SOFC-manufacturer Bloom Energy wants to expand its presence in Spain and Portugal
US-based Bloom Energy has partnered with Spanish financial advisory firm Telam Partners to assess market opportunities in the Iberian Peninsula for Bloom’s solid-oxide technology.
PHOTO: Model of Bloom Energy's SOFC-based power generation unit. Bloom Energy
The two companies will look at installing Bloom's "Energy Servers" in ports in Spain and Portugal to provide sustainable shore power. In Bloom Energy Server, several independent modules, each made of multiple solid-oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) combine to generate power.
Bloom Energy states that its “fuel-flexible technology, which can operate on natural gas, biogas or hydrogen, produces electricity without combustion and reduces carbon emissions compared to the auxiliary diesel gensets usually used for shore power.”
SOFCs are attracting lots of interest in the decarbonisation of the maritime sector since they have a much higher energy efficiency than other power sources, including PEM-fuel cells.
The technology is also becoming popular for powering large ocean-going ships. Samsung Heavy Industries and Bloom Energy built the world's first SOFC-powered LNG carrier in 2021. Rather than using internal combustion engines or other oil-based equipment, the carrier uses SOFCs powered by naturally vaporised LNG.
Current fuel cell technology is not quite there yet to power larger ocean-going ships. For that to happen, today’s proton-exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells will have to make way for the next generation of SOFCs, hydrogen fuel cell maker TECO 2030's chief executive Tore Enger told Engine in an interview last year.
Additionally, both companies are exploring opportunities to integrate Bloom's solid oxide electrolysers for large-scale ammonia and clean hydrogen production in Spain and Portugal.
By Konica Bhatt
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