UTC Power

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Nighttime picture of the onsite PureCell® System Model 400 at 195 Governor's Highway in South Windsor, CT
UTC Power
Type Former Subsidiary of UTC
Industry

Fuel cell

homepage = UTC Power
Founded 1958 (under Pratt & Whitney for NASA's Apollo missions)
Headquarters South Windsor, Connecticut

UTC Power, a fuel cell company based in South Windsor, Connecticut, was purchased by ClearEdge Power in February 2013. It was formerly part of United Technologies Corporation (NYSE:UTX) and has been in business for over 50 years. The company has experience in all five major fuel cell technologies. The company specializes in fuel cells for buildings,[1] buses[2] and automobiles.[3] It has also developed fuel cells for space[4] and submarine applications in the past.

Contents

History [edit]

UTC Power began as a division of Pratt & Whitney in 1958. In 1966 UTC Power supplied fuel cells to NASA for the Apollo project space missions, to supply electric power and drinking water for the astronauts on board and, later, for the Space Shuttle missions until 2010. In 1985 the company was established as a wholly owned subsidiary of UTC and named International Fuel Cells. It has since been renamed UTC Fuel Cells and, most recently, UTC Power since 2001.

In the early 1990s, UTC Power commercialized a large, stationary fuel cell for use as a cogeneration power plant. The company has expanded into the broader fuel cell industry over the last 10 years, developing fuel cells for automobiles and buses.

ClearEdge Power Acquisition [edit]

ClearEdge Power, a manufacturer of scalable, distributed power systems, has closed on its acquisition of UTC Power, marking a major milestone for the company and strengthening its position in the commercial fuel cell industry. UTC Power, formerly a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp., has long been considered a leader in fuel cell systems with decades of experience.[5]

Fuel cells for buildings [edit]

View from the back side of a PureCell® System Model 400 located onsite at UTC Power in South Windsor, CT

UTC Power’s stationary phosphoric acid fuel cell product is the PureCell Model 400 System.[6] This stationary fuel cell system provides 400 kilowatts of electricity and 1.7 million Btu/hour of heat. The PureCell System is considered a good match for combined heat and power applications including supermarkets, hospitals, hotels and educational institutions.[7] The UTC Power fuel cell system uses natural gas which is converted in a "catalytic reformer" into hydrogen, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and water. The hydrogen is used to run the four fuel cell stacks to produce electricity and the power plant then converts the exhaust heat into cooling and heating, turning potential waste into usable energy. The product has a 10-year cell stack durability and 20-year product life.

UTC Power has designed, manufactured and installed more than 300 stationary fuel cells in 19 countries on six continents. The fleet has exceeded 9.4 million hours of field operation and has generated more than 1.6 billion kWh of energy, enough to power nearly 140,000 homes for an entire year. PureCell Systems are operating at Whole Foods Markets in California, Connecticut, Massachusetts;[8] Price Chopper stores in New York,[9] a Coca-Cola Refreshments bottling facility in New York[10] and another in Connecticut,[11] a powerplant in South Korea,[12] and at other sites around the world.

Fuel cells for buses [edit]

UTC Power fuel cell bus in Hartford, Conn

The PureMotion Model 120 System is UTC Power’s zero-emission proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell for transit buses.[13] UTC Power’s PureMotion Model 120 system is powering a fleet of transit buses in Connecticut and California.

(left to right) Joe Triompo, VP and General Manager, UTC Power; David Lee, General Manager, CT TRANSIT; Senator Blumenthal; James Redeker, Commissioner, CT DOT.

On Friday, March 16, 2012, UTC Power participated in an event hosted by Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) to highlight U.S. Senate passage of federal surface transportation legislation.[14] The event was held at CT Transit facilities in Hartford and included representatives from the Connecticut Department of Transportation.[15] On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate passed a two-year reauthorization of federal highway, transit and safety programs to fund highway and transit improvements nationwide. The legislation included a Clean Fuels Grant Program to prioritize funding for transit agencies to purchase zero emission passenger buses.[16]

Fuel cells for automobiles [edit]

UTC Power develops and manufactures PEM fuel cells for automobiles.[17] The company has worked with BMW, Hyundai and Nissan as well as the U.S. Department of Energy on development and demonstration programs

Energy Security [edit]

UTC Power's Control Center located onsite at 195 Governor's Highway in South Windsor, CT

The UTC Power Control Center monitors the global fleet of PureCell systems 24/7 and can often detect potential problems before they can impact successful operation of the system, ensuring maximum uptime for customers. Each PureCell includes an internet-based communication system, called the Remote Monitoring System (RMS). The RMS provides the Control Center with remote access to fuel cell operating data and allows limited control, including start-up, power output kW set point and shut-down commands. The fuel cell can independently “call out” to alert technicians of out-of-limit parameters, status, and need for maintenance. The RMS also supplies the system owner with website access to view the fuel cell’s operating status.

References [edit]

  1. ^ http://www.renewableenergyfocus.com/view/6935/utc-power-fuel-cell-for-san-jose-supermarket/.html
  2. ^ http://www.cttransit.com/Press/Display.asp?PressID=%7B3E313963-8328-4373-AF0D-E4E9D002066E%7D
  3. ^ http://www.fuelcelltoday.com/online/news/articles/2010-03/UTC-Power-BMW-Fuel-Cell-Car
  4. ^ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41201174/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/
  5. ^ http://www.marketwatch.com/story/clearedge-power-completes-acquisition-of-utc-power-2013-02-12
  6. ^ http://www.jsonline.com/business/112222154.html
  7. ^ http://napavalleyregister.com/star/news/local/article_b75d27f0-035c-11e0-bb9c-001cc4c03286.html
  8. ^ http://wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/dedham/
  9. ^ http://www.perishablenews.com/index.php?article=0003925
  10. ^ http://www.green-energy-news.com/nwslnks/clips1010/oct10020.html
  11. ^ http://hbweb.sx2.atl.publicus.com/article/20110622/NEWS01/306229976
  12. ^ http://www.hartfordbusiness.com/news7035.html
  13. ^ http://www.greencarcongress.com/2010/07/utc-power-transit-bus-fuel-cell-system-sets-durability-record.html
  14. ^ http://fuelcell.cttransit.com/index.php/ahead/important-milestones/210-blumenthal-applauds-clean-fuel-programs-in-transportation-bill-urges-action-by-house
  15. ^ http://blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/blumenthal-applauds-clean-fuel-programs-in-transportation-bill-urges-action-by-house
  16. ^ http://politicalnews.me/?id=12692
  17. ^ http://fuelcellsworks.com/news/2010/03/25/utc-power-fuel-cell-part-of-new-hybrid-electric-vehicle-on-display-in-munich/

External links [edit]
Subsidiaries
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