Clean Power Net’s aim is to expand the potential of fuel cell technology within the markets that serve industry and business – and this will principally be achieved through partnerships between users and manufacturers of fuel cells. The CPN network is paving the way for the widespread, rapid and economical use of this climate-friendly technology in the supply of energy.
The markets
- Information technology
- Telecommunications
- Industrial process automation
- Industrial control technology
- Traffic-control systems
- Supply of energy/distribution system operation
In the telecommunications field alone there is enormous potential for using fuel cells to provide secure and uninterruptible power supplies: more than 4.5 million base stations worldwide (2015) with annual growth rates of over 10%. We are currently laying the foundations for the development of this market.
Our main concern at Clean Power Net is the promotion of environmentally friendly and economical fuel cell applications for industry and business. This will enhance the competitiveness of both users and manufacturers of innovative fuel-cell solutions in Germany
„Alongside renewable energies and energy efficiency, other issues gaining increasing prominence in the German Energy Transition are energy independence and secure power supplies. This is particularly applicable in view of modern society’s vulnerability in the event of a prolonged failure of power supplies over a large area and the hazards that could ensue. Fuel cell technology can prove beneficial here by offering secure power supplies for critical infrastructures.
Users and manufacturers of fuel cell technology have therefore joined forces within Clean Power Net in order to pool know-how and exploit synergies from an early stage. This should help the commercial use of fuel cell technology to gain acceptance. In addition, this innovative technology should further expand and advance the competitiveness and economic power of Germany as an industrial base.
We are delighted to be able to support the companies participating in the flagship Clean Power Net project within the framework of the National Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology Innovation Programme.“
Staatssekretär Rainer Bomba
Secretary of State at the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure
(Source: BMVI)
Der Fokus of Clean Power Net
Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS), Back-Up, Emergency Standby Power Systems
Fail-safe power supplies are nowadays essential in many areas of industry and in society at large, whether it be mobile-phone base stations, hospitals, industrial process control centres, computer centres or secondary technology in transformer stations. UPS systems ‘bridge’ the outage. Fuel cells offer a persuasive solution here due to their long service lives and the fact that they cover a wide temperature range.
Smart Grids
Energy management systems make it possible to interconnect decentralised power generators into a more efficient overall system. The fuel cell plays an exceptionally important role in such schemes, being a highly efficient supplier of energy with zero emissions.
Non-grid-connected/autonomous power supplies
Connection to an electricity grid is frequently impractical, and it is not economically viable to lay a cable. Mobile-phone base stations in emerging countries, construction-site safety equipment and road-pricing systems are therefore powered via batteries or diesel generators. The fuel cell is the economical and environmentally friendly alternative in such cases.
Virtual power plants
The demand imposed on electricity grids by power fluctuations is increasing with the development of renewable energy sources. Alongside large power stations, a short-term operating reserve can also be provided by integrating small, distributed (but centrally controlled) installations comprising fuel cells powered by renewable fuels, which will operate as emission-free virtual power plants.
