stages of the project will see the units evaluated as both stand alone systems and connected to the grid. It will also test remote control operation of the units, which would enable an energy provider to run the system as part of a local area generation and distribution network. The project will provide critical data on various novel components of the fuel cell technology and systems implementation. It will also generate detailed information on the unit's suitability for providing power to houses and most importantly small offices, a sector identified by Johnson Matthey as a promising initial market.
Following the initial 18 month evaluation phase of the project the partners expect to proceed with large scale demonstration programmes in Europe and the US.
ENDS