A 200 kW class combined-cycle power generation system incorporating solid oxide fuel cells and a gas micro-turbine has chalked up 3 000 cumulative hours of operation in japan, a feat so far unprecedented in the country.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries began developing the SOFC-MGT system in 2004 at its Nagasaki Shipyard and Machinery Works under consignment by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation (NEDO). In 2007 the system marked up a maximum power generation capacity of 229 kW, unprecedented in a system of this kind at that time, and confirmed 52.1% power generation efficiency (lower heating value, power output terminal), also the highest level in this class.
Based on this success in achieving the 3000 hour milestone, MHI intends to pursue further reliability enhancement and system downsizing. The company is also working towards a business/industrial-use heat and power system combining SOFCs and an MGT in joint development with Toyota Motor Corporation, a project that has been going since 2008, and on its own to develop a system for use by power generation companies.
This SOFC MGT landmark is part of an MHI development that the company has been pursuing for some time – to create various power generation methods to reduce CO2 emissions, including high-efficiency thermal power generation systems, nuclear power systems, and renewable energies such as wind power and photovoltaic cells. It sees SOFC technology as a promising and effective route. As higher power generation efficiency is expected from the combination of SOFCs with other power generation systems – ranging from small-scale (< 1 MW) to large (several hundreds of MW), MHI views the development of large-scale combined cycle power generation systems using SOFCs as a key challenge.
