Ceres Power Holdings has announced that the latest iteration of its SteelCell platform (version 4) has been brought to market. Higher power density and rapid start-up cycling compatible with vehicle applications have been proven, which is expected to make the technology commercially attractive in a growing number of markets.
Mark Selby, chief technology officer at Ceres Power, commented: “The primary objective of reduce manufacturing costs was achieved through removal of over 20% of the processing steps and improved material utilisation. The performance of the platform has been further improved to deliver in excess of 50% net electrical efficiency in prime power applications. Performance through thousands of rapid hot/cold cycles has also been confirmed, to the point that compatibility with vehicle and genset applications is being demonstrated.”
The unit’s electrical efficiency now being delivered has led to an award from the US Department of Energy, which will see Ceres Power working with Cummins in the development of technology for the emergent data centre market. Ceres Power’s specialty is to develop technology that generates power from widely available fuels at high efficiency, and manufactured using standard processing equipment and conventional materials such as steel, the objective being that it can be mass produced at an affordable price for domestic and business use.
