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Belgian battery can power 1,400 homes

Associated Press -- Chemicals giant Solvay hailed Monday the successful entry into service in Flanders of what it said was the largest fuel cell of its type in the world.

A super-battery that produces enough electricity to power nearly 1,400 homes, the Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell has been producing clean electricity at a "steady rate" for weeks at a SolVin plant part-owned by Germany's BASF in Antwerp, northern Dutch-speaking Belgium.

SolVin is a market leader in vinyl, or PVC production.

The fuel cell converts the chemical energy from hydrogen into clean electricity through an electrochemical reaction with oxygen, and "has generated over 500 MWh in about 800 hours of operation," Solvay said in a news release.

The company said this equates to the electricity consumption of 1,370 families over

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Submitted Feb 06, 2012 By: NO_SWEAT

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chuckwthompson Champion Author Charlotte Posts:1,880 Points:215,585 Joined:Sep 2011	Message Posted: Feb 8, 2012 1:25:12 AM Ignore chuckwthompson Report Abuse What will it take to power a car? And how much will this technology cost us at the dealership?
kkimes All-Star Author Illinois Posts:847 Points:1,183,445 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: Feb 8, 2012 12:46:26 AM Ignore kkimes Report Abuse Lets just hope they can do that without being a threat to the environment. I'll have to read up more on this.
Edpap Champion Author Pennsylvania Posts:1,558 Points:151,050 Joined:Oct 2011	Message Posted: Feb 7, 2012 10:11:19 AM Ignore Edpap Report Abuse great....can it be produced in a vehicle usable size?
Norm10 Champion Author British Columbia Posts:1,843 Points:90,320 Joined:Dec 2010	Message Posted: Feb 7, 2012 10:06:54 AM Ignore Norm10 Report Abuse How is this auto related - are they charging electric vehicles at these homes?
fuel2use Champion Author Seattle Posts:1,811 Points:410,125 Joined:Dec 2010	Message Posted: Feb 7, 2012 9:24:24 AM Ignore fuel2use Report Abuse If memory serves me right Fairbanks has a Battery system to carry them through short outages. [Edited by: fuel2use at 2/7/2012 9:25:05 AM EST]
MAJB Sophomore Author Indianapolis Posts:131 Points:67,935 Joined:Oct 2005	Message Posted: Feb 7, 2012 8:44:23 AM Ignore MAJB Report Abuse Poorly written, and not enough details. However, this does appear to move the fuel cell technology a little further down the road. I'll be interested in hearing more as the project continues! [Edited by: MAJB at 2/7/2012 8:44:50 AM EST]
pscamp Champion Author Ottawa Posts:1,166 Points:206,280 Joined:May 2011	Message Posted: Feb 7, 2012 6:20:58 AM Ignore pscamp Report Abuse Cool!
asog75 All-Star Author Indiana Posts:659 Points:171,195 Joined:Aug 2011	Message Posted: Feb 7, 2012 3:01:18 AM Ignore asog75 Report Abuse oh my such talk,can you put on in a volt?,whats the fire risk,?
sluggopyle Champion Author North Carolina Posts:22,785 Points:1,052,850 Joined:Dec 2005	Message Posted: Feb 7, 2012 2:49:49 AM Ignore sluggopyle Report Abuse - and they don't seem to know about Flanders either. It is badly written, but a good story. Maybe they thought we the unwashed wouldn't know the difference between batteries and fuel cells any more than we'd know that when they say "northern Dutch-speaking Belgium" they mean Flanders. => That battery is not that big. That is enough power to run 400 homes in Texas with central A/C. But this is Europe we are talking about. A continent where restaurants can not afford ice to put in a Coke. <= Good point that there's a lot more energy wasted here than there, but.... why would you go to Europe and then order a COKE??
SilverDodge2000 All-Star Author Spokane Posts:869 Points:120,875 Joined:Feb 2011	Message Posted: Feb 7, 2012 2:39:07 AM Ignore SilverDodge2000 Report Abuse Misleading as all get out. The title says a battery can power 1400 homes, then it starts giving details of a fuel cell. A battery and a fuel cell are different things. A tire and a basket ball are both round but not the same.
wendy1john32 Champion Author Los Angeles Posts:1,257 Points:758,445 Joined:Jul 2009	Message Posted: Feb 7, 2012 2:10:57 AM Ignore wendy1john32 Report Abuse At what cost did they obtain the hydrogen?
sluggopyle Champion Author North Carolina Posts:22,785 Points:1,052,850 Joined:Dec 2005	Message Posted: Feb 7, 2012 1:50:02 AM Ignore sluggopyle Report Abuse "northern Dutch-speaking Belgium"??? Wouldn't it be simpler to just say "Flanders"? ROFLOL... Other than that, this is great stuff. Nice story. >> Flanders has benefited from a 14-million-euro investment in this applied technology, with the EU, the Dutch and the Belgian Flemish governments backers of Solvay's 5.0-million euros investment. << Uh-oh. Wait 'til the Obama hounds hear about this...
OWENALOTT Champion Author Appleton Posts:1,430 Points:350,020 Joined:Apr 2011	Message Posted: Feb 7, 2012 1:48:50 AM Ignore OWENALOTT Report Abuse Interesting article.
Ahking Champion Author Orange County Posts:1,998 Points:328,120 Joined:May 2011	Message Posted: Feb 7, 2012 1:05:56 AM Ignore Ahking Report Abuse A government-funded success for a change at least on these GB pages.
wrunner Champion Author Virginia Posts:2,535 Points:775,290 Joined:Dec 2009	Message Posted: Feb 7, 2012 12:23:45 AM Ignore wrunner Report Abuse Fascinating!
sjf238 All-Star Author Philadelphia Posts:715 Points:351,585 Joined:Mar 2011	Message Posted: Feb 7, 2012 12:00:33 AM Ignore sjf238 Report Abuse Interesting.
Maranatha! Champion Author Dayton Posts:20,644 Points:2,986,515 Joined:Nov 2003	Message Posted: Feb 6, 2012 11:58:48 PM Ignore Maranatha! Report Abuse Can most of us afford the battery...or a small business..without government subsidy inducements? What's this new technology's 'track record/longevity of efficiency? Is this technology requiring 'rare earth elements/compounds' that the Chinese could put the producer(s) 'over the proverbial barrel!??? The jury is still out! [Edited by: Maranatha! at 2/7/2012 12:05:04 AM EST]
livable1 Champion Author New York Posts:2,323 Points:283,265 Joined:Oct 2008	Message Posted: Feb 6, 2012 11:46:26 PM Ignore livable1 Report Abuse I'll take one.
davenles Champion Author Texas Posts:1,381 Points:357,310 Joined:May 2011	Message Posted: Feb 6, 2012 11:21:15 PM Ignore davenles Report Abuse That would be super fuel cell.
apiergallini Veteran Author North Carolina Posts:347 Points:162,385 Joined:Mar 2011	Message Posted: Feb 6, 2012 10:34:32 PM Ignore apiergallini Report Abuse Cool.
joekayak All-Star Author Massachusetts Posts:756 Points:407,640 Joined:May 2010	Message Posted: Feb 6, 2012 10:29:23 PM Ignore joekayak Report Abuse Sounds very promising,how soon will it be available in everyones neighborhood.
djvanbeek45 Sophomore Author Twin Cities Posts:102 Points:310,020 Joined:Sep 2010	Message Posted: Feb 6, 2012 9:25:29 PM Ignore djvanbeek45 Report Abuse I would love to see fuel cells make a new entry into the auto world. This was supposed to be the next big thing. I am sure that batteries are not the answer to wean us off oil (what do you do with trillions of dead batteries???)
fowlcan All-Star Author Oklahoma City Posts:667 Points:339,865 Joined:Feb 2011	Message Posted: Feb 6, 2012 7:59:28 PM Ignore fowlcan Report Abuse Battery or fuel cell: that is the question.
drpepperTX Champion Author Texas Posts:4,940 Points:392,620 Joined:Apr 2011	Message Posted: Feb 6, 2012 7:42:35 PM Ignore drpepperTX Report Abuse One of these years this stuff just might become economically viable.
race2IT Champion Author Fort Worth Posts:1,338 Points:489,235 Joined:Oct 2008	Message Posted: Feb 6, 2012 7:35:53 PM Ignore race2IT Report Abuse There's a difference: Battery store energy. Fuel cell converts the chemical energy from a fuel into electricity thru a chemical reaction w/ oxygen or another oxidizing agent.
batloverNM Champion Author Albuquerque Posts:3,456 Points:1,250,965 Joined:Oct 2007	Message Posted: Feb 6, 2012 7:24:35 PM Ignore batloverNM Report Abuse It's a fuel cell not a battery!!!
doggod Champion Author Anchorage Posts:1,072 Points:389,285 Joined:May 2009	Message Posted: Feb 6, 2012 7:08:22 PM Ignore doggod Report Abuse Uh, not to be nit-picky, but a fuel cell is not a battery. It converts chemical energy into electric energy. Like an engine. No electricity goes in and gets stored, as in a battery. But hey, I'm no "journalist". Not the new-fangled kind anyway, where knowledge of your subject doesn't matter at all.
playtimeCLE Champion Author Cleveland Posts:6,465 Points:1,184,650 Joined:Nov 2008	Message Posted: Feb 6, 2012 7:04:53 PM Ignore playtimeCLE Report Abuse So its a Hydrogen fuel cell. The one form of energy that one day (far in the future) could really give petroleum fuels a run for their money.
teafortwo Champion Author Washington Posts:17,005 Points:1,026,480 Joined:Feb 2009	Message Posted: Feb 6, 2012 6:35:40 PM Ignore teafortwo Report Abuse BIG OIL & GAS love us OK. Here is the good news: This article is from today. They have a successful fuel cell up and running able to power over 1,000 homes in real time. This rather huge fuel cell is actively producing energy in the form of electricity. This project is still a big step forward in the fuel cell technology. Research project costs are always high. Costs always come down with mass production. Here is the bad news: This is a fuel cell to produce electricity, not a battery for energy storage. This article probably has more science detail than most folks care to sort through. Since they do not mention cost? That usually means it is a painful subject. Solvay unveils Nedstack 1 MW PEM fuel cell in operation BIG OIL & GAS love us
playtimeCLE Champion Author Cleveland Posts:6,465 Points:1,184,650 Joined:Nov 2008	Message Posted: Feb 6, 2012 6:35:26 PM Ignore playtimeCLE Report Abuse Teafortwo, can you post the URL? I got a 404 error.
teafortwo Champion Author Washington Posts:17,005 Points:1,026,480 Joined:Feb 2009	Message Posted: Feb 6, 2012 6:19:36 PM Ignore teafortwo Report Abuse BIG OIL & GAS love us I looked around to find more detail, hoping to find a scientific report but this is the best I have found at this point: SOLVAY HAS SUCCESSFULLY COMMISSIONED THE LARGEST PEM FUEL CELL IN THE WORLD AT SOLVIN'S ANTWERP PLANT I suspect the AP author does not know much about science, fuel cells or batteries. BIG OIL & GAS love us
playtimeCLE Champion Author Cleveland Posts:6,465 Points:1,184,650 Joined:Nov 2008	Message Posted: Feb 6, 2012 6:05:35 PM Ignore playtimeCLE Report Abuse Brewmeister • Kelowna, British Columbia • 1 hour 8 minutes ago "It is my understanding that a fuel cell and a battery are two different things. A fuel cell produces electricity, and a battery stores electricity. The article above confuses these two terms." Brewmeister is right. So what is this thing? A fuel cell or a battery? [Edited by: playtimeCLE at 2/6/2012 6:06:41 PM EST]
teafortwo Champion Author Washington Posts:17,005 Points:1,026,480 Joined:Feb 2009	Message Posted: Feb 6, 2012 5:52:15 PM Ignore teafortwo Report Abuse BIG OIL & GAS love us This is a great find NO SWEAT. Thanks for sharing. A better way to store energy has been one of the key limitations. Follow the science. FROM THE ARTICLE : Fuel-cell technology is tipped by developers as a future power solution for everything from cars to ships. Flanders has benefited from a 14-million-EUro investment in this applied technology, with the EU, the Dutch and the Belgian Flemish governments backers of Solvay's 5.0-million EUros investment. BIG OIL & GAS love us
PhilMils Champion Author Virginia Posts:5,466 Points:1,050,540 Joined:Dec 2008	Message Posted: Feb 6, 2012 5:36:25 PM Ignore PhilMils Report Abuse This sounds good! I wish the article were more informative.
ktbaeohana Champion Author Las Vegas Posts:1,173 Points:262,220 Joined:Mar 2010	Message Posted: Feb 6, 2012 5:32:58 PM Ignore ktbaeohana Report Abuse Good news.
doeslayersr Champion Author Illinois Posts:5,816 Points:510,200 Joined:Dec 2010	Message Posted: Feb 6, 2012 5:22:52 PM Ignore doeslayersr Report Abuse Papa Gallo - Astute observation and comment.Whatever, the story is not that informative. It does not tell you the homes are limited to running one 20 watt CFL for 3 hours on odd numbered nights of the week.
buckets42 Champion Author New Jersey Posts:1,008 Points:194,870 Joined:Oct 2011	Message Posted: Feb 6, 2012 5:11:50 PM Ignore buckets42 Report Abuse Nice.
Night Owl Champion Author Toronto Posts:5,776 Points:1,433,770 Joined:Jul 2004	Message Posted: Feb 6, 2012 5:04:48 PM Ignore Night Owl Report Abuse Interesting.
PathfinderSC Champion Author South Carolina Posts:7,702 Points:1,470,790 Joined:Mar 2008	Message Posted: Feb 6, 2012 5:04:28 PM Ignore PathfinderSC Report Abuse Like to see this battery.
Papa_Gallo All-Star Author Houston Posts:914 Points:236,540 Joined:Mar 2011	Message Posted: Feb 6, 2012 4:51:29 PM Ignore Papa_Gallo Report Abuse That battery is not that big. That is enough power to run 400 homes in Texas with central A/C. But this is Europe we are talking about. A continent where restaurants can not afford ice to put in a Coke.
dsaine Champion Author North Carolina Posts:1,095 Points:271,420 Joined:May 2011	Message Posted: Feb 6, 2012 4:48:49 PM Ignore dsaine Report Abuse Ok
humblepie Champion Author Toledo Posts:17,308 Points:2,009,320 Joined:Mar 2006	Message Posted: Feb 6, 2012 4:39:06 PM Ignore humblepie Report Abuse 2 of these would power the whole country i think
mwc407 All-Star Author North Carolina Posts:814 Points:335,415 Joined:Jan 2011	Message Posted: Feb 6, 2012 4:36:18 PM Ignore mwc407 Report Abuse HOW BIG is that battery?? Unfortunately the article doesn't say - but it would have to be massive to convert and generate that much electricity!