Ultracapacitors For Fuel Cell System

CASESTUDY
UltracapacitorsHelpP21ToProvideFuelCell
BasedBackupPowerForTelecoms
Introduction
P21develops,produces,andsellsfuelcellbasedbackupsystems.Theyareusedin
basestationnetworkswhereconventionalbatteriesoftenoperateattheirtechnical
limits.Withitspatented,hydrogenpoweredPEMfuelcells,P21istheleading
supplieroffuelcellpowerforuseinthetelecommunicationsindustry:asbackup
solutions,primarysupplyincombinationwithrenewableenergies,energysaving
systemswithunattendedremotecontroloperation
Whilefuelcellsareanexcellenttechnologyforbackuppower,theytakeafew
secondstocomeonlineandprovidefullpower.P21thereforeneededtoselectan
energystoragetechnologytoprovideshorttermbridgepowertocoverthisgap.It
choseultracapacitorsfromMaxwellTechnologies,astheseprovidedanumberof
advantagesoverbatteriesforthisapplication.
Requirementsforbackuppowerintelecoms
Formanymissioncriticalinstallations,backuppowergenerationequipmentis
essentialtoensurecontinuousoperation.Thetelecomsindustry,inparticular,needs
toensurethatitsmobilephonebasestationshavepoweratalltimes,andareable
tokeepfunctioningevenifthereisaninterruptiontothegridelectricitysupply.
Traditionally,thetechnologychosenforbackuppowerwasbatteries.Morerecently,
fuelcellshavebeenusedforbasestationpowerbackup.PEM(ProtonExchange
Membrane)fuelcellsaretodayhighlyefficientenergyconversiondevicesthatcan
operatecontinuouslyforaslongashydrogenisavailable.Theyareenvironmentally
benignandcanprovideareliablesourceofbackuppowerformanyapplications.
Theyprovidehighreliabilityandsavingsincost,spaceandweight,andcan
withstandharshconditionsofhightemperaturesandhumidity.P21fuelcellsystems
haveadvancedcontrolandonlinemonitoringfeatures,toensuretheyaresafein
operation.
Fuelcellshaveprovenreliableinpractice,withover1billionhoursofoperationover
10yearsinbackuppowerapplications.Basedona1015yearusefullifeafuelcell
basedsolutioncanbearound30%lessexpensivethanabatterybackupsolution.
However,atypicalP21fuelcellhasastartuptimeofabout5secondstoachievefull
power.Thismeansthatashorttermsourceofbridgepowerisstillrequiredto
ensurecontinuousoperation.
Whilebatterieshaveoftenbeenusedwithfuelcellstoprovidethisbridgepower,
theyhaveanumberofdisadvantages,includingrelativelyshortlifetime,regular
maintenancerequirements,andpoorperformanceinextremetemperatures.For
MaxwellTechnologies,Inc.
9244BalboaAvenue,SanDiego,CA92123
UnitedStates
Phone:+18585033300
Fax:+18585033301
MaxwellTechnologiesSA
CH1728Rossens
Switzerland
Phone:+41(0)264118500
Fax:+41(0)264118505
MaxwellTechnologies,Inc.|www.maxwell.com|info@maxwell.com|
CASESTUDY
longlasting,reliableapplicationsthismeansthereisahighermaintenancecost,and
concernsaboutreliability.
Ultracapsinbackuppowersolution
P21decidedtoinvestigateotherenergystoragesolutionsthatcouldbeusedinstead
ofbatteries.Theychoseultracapacitors,whichareanexcellentmatchtoworkwith
fuelcells.WithlowESRandhighchargestoragecapacity,ultracapacitorscanramp
uplargecurrentswithminimalchangeinvoltage,creatingashorttermbuffering
responsetopeakpowerdemands.Theysmoothlydeliverpowerthroughtransient
interruptions.Thispermitsthefuelcelltomaintainitsquiescentoperatingpoint
withoutinefficiency.Thiscombinationresultsinanenergyrich,reliable,maintenance
freesolutionthatisalsoveryenvironmentallyfriendly.
Ultracapacitorswereselectedbecauseoftheirreliability,load/dutycyclestability
andbecausetheyaremaintenancefree,saidDieterBraechtken,CEOofP21GmbH.
Maxwellsultracapacitorshavealifetimeoftypicallyoveramillioncycles,making
themwellsuitedtothisapplication.
Ultracapacitorshaveanotheradvantageoverbatteriesthatmakesthemsuitedto
supportfuelcellsinbackupapplications.Afuelcellsoutputvarieswithload.A
batterysoutputisfairlyfixed,andwillaffectthefuelcellsperformance.An
ultracapacitor,however,hasnofixedoperatingvoltage,andthereforecanoperate
directlyacrosstheoutputofthefuelcell,directlyintothepowerelectronics.
Ultracapacitortechnologyandbenefits
AlsoknownassupercapacitorsorElectrochemicalDoubleLayerCapacitors(ELDC),
ultracapacitorsarenotanewcomponent,butthetechnologyhasadvanced
dramaticallyinthelast510years.
Thebeneficialcharacteristicsofultracapacitorsaremadepossiblebytheir
compositionandconstruction.Theiractivatedcarbonelectrodehasaspecificsurface
areaof2000m2/gwithachargeseparationof10Angstromorless,givingthema
veryhighcapacitance.Highconductivityelectrolytes,aproprietaryelectrode
manufacturingtechniquesandanadvancedcelldesignallowultralowinternal
resistanceandthushighestpowerdensityproducts.Theenergystoragemechanism
ishighlyreversible,withnochemicalbondsbeingmadeorbroken,leadingtoacycle
lifeofover1millioncycleswithminimaldegradation.Theoperatingtemperature
domainisbetween40degCand+65degC,orevenhigherforshortdurations.
UnitedStates
Phone:+18585033300
Fax:+18585033301
CH1728Rossens
Switzerland
Phone:+41(0)264118500
Fax:+41(0)264118505
CASESTUDY
Figure1:MaxwellBMOD0058andBPAK0058ultracapacitormodulesforbridgepower
applications
Withthematurationoftheultracapacitorindustry,ultracapacitorsarehighly
competitivewith,andinmanycasessuperiorto,olderbridgetechnologies.They
offerthefunctionality,lifecyclecosts,andreliabilitynecessarytomakemission
criticalpowerbackupsystemssuccessful.Sincetheultracapacitorisusedstrictlyas
abridge,itshighpowerdensityiswellsuitedtosupplyhighpowerforshortperiods
upto30seconds.Abatteryismoretypicallysizedtodeliverpoweroverlonger
periods,makingthemlargerthannecessaryincaseofbridgepowerapplications.Ifa
batteryissizedfortheactualshortdurationrequired,itmayhavedifficulty
supplyingthenecessarypower.
Onekeychallengewithbatteriesisthedifficultyinmeasuringtheirstateofcharge
andtheirstateofhealth.Thechargeofanultracapacitor,however,ismeasured
solelybyitsvoltage.Themeasurementofthecapacitorschargeandinternal
resistanceallowstodeterminethestateofhealth.Asimpleanddirectmonitoringof
theenergystoragesystemisthusguaranteed.Additionally,sinceultracapacitors
operateonadifferentprinciplethanbatteries,theultracapacitoriscapableofsitting
onachargevoltageforextendedperiodswithoutanylossofcapacity,unlikea
battery.
Furthermore,cycledepthisn'tanissue,soultracapacitorscanbemicrocycled
(cycledlessthan5%oftheirtotalenergy)orfullcycled(cycledgreaterthan80%of
theirtotalenergy)withthesamelonglife.
Ultracapacitorsareinherentlyreliablebecauseoftheircompositionandconstruction.
Therearenomechanicalmovingpartsasinaflywheel,eliminatingallmaintenance.
Combinedwiththewidetemperaturerange,longlife,andflexiblevoltagerange,
ultracapacitorsprovideanextremelyreliablesolutionforbridgepower.
UnitedStates
Phone:+18585033300
Fax:+18585033301
CH1728Rossens
Switzerland
Phone:+41(0)264118500
Fax:+41(0)264118505
CASESTUDY
P21sPremionTsystem
P21sPremionTfuelcellproducts,whichincorporateultracapacitorsandfuelcells,
havebeendevelopedspecificallyfortheneedsofthetelecomsindustry.Compared
withconventionalbatteriestheyguaranteecompletelyflexiblebackuptimes,are
substantiallymorecostefficientandreliable,significantlylowermaintenanceefforts
andlongerlifeandaremuchmoreenvironmentallyfriendlybecauseoftheuseof
hydrogentogenerateelectricity.Thefuelcellsystemsalsoreduceenergycostsdue
toreducedairconditioningrequirements,andtotalcostsavingsofmorethan30%
canbeachievedoverthewholelifecycle.
ForUPSapplicationsintelecoms,Figure2showsatypicalbackupsystemwith
battery,whilethelayoutofabackupsystemincludingPremionTisshowninFigure
3.
Figure2:layoutofatypicalbackupsystemwithbattery
Figure3:layoutofatypicalbackupsystemwithPremionTfuelcellsystem
UnitedStates
Phone:+18585033300
Fax:+18585033301
CH1728Rossens
Switzerland
Phone:+41(0)264118500
Fax:+41(0)264118505
CASESTUDY
ThePremionTsystemishousedina19rackandweighs93kg.Itdelivers3kW
outputpower.Itisextremelyreliable,andthusensuresthehighavailabilityofthe
systemsitisprotecting.Typicallifetimeinbackupsystemsis1015years.
Tohelpensurethislevelofreliability,PremionTincludessophisticatedmonitoring
software,errorloggingandremotemaintenancecapabilities.Themonitoring
softwarecanbeusedtoshowtheoperationoftheultracapacitors.Firstly,Figure4
showsPremionTonstandby,withtheultracapacitorsfullychargedfromnetwork
power,atvoltageof54V.
Figure4:PremionTonstandby
Then,Figure5showswhathappenswhenthegridlosespowerandthePremionT
startstoprovidebackuppower.Thisisimmediatelyafterthegridpowerhasgone
down,andbeforethefuelcellsareonline.Theultracapacitorscanbeseentodeliver
1680W,maintainingsystemoperation.
UnitedStates
Phone:+18585033300
Fax:+18585033301
CH1728Rossens
Switzerland
Phone:+41(0)264118500
Fax:+41(0)264118505
CASESTUDY
Figure5:Ultracapacitorsprovidingbackuppower
Finally,Figure6showsthefuelcellsystemstartingupandprovidingpowerforthe
system.Theenergystoredintheultracapacitorshasreduced,butthefuelcellsare
nowabletorechargetheultracapacitors.
Figure6:Fuelcellsprovidingpower
Aswellasensuringcontinuouspowerduringgridblackouts,theultracapacitorsalso
servepeakloadrequirementsduringfuelcelloperation.
UnitedStates
Phone:+18585033300
Fax:+18585033301
CH1728Rossens
Switzerland
Phone:+41(0)264118500
Fax:+41(0)264118505
CASESTUDY
WorkingwithMaxwellTechnologies
TheimportantfactorsthatledustochooseMaxwellaretheavailabilityofthe
product,itsqualityandtheavailabilityofdifferentpackagingoptions,saidDieter
Braechtken.MaxwellsBOOSTCAPultracapacitorscanbesolderconnectedandthus
easilyintegratedintoP21sproprietaryhighpowerelectroniccircuitboards.
ThePremionprojectwasstartedin2002,andthefirstprototypewascreatedbythe
endoftheyear.Firstshipmentstocustomerswerein2003,andMaxwells
ultracapacitorshavebeenproventoworksuccessfullyinP21'sPremionproductsand
prototypesindifferentproductgenerations.
WhilethemainfocusofP21istelecomsbasestations,thePremionThasalsoproven
toworkwellindifferentkindsofcriticalITandcommunicationapplications,andthe
rangeofapplicationsandproductoptionsissteadilybeingextended.P21isworking
tobroadentheapplicationrangeofthePremionTproductandrampingup
production,saidDieterBraechtken.
P21hasworkedbothdirectlywithMaxwell,andwiththeirGermandistributorAlfatec
GmbH.Wehavealwaysbeenwellsupportedonthetechnicalandcommerciallevel.
Theresponsetimeswereshortandtheinformationprovidedwashelpful,saidDieter
Braechtken.
Conclusions
Workingwithfuelcells,ultracapacitorsareavaluablecomponentforbackuppower
applications,becausetheyarereliableandmaintenancefree,abletooperateat
extremetemperatures,andhavealongoperatinglifetime.
P21hasdesignedaninnovativebackuppowersystemfortelecomsapplicationsthat
takesfulladvantageofthesefeatures,andperformssignificantlybetterthan
batterybasedalternatives.
TheultracapacitorsareanimportantfeaturetoenableP21toprovidethebenefitsof
ourfuelcellsystemstoourcustomers,concludedDieterBraechtken.
UnitedStates
Phone:+18585033300
Fax:+18585033301
CH1728Rossens
Switzerland
Phone:+41(0)264118500
Fax:+41(0)264118505
CASESTUDY
Figure7:PremionTsystem
AboutP21
P21GmbHwasfoundedin2001asamanagementbuyoutfromthe
Mannesmann/Vodafonegroup.Thefoundershadonemajorgoalthattodayhasbeen
realised:todevelopfuelcellproductsthatfulfilthehighestrequirementsinthe
telecommunicationsandITindustriesandtoconsiderablyexpandthetechnical
capabilitiesinbackuppowersupply.
AninternationalconsortiumrecognisedthepotentialofthisideaandprovidedP21
withthefinancialsecurityitneededtogrow.Today,P21isateamofhighlyqualified
expertswithmanyyearsofexperienceintheindustry.35employeesfromseven
countriescontributetheirexperienceandexpertisefromallfieldsoffuelcell
technologyfromdevelopmenttoproductionandsales.
www.p21.de
UnitedStates
Phone:+18585033300
Fax:+18585033301
CH1728Rossens
Switzerland
Phone:+41(0)264118500
Fax:+41(0)264118505

Ultracapacitors For Fuel Cell System

Diunggah oleh

Informasi Dokumen

Judul Asli

Hak Cipta

Format Tersedia

Bagikan dokumen Ini

Bagikan atau Tanam Dokumen

Opsi Berbagi

Apakah menurut Anda dokumen ini bermanfaat?

Apakah konten ini tidak pantas?

Hak Cipta:

Format Tersedia

Ultracapacitors For Fuel Cell System

Diunggah oleh

Hak Cipta:

Format Tersedia

CASESTUDY

Anda mungkin juga menyukai