By Steve Boster
NAVAIR Weapons Division Public Affairs

Officials with the Navy Renewable Energy Division at the NAVAIR China Lake, Calif., today announced award of a $1.15 million contract for the first use of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells for residential use in California.

The five kilowatt-hour fuel cell systems that produce electricity and heat are designed and manufactured by Plug Power of Latham, New York. They are being installed and maintained by Johnson Controls Incorporated in San Diego, Calif.

Eight of the fuel cell systems will be installed on the Naval Air Station North Island and Submarine Base San Diego and one unit will be based at China Lake.

Installation is expected to start in September and the systems should be on line in October. The fuel cells will operate for one year under this program, with an option for extended operation beyond the one-year program.

Sam Edwards, project engineer at China Lake said the Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center at Port Hueneme, Calif., assisted with site selection at the San Diego installations and technical advice on utility issues.

Fuel cells have been used for years in varied applications from the space shuttle to utility power plants. Fuel cell systems chemically combine fuel and oxygen. These fuel cells use natural gas and air to create electricity and heat for use in a home or building. This particular system uses a catalytic reformer to first convert the natural gas to hydrogen. The fuel cell then consumes the hydrogen with oxygen from the air to create electricity and heat at 140 degrees Fahrenheit. The electricity is delivered to the grid to reduce the customer’s electric dependency by as much as 5,000 watts.

Other types of fuel cells operate at temperatures between 200 and 1000 degrees Celsius. This high temperature can be safely used by utility companies but would not be appropriate for residential users. Since the PEM system operates at such a low temperature, it can be used to heat domestic water or swimming pools. The Navy will use this feature to heat the indoor pool at China Lake and residence hall water at the two bases in San Diego.

The PEM fuel cell process fully consumes the fuel and therefore reduces pollutants to extremely low levels. 99.7 % of the exhaust is air and pure water. Pollutants like Nitrogen and Sulfur oxides are measured at just 0.3 parts per million.