Fuel cell waste water scheme grant
A project using Italian waste water and Finnish fuel cell technology has won the support of Horizon 2020.
Experts aim to demonstrate fuel cell systems for high efficiency cogeneration of heat and power from biogas produced in connection with waste water treatment. If realised, the fuel cell plant will be the first of its kind in Europe in terms of size and technology used.
The five-year DEMOSOFC project has an overall budget of €5.9m and is receiving €4.2m from Horizon 2020. The project is co-ordinated by the Italian Politechnico di Torino, and also includes the participation of Convion and VTT Technical Research Centre from Finland, POLITO and SMAT from Italy, and Imperial College London in the UK.
Fuel cell systems enable the generation of electricity from biogas that would otherwise remain unused or be burned for heat. Waste water treatment consumes large quantities of heat and power, yet at the same time produces significant amounts of methane-containing biogas. Treatment plants are therefore seen as good application sites for local cogeneration of heat and power, along with the use of fuel cells as a technological alternative.
The biogas-fed fuel cell system being developed in the DEMOSOFC project aims to satisfy 30% of the electrical needs of the waste water treatment and 100% of the normal thermal needs of the treatment process. Convion and VTT will install a fuel cell plant in the Collegno waste water treatment plant of the Italian Società Metropolitana Acque Torino S.p.A. in Turin.
In addition, the modular structure of Convion’s fuel cell plant enables scaling of energy production in accordance with the waste water treatment plant’s gas production capacity. Consequently, waste water treatment could become fully energy self-sufficient with the help of fuel cells.
