AFC Energy boss “ecstatic” as fuel cell generator reaches new milestone – ICYMI.
AFC Energy PLC (AIM:AFC, OTC:AFGYF) chief executive Adam Bond joined Stephen Gunnion in the Proactive studio on Tuesday, following the company’s latest milestone – the delivery of its highest power-rated 200kW power generator.
Proactive: So, Adam, you’ve announced you’ve delivered your highest power-rated 200kW power generator to date. So a big milestone for the company.
Adam Bond: Thanks, Stephen. Yes, it’s really a landmark. For those who are familiar with the story, AFC is all about displacing diesel generators. We started that journey with our series, which is basically a fuel cell technology designed for about 10 to 50kW of power and to go up from there.
We’ve designed a new technology, which is our S plus series, to take us from 100kW all the way through to 500kW. So we’re in a very unique position to provide the full ambit of power classes.
A few years ago, we signed a partnership with ABB in mobility to design a 200kW generator, large enough in the higher power class to power EV charging and open up new markets like marine and critical infrastructure backup, such as data centers. This 200kW was a good starting point.
After a couple of years of research and development, this technology did not exist two years ago. We’ve now delivered our largest power generator in the high power class to date. So, very pleased with the result.
Proactive: So Adam, what’s the aim now, can you go bigger?
Adam Bond: Well, not at the moment. I think we certainly could.The idea is that two 500kW generators would give you a megawatt, and you can scale up from that level.
There’s no reason we can’t go larger.
We’re playing to where the market is at the moment.
We don’t see an immediate market for much larger than the 500kW modules. You can put multiple modules together. As the availability and affordability of hydrogen grow, so will the size of the generator.
We are comfortable that between 10 and 500kW, we cover pretty well all the markets we want to target today.
Proactive: Adam, you mentioned EV charging. What other applications does this higher power generator open you up to?
Adam Bond: Sure, there are many.
The two key ones we often refer to are the marine market and data centers.
In the marine market, we can put fuel cells on board ships for auxiliary power or potentially even propulsion.
Data centers generally require higher power classes, often over a megawatt. This opens up new markets for us.
This is the first time we’ve delivered this technology, and it won’t displace diesel generators immediately. The technology is still undergoing certification.
However, demonstrating the technology works and de-risking it is important. We have designed the system to be efficient in hydrogen fuel consumption, aiming for a lower total cost of ownership.
We are ecstatic about delivering our first high-power generator in the market today.
Proactive: When would you expect that certification process to be completed, Adam?
Adam Bond: The certification process involves working with third-party agencies.
Our experience with the air-cooled system certification took about six months.
We hope to shorten this time based on our learnings. However, the timeline depends on the certification agents’ workload.
We have allowed ourselves six months, aiming for completion within this year. But it’s not entirely within our control.
Proactive: Keep us posted on any progress. Thank you very much for speaking with us today.
Adam Bond: Thank you, Stephen.
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AFC Energy boss “ecstatic” as fuel cell generator reaches new milestone – ICYMI. source
