An innovation from the USA is also causing a sensation in Europe: the Bloom Energy Server. At the fuel cells specialist forum f-cell on September 27 and 28, 2010, in Germany (www.f-cell.de), Klaus Rissbacher of the Austrian Bloom Energy supplier Plansee SE will present this innovation.

An innovation from the USA is also causing a sensation in Europe: the Bloom Energy Server. The Austrian Bloom Energy supplier Plansee SE is using it as the basis to create an open source stack platform for a corresponding European development with smaller dimensions. At the fuel cells specialist forum f-cell on September 27 and 28, 2010, in Stuttgart (www.f-cell.de), Klaus Rissbacher of Plansee SE will present this innovation. The event combines a congress and trade fair, focusing on stationary, mobile, and portable fuel cell applications. A special topic in 2010: "Electromobility - fuel cells and batteries move the future".

Stuttgart (eos) - "The new Bloom Energy Server made by the Californian company Bloom Energy represents a breakthrough for the stationary use of the fuel cell," explains Klaus Rissbacher of Plansee. "The development involves 100-kilowatt power generators on the basis of high-temperature fuel cells (Solid Oxide Fuel Cells, SOFC). The use of lower-cost materials means these can easily compete with conventional power supplies with respect to price. The systems are operated - depending on availability - with natural or biogas." The company from the Austrian town of Reutte delivers the metallic interconnectors that connect the individual fuel cells. In his lecture during the fuel cell specialist forum f-cell on September 27 and 28, 2010, in Stuttgart (www.f-cell.de), Rissbacher will present the innovation in detail and report on what it means for the European market. "In order to establish a similar technology here, we have developed an open source stack platform on which manufacturers of heaters and block-type thermal power stations can work," he says.

Complete building power requirement from fuel cells
Ten large Fortune 100 companies in the USA are already using the new Bloom Energy Servers. With four to five units, they cover most of the power requirements of individual facilities. Although there is still a connection to the mains power supply, this is only as a backup solution for unforeseen peak loads and to return surplus produced power to the grid. "In contrast to other stationary fuel cell appliances, which primarily deliver heat and additional power, the system is configured solely for power generation," explains Rissbacher. "Foregoing a power-heat coupling reduces the complexity of the system, but the waste heat is not lost. It is reused by the system itself."

Broad range of f-cell topics - special topic "Electromobility"
"This is only one of the many exciting new and ongoing developments the experts will report on at the f-cell, the specialist forum for producers and users of the fuel cell," says Peter Sauber, managing director of the "Peter Sauber Agentur Messen und Kongresse GmbH", which is organizing the "f-cell" jointly with the "Wirtschaftsförderung Region Stuttgart GmbH" (WRS - regional economic promotion). "In 2010, in twelve topical forums, we will throw light on the development of worldwide markets, progress made in stationary, mobile, and portable applications of fuel cells, as well as their marketing. Experts will provide insight into new scientific discoveries as well as into solutions for the storage of hydrogen and for an H2 infrastructure." A particular focus will be: "Electromobility - fuel cells and batteries move the future". Moreover, the event organizers will profit from close contacts to Japan. The Asian pioneer will once again be represented by a great many prominent speakers in 2010 .

Information on "f-cell"
For those interested, more information on the f-cell can be found at www.f-cell.de . The program of lectures will be available for viewing on the homepage from the end of May onwards . Anyone who would like to be sent to detailed event flyer can already request it at f-cell@messe-sauber.de or by telephone on: 0711-656960-51 (Sibel Kadioglu).