Pathway to a Competitive European FC mCHP market

Project Information

PACE

Grant agreement ID: 700339

DOI

10.3030/700339

Project closed

EC signature date 20 May 2016

Start date 1 June 2016

End date 30 April 2023

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Secure, clean and efficient energy

Total cost

€ 91 681 934,33

EU contribution

€ 33 932 752,75

Coordinated by

THE EUROPEAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE PROMOTION OF COGENERATION VZW
Belgium

Periodic Reporting for period 6 - PACE (Pathway to a Competitive European FC mCHP market)

Reporting period: 2021-09-01 to 2023-04-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

PACE, which stands for 'Pathway to a Competitive European Fuel Cell micro-Cogeneration market', is the name of a European project that started on 1 June 2016 and ended on 30 April 2023.
The overall aim of the project was to demonstrate the potential of Fuel Cell micro-Cogeneration (also known as 'Fuel Cell micro-CHP') as an efficient and reliable energy solution for homes and businesses and establish a market for this technology in Europe.
Fuel Cell micro-CHP (where CHP stands for Combined Heat and Power) is a highly efficient and reliable energy solution that can be installed in buildings of various sizes and uses, including houses and other residential buildings, as well as public buildings and business premises. At the heart of the system is a Fuel Cell, where hydrogen is combined with oxygen in a clean process that generates both electricity and heat. The only by-product of this electrochemical process is water (H2O).
Fuel Cell micro-CHP is a highly efficient distributed energy solution, simultaneously producing heat and electricity near the point of consumption. As heating accounts for half of the energy consumption in Europe, Fuel Cell micro-Cogeneration has the potential to play a key role to decarbonise heat in buildings, support the deployment of renewables and enable thousands of consumers to actively contribute to Europe’s energy transition.
The technical readiness of Fuel Cell micro-CHP technology had previously been demonstrated by previous European and national demonstration projects (including Callux, ene.field SOFT-PACT, Fuel Cell@home, and Crisalide). The idea behind the PACE project was to support the growth of the market for this technology in Europe, which would then enable manufacturers to achieve economies of scale that would help to bring down the price of Fuel Cell micro-CHP units.
Specific objectives of the PACE Project included:
• To further develop the product development and manufacturing capacity of European suppliers of Fuel Cell micro-CHP systems;
• To increase the number of qualified system installers and maintenance providers;
• To sell, install and commission at least 2500 Fuel Cell micro-CHP systems in residential and commercial buildings;
• To measure and analyse the installed systems’ performance and customers’ satisfaction;
• To analyse the impacts of policies and regulation at European, national and regional levels;
• To develop recommendations for policymakers at European, national and regional levels.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

During the lifetime of the PACE Project (6 years and 11 months in total), the participating equipment suppliers were able to sell, install and commission more than 2500 Fuel-Cell micro-CHP units in homes and businesses across 9 European countries (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom).
Funding provided by the Clean Hydrogen Partnership was used to subsidize the cost (i.e. reduce the price) of purchasing a Fuel-Cell micro-CHP (FC mCHP) unit. This financial incentive helped to make the technology more attractive to potential and prospective customers.
The units were sold with 10-year servicing contracts and the performance of the units was monitored remotely in order to assess their efficiency and reliability.
Customers were asked to complete questionnaires at three different points in time. In total, some 1,760 questionnaires were completed. The survey results show that more than 75% of customers rated their own experience as ‘positive’ or ‘very positive’ in relation to the design, environmental impact, electricity generation and heating effectiveness of their FC mCHP unit.
The performance of the FC mCHP units was measured by collecting data over a total of more than 30 million operating hours. The data showed that the gas utilization of the units corresponds closely to the efficiency ratings provided by the manufacturers. Installed units were found to be functioning properly between 95% and 99% of the time, indicating a high level of reliability.
The relative performance of different technologies was analysed, and it was calculated that a house with a FC mCHP unit would have significantly reduced CO2 emissions (49% lower) and annual energy costs (46% lower) compared to a house with a gas boiler that uses electricity from the grid. Further emission reductions can be achieved by combining a fuel cell unit with a heat pump.
In the framework of the PACE Project, more than 3,400 installers received training on how to install and maintain Fuel Cell micro-CHP units.
Communication and dissemination efforts continued throughout the lifetime of the project, notably by means of social media activity (on LinkedIn and Twitter), videos (published on YouTube) and having a visible presence and representation at relevant trade fairs and other events.
In September 2022, during the European Sustainable Energy Week, the PACE project (jointly with COGEN Europe) hosted a hybrid event on Putting buildings at the centre of integrated local energy systems in Brussels. The main purpose of this event was to contribute to the policy debate on the revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD).
During the final phase of the PACE project, a series of 6 interviews were recorded with business owners and householders talking about their own personal experiences of owning and using fuel cell micro-cogeneration systems. Edited versions of these interviews were shared via social media and published on COGEN Europe’s YouTube channel.
The results of the PACE project were presented at a Conference (What Role for Fuel Cell micro-CHP in Europe’s Future Energy System?) in Brussels on 26 April 2023. This was also a hybrid event and recordings are available online (accessible via the PACE website).
A six-page brochure summarizing the outcomes of the PACE project is available in 5 language versions (Dutch, English, French, German & Italian) on the PACE website.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The PACE project enabled the participating equipment manufacturers to further improve the design and performance of their FC mCHP units and to further develop their respective capacities and facilities for assembling units and manufacturing key components in Europe.
The results of the PACE project provide additional evidence of the benefits of Fuel Cell micro-CHP technology in terms of overall performance and reliability, customer satisfaction, energy efficiency, preventing pollution and reducing CO2 emissions.
The project’s results also serve to confirm the advantages of Fuel Cell micro-CHP as a future-proof technology that can efficiently utilize renewable gases such as biomethane and hydrogen. It can also enhance the overall resilience of the energy system by efficiently generating electricity close to the end-user and complementing intermittent sources of electricity such as PV and wind.
In the framework of the PACE Project, more than 3,400 installers received training on how to install and maintain Fuel Cell micro-CHP units. The long term socio-economic impact of the project will depend on the future development of the market for FC mCHP technology in Europe, which in turn depends on changes in the policy and regulatory landscape (including EU energy labels as well as public subsidies and other incentives) which contribute to shaping public perception of different technologies and driving consumers’ (and businesses’) purchasing decisions.

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