Commercialization of the Ceres Power SteelCell® Technology: Latest Update

Abstract

Ceres Power continues to acquire commercial partners for its low-temperature metal supported SteelCell® SOC technology based predominantly around the use of ceria. This unique design architecture allows for a robust, low cost, subsidy free fuel cell product, whilst retaining the advantages of fuel flexibility, high efficiency and low degradation. Over the last year, significant commercial developments have taken place, rapidly progressing genuine mass-market adoption of SteelCell® technology for power generation. Two major OEM partners, Robert Bosch GmbH in Germany and Doosan Fuel Cell in South Korea now have licenses to manufacture SteelCell® cells and stacks with a full technology transfer from Ceres, with a commitment to volume manufacturing. Doosan is initially building a 50MW/y manufacturing plant with potential to extend that further in future. This complements Ceres’ own manufacturing facility in Redhill, UK which is fully operational with an expandable capacity of 2MW/y to meet demand from other customer demonstration programs. Other active customer programs include the successful ongoing commercial launch of a 4.2kWe CHP system by Miura in Japan and the development of a 30kWe range extender for electric buses by Weichai Power in China. Another significant commercial development is Ceres Power agreeing a strategic partnership with AVL in Austria to combine engineering expertise and knowhow in fuel cell system development and conduct joint R&D, which will enable the incorporation of SteelCell® technology into new applications. The first agreement has already been signed with an unnamed customer. As part of a drive to broaden the applicability of SteelCell® technology and play a larger part in the rapidly developing green hydrogen economy, a major program has been initiated to evaluate and develop SteelCell® technology for steam electrolysis and the potential production of E-fuels. All of these developments are rapidly bringing about the full commercialization of SOC technology as a significant contributor to the evolving net zero energy sector.