Clean Power Net (CPN) wins Bosch as another industry heavyweight as a partner
- New partners and speakers in the CPN innovation cluster
- Fuel cells will play a key role in the next decade for future energy systems and the switch to renewable energies
- Stationary solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) system from Bosch makes a valuable contribution to flexible and climate-friendly power supply
Munich, 05 May 2021. The association of the German fuel cell industry for secure power supply Clean Power Net (CPN) receives a prominent new member: Robert Bosch GmbH. This gives the innovation cluster further support for its goal of establishing an alternative environmentally friendly energy supply for the future. With its highly efficient SOFC systems, Bosch is providing an essential building block for a sustainable energy supply. The first systems are already running successfully at selected customers, and series production of the SOFC systems is planned from 2024.
In order to realise a climate-friendly and more efficient energy supply for industrial users in the long term, CPN has been working together with users and manufacturers from industry and commerce as well as research institutions for more than ten years. With Robert Bosch GmbH, the network gains an important innovator in the field of stationary solid oxide fuel cell technology. The SOFC systems produced by Bosch achieve an electrical efficiency of 60 percent with an electrical output of ten kilowatts in the basic unit. With the additional use of heat, the overall efficiency can be increased to 85 percent and is thus clearly superior to any other energy converter. The units are scalable up to the megawatt range. Possible energy sources are manifold: SOFC plants today can be operated withCO2-neutral biogas or natural gas – and are alreadyhydrogen-capable for the energy system of tomorrow. When operated with biogas or natural gas, no nitrogen oxides or particulates are produced andCO2 emissions are reduced by almost 40 percent compared to the German electricity mix. When green hydrogen is used,CO2 emissions drop to zero. Thanks to their flexibility, SOFC systems represent a key technology for the energy supply of the future that is already working today. The stationary fuel cell systems provide a reliable power supply and thus contribute to the transition from fossil to renewable energies. Depending on the energy demand, any number of systems with the same output can be interconnected in the future. This networking of devices allows virtual power plants to be represented, which together enable a demand-oriented energy supply at the point of consumption.
“The accession of such an important partner as Bosch not only sends a political signal, but is also an economic signal: We expect a win-win situation for our entire network in order to work together on a future with environmentally friendly energy supply,” explains Andreas Saft, spokesman for the Clean Power Net. “The collaboration paves the way for our partners and German industrial companies along the entire value chain to activate and introduce fuel cells to the market in business and industry.” Despite increasing competition in a highly diversified market with different technologies, knowledge sharing and cooperation are essential for the shift to renewable energy. Wayne Kern, commercial manager of SOFC, also emphasizes this: “We want to make climate protection technically possible and economically viable. With the SOFC system, we are taking on a pioneering technological role and bringing an energy carrier-flexible solution to the market that is based on existing infrastructures and can therefore already be used today as a demand-oriented solution in a decentralized manner. In the coming decade, it will be more important than ever for us to take the necessary steps towards the industrialization of fuel cell technology. By joining the CPN, we are forging an important new partnership.”
Clean Power Net secures new round of financing
Politicians themselves renewed their commitment to fuel cells at the beginning of 2021 and assured CPN of new phase two funding. This funding guarantees the industry cluster a stable financial allocation in the six-figure range until the end of 2023. In order to face new challenges in the future, the network is also aligning its personnel for the future: The CPN General Assembly appointed Andreas Saft (DB Bahnbau Gruppe GmbH) as new spokesperson and Björn Ledergerber (SFC Energy AG) as new deputy spokesperson of Clean Power Net.
About Clean Power Net
Clean Power Net (CPN) was founded in 2010 by 12 entrepreneurs to promote the use of the
fuel cell technology, especially for digital and critical infrastructures, in a concerted and sustainable manner. The initiator of the network is NOW GmbH National Organisation Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology. Today, the CPN has 19 partners and is funded as an innovation cluster with NIP II funds by the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure.