RCS - AFC Energy Plc - Hybrid Hydrogen Generator System showcased

AFC EnergyAnnouncement

12/02/2020 07:00

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RNS Number : 6734C  AFC Energy Plc  12 February 2020

RNS Reach - This is a Non-Regulatory Announcement

 

12 February 2020

AFC Energy PLC

("AFC Energy" or the "Company")

AFC Energy and MSP Technologies Unveil Hybrid Hydrogen Generator System for
Off-Grid Distributed Power Market

AFC Energy (AIM: AFC), a leading provider of hydrogen power generation
technologies, will today, in collaboration with its partner, MSP Technologies,
showcase to UK private sector construction contractors, the future of off-grid
stationary power, demonstrating how adopting a portfolio energy technology
strategy can deliver a glide path to net zero carbon emissions for the sector
without incurring significant financial impairments of existing assets.

Highlights

·     The off-grid global diesel generation market, with annual revenues
in excess of US$20bn, is a material contributor to today's greenhouse gas
emissions and a constraint to national and international net zero emission
targets.

 

·     The Hybrid Distributed Power System on display today, consisting of
AFC Energy's H-Power(TM) fuel cell system, MSP Technologies FLEX-ESS battery
solution, and a diesel generator, will highlight how an immediate reduction in
carbon emissions of 50% or more is achievable from the offgrid power market
based on typical industry usage data.

 

·     Through adoption of a zero emission H-Power(TM) system and a more
efficient operation of existing diesel power, supported by energy storage, a
clear glidepath is created for operators to phase out diesel generators in an
environmentally sustainable manner, whilst protecting their legacy
investments.

 

·     Deploying this hybrid system de-risks any contractors' perceived
risk in fully endorsing new hydrogen-based technologies as a complete
short-term displacement of fossil fuel combustion gensets.

 

·     The containerised and modular fuel cell and FLEX-ESS solution make
for a readily transportable and mobile power source, not dissimilar to diesel
gensets.

AFC Energy's latest stop on its "Dunsfold to Dundee Dash" is in the
picturesque town of Holme in the UK's Lake District.  The Company will be
highlighting to over 100 invited and interested attendees its latest EV
Charger system, but importantly, for the first time, AFC Energy and MSP
Technologies will also be demonstrating to a core group of British
construction contractors and remote power users, the possibility of
immediately decarbonising the current stationary distributed power market.
 

Two key challenges consistently posed from industry, hire companies and
contractors with regards to the transition to clean off-grid power
technologies, whether temporary or permanent, reflect (1) the already large
investments made into the remote and distributed diesel power market which
still have a useful life in them, pushing decarbonisation back until diesel
generators are fully written off, and (2) the perceived risk a new, albeit
clean, generation technology might have to the longstanding reliability of
conventional fossil fueled power systems.

Furthermore, onsite diesel generators are often oversized in temporary power
applications leading to poor utilisation, efficiency and consequentially,
increased emissions. This is usually done to ensure sufficient capacity to
meet all demand, even though demand most of the time is very much below that
maximum level. Typically, this may mean the generator set deployed has a rated
output of over 3 times the mean demand of a given site.

By using AFC Energy's H-Power(TM) system in combination with the diesel
generator, and with the addition of a battery as a hybrid solution, it is
possible to cut emissions, run the generator much more efficiently, and store
generated power for use in periods of high load.

Cumulatively, based on typical industry usage data, use of the Hybrid
Distributed Power System on display today can, depending on generator, fuel
cell and battery sizing, lead to a reduction in greenhouse emissions of 50% or
more based on typical industry usage data (versus diesel combustion in a
conventional genset alone).

The hybrid solution on display today will not only protect legacy investments
by operators of distributed power systems, who are keen to materially reduce
their carbon emissions immediately, but also provide a model for transition
over time away from diesel to a cleaner distributed power solution such as
that provided by AFC Energy.

Power consumed or stored within MSP Technologies' FLEX-ESS battery system will
then be able to balance variable power needs with the role of incumbent diesel
generation reverting more towards supporting peak periods of demand and
addressing contractor perceived risk around the operability of new
technologies in the off-grid power market.

The Hybrid Distributed Power System will enable Government's, Local Councils
and industry to now consider the opportunity to mandate the need for suppliers
of temporary or off-grid power generation to consider the path to "net zero"
as part of its own internal and external procurement processes with a viable
alternative to conventional greenhouse emitting technologies now
available.

Simon Patterson, Chief Executive at MSP Technologies, said "The demand MSP
Technologies is seeing for alternatives to diesel generation in the remote and
off-grid power market is growing exponentially year on year.  Having worked
with AFC Energy now for over a year, and with the tremendous feedback we are
getting from our proprietary FLEX-ESS energy storage system, we have seen a
huge potential in the integration of our two technologies in powering this
enormous global market, without the risk of intermittency of alternative clean
energy solutions such as wind or solar.  We therefore see this as a key power
solution to be considered in the mix for a decarbonised off-grid power market
in the UK and elsewhere and are pleased to be working with global leaders in
this technology having witnesses its successes over the past few months in the
EV charging market."

Adam Bond, Chief Executive Officer at AFC Energy, said "The global power
market is changing, and changing fast.  The role of hydrogen in supporting
the decarbonisation of the off-grid power market is one which we have been
working towards over the past few years given the increasing regulation over
the diesel and remote power generation markets.  We cannot however ignore the
massive investment already made globally in the diesel and natural gas genset
markets which in and of itself presents a challenge to industry to transition
to zero carbon solutions in the absence of strict regulation enforcing this
move; and so we see our role in presenting industry and Governments with an
alternative which works alongside incumbent investments in diesel to support a
glide path to decarbonisation over a 5-10 year period.  Today's demonstration
reinforces that these transitionary hybrid solutions exist today and that
partnerships between AFC Energy and MSP Technologies are able and willing to
work with prospective customers to deliver on our national and international
carbon reduction targets".

 

For further information, please contact:

 AFC Energy plc                          +44 (0) 14 8327 6726

 Adam Bond (Chief Executive Officer)

 M C Peat & Co LLP - Joint Broker        +44 (0) 20 7104 2334

 Charlie Peat

 Tuva Partners - Public Relations        +44 (0) 7900 205 460

 Alex Brooks

 

 

About AFC Energy

AFC Energy plc is commercialising a scalable alkaline fuel cell system, to
provide clean electricity for on and off grid applications. The technology,
pioneered over the past twelve years in the UK, is now being deployed in
electric vehicle chargers, off-grid decentralised power systems and industrial
gas plants as part of a portfolio approach to the decarbonisation of local
electricity needs.

 

 

About MSP Technologies

MSP Technologies is an energy storage and hybridised power conversion
specialist. Its expertise lies in integrating high quality components to offer
condensed, low maintenance, versatile and intelligent solutions to a wide
range of sectors and applications. MSP's products adapt to suit multiple power
inputs, outputs and configurations in grid independent or grid supportive
solutions to customers with variable or multiple power sources and load types.
The company's FLEX-ESS is MSP's latest storage solution, combining the
strongest properties that we have achieved to date. Designed for agility,
factory-built-and-tested FLEX-ESS can be rapidly deployed and connected to
multiple power inputs through its DC-coupled port. Totally enclosed in durable
GRP and with closed system water cooling, the FLEX-ESS is ultra-low
maintenance vastly reducing lifetime operating costs.

 

 

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