VTT, said to be the largest technology and research centre in Finland, has been leading a project to test renewables in the role of providing an electricity supply to the thousands of low demand sites in remote locations – connecting towers, weather stations, construction sites, railways and other sites outside the electricity network. The VTT-led project found that fuel cell technology enables the supply of reliable, remote controlled and more environmentally-friendly power even in difficult-to-reach locations with extreme conditions.
“Fuel cell technology, which utilises gas, proved to be very effective in the electrification of sites located in extreme conditions, ranging from freezing temperatures of -40 deg C to tropical temperatures above +50 deg C,” commented VTT research professor Jari Kiviaho, who co-ordinated the RoRePower project.
Traditionally, the electricity needed in difficult-to-reach locations has been produced with diesel generators. The efficiency of the solid oxide fuel cell technology tested during the project proved better than traditional methods, and bio-based fuel can also be used to produce electricity without emissions even in remote locations.
Another advantage of fuel cell technology is freedom of supply, as one refuelling can be used to produce electricity through remote monitoring alone for up to a year. The system can also be used in parallel with other power sources such as solar cells or batteries.
The international project saw fuel cell equipment tested at more than 50 sites around the world. In Finland, the equipment was tested at the Karjaan Puhelin data centre, which had an average electricity demand of less than 1 kW. SolydEra’s fuel cell system was successfully tested at the site for a period of about two years. During this period, the system produced all the electricity needed by the data centre using gas supplied by Auris Energia. “The project proved that a combination of gas and fuel cells has potential for challenging electrification sites” said Perttu Lahtinen, deputy MD at Auris.
The systems developed and tested during the project are now commercial products and are said to be ideal for small-scale electricity production in exceptionally challenging conditions.
RoRePower was a 4-year EU-funded project aimed at developing and testing small power sources for remotely controlled difficult-to-reach sites located outside the power grid. In addition to VTT, the consortium included Sunfire, New Enerday, SolydEra, EFCF and 3E Energy. The project has received funding from the EU Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking.
