Fuel cells produce electricity using an electrochemical process. In addition to producing electricity, useful heat can be recovered from the chemical exothermic reaction and this recovered "waste" heat can be provided to a heating load. In this case, the fuel cell power plant would be operating in a Combined Heat & Power (CHP) or cogeneration mode. The energy performance of a fuel cell is influenced by a number of factors such as the type of fuel, the fuel cell power capacity, minimum capacity, availability, heat rate and heat recovery efficiency. Refer to the Fuel Cell Schematic and Fuel Cell Characteristics table for more information.

Software & Data
The RETScreen Software Fuel Cell Model can be used worldwide to evaluate the energy production and savings, costs, emission reductions, financial viability and risk for central-grid, isolated-grid and off-grid fuel cell projects. The software can model a wide variety of projects ranging from multi-fuel cell power plants, to distributed power systems located on commercial buildings and at industrial facilities, to stand-alone back-up power supplies, for various fuels such as hydrogen, hydrocarbons and alcohols. The software (available in multiple languages) also includes product, project and climate databases, and a detailed user manual.

Click here to download RETScreen 4 (36 MB).