Powerco (Taranaki, Australia) confirmed it had signed an agreement with Ceramic Fuel Cells Ltd. (CFCL, Australia) to trial new fuel cell energy systems in New Zealand. The field trial agreement comes after 12 years of fuel cell research and development by Ceramic, which cost it some $130 million.
The fuell cell being converts natural gas to electricity, delivering both 1 kW of electricity and enough hot water for the average home. Powerco was interested in the fuel cell technology because it offered flexibility in using natural gas, bio-methane and ethanol as the primary input fuel, rather than being constrained with expensive hydrogen, as is the case with most fuel cells. Powerco would establish a New Zealand-based university scholarship to evaluate the trial of the fuel cells.
